Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1A Camcorder - Silver

*** What I love about this camera ***

- Pocketable. A truly, honestly, pocketable video camera. I upgraded to the HD1000, and the only thing I'm sad about with my new purchase is that it's not as small as the HD1a.

- Variety of recording formats. Lets you record web (320x240), "tv" (640x480) and 720p (1080/720 I think?) -- I think the best quality on this camera was using the 640x480 "super high quality" mode. I'm frustrated by how the high-end HD cameras by canon etc. will ONLY record in a hi-def format and don't let you record basic NTSC 640x480 if you want to.

- Microphone input. I'm surprised how rare a feature this is on a consumer level camera. I used my HD1A as an audio recorder often. *** TIP: *** If you want to record audio-only, *leave the lens cap on* when you're recording. Since it's recording in a compressed video format (MP4) the resulting file size will only be as large as an equivalent length MP3 or AAC file. 30 minute of a solid black frame only take up as much space as recording a single second of black. :)

- Records straight to SD. No tape, no fuss. (And no motor noise futzing up your recording.) I recommend using a high-speed USB card reader, which will transfer the files to your computer super-fast. (The docking station is a little slow.)

*** Dislikes ***

- Unless you buy a stand-alone travel charger, you have to take the power supply and docking station with you when you travel in order to charge the battery.

- Quality isn't as nice as the HD1000. But then again, it's 1/2 the price!

- Like lots of CCD-based cameras, not so great in low-light.

This camera is very compact and easy to use. Has a lot of features so you really need to use the owners manual to get the most out of it. Shooting in low light can be problematic (which is the only reason I rated the camera "Good" instead of "Excellent" - would have picked "Very Good" if it was an option), but the rest of the time it is a great toy!

I bought this camera for few months ago and was impressed with the great outlook and the video quality. This camera supports 720p HD video output, 5.1MP camera, 10x optical zoom (max with 100x digital zoom), 2.2 inch TFT Lcd monitor. The only thing i really disappointed is the camera quality is bad, when you take pictures at night, it's POOR! Overall, it is still good choice to buy a low price HD digital movie camera.

I like that all the cables, and the performance of the camera are great...I bought because I have one exactly like it and I need the accesories...

I use this excellent camera for property photos (see www.jjlandapartments.com).
Its been a great resource. Even in the basement photos. Try using the flash!next time. At first I could not understand how to turn it on. Just press the button on the top, and the flash pops up, ready to light your still shots.
Lets land this one Theresa!