Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black)

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

Being in the television/film business since I was 16 I was amazed at the quality and ease of use of this camera design. I added a camera stabilizer and any issues of its light weight were minimalized. I will be shooting some lower end shorts for web and cable distribution.
Just hope to find the right program that will playback smoothly on my Windows XP.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I purchased this camera for [@] vs. a Sony GPS version or Canon Vixia to make gadget reviews and interviews outside. I had to return the first 2 because the lens cap didn't stay on and first lens was fuzzy. The 3rd one was excellent. Couple of notes, the clarity of 1080p 60fps is excellent and don't believe the imovie video setting is the answer. I shoot at 1080p 60fps than edit in imovie so really a worthless size unless you are trying to save room on memory card or happy with lower resolution. I purchased a Delkin 32GB class 6 and a bunch of external microphones. The cold shoe is handy and purchased the Azden boom (not great), Sennheiser MKE400 (just ok) and an Audio Technica Pro 88W (coming soon). Overall, the camera is working great, the onboard microphone is clear [...] Otherwise pleased and all new reviews will be shot on this. Feel free to ask me questions, researched this to no end.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

Just out of the box, the lens cap did not stay on and kept falling off. I fixed it by sticking in a piece of a toothpick into the plastic spring in the cap, expanding it a bit. Works well now, but still this detail should be embarrassing for the manufacturer.

The overall impression of the camera is reasonably good, it is rather easy to use. However:
- The image stabilizer is almost non-existent.
- Photo performance is below even a low-budget digital camera. Also I tried using aperture priority, and the shots came out hugely over-exposed. Keep using the program mode when I have to make a shot with it.
- The LCD image is barely visible in bright sun, even though I cranked up its brightness to max.
- I wish the wide angle of the lens was wider.
- The slow zoom is a little too fast.

On the positive note, the camera is handy to grip, the battery lasts well over 2 hours, and the camera is small enough for me to carry on most occasions. If I were to choose a camera again, I would still buy this one, just because all others that I have seen on the market are no better fit for my needs.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I bought this video-camera because I need something compact & very simple to use. I have a Canon Vixia HV30, which I love; it has a great quality, but when it's time to chase my 2 year old son; it is to bulky, the manual settings are hard to access, sometimes a little to complicated, and I run out of tape and battery to soon, and to often. The Xacti camcorder has a great size, and is not intrusive at all. I started to use this camera in automatic mode, and I was a little disappointed with the image quality. But as soon I figured out all the manual options and the short cuts, I was thrill with the quality. It is very simple to use and understand the menus. The white balance is very easy to access, so easy that I carry with me a grey card and I white balance every time the light changes without any problem. I got with the camera a 16GB SD card, which last as much as a full change battery (about 90min). I love the SD card. As soon as I'm ready to edit in iMovies, I just insert the card in my Mac Pro, I copy the files to my hard disk and I'm ready to go. The 60fps creates a beautiful smooth slow motion with the right light, something that you only get in the high end cameras. Even the microphone does a great job capturing clear sound. But if this is not enough, you can connect a external microphone, and head set to capture better sound.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I have owned 8 video camera's over a span of 22 year. This camera has a great HD video picture, does well indoors with a led light, edits great in I Movie. I have had good luck with the battery. The camera feels good in you hand, but does take some practice to keep it steady. Some people think this camera is complicated To operate ,It's Not!!!!! The camera takes great still pictures at it's top setting. Overall this camera is a joy to use.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I bought the HD2000 to use with IMovie and Final Cut Express. So far they seem to like each other. I love the docking station, very handy at my work desk, but can understand how the lack of docking capabilities straight from the camera might be a problem in the field. The cameras controls are very ergonomic and intuitive. The image stabilizer isn't perfect but that isn't a priority to me.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

The product works as advertised. Love it!

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

This little camera seems to have a boat load of features for such a small package. I love the ability to shove in a 32 GB SD card and shoot lots of video(HD with i or p and regular). I am a Macintosh user so to just pull the card and plug into the SD slot on the side of the new Macs or through a USB adapter for those without is great. You open iMovie and it is JUST THERE!!!! Couldn't be any easier... no conversion as it is already in the iFrame format. I plan to explore some of the 60 frame/sec 1080p stuff soon.... I added a shotgun mic/shock mount, tripod with casters for dolly shots, etc., 3 of the SD cards some extra batteries and a separate charger and I'm in HOG HEAVEN!!!! I do mostly video but the Hi Res still capability is nice...

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I wanted a camcorder that recorded video in HD, took quality still photos and was completely compatible with my new iMac. I plan to use it as my go to camera for both stills and video. I have already done a video inventory of my household possessions and plan to use it to convert some old 8mm film to a digital format for preservation. I like everything about the camera especially the price.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I use this product primarily as a way to capture footage of my 3 small children. I love the compact size, the adjustable view screen, and the trigger style of handle. I do have a hard time with the point and shoot camera features. I find that many of my pictures come out blurry and when flipping to the quick flash you loose the automatic camera stability or anti-shake. Great grab and go camera for a busy family. My favorite - i-movie compatibility. This is great to use with my macbook - easy doc and loads instantly straight into any of the apple programs!

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I wanted to love this camera, but after 2 weeks of using it I have mixed feelings about it.

I bought this camera to carry around and get spontaneous video of my 2 year old. In good light the camera is great. The face chaser feature works surprisingly well, and the 1080 60i/p video is beautiful. The camera has a surprising amount of manual control.

In average to low room light the autofocus hunts. I expect a little of this on a camera in this price range. However, I did not expect the lens to perform so poorly when it is wide open. Wide open the lens goes from sharp in the center to coke bottle blurry at the edges. It is possible that my camera is defective, but I have a feeling that this is how they all are.

Overall I like this camera but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who isn't an experienced shooter. You need to use the manual focus and the AF lock too much. The face chaser feature tracks moving subjects nicely, but the AF can't keep up. The image stabilization on this camera is a joke, but the pistol grip form factor is pretty easy to hold steady at low magnification.

In a nutshell the Xacti HD2000 has nice features, and a great picture in average to good light. In low light the camera is unusable in my opinion. I would spend the extra money and get the Canon or the Sony if I were doing this again.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

Of all the HD 1080p camcorders out there, this Sanyo one is priced good!. Sanyo is not as known, but for the price and all the options it is pacted with it is a real value. I highly recommend it, the camera is small and handy and easy to navigate and operate. Dual Camera! two in one, so u dont have to carry a separte camera for still pics..we carry this everywhere we go to capture our baby's moment. freeze any part of the video and make it into a picture! quality of video on my 1080p TV is amazing, basically like blu ray quality.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I am using it for documentry about sports and we shoot in 60p.
I love everything about this camera except image stabilization, but since we use tripods and Glidecams it doesn't matter.
For home use, shooting my daughter playing with her pets is not easy to get nice handheld shots, very shaky because this camera weights nothing and stabilization doesn't work.

Picture quality in full HD is superb, just have to convert to Apple Pro res in order to edit in Final Cut.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

Great pictures and capable of high definition in both video and still photos. With a large capacity SD card, you don't have to worry about storage space.
Easy to carry around, easy to use, the pistol grip makes it very handy. All the control buttons are easy to access.
You have to try it to believe it.

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

I have been shooting with film for quite some time now and decided that for my new baby boy we should get something we can share with family easily.

This camera offers the best set of features for price and usability.

Things to like about it:
Solid state memory (In a usable format.)
10X Zoom.
Threads for lens adapters.
Reasonable battery life.
Usable video formats.

Things I don't like about it:
The actual focal length, 10x is good but I need wide angle (this is where lens adapters come in.)
It's too light, Small is good but weight equals stability... I added some via the tripod mount.
Not enough menu options, If there is a setting that can be changed I will use it!
Zoom only has slow and fast and slow is not slow enough.

With all that said this is a great little camera that a person can use to make nice home videos.

Notes for newbies:

Image stabilization is in the camera holder not the camera, Learn to tuck in tight and breathe smooth or use a tripod. Some times you want to go from a smooth shot to a rough one and no camera will be smart enough to do that.

If it does not work right away change something and try again. Learning to shoot before you need to capture a memory is much better than learning while trying to capture.

Most of all never set your camera down!

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

excellent, especially for the money. bought because of a pro video magazine review that noted it records down to 3 lux light, the similar low light cameras from canon and sony are much more money. this is small, with amazing amount of configurability. photos great, video excellent, easy to use, love the shape much more than the traditional "loaf of bread" shape camcorders. i owned the earlier model from 3 years back and this is a major improvement too....

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

Ok, I needed a second camera to cut with the Panasonic hmc150. For many situations I shoot in 720p 60. This camera doesn't shoot in 720p 60 but does shoot in 1080p 60. I haven't found a great way to process the .mp4 files directly, what I do instead is output from the camera directly through hdmi to a matrox I/O box, setting the hdmi output to 720p 60. I import into final cut pro as prores.
It's a little hard to white balance well though. Sometimes the color is just not what I want (a bit oversaturated under some conditions).
Also, there are other things that need workarounds like the lack of manual controls. What I do for exposure adjustments is leave the camera on auto exposure (shutter priority) and then set up a "shortcut" on the joystick for ae lock. It's a workaround and those situations can come up often so it is a little clunky for the videographer who is used to shooting on a camera with total manual control.
For me, it's really come in handy and is a great backup camera!

Comments about Sanyo VPC-HD2000 Xacti Dual Camera (Black):

-easy to use
-works good with a mac
-2 hours battery life
-good price