Sanyo xact movie#
Sanyo xact manual#
Sanyo xact iso#

These focus issues, combined with the iffy shutter button, results in perceptible lag when photographing.

Sanyo xact manual#

The manual focus locks at stepped intervals, which means you eventually end up focusing with your feet. Plus, with underwater reflections it takes even longer. Nonetheless, the E1 generally focuses pretty slowly - even more so in low light. CNET: Photos taken with the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1.CNET: Compare most popular digital camcorders.The super macro mode can focus as close as 0.4 inch, the Normal focus mode can only lock beyond 31.5 inches, while a Total mode focuses as close as 4 inches theoretically, by limiting the range of focus distances in Normal mode the camera can lock focus faster. At best quality - and you don't really want to drop below that - it records MPEG-4 video at about 409K per second or 24MB per minute of video.

Sanyo xact iso#

Though it lacks aperture- and shutter-priority exposure modes, you can select from among spot-, center- and pattern metering sensitivity settings from ISO 50 to ISO 1,600 (as high as 7,200 in the Lamp low-light scene mode) auto, manual and four preset white-balance settings spot or nine-point autofocus and exposure compensation. The E1 incorporates a slowish f/3.5-to-4.7, 38mm-to-190mm-equivalent lens with a built-in neutral-density filter and a 2.5-inch LCD that gets difficult to see in harsh light and that must be viewed head-on underwater. Physical navigation aside, the menus are easy to read and logically arranged, exposing you to the relatively basic, camcorderlike feature set. And it all becomes a bit more difficult and awkward under water, especially if your hands get cold. That makes executing a consistent-speed zoom nearly impossible. Unless you have very tiny thumbs, it's nearly impossible to use the zoom switch or the user-programmable left and right arrow switches without impinging upon the Set button in the middle. On one hand, the vertical design makes for a solid single-handed grip your right hand wraps around the body with your index finger perched above the lens.īut the shutter and record buttons are mushy with too little tactile feedback, so it's difficult to tell if you've successfully grabbed the shot or begun recording. Unfortunately, it's not really up to the task. So right out of the gate, the E1 faces both an identity crisis and the challenge of distinguishing itself from better-equipped veterans. (All are JIS Class 8 qualified, but that just means they've been certified to be submerged for a manufacturer-specified duration at a manufacturer-specified depth.) Those make the E1's mere 5 feet of depth for an hour pale in comparison. Though the E1 incorporates a 5x zoom lens, the other models cost less, have otherwise similar or better specs and can produce better underwater credentials: you can submerge the W30 to as deep as 10 feet for 2 hours and the 770SW to around 32 feet for as long as an hour.

Sanyo xact movie#

Despite the moniker 'digital movie camera' and the nontraditional pistol-grip design, everything about the E1, which includes the ability to shoot 640x480, 30fps movies as well as 6-megapixel still photos, says plain, old camera.Īnd in that respect, though we're not exactly swimming in waterproof cameras, the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 has some strong competition, notably the Olympus Stylus 770SW and the Pentax Optio W30.