Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder, 1/2.5" CMOS Sensor, 2.7" LCD, MPEG4 AVC/H.264, (Black)

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

with this camcorder you don´t need a digital camera. Very good images and very easy to operate

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I really like this camcorder as a compact camcorder. It shoots great HD video. I wish it had a viewfinder and manual focus, though. GREAT LENS. Is there an adapter for that microphone port that makes it regular mini RCA (headphone)? I'd like to attach my mic to it.

The reason it is only 4 stars is the h.264 compression sometimes messes little parts of the video up.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

Picture quality is outstanding ! I hooked this up to my high-def TV and was amazed at the piture quality after only operating the camera for a few minutes out of the box.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

Easy setup. I already have software so did not need to install the bundled software (sony vegas pro 8).I upgraded from a canon zr 70mc mini dv.
Compared to my mini DV the video quality is phenomenal. I have read many bad comments about the onboard sound but...I don't get the hiss like I did when recording to mini dv tape...so the sound is not horrific. I had reservations concerning video to flash memory sd cards but as long as you are using the most up to date versions of your software and speedy flash cards..you should have no worries. The full hd quality will not play on my computer, but I need to upgrade my video card for full HD...however I can display the 2nd highest settings. The lcd screen is plenty large and it handles like a handgun and fits comfortably in my pocket. It powers up very quickly and records flawlessly.
Had many great comments about its size and look.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I reviewed current opinions and recently purchased the Sanyo HD1000. Took it on a "break-in trip" to Washington D.C. Very compact and easy to use for a right handed person. Video clips were crisp and most features performed as advertised. The user's manuals were written much more clearly than average and actually quite helpful. Took a spare battery and charger but a single battery was generally enough for an average day's shooting. BTW the HD1000 uses a Kodak type battery, cheap and readily available. The auto focus tended to wander and there were other issues with white balance but overall I am very happy with this little camera. Storing the big HD files on a separate hard disk is a clever solution to this problem. The user's manual shows you in the first few pages how to create usable DVD's of the HD clips; clips can be edited directly on the camera if you prefer, so editing software is helpful but not crucial to producing reasonable video. All in all a great little package that produces "big" results.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

A wonderful piece of modern electronic.

I have been using it almost every day cos its smal and batery lifetime is great.

neg: foto quality 4/5

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

This is the best camera I have in my hand since years.I use it for for Video and to shoot still pictures as well.The quality is very good in both mode. Light and small, I can have it ready when needed.Low light is also fine with it and I was amazed with the capacity of the very small flash on top of it.Try it, I believe you'll be happy with it ;-)[@]

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I bought this to keep on me at all times so I could shoot whatever weird/interesting things I stumble across.

I've owned the Aiptek Go-HD before this, not in the same price range but similar form. The Sanyo has a much more solid build, a great lens, battery runtime is 70-90 minutes. Having a manual focus option that's so easy to use is nice, though being able to manually adjust it while filming would be nice. The macro mode on this camera is great, I've shot a number of insect shots that look stunning.

The sound is a little flimsy. It's not bad, but it would be nice to have some control over levels, or at least a level meter.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I was getting tired of lugging around my D70 and lenses when all I wanted were snapshots and was thinking of buying a compact digital. A friend suggested I get a video camera instead. His logic was that all of them take decent snapshots and great video and are much more portable than a DSLR. He was not wrong.

I have been taking video of EVERYTHING and loving every minute of it. I feel like video captures an event better than a still camera can and my poor D70 hasn't come out of the bag in months.


The good:

Video quality is excellent. I have left it on 720p60fps to keep the videos manageable. The 1080i stuff will not play on either of my PCs.

Still pictures are perfect for the web. You couldn't blow them up to poster size but that is not an issue for me. All of my stuff goes on the web anyway.

It is so easy to use, I haven't even read the book yet.

I have yet to drain the battery. I bought 2 4gb cards and can fill them both before the battery quits.

I have dropped it twice (on wood floor both times) and it hasn't skipped a beat.


The bad:

I only have one real complaint. I purchased a UV filter for it to protect the front element and the lens cap pops off too easily from the filter. I realize this isn't Sanyo's fault but it is something to be conscious of. Without the filter on, the lens cap stays put when it moves in and out of my pocket.

This being my first camcorder I was not sure what to think about the sound quality. It is not all that great but it is noticeably better than older tape based machines that I have played with.


Final thoughts:

This is a perfect go-anywhere camcorder.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I bought this to throw in my backpack so I can always have something on had to record still or moving pictures and so far, this little gem hasn't let me down. Quality of the images coming from such a small camera are pretty remarkable. Plenty of settings to play with, pretty good battery life, and a very handy charging base.

The downside is relatively minor. Audio is just OK and the manual focus requires use of the joystick which takes some getting used to. Zoom control is a little bit awkward in its location. Some compatibility issues with highest resolution recording and my Mac.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

What a beauty toy, its just so simple to operate, its almost capture what you seen real life. The battery is well long lasted. except for digital camera shoot isn't that great

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I do wildlife documentaries and the Sanyo HD 1000 is able to fit into places my big camera can't go. It ilso great for day-to-day fun shooting. Video is amazing.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

My trusty S45 have been a real workhorse as a companion but is really showing its age and my Sony TRV19 haven't seen much action after the first year of use due to the hazzle with tapes, transfer to computer and it's becoming old as well. So how do I replace both of these without too steep a cost? Yep, the Xacti HD1000. My mainstay today is a Nikon D200 but sometimes you just need a small package to bring along just in case. The Xacti is always with me, it's unobtrusive yet delivers high quality video and stills. Furthermore, the Xacti HD1000 is perfect if broadcasting on YouTube or Vimeo is a parameter. Of course it won't deliver at the same level as a Canon G9 or a Canon HV30, but it's always there to capture the one that would have slipped away.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

it's compact and it shoots in real hd. easy to use.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I am very satisfied with this camcorder. the menus and other operations are very easy. very good video quality for such a small SDHC camcorder.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

Have had this camera less than one month so cannot yet speak much to its filming quality; but can give early impressions of ergonomics and design.

Previously, I had a JVC mini-DV camcorder, GR-DVM 70 which acts as my comparison. I wanted another small enough HD video camera so it would be easy to carry anywhere and this one is. Sometimes, it feels a bit too small since the butt of the handle comes to rest in the upper 2/3rds of the hand (and I have small hands)and doesn't always feel securely held...I always use the safety strap fearing it will fall one day. I think it would be useful to have a handle extender come with the kit that could be screwed into the tripod mount making the handle a bit longer if one desired. I also find the lack of a viewfinder not to my liking. The JVC had one and I always preferred to use the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen to see what I was shooting; it allowed for steadier hand-held shooting that way since a solid support could be made for the camera braced between hands and face; also uses less battery life that way since the LCD screen isn't always on. I find the picture v. filming buttons two close and have on several occasions taken a picture when wanting to activate filming. I wish the base charger that came with the camera could charge the additional battery I bought but it won't and apparently requires purchasing an additional charging base. I wish it would have a protective diaphragm built into the lens rather than a lens cap...bit of a hassle and one more thing to keep track of when shooting. The camera is very light which is nice, but also accomplishes this by use of much plastic so feels a bit flimsy; I wonder what would happen if left in direct sunlight too long...would it warp/distort the body shape and possibly ruin the camcorder?

The playback video on the LCD seems good but the sound quality is mediocre.

I really like that it uses an SD card which you can just pop out and put in a computer card reader...mini-DV tapes were always a hassle.

Overall, so far, though not all that I would have dreamt for ergonomically or design wise, I think for what it is, an HD camcorder that is small enough to tote anywhere, I am happy enough with it for now.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

This is an absolutely superb camcorder! I researched for months to find the perfect camcorder for my needs. I recently had a baby and I wanted to capture all those wonderful moments. I had purchased several camcorders recently only to return them because their poor functionality and resolution. The two that I did buy can be found here and are among the most popular brands. I never would have thought I would have bought a Sanyo but when I read the reviews, specs, and saw online footage I was sold. I knew this was the camera for me.

First and foremost, I am a pro photographer and I needed a camcorder that had nice optics for great resolution and, very importantly, great low light ability. This completely fits the bill. With it's f1.8, 10x magnification, 1/2 inch CMOS chip with 4mp resolution, and ability to shoot 60 frames per second (twice as many frames as all the other consumer brands on the market) meant that this camera would have great resolution and handle low light situations superbly. I, in fact, didn't buy this because of its ability to shoot HD but its 1.8 aperture and 1/2 inch CMOS chip (biggest among all consumer camcorders) . I knew that I would spend alot of time indoors, since I have a new born baby. As long as you have one light source (like table lamp) you end of seeing very little grain or artifacts in the darkest shadows. I am very, very pleased. In addition, I was very surprised by how good it's sound is.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I recently bought this video camera as I didn't want to go with the current trend of camcorders that tout 1920x1080 but are actually 1440x1080 anamorphically squashed recording (pixel aspect is 1.33). I also wanted a video camera that used SD cards rather than tape or built in hard drives. SD makes getting the file onto the computer the easiest it's ever been. I have an MP3 player that accepts SD and I use it to connect to my PC to move the files over. No more capturing from tape. One of the greatest features of this video camera is the ability to connect a small portable hard drive to transfer your videos over to. Think about it... you only need one SD card, say 16gb, and an inexpensive portal hard drive (80 gb are as low as $60). Then, when the card gets full you simply dump the video files to the hard drive, erase the card, and continue recording all over again! It's a cheap and effective way to increase your available recording time while traveling rather than buying a bunch of pricey SD cards.

The HD1000 is simple to use and produces great results. Don't be mistaken - you are NOT going to get video that looks like what you see on HD broadcasts. Those cameras used for broadcast cost $7500 and higher. You will however have great video that looks better than anything you've ever seen on the prior generation of DV cams. And while some of the 1440x1080 cams may produce more impressive video the other features of this cam make it extremely worthwhile. I've found the indoor lighting footage to be much better than my older Canon DV cam. The sensor in this cam is fairly big at 1/2.5". But even better, I've found if indoor shooting looks too dark you can create a shortcut operation assigned to the joystick to increase exposure value. You simply increase the exposure value (EV) by pushing the joystick to the right. I went from somewhat dark indoor footage to excellent looking indoor footage.

Editing the footage was simple and easy with the trial version of Vegas Pro 8 I downloaded. You can even re-encode back to the same MP4 format. But even cooler is the camera's function to do simple edits IN CAMERA with no quality loss. You can cut and join clips with no quality loss which is an invaluable feature. The HD1000 has a cold accessory shoe and a microphone in jack. With an external microphone you can adjust the input gain sensitivity which is great to avoid clipping when recording loud sources like a concert. It's also super small an light - so small you can fit it in your jacket pocket.

The HD1000 can have a harder time focusing in some low light situations but it's tolerable and you can use a type of manual focus by selecting the targets range. The camera functionality on this camera is great. I've recently changed over to taking all my pictures in 16:9 since I prefer viewing pictures on our 52" Samsung LCD and this camera will take 3.5 megapixel images in 16:9, even higher in 4:3. The images look fantastic. They won't rival a higher end digital camera but they look excellent for a dual function video camera.

As a last note - the MP4 files this camera records video as WILL play perfectly fine in a PS3 or XBOX 360 as both support AVC. For the PS3 you just need to make sure you put the video files in a folder called VIDEO or they will not show up. Again - create a folder on your SD card or USB stick (whatever you're using) called VIDEO and put your .MP4's in there. Beware of sample video clips on the net cause the 1080 interlaced footage looks so much better on an LCD TV than it will on a computer screen at lower resolution than 1920x1080. Also, a lot of the clips on the net are re-encoded to DivX and whatnot so there is some quality loss.

I highly recommend this camera if good video & picture quality, portability, ease of file transfer, or fast motion recording is important to you.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

I recently bought this video camera as I didn't want to go with the current trend of camcorders that tout 1920x1080 but are actually 1440x1080 anamorphically squashed recording (pixel aspect is 1.33). I also wanted a video camera that used SD cards rather than tape or built in hard drives. SD makes getting the file onto the computer the easiest it's ever been. I have an MP3 player that accepts SD and I use it to connect to my PC to move the files over. No more capturing from tape. One of the greatest features of this video camera is the ability to connect a small portable hard drive to transfer your videos over to. Think about it... you only need one SD card, say 16gb, and an inexpensive portal hard drive (80 gb are as low as $60). Then, when the card gets full you simply dump the video files to the hard drive, erase the card, and continue recording all over again! It's a cheap and effective way to increase your available recording time while traveling rather than buying a bunch of pricey SD cards.

The HD1000 is simple to use and produces great results. Don't be mistaken - you are NOT going to get video that looks like what you see on HD broadcasts. Those cameras used for broadcast cost $7500 and higher. You will however have great video that looks better than anything you've ever seen on the prior generation of DV cams. And while some of the 1440x1080 cams may produce more impressive video the other features of this cam make it extremely worthwhile. I've found the indoor lighting footage to be much better than my older Canon DV cam. The sensor in this cam is fairly big at 1/2.5". But even better, I've found if indoor shooting looks too dark you can create a shortcut operation assigned to the joystick to increase exposure value. You simply increase the exposure value (EV) by pushing the joystick to the right. I went from somewhat dark indoor footage to excellent looking indoor footage.

Editing the footage was simple and easy with the trial version of Vegas Pro 8 I downloaded. You can even re-encode back to the same MP4 format. But even cooler is the camera's function to do simple edits IN CAMERA with no quality loss. You can cut and join clips with no quality loss which is an invaluable feature. The HD1000 has a cold accessory shoe and a microphone in jack. With an external microphone you can adjust the input gain sensitivity which is great to avoid clipping when recording loud sources like a concert. It's also super small an light - so small you can fit it in your jacket pocket.

The HD1000 can have a harder time focusing in some low light situations but it's tolerable and you can use a type of manual focus by selecting the targets range. The camera functionality on this camera is great. I've recently changed over to taking all my pictures in 16:9 since I prefer viewing pictures on our 52" Samsung LCD and this camera will take 3.5 megapixel images in 16:9, even higher in 4:3. The images look fantastic. They won't rival a higher end digital camera but they look excellent for a dual function video camera.

As a last note - the MP4 files this camera records video as WILL play perfectly fine in a PS3 or XBOX 360 as both support AVC. For the PS3 you just need to make sure you put the video files in a folder called VIDEO or they will not show up. Again - create a folder on your SD card or USB stick (whatever you're using) called VIDEO and put your .MP4's in there. Beware of sample video clips on the net cause the 1080 interlaced footage looks so much better on an LCD TV than it will on a computer screen at lower resolution than 1920x1080. Also, a lot of the clips on the net are re-encoded to DivX and whatnot so there is some quality loss.

I highly recommend this camera if good video & picture quality, portability, ease of file transfer, or fast motion recording is important to you.

Comments about Sanyo Xacti HD1000 HD Camcorder (Black):

This is a great camcorder despite lackluster reviews on thenet on various sites. Being a user of high-end hi-defcamcorders, I'm very familiar with the performance ofvarious HD cameras and the differing file formats.~~If you're in the market for a hi-def camcorder thatrecords onto removable media and is wondering how goodthis Xacti HD1000 is- read on.The Xacti records high-def footage in the AVC/Mpeg-4 formatonto SD and SDHC cards. A great benefit of using theAVC/Mpeg4 format is the very small file sizes in comparisonto the quality of the footage captured- it's a highlyefficient compression standard. Another BIG bonus of usingthis compression and not using the newer AVCHD codec manyother cameras are using, is the ability to edit the footageusing video editing software on both Mac's & PC's!The Xacti records up to 1080i but it's most amazing capturemode is 720P60 which records true progressive images at 60frames per second! The motion is silky smooth and perfectfor fast motion. The video is very sharp and colors arerepresented faithfully. Its quality is just under good HDVcameras at a fraction of the cost or hassle. The auto-focusworks very well but can hunt in low contrast situations.The Xacti has a mic input which is great for pro/semi-proapplications. It's low light capabilities are average, butin bright light it's great keeping highlights in check. Theincluded dock works as a charger & card reader and can evencopy files to a tethered USB drive without a computer ifdesired.This camera shines when placed on a tripod and shot usingthe 720P60 mode- the results are stunning!

Expertise: Prosumer HD enthusiast

Problems Encountered: The negative aspects are it's lack of a manual focus ringand somewhat less effective image stabilization. There is amanual focus mode but it's executed in the menus and has tobe adjusted via the small toggle stick which isn't ideal.There is no image information such as histogram oroverexposure warnings, so ideal manual adjustments have tobe made based on the LCD screen.The Canon HG10 and Sony CX7 are it's closest competitors butuse the AVCHD codec which isn't supported in desktop videoediting applications natively. The HG10 is considered thebest of the direct to disk HD camcorders but has atraditional look and feel to it- whereas the Xacti HD1000has a more futuristic look and will likely be touted aroundfor everyday use.

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: Sony FX1, Sony FX7, Canon XH A1, Aiptek Go-HD, Canon HV10 etc...

Items I Recommend: Spare battery, 8GB SDHC card and 40.5mm UV Haze filter