Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue)
by SANYO
|
List Price: Our Price: $159.00 You Save: $40.99 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue)
Customer Review: E2 - a worthy update to E1
Summary: 5 Stars
Before purchasing E2 I was torn between E1 and E2 but decided to go with a new model. There were no reviews on E2 other than a single one for Euro/Japanese/Canadian version of E2 called CA8 and that review blasted the camera's new sensor. Nevertheless, with Amazon's liberal return policy, I decided to take my chance and to get E2 instead of E1. After all, it is a second generation of this waterproof camera, and I thought the second generation is typically better.
If you are trying to decide between E1 and E2, here are the major differences:
The most obvious is a change of sensor.
E1 uses 6MP CCD 1/2.5 sensor
E2 uses 8MP CMOS 1/2.5 sensor.
E2 adds a 60 frames per second movie option (E1 was limited to 30 frames per second)
E2 adds face recognition mode. E1 has no such face detection mode
E2 adds a dedicated 'underwater' mode among several others. E1 did not have a specific 'underwater' mode.
First, I tried both the new 60 frames per second mode and the old 30 frames per second mode and I decided that I will be using 30 frames per second, I actually like the quality of 30fps mode better.
I then tried the photography mode. I took most photographs inside in tricky low-light incandescent and florescent light conditions, because I know these give ANY camera, including DSLRs such as my Canon 40D $1300 camera, the most problems. I upped the ISO to 200 and then to 400. You can see samples I posted here. BTW the macro mode on this baby goes to 1 cm!!!! I don't know if E1 had such super-macro to 1 cm. I found the photo quality acceptable and similar to that of other point-and-shoots using the same 1/2.5 and similar sensors. I felt that ISO400 was acceptable. I have not tried ISO 800 and 1600 yet.
E2 has following ISO range: in photo mode 50-1600
in video mode: 100-3200 in high sensitivity mode (3200 I don't believe you can select, but it does it).
The image stabilization feature is tricky, it is EIS, Electronic Image Stabilization, not Optical Image Stabilization, so when you use it, it crops a little bit on sides of your video and photographs, depending on which mode of EIS you use.
The sound is stereo and the quality is acceptable. The camera is tiny btw, I fit mine in case logic case I had from my Canon A75 camera.
I tried this camera underwater in my pool, both video and photographs. All worked fine, even shoots photographs with flash underwater, which makes for very freaky results.
---
Finally, some people complained that Sanyo has their own unique USB cable which is a pain if you lose it or don't have it with you, and cannot read it in ordinary card reader. WRONG. I did not even bother taking the proprietary Sanyo USB cable from camera packaging. The card works easily in my HP (windows vista) desktop's card reader. I downloaded PICASA 3 which I recommend. Picasa 3 will find, download, and play all photos and every video you shoot with this camera easily and quickly, just take the SD card, put it in your card reader and Picasa will do the rest. Very easy, so don't need to bother with this cable that comes with it.
Problems: Battery life is not impressive. Battery is tiny. I am used to Fuji F30's 500 shots per charge. This battery sucks. I charged the battery fully. I then took 80 photographs (some with flash), 4 or 5 2-minute videos and my battery showed 70% gone. You need a second battery, and hopefully there are some with more juice in it that the Sanyo one that comes with the camera.
I also wish the lens would start at 28mm and not 38mm as it would make easier to take pictures/videos of oneself without need to stretch your body away from the camera. Also my belief is that the flash only operates in photo mode and not in video mode. However, it is much better than its only competitor, Panasonic SW20, which does not have any flash at all
I will add more photos later.
Customer Review: Xacti E2 Rox!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this camcorder / point and shoot camera on a black Friday deal for $199. What a great deal it was. In other words, I may be in love!
For starters, let me tell you what I was looking for:
- Small camcorder - something that would fit easily in my pocket, ready for the quick opportunity
- Easy to use - I'm not a video engineer
- Records to TV resolution, as well as an easy upload to youtube
- Still camera incorporated, good enough to compare to a dedicated point and shoot so I don't have to carry too much stuff.
One of my hobbies is photography, and I have a Canon D20 that I use frequently. But that's bringing out the "big guns" for shooting something that just appeals to me on a whim. I realized that a camcorder / point-n-shoot might not satisfy the photographer in me, so I also got a good deal on a Nikon Coolpix on black Friday. The Coolpix is still in it's box, and will likely be returned.
OK, now about the Sanyo E2.
This appears to be a relatively new camcorder, as there aren't a whole lot of reviews - or even a group on flickr. So when I purchased the thing, it was an impulse buy... I did a little research, found nothing substantial; but still, $199 for a MSRP $399 camcorder sounded too good to pass up. The boxes showed up on Monday: a Nikon Coolpix and the Sanyo. I was most curious about the Xacti, so I opened it first. I charged the battery, went through the set up, and stuck it in my pocket.
After getting used to the idea of a camcorder a bit, and taking numerous pictures of my pets and my husband (my dog runs when I get it out of it's crappy case - more on that later), I am so pleased with my results that I don't feel the need to even open the Coolpix and play with it.
The E2 has a nice feel to it, looks good in the blue color I got, and generally, is a pleasing piece of geekery. On top of that, it takes serviceable pictures, decent video, and is fun to use. The interface is really workable, with a simplified menu and a more complex one when you need it. It doesn't seem to like my 8GB Transcend SD card, but the 4GB SanDisk hasn't failed me yet.
The battery life is not great on this thing. I was warned by other reviewers to purchase a secondary battery (I did), and I would recommend this to anyone.
Although this Xacti is waterproof, be aware that it's not a scuba camera. That doesn't bother me because I can't swim; but to those who think they can go further than 5 feet, be aware that this camcorder won't do better than that. It's more like "waterproof." So if you want, take it in the shower (heh), or by the pool, or in the rain without worries.
PROS
Satisfies all my requirements for a pocket carry camcorder / camera
Better picture quality than I expected
Easy to use interface for deleting, changing presets, etc.
Waterproof - can take it with me in rain with no worries
Fast start up
CONS
No lens cap
Crappy wrap around "case"
Doesn't like my 8GB Transcend SD card
Battery life is not good
This thing has lived in my pocket for a week, and more often than not, it's been my own reluctance to pull out a camera than my confidence in the camera to do its job that prevented me from taking more pictures or videos. I like the idea that I can photo or video anything that suits my fancy at a moments notice.
Way good bang for your buck!
Customer Review: Excellent Little Video Camera - Depending on Your Needs
Summary: 5 Stars
I just purchased the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 and I have to say, I'm very impressed. I bought it as an Amazon open box warehouse deal which made it even better.
First, let me talk about my experience with video cameras.
I have owned a couple, starting with the 8mm format back in the late 1980's and then moving to digital-8 later on.
I liked taking video, but hated schlepping around a camera, so therefore, I didn't use them. Also, editing together video was a pain, having to go through a tape sequentially to import the video.
A friend of mine found the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 and I was intrigued. It was small, portable and waterproof. It looked to be a fun little camera.
I've been taking some experimental videos testing the camera and here are my conclusions.
MY NEEDS/REQUIREMENTS:
- Lightweight and easy to carry around - Something small enough to fit in a pocket and not be a complete drag to carry around, to the point that I would dread it
- Mac compatible (this was a deal breaker)
- Easy to use
- Good quality video. I have HD TVs and Blu-Ray, but realized that my videos would not be Hollywood epics. I wanted quality that was good enough for "video snapshots," small fun videos
PROS:
- This camera is lightweight - not a pain to carry around
- Mac compatible!!!!! Not one problem in using it with iMove and iPhoto!
- MP4's much easier to grab and use! So much better than tape!
- Very nice quality when shot at the maximum quality setting. Probably not as great as some expensive cameras but I'm quite frankly, for the fun videos I shoot, the quality is really quite excellent, as an MP4.
- Good sound
- Easy to use
SOME SIDE COMMENTS
- I have put MP4 clips on my Mac, and then copied them over to our PlayStation 3 (using Nullriver media server on the Mac) and we watch clips on our TV. Talk about ease of use! This has been FANTASTIC!
- While I was not shopping for a waterproof camera, I have to admit that I'm looking forward to trying this little guy out in the water. Plus the benefit of being able to be in the rain with it, and not having to worry about water!
NOT PRO AND NOT CON
- The still photos taken with the Xacti are OK. Not as good as our still cameras (we have quite good still cameras). We might also be really picky about our still photos. I know someone else who has the Xacti and likes the quality of the still photos. This is where taste comes into it.
- The Xacti is so small that I could easily fit it into my bag with my other camera, so not a big deal
- Having said all that, depending on the situation, and how important the still photos would be to me, I could easily see myself just using the Xacti, in those cases, though I would still prefer the quality of my regular digital camera.
CONS:
- Low light effects the quality. The videos can be grainy in low light. This is not that big an issue for me, because I'm just taking fun little videos, so I'm fine with it. I think it's acceptable.
SUMMARY
This little camera is a keeper! I would not hesitate to recommend it. My only advice is to think about what your needs and requirements are, and make your decision based on that.
Customer Review: Excelent for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent camcorder for its price. I took it on vacation to Dominican Republic and it performed much better then I expected. I was very skeptical about it after reading all reviews, especially all complains about image quality, image stabilizing and waterproofing.
Well, I can honestly say that I do not share those complains. Sure, the image quality is not the same as thousand dollars camcorder, but it is not bad! In bright light it is very good, and indoors or in the evening, you just have to adjust white balance and reduce ISO (light sensitivity) as much as possible without getting image too dark.
BTW, you will not be able to change ISO in many more expensive camcorders, so you are stuck with what ever ISO is selected for you by camcorder and if it's too high the image become vary grainy.
Surprisingly, photos came out really good in the bright light. Mostly I used my DSLR for photos, but in the ocean I was using SANYO and pictures came out surprisingly good. Image stabilization was not a factor for either video or photo. I did not see any difference with or without it.
Now in regards to waterproofing - my camera still in working condition after I used extensively in the ocean - sometimes for 30-45 minutes straight. The only issue I discovered, the screen (and sometimes the lens) gets fog patches inside, but they went away after 5-10 minutes drying. They did not affect the actual filming since they appear only after I got out the water. It also looked like they did not appear inside the camera - only behind the protective glass.
Battery life was no issue. When I did not use the camera - I turned it off - I did not leave it in sleep mode. Battery lasted trough out the day. I did purchase the second battery, but I never used it.
Overall, I'm happy with the camera. It performed much batter then expected. I used in places where I would never even think to use a regular camera without permanently damaging it. It is small enough to take it everywhere. For those who complained about menu structure and difficulty pressing buttons, think about it - this is a waterproof camcorder - the less buttons, the better. So everything has to be packed into the one menu. One thing that I would change is to have ability to have more functions assigned to shortcut buttons.
Also, how would you expect to charge it without removing the battery? Add another port and sacrifice the waterproofing?
I also believe that the warranty is very poor for this product - 90 days labor is less then for a lot of refurbished products! Reading reviews on SANYO service - it is not acceptable. That's why they are not a first class company, which is a shame since they have very unique products.
But based on my experience with this camcorder (and thanks god no experience with SANYO customer service) - definitely 5 stars.
Customer Review: "Excellent for my needs"
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll make it clear right from the beginning: I'm just an amateur photograph and I don't know a whole lot on digital cameras. I just wanted a digital camera that I could play with and take pictures and occasionally make movies for myself, nothing professional really. I did not want to spend a ton of money for a camera and after taking a look at this particular model at a store I decided to get this one. This one is very easy to use and understand; nearly everyone can fool around with it right away. It feels great which is another thing I looked for in a camera, the buttons may be a little too small however as judging by their size someone with pretty big hands might have problem with it, especially with the zoom button. The 2.5 inch screen looks very good and is a nice size if you ask me, however you may want a bigger screen than this as it's a small camera. This is my next point, its size; I like how it fits in my pocket or wherever I may want to have it and still bring all these great features it offers.Other customers experienced some problems with theirs particularly with the waterproof functionality, I did not and the underwater pictures I've taken are great and this function while if not a must for you it is certainly fun to experiment with, I don't want to test how far it can go underwater but I made great pictures of fish! The 60x zoom is great and the visual quality of the camera is excellent. The battery life doesn't last really long, about two hours which I still find better than some of the other cameras I had in the past. I'm not sure how the face chaser and detection work or if they really do but I know that the shake mechanism does help! The computer file transfers are fast and what I found great is that you can put your photos and videos easily on your iPod trough iTunes, if you have one that is.
It comes with a USB cable, a battery charger, television cables and a case, this case is not all that great but you can always get another one which I will probably be doing. Mine did not come with an SD card since I bought it from a store so I had to buy one separately which is not a problem, just by one with the amount of memory you feel is appropriate for your needs. Overall am I satisfied? I would have to say that I am because I'm an amateur who just wanted a camera that had the necessary features, felt good in my hand and of a small convenient size. I like how the camera looks, the design is great and there are a few color choices. I really liked how it is easy to use. I can't really complain about anything.