Sanyo Xacti HD1010 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i/1080p

Great camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a great camera. Exceptional functionality. Easy to use. Wonderful quality. The only problem I’ve had with this camera is the image stabilization — it’s *ok* but not as good as the image stabilization on my other (cheaper) camera. Other than this minor complaint, I’m extremely happy with my choice of this camera.

Camera may be great, but over 200 pages of operating instructions?!
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
First off, I did not use the camera after purchase, so I can’t comment as to whether it is a good camcorder. Why did I send right back after opening the box? Because the instruction manual is over 200 pages!! I thought the idea of the Xacti was to be a simple and easy to use pocket size camcorder. This is a case of the camera owner working for the camera, instead of the camera working for you.

I did end up buying a Sony HDR-CX100. Its’ manual is 47 pages, with actually only about half being devoted to how to use the camera. It also has an EASY mode which automatically sets the camera to the best HD settings. This way I can actually focus on taking videos. Please understand that I am not trying to bash Sanyo or hype Sony.

HD in a Handheld Camera and More
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased the Sanyo HD1010 from Amazon last month and have used it frequently in that time to justify a review.

I love this camera and highly recommend it to anyone that wants a quality HD camcorder and a quality 4 MP still camera (up to 8 MP actually) all-in-one. I buy a new digital camera every year because quite frankly none of them have everything that I wanted in one camera. I have the Flip Camera (which I did like and did recommend in its day), Aiptek A-HD, etc. Now that I have the Sanyo HD1010, my camera shopping days are over.

Here is what I love about the Sanyo HD1010:

-HD resolution with 8 different resolutions and frames/fields per second to select from including the super fun high speed mode of 300 fps.

-Quality still camera with several resolutions to select from up to 8 MP. You can also select widescreen modes.

-Ability to seamlessly snap pictures while recording video.

-Great video quality.

-Great audio quality.

-Ability to edit (cut/join) video clips within the camera.

-Big viewing screen that rotates over 270 degrees.

-Easy to understand buttons and ability to assign defined commands of your choosing to the toggle button.

-Understandable menus that drive some very deep functionality and control.

-Or you can just use auto mode to take great pictures and video.

-The lens is beautiful – 10X Optical Zoom

-External Microphone input

-Uses SD or SDHC cards

-The native video format (.mp4) is compatible with my LG Blu-ray player so I can just pull the card, put it in a reader, and plug it into my blu-ray player to watch the clips (edited or unedited).

-HDMI output on the docking station

-Battery Life has been as advertised

-Docking station is one of the best that I have ever experienced

-and on and on, this camera is the best I have owned with no compromise on video over stills or vice versa.

On the downside:

-the camera is a little bulky for its small size and won’t fit into a shirt or pants pocket.

-image stabilization is a little shaky especially at high zoom (which is typical for most cameras), so I carry a small tripod with me to help anchor the camera against my chest while I shoot.

I hope this review helps you.

Almost Perfect
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this because I rarely use my expensive video camera to take videos of the kids and instead have thouhsand of pictures. I want both so I bought this little wonder. My wife and I are happy with it but there are a couple of things I wish were different. The biggest is the flash being a manual flip up thing. If you want to take a quick picture you need to think about what light you are in and flip a switch before shooting. The camera will then decide if it needs the flash or not but this is a pain if you are have used an automatic flash for some time. Videos look great and I got a 16gb card which seems to hold a lot of clips and pics and easy to transfer. My wife would also like to hear a “click” sound or noise when taking a picture. I have not figured that one out yet but honestly I have not taken the time to look in depth. So all in all a nice little camera for the $$ that is probably just the start of cameras that “do it all”.

Has it all.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
It delivers everything it promises. Video quality, picture quality, sound quality all are near perfect.

It’s now sold the half price I paid at the time I bought it, and it makes the price also perfect.

Gives the best at this price.

No better deal around for great HD camcorder
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I wasn’t really in the market for a full-blown HD camcorder, but had my eye on one of the new HD pocket camcorders (like the Mino Ultra HD or the Creative Vado). When I saw this camera on Amazon for about $350, I started doing some research. It was about double the price of the pocket camcorders, but is a full-feature camcorder that’s still pretty small… for only $350. Suddenly I was thinking about replacing my Sony miniDV handycam, that wasn’t getting much use anymore (I was sick of transferring tapes to my PC!)

For the low price I was skeptical. The reviews mostly said it’s excellent, with only a few drawbacks… namely, an almost useless image stabilizer and a cheap, plasticy feel. While I agree that the image stabilizer is basically crap, I love almost everything else about the camera. Here are pros and cons:

What I like about it: 1) I love the form factor… the pistol grip is comfortable and makes it easy to manipulate the buttons. I love the size of the thing. They put this quite large lens in a very small form factor… it can easily fit in a jacket or shorts pocket. 2) The battery life seems quite good; it hasn’t been a problem thus far. 3) The image quality of both stills and video are excellent (nice that it takes good stills… and 4mp is sufficient for my use). This is the most important consideration when buying a camera, and it is this camera’s strong-suit. 4) The on-screen menus are very well laid-out, and the camera gives you a LOT of manual settings for still and video shooting. People have complained about the little thumb joystick, but I find it very easy to manipulate. 5) Many have also complained about the materials used for the shell, and while they are not top-quality materials (i.e. metal or a better plastic), as long as you’re just a little careful opening the hot shoe cover, battery compartment, and SD card compartment it should be durable enough. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend dropping it! 6) I LOVE the way each video session is a separate file (like on a digicam). This makes it so much easier to transfer the vids to my PC than it was with my miniDV cam. No excuses for not recording the kids!

The things I don’t like about it are: 1) the external lens cap. I know I paid $350 for it, but it was probably around $600-$800 when it was new. For that price, having an internal, powered lens cap would have been expected, IMO. 2) As I mentioned the image stabilizer is pretty useless. I haven’t turned it off yet for shooting, but I’m planning to do a little side-by-side comparison. If I need to pan or hold the camera very steady (i.e. when zoomed), I use two hands (with the left hand, I steady the camera by holding the outside of the viewscreen). That works pretty well, but there are cameras better-suited for sports and action shots. 3) I’d like to be able to charge it or connect it via USB without using the dock. That’s a little annoying. The plug on the bottom is proprietary, and can only connect to the dock. A card reader takes care of the USB connection issue, but not the charging issue. 4) For shooting the kids, the focal length is too long, so I’ll be buying a wide-angle adaptor soon. 5) It doesn’t have a night vision setting. I had it on my old camera. It’s more of a novelty than anything, but I always thought it was cool. Not a major negative not having this feature, but worth mentioning.

In all, I think it’s a fantastic camcorder, especially for the money. By far the best deal around for a true HD camcorder (and not a cheapo pocket cam). The new model, the HD2000, has 16x zoom (vs. 10x), 8mp stills (vs. 4mp), and the top video res is 1080p at 60fps (vs. 1080i at 60fps or 1080p at 30fps). I go back and forth between 720p at 60fps and 1080p at 30fps… haven’t decided which I prefer yet. I’ve been most impressed with it, and give Sanyo props for putting out a great product. Yes, I was a little hesitant to go with Sanyo at first, but I took a chance for $350, and it paid off (so far, anyway!). The bottom line is that you need to know what you want the camera for (primary use) and then find the best bang for your buck that will do what you need. Definitely do your homework before buying this (or any) camera, but if it will suit your needs the Xacti HD1010 is a great deal.

not good for apple
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
i find it hard to imagine in this day and age that i could buy a camera and then have to fight to get the images or film clips loaded to the computer. yet here it is. i’m having to download programs from the internet to make my computer see the video from this camera. it feels insane. eventually it will work and everything will be fine, but in the mean time, it’s annoying. didn’t sanyo think that the apple computers needed support?

the camera itself is great, easy to use and understand. i’m reticent to take it out in certain situations – i mean it looks like a gun.

works as advertised
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is an excellent consumer or even prosumer grade camcorder. Image quality is great and indoor light image quality is much improved over the first Sanyo HD 1 from 2 years ago. As some have complained about the image stabilization control, it is true to some degree. Walking while shooting will produce nearly as great a shaking image as not using the image stabilization. However, if your standing still and moving the camera in normal, non jarring movements, it will do a good job of stabilizing the image. This too is an improvement over the old HD 1 (which I still own), but I believe it’s one area where Canon has an advantage, using optical instead of digital image stabilization. Sanyo’s advantage for me is in the ergonomics of the design and the price.It comes down to what’s more important to you.Finally, the free Nero editing/DVD/Blu-Ray authoring is very good for editing even 1080p HD footage. It could be more intuitive in its functions, but once you learn it, it’s easy.

Very Handy but has File Format Issues
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Excellent form factor, very handy to us, very good video quality, shoots well in low-light conditions. Getting to play HD files on the PC is a major pain though if you can’t use the accompanying software. You need to “activate” the software but when I went to the Web site, I found that the software has a new version and the activation code didn’t work for the new version.

Pros

1. Excellent form factor, very handy to use.

2. Easy to carry, small and light enough to take around.

3. Adequate battery life.

4. Shoots well even in low light, compared with other digital video cameras I have used.

Cons.

1. The supplied software was out of date. When I went to the Web site to activate the product, found that the software has a new release; could not locate new version.

2. Very painful to play HD files if you don’t use the accompanying software. Took me a month of research to get to play the files on my PC (Windows).People have had issues play HD files on their computer. Strongly recommend going through forums to see if you’re up to the hassle. Based on what I read on various forumns, the issue lies with Sanyo’s implementation of the H.264 codec used for the HD videos.

Update on June 8, 2009: I’ve had this camera for almost a year now and I love it. My laptop has a memory card reader. Transferring videos is a breeze because I don’t have to connect cables. Simply take the card out, copy the videos and put it back into the camera.

Here are some updates on how I got round the problems:

1. I don’t have any problems if I shoot videos in Blog or TV mode. I have problems only when playing HD videos. I can suggest Zoom Player to play the HD ones.

2. I used DVD Flick ([...]) to convert the HD videos onto a DVD. It’s a free tool (runs only on Windows though), simple, stable and easy to use.

Best Camcorder/Camera I have owned
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have had many a camcorder in my day. From VHS to HI-8 to miniDV. One of the best features of this camera is that it is tape-less. Beyond that it record superb HD quality and fits in my hoody pocket. The pictures it takes are good too. Although it is listed as only taking 4mp pics, there is a setting in the camera that lets you take shots up to 8mp.

There is a built in hot shoe for accessories such as an external lapel mic or external light.

It is a small camera so it can be tricky keeping it steady. I recommend a tripod or monopod if you need stability with your video.

I usually downscale the video to a TV quality since I like to edit my video in post production with Premiere Pro. The HD quality is beyond my computer’s ability, but it is nice having that potential.

I recommend this camera to anyone that wants a fully featured, sturdy, hand-held, multi-purposed camera for under $700 bucks. I really like this camera and have been using it for about 1 year now. I take it to concerts, shows and even use it for work interviews.

Great tiny HD camcorder with 2 issues to be aware of
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Overall it’s a great camcorder. Its highlights are: HD, the small size and the use of memory card rather than annoying cassettes.

I am not 100% pleased with it because of the following issues:

1. Weak image stabilization: I don’t know if it’s due to the HD, but the image stabilizer in my previous Sony Mini-DV camera was far better.

2. Problems with editing HD video footage: this is NOT an issue with the camera itself, but rather with my switch to recording HD. Unlike the fully mature editing of Mini-DV, with HD footage I still haven’t found the combination that works. I have already purchased two video editors, and have evaluated 3 others and each of them has its own severe issues.

Still, in spite of these drawbacks I like this camera and have recommended it to my friends.

NICE ! I’ AM very Happy
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
very nice, it works great rite out of the box. Amazon is a amazingly fast w/ the shipment, only took one day. awesome !!!

Very nice!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Got the HD1010 in Fall 08 and am very happy with it. Admittedly I am not a professional and not even a prosumer. However, I take this little sucker to the coast all the time and video my long walks. I even mount it to my bike and video my rides. Have no complaints other than that it was not free. Wonder why CNET has not reviewed the camcorder. They are missing out on a prime toy.

For a compact HD camera this is THE BEST!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I read a ton of reviews and watched a bunch of [...] videos before purchasing. In the past I have used $[...]+ Sony DVD cams as well as a real HD $[...]+ Sony Camera (the thing is was a tank.)

For those trying to compare this to a real $[...] dollar camera that is the size of a peanut butter jar, that just is not fair. For a SLIM camera like this there are so many limitation that Sanyo faces. You WILL lose some image stabilization, and you will notice a TINY bit of choppiness from time to time. However the trade off of course is you do not look like a complete dork/tourist while carrying this around. Its small and easily fits into a cargo pocket. The HD video was smooth/clear/detailed enough SO MUCH so that I DECIDED TO USE THIS TO FILM MY WEDDING RECEPTION!

Up against the Sony it is a real draw. They are both nice. The Sony you are paying for the name and the GPS in my opinion and to some extent the Sony adapts better say when you walk inside to outside. For some people those may be deal breakers but for me (and I am a Sony die hard) I have to say the Sanyo HD1010 is by far the most absolutely amazing camera I have used to date.

I love it – I am a simpleton
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The reviewer “A Edwards” really did a great job on the review. When I read it, it swayed me over to make the purchase and I am not sorry.

Now, I’m not the best video shooter on earth but NONE of my shots so far have been shaky at all. Image stabilization is not an issue for me. I am a simpleton though. I do take basic videos of the kids at the park, driving my car (don’t ask) and chasing the dog around the house.

The images look great on my 52″ Samsung TV and no one gets dizzy or sick. The HD playback is *stunning* and really is the best video recorder I have ever owned. I shot a blair witch simulation and I gotta say that the pores on my face never looked so good. WOW does it get the detail!

Some of you complain that your computer cannot handle playback. I did notice a strange behavior when I used quicktime to playback my videos. It seemed like every 59th frame would skip ahead to frame 65 resulting in a chop every one second. I fixed this by simply playing the videos using a FREE application called VLC. That fixed my problem 100%. Google it and install it. It’s a trusted app. No malware, people.

My only issue is disk space. Seems like 1-2 minutes of full on HD@60fps runs about 200Mb. OUCH! The question is: What really IS deserving of recording at full HD? It’s really a hard question. I mean, I want EVERYTHING I record to be awesome and HD but lets face it, its not worth the disk space. I lowered the resolution to 720@60fps and the size is much smaller with little sacrafice to quality.

My suggestion is: Shoot the wedding at full rez. Shoot the grand canyon at full rez. Shoot your dog running around at 720! Its up to you but even a 1Tb drive will fill quickly (6 mos or less) if you shoot it all at HD.

Not so long ago, I watched my brother-in-law purchase a Panasonic digital SD camera for more than the XACTI and he is hating life! Why? Because they chose a proprietary format to encode so each time he records, he copies to his computer and must decode each file individually to a format his computer can recognize. The XACTI is the opposite and something that was done right from the start. Record, pull the SD card, insert into computer, copy and watch! It’s that simple. No hassles…No strings attached.

If you can afford this gadget, I cannot stress enough how well rounded it is. The only SERIOUS con is that it DOES Look like a gun and casually strolling around town with it will eventually get the attention of the local cops who might front you so be smart and holster this bad boy when in public.

I “think” i really like this camera…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I read through all the reviews up here on amazon about the hd1000 before i bought this camera. The extra money was a small concern, but it is the 1080p that sold me.

I do videos occasionally as a hobby to pay for my habit, and I was also a professional sports photographer for several years. I have a Sony HDR-FX1 for when i want really good footage. This camera is for convenience & Travel.

I ‘m going on a big trip to the greek isles and the size/features makes this camera seem perfect for the trip. I bought a few extras (Wide angle Lens, Hoya Filter) My goal is to film greece on foot. w/out having to haul a tripod and a camera i’d die if lost/stolen.

Some of the reviews i’d read on the HD1000 had concerned us about size (for my wife’s hands) but we found the size to be no problem. We actually were expecting the handle to be longer. It doesn’t extend through your palm like a gun grip.

Wasted my day at work doing tests. The picture is wonderful! Sharp, clear, and the color seems spot on. One weird thing is when i place it in the docking station and play it on my HDTV all the settings play fine except the audio falls out of sync on 1080p (my tv’s highest is 1080i). This is annoying as i want to shoot in 1080p on my trip.

Test the image stabilization, and this is where I start to have problems. When zoomed out it’s fine. When zoomed in the CMOS (wiggle) starts to give me headaches on my 50 inch tv. So i turn the IS off and the slightest camera shake that my hand/arm do is very difficult to keep out of any telephoto shot. I don’t have the steadiest hand, but i’m only 30 so not an old man either. Shake isn’t too bad on a wide angle shot & when the W/Angle lens is on you’d have to look hard to see it.

This has me a little worried as i will be mostly on foot, wandering down cobble stone streets of greece. I just don’t want to come home and not be a fan of watching all the beautiful footage i expect to get.

I find myself really wanting to love this camera. I really do. The editing feature is nice. Love the thumb stick. Stable footage is un matched in its price point. With the form factor, i don’t have a hard time tracking someone without staring hard at the screen.. it’s more natural.

I’m not thinking of sending the camera back or anything, just disappointed that Sanyo didn’t include OPTICAL STABILIZATION! I just know they will release a camera this holiday with one. I might cry if that happens.

I’m hoping i’m just worrying too much and i’ll be able to come back up here in 4 weeks and rave, rave, rave!

I hope this is helpful for people who fell in love with this camera online, as i did.

Good
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Hello,

good device with good quality. Shipping more than 8 workdays was a little bit long.

Very good is the power adaptor – also usable in Europe. You must only change one cable.

Mikey Likes It !
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Wanted to purchase a new, small HD video/photo camera for our main video and back up photo camera. Checked many reviews at Amazon, very helpfull. Checked prices at other retailers, Amazon was a hit ! First use was a vacation to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedoma, etc….. This product was the icing on the cake. I have spent

a lot of money at Amazon and have never been disapointed. Great Job Amazon !

Pull the trigger, pull the trigger…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
While I was editing some 20 year old VHS tapes to DVD I was thinking how great it was to have someone that a video cam to capture these old family moments and look back at them, hence my search for a video camera.

Thinking a “standard” video cam just didn’t make sense in this digital world,I purchased this camera thinking format forward and seeing I have a high def tv and all I decided to give it a try.

Boy was I supprised… The picture is clearer than I could have imagined, operation of shooting videos is a snap ( just a second or two from opening the screen up ) and editing is well…. slow but good let me explain….

First of all the files are HUGE and editing them will take a somewhat fast computer ( dual core or faster )if you dont want to wait a week for the videos to transcode and burn to AVCD for the best picture. What I do like is that each time you record and stop it starts new folder that makes editing easier( just remember I just edited a VHS tape and had to fast forward, rewind, etc. )

The shaking that some have talked about is a issue with all small cameras although I can’t imagine all antishake modes are as bad as this one…. I will just have to have a more steady hand, post, monopod… whatever, but I DO like the “pistol grip” design.

For the price I don’t think you can go wrong for a entry level Hi Def camera for saving those family memories,

Very well put together unit!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have been researching for weeks for a HD portable camera. I went to local B&M stores such as Best Buy and Frys Electronics to get a feel for the different cameras. I decided on the Xacti HD1010. First, I was really skeptical about the HD claim of the device. I do some video editing so I decided to try it out. I used only the 1080p(30) mode. The video quality is quite stunning when looking at a 50 inch HD Sony display. There are some minor hoops that you have to go through when importing to Premiere elements or Premiere Pro since the MP4 format from Sanyo is not compatible. There are may articles online explaining how to convert to AVI then importing to Premiere. You can do editing on the camera itself but I have not tried it yet. With regards to image stabilization, I do not find any thing different or odd about this camera compared to other cameras, you need to have steady hands or use a tripod and that would solve most of the image shakiness. Overall, I am very satisfied with this camera. I bought this camera for the portability, image quality, and the best bang for the bucks. You cannot simply ask for more in the $300 dollars range.

Great picture quality, ease of use and convenience.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great video and at a very convenient size. I love the fact it records to SDHC making this very easy to manipulate your video.

The only negative I have: You can only change the video settings while the recording is stopped. In other words, you cannot change any of the video settings while you are recording. The only thing you can change is zoom level. This is something that Sanyo MUST change in the next release.

camera is basically useless
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I really hate to say this but even after all of the amazing features this camcorder has, the image stabalization makes it totally useless, you can use a tripod but that really defeats the purpose of a small camera. It takes fair stills but if you cannot get good video you might as well get a dedicated point and shoot digital, I bought 2 of these one for a gift and the other for me and the other was the vpc fh1 just the same camera upgraded and it was the same totally useless image stabalization. this camera just serves no purpose until they address that one issue’ unfortunately it is an issue that makes it pretty much useless.

Decent Deal, Decent picture, Great price.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The prior reviews have pretty much said everything there is to say, my take is this. Great features, so-so low light performance, good battery life and good picture overall. The only thing you should be aware of is that IS is software, not optical, so you’ll have mixed results, although with careful filming you will be fine.

I wish there was a built-in LED camera light for low light filming, as in very low light the camera is a bit grainy, but overall, for most applications, this is the camera to buy for the price. I purchased for 350USD a few weeks ago and have been happy with the performance in most applications. The still camera isn’t bad either. 4MP with flash and red eye reduction makes this an easy camera to take with you almost anywhere. Don’t compare this camera with a higher end HD camcorder. Think of it as the equivalence of a point and shoot camera compared to a DSLR camera. You sacrifice some features and quality for portability, but for the price and most uses, this camera offers a lot of bang for the buck. 1080P recording at 30FPS, 720P @60 FPS or a few other options such as 300FPS slo mo mode at less than VGA res makes this camera a mainstream memory maker at a great price.

If you’re willing to accept the shortcomings, for the price this camera will impress you with it’s features and versatility.

***UPDATE 18 OCT 2009***

Upon using this camera there are two annoyances.

I’m a tall guy and have very large hands. I end up holding his camera with one finger tucked under the base just to make my hands fit.

Also, it’s hard for me to get a smooth, slow zoom with the thumb control zoom. I much prefer an index finger actuated zoom control.

All that aside, still a great camera.

GREAT camera for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera and LOVE it. I recently made the switch to Mac b/c I love to do video editing. My current camera (a Panasonic mini-dv) started messing up so I began looking for a new, “Mac-friendly” video camera. I read reviews, looked at cameras in stores, etc. and finally decided on this wonderful little marvel. It is incredibly easy to use. It takes GREAT quality video and pictures. I connected the camera dock and camera to my HDTV and the video quality on there was incredible. I didn’t have an HDMI cable, so I hooked it up with the provided composite cables and the video was incredibly clear and crisp. It has an external mic jack (also comes with an adapter cable), a cold shoe for lights or external mics and writes to SD cards. All you have to do is pop out the card and insert it into your Mac and voila! No need to encode video. It records in M4v format already so all you have to do is import it and it’s ready to go in iMovie. The battery life is good as well. I received the camera a week and a half ago and I’ve only had to re-charge the battery once. I’ve played with it on and off since then so I feel the battery is very decent. I do plan to buy a spare eventually to keep on hand. I also bought a monopod that works great with it, too. With any camera it’s difficult to always keep a steady hand, especially when you are zooming in on something.

Overall, this is an INCREDIBLE camera for the money. I must say, though, it used to be considerably cheaper here on Amazon ($329) and now the price has basically doubled. Not quite sure why. HIGHLY recommended.

A liberating camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This camera is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to shoot Hi-Def video in a pocket sized camera. I professionally shoot wedding videos and I can tell you that the footage from this camera is up to par with my $[...] dollar Panasonic DVX100b. In fact I just used it last weekend as a second camera. Image stabilization is really weak. I suggest a monopod when taking it on vacations. A little practice in hand held stabilization and the footage is fine. For sample footage try the Vimeo website and search for Sanyo Xacti 1010 in the video search. There is a channel on that website for 1010 users http://vimeo.com/XACTI. It’s what helped me make my decision. One thing to point out to Mac users is the 1080p footage is very choppy. I have only been shooting 720 with a 60 shutter. It is only a matter of time however for Mac to make the fix.

Can’t be beat for the price!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
At this price, for full 1080p it cannot be beat! I decided to switch from a still great Sony TRV-33, but was getting tired of the time involved with minidv tape editing.

Also, not using the new AVCHD format is a plus.

The whole image stabilization is overblown, and its more a factor of the mechanics of how you shoot your video using your arms against your body to stabilize the image. Any video with full zoom will be shaky without a tripod or monopod.

Great choice for the money. Free shipping too.

Perfect travel companion
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Excellent Camera and Video recording capabilities. Size is just perfect and with a larger memory it is easy to record more with out the need for changing tapes or DVD.

I have been travelling with it and it is so convinient to use this. Battery life is also very good in the camera.

Great camcorder, excellent quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
A very excellent choice for a pocket camcorder. Expandable memory is great, shooting quality is superb, and there’s tons of resolutions to shoot at. ISO, shutter speed, and other tweaks are also very accessible; the built-in flash is a great addition. There’s also a port for an external mic, so if you want even better quality sound recording (the built-in is perfectly usable) or just more volume, you can use another mic. I’ve had no problems yet, I can set it on the dock and connect it to my computer for use as an excellent webcam, and I’ve already dropped it once with absolutely no marks or damage.

One word of advice, however; although the 1080p (30 fps) and 1080i (60 fps) look absolutely amazing and are huge resolutions, it’s close to impossible to edit the footage on a regular computer. I stick with 720p (30 fps) because it’s still a great size and 30fps is a standard for shooting (some editors will turn 60 fps footage into fast-motion clips). Unless you’re shooting some serious movies, there’s really no reason to go 1080p/i.

99% satisfied
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i bought the xacti specifically for my 2 week vacation in japan… i’m very satisfied with the results…the video and pics are superb… i took 2 batteries…but only needed one for a full day of shooting… i took 2 16gb sd cards and used 80% of both…so…these cards are very adequate for the avg traveller…

i did a lot of filming while walking and the vids were jiggly…so…when i wanted to see something specifically…i’d stop walking and shoot still…this worked great as i’ll be able to edit out a lot of the boring walking parts… while filming in the car…the vids came out much much more stable. i did use the still pic mode too…they turned out great…

the nero that came with the cam is out of date…but…i was lucky that nero 8 came out with a $[...] buck rebate…so…it cost me $[...] bucks to upgrade…i believe nero 9 is out now… i also have a new laptop and it has all the right stuff for hd playback… quicktime doesn’t work…it distorts the vids…

so…i highly recommend the xacti hd1010…bon voyage…

With optical image stab it’s 5 stars
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I used to produce aviation training videos and have used pro and prosumer equipment. My “serious” still camera is a Canon 1Ds SLR. We have two nice P&S digital still cameras.

I have had the Sanyo for about six months and I am truly impressed. Video quality is outstanding. The menu navigation is easy. Manual and scene adjustments are easy to make. It has become the only camera I use.

A huge plus is the still image quality and the ability to choose aspect ratios. Stills are gorgeous. The slo-mo (high speed) capability comes in handy too.

I do echo what other reviewers have said regarding image stabilization. The electronic stab creates juddering video in most cases. I’m resigned to not using it. If it had optical stabilization it would definitely rate 5 stars.

Excellent Value, Great Picture, Easy Editing
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve had the HD1010 for 2 weeks now, I have fiddled with most of the features and used it mainly for filming my kids. I am a Mac user so I can’t tell you about the windows software that comes bundled with it.

This is a very good little camera, its small enough to carry in your pocket (I wear cargo shorts a lot) and it has great start up and ready to shoot times (the time it takes you flip open the screen when in sleep mode, a few seconds more when complete off.

First the bad.

To date (Aug 7, 2008) 1920 x 1080 /60 fps does not work with any software I have on my mac (imovie 08, VLC player, Visualhub video converter). Nothing, it shows a green screen or a static partial video fields with audio. I think this is a codec issue that will work it self out in later releases of the software. I emailed Sanyo tech support 2 days ago and still no reply. I am not impressed with them at all.

All other formats 1920×1080 /30, 1280×720 /60, 1280×720/30, 1280×720 /60, 640 x480 /60, 640×480 / 30, 448×336 /300 < -- yeah thats right 300 FPS!, and 320 x 240 /30 work perfectly on the mac, in quicktime and imovie.

One caveat to iMovie imports, if you use a /60 or the /300 fps resolution it will only import half the clip when importing via the camera option in imovie. A simple work around is to simply copy the movies folder from the camera to my desktop when imovie is not active, then start iMovie and choose file, import movies, and browse to that directory. It works flawlessly.

The LCD screen (maybe its just mine) does seems to favor showing a little more red than what is on your actual video.

Finally I wish Sanyo would put Optical image stabilization rather than the software voodoo they do now. The EIS can make you feel slightly sea sick at times, but is still acceptable if you have a steady hand. I am sure the Sony and Canon image stabilization are superior. Other than that, I have very few complaints about this camera.

Now what’s great!

#1. MPEG4, that’s it no AVCHD to deal with, I can shoot, attach USB, drag to my desktop and go, no waiting for transfers and decompression to intermediate codecs to create huge new files. Literally just shoot n edit (on a mac anyway, I have not tried on a PC, though it does come with windows vista software). If you are a big editor then this camera is perfect, in fact you don’t even need to edit, you can upload the mp4s directly to whatever site you use, vimeo, youtube etc. To me simplicity is worth its weight in gold.

#2. Very good video, I am loving the video off this camera, as with any small digicamcorder it works best outside, but even inside with a bit of light its still acceptable.

Outside though it likes watching the discovery channel. I personally shoot everything 1280×720/60 and I am very happy with the resulting quality. go to vimeo.com and search for HD1010 tagged movies to see what this thing can do, also download the originals from each movie using a link on the bottom right side of the page, bang for the buck this thing does some powerful things.

#2. External Mic and headphones jacks. Yes yes it not XLR but they are there and they work.

#3. Full Cold shoe, pop on a Rode Videomic boom mic and you are ready to shoot decent interviews. The Canons HF10 and 100s have a mini cold shoe, I don’t think the Sony HG 1 has any external support.

#4. Very good build quality, it looks small n cheap but it feels good in your hand. I could do without the 1980s gold trim or the sparkly stuff in the plastic though,

#5. 300 /fps, it shoots 10 second blasts at 300 fps, then converts it into a 50 second slow-mo video, very cool for slowing down stuff. Its not HD resolution but still pretty neat to watch.

#6. Nice accessories, a decent Dock and small remote come with this, keep the doc by your computer and / or your TV for easy hookups, just drop in the camera and press the button. it also comes with a soft case. No HDMI cable though, they do have an HDMI output on the dock.

To me this camera is everything I need to shoot great video of my kids and share with my family. Its small, its HD, its easy to edit on my Mac, its got a few `pro’ features and its reasonably priced. If you have these requirements this camera is perfect.

an electronics device that actually exceeded my expectations
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camcorder exceeded even my highest expectations. I have only had it a little over 24 hours but so far it has been incredible. the interface is very intuitive, the movie quality is, as far as I have seen, unsurpassed in a camcorder this size and price, and is everything its advertised to be (and then some).

Pros:

light weight

intuitive menu system

REALLY good screen

4MP digital camera

full HD camcorder

can take still pictures while making a movie (I love this feature!!!)

the WOW factor, because every-time I pull it out to use everyone around me goes WOW, what kind of camera is that. no one believes me its a HD camcorder!

so light and small it can fit in your car/purse/back-pocket/pez dispenser.

cons:

price – for me this wasnt a issue. I was able to replace my camera and add a HD camcorder for a reasonable amount.

grip – I would like to have seen the grip area be a bit larger. I have found a way to make it ft nicely in my hand, but if the grip was either larger or came with, say, a plastic extender maybe that you could put on the bottom it would be great. I have put the camera in 6 different peoples hands and they all said it felt nice after holding it for a few minutes. You just have to find a way that it is comfy for your hand size.

screen rotation – the one and only thing , if I were the designers of the HD1010 that I would change (and now you’ll see how nitpicky I am being). If the viewing screen would rotate to the front I could hold the camera in front of me, look at the screen and know I’m in focus / in the shot, and make a quickie recording. Sort of a looking at the camera, blair witch kinda shot. It only rotates to the top and bottom, not to the front. just a wishlist thing. thats the absolute worst thing about the camera so far.

Comparing it to all of the complaints of the HD1000, I can say everything that was complained about in the HD1000 has been fixed. Sanyo even admitted that this is not supposed to be a whole new model, only a upgrade to the HD1000. By that I mean all of the autofocus issues I read about with the HD1000 have been resolved. as a matter of fact I couldnt MAKE it have a focusing problem. I’ve tried low light, bright light, moving subjects, even the fan in my living room. everything focused perfectly.

The camera takes great pictures also. They turned out better than any digital camera I have ever used, albeit I have always used more of the personal point and shoot olympus / nikon type. Dark rooms, outdoors, inside with fluorescent bulbs, you name it the pictures have been better than what I expected.

Like I said, I have had 6 other people try using it, from my girlfriend with really small hands to a guy I work with who is 6’7″ and has Andre the giant hands and they have all loved it. I have not told anyone how to use it. Just handed it to them and said ‘I just got a new camera, try it out and see what you think.’ With no instructions everyone has taken both movies, pictures, and had smiles while doing it. Its rare to find something electronic that anyone can use with no instructions given and the HD1010 is something you can use straight out of the box. It really is fun to use.

bottom line, if you are looking at getting a camcorder, this one deserves a close look. I am very picky when it comes to electronics, and I am amazed at what they have done with this camcorder/camera. Everything I expected when I ordered it has been greatly exceeded. Great camera, ease of use, quality of the product overall, and in the end quality of the movies it makes… you cant go wrong.

UPDATE

——-

thanks to everyone who mentioned you can rotate the lens to the front. I was wrong about that, you can! well, that pretty much zero’s out the thing I wanted them to change so, my new complaint is that it doesnt come with Kevin Smith to make better movies with it

Best camera I’ve owned
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve been pleased with this camera (Xacti HD1010) In bright light, picture quality is terrific — much better than any of the several Canon DV cameras I’ve owned. In dim light it’s not as good, but still at least the equal of the older DV cameras. Controls are nicely laid out, so that the camera can be operated with one hand with a minimum of shakiness. There’s a surprisingly long lag (.5 sec?) between starting a video and seeing the display, but you get used to it. The most important missing feature for me is the inability to input composite video; unlike my old DV camera, the Xacti can’t be used to convert analog video to digital format. Oh, well; I knew this going in. I’ve made little use of the still-photo feature so far, but results seem unimpressive. Again, oh well. By leaving out features I don’t absolutely require, this camera does its main job quite well at a reasonable price.

Wow, I love this camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this for $350 on Amazon. For a real HD camera, that is a good deal. Big optics provides great photos, with zoom from wide to x10. The stabilization is not great on long zoom shots, but I have gotten use to holding the camera against a sign post, or something so I can get a steady shot at full zoom. Battery life is good, and a inexpensive 16 GB memory card will provide lots of HD video.

Sure, you could spend $700 to $1,500 on a Sony HD camera, but you would not give it to your 12 year old or wife to have fun with. This HD1010 is the family camera, for sharing. Easy to operate, easy to dock for playing on TV and charging. Even takes still photos while in video mode.

God Bless Sanyo for not using AVCHD
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
A very nice camera indeed, except the stability system everything else works very well. The best feature of this camera is its output format. God bless Sanyo for not using AVCHD — a format requires not only software but also hardware upgrade if you want to watch your video on your PC.

It’s a shame Sanyo doesn’t have a Optical stability system, the EIS just doesn’t work well, otherwise this would be a perfect camcorder.

Extremely handy, but at a price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera because I wanted to be able to record footage in places that were rugged enough to where I’d be challenged to want to bring any video camera at all. Video cameras are such pains many times, with their size and delicateness. Oftentimes if I am going hiking or camping, I am tempted at every turn to leave a video camera behind. So the Xacti seemed to me to be a great camera in that it could fit in a pants pocket. The portability of this camera is excellent, as well as its sturdiness. The large lens lets in plenty of light. The screen is a standard size but good and bright. The only complaint about this camera is the image stabilizer. An optical stabilizer is so much nicer than an electronic one, but an OIS is a large and bulky assembly. And this camera is so light that using the image stabilizer while hand-holding it is a must. And the image quality suffers some because of CMOS jitter. But even so, I found the image quality to be amazingly sharp and detailed. Video cameras are still all about compromises. You can buy an amazing, 3CCD beauty, but it will be completely impractical to carry such a thing on a hiking trip. Or, with some compromises on image quality, you can have a perfectly portable camera like the Xacti, easily toted almost anywhere you’d want to go. And you’ll have an image quality that is, well, good enough, for most any amateur purpose.

Sanyo Xacti HD1010 4M MPEG4 HD Camcorder 10X Opt Zoom
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Easy to use and set up. But the HD video quality is not as clear and vivid color as I expected. I had tried both different camera and video mode with all settings. I purchased this camcorder based on the great reviews this Sanyo Xacti camcorder received…Disappointed, I had to return it.

Question…
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Can anyone tell me how fast is one cycle(actual time between taking 1 pic. and take another) of taking photo w/ xacti hd1010 plz?

Very nice camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am about to go on an over seas vacation, and decided it was time to trade in my old hitachti dz-mv550a in for a newer camcorder.

After using a camcorder with the the mini-DV and DVD-RAM media I was really interested in getting something nice and easy. The Xacti HD1010 fit the bill perfectly!

I decided to go for flash memory for a few reasons, one I like the simplicity of taking the SD card out and popping it in my computer. Because there is not HDD it starts up lightning fast, and is VERY light.

I was a little worried about having enough recording time, but I have three 16GB cards, so all together I am just shy of 10 hours of recording time, this is plenty for me. Plus, while on vacation, I don’t have to lug my laptop around, if I need more memory I can just grab another card.

The video is nice and crisp, and the still shots are nice (8 MP when video is not running, 2 MP if it is). My fried just got the Sony HDR-SR12, don’t get me wrong that is a very nice camera, but mine is smaller and lighter, has the same features (face chaser, etc) and looking and recorded videos I can’t tell a difference. Keep in mind I am not a professional, so if there is some very slight difference in quality, I am OK with that since I want something I can pull out fast, take quick video, and not make a big deal out of it (with the hitatchi it became such an ordeal, I just stopped using it).

My one gripe is not with the Sanya, but rather with Microsoft, media player does not support MP4 format yet, so I had to download a codec, but once I did, I could watch video straight from the SD card with no editing, or fussing around.

All in all a very nice experience, especially for the price!

Almost great, one big flaw…
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera as I had fallen in love with the form factor and the fact that it records on SD cards.

I am a professional camera and Steadicam operator for a prime time network TV series. I was expecting a camera that had good quality, but did not have higher expectations, knowing that it is a sub 1000 dollars camera.

It did surprise me on how well it was built, how the menus were easy, yet highly customizable.

I loved the feel in my hands, the dock, pretty much all about it, including the good (but not fantastic) picture quality, except the image stabilization.

That unfortunately, was unacceptable. I could not get a shot without jerks and shakes that were excessive when played back on my 50″ plasma. Maybe if you watch it on a small tv set, it will be OK, but for me it wasn’t and I had to return it. I was very sad to do so, as I really liked the Camera, maybe in the future they will figure it out…

great everything but stabilizer doesn’t work
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I had been a happy customer of a xacti c40 for more than 2 years, so it was natural for me to look at this camcorder when I looked for a HD/full HD one. The xacti c40 is tiny, stores the data in a SD card, uses MP4 format, supports both video and pictures and it is really easy to use. The new 1010 shares most of the same attributes. Size is not as tiny as the c40 but small enough to manage properly. The quality of the pictures is very good and it also supports the 16:9 format. The video quality is also very good, with several resolutions available and 16:9 format supported. Unfortunately the stabilizer doesn’t work at all. I tried hard with several configurations and adjustments but my comclusion is that it simple doesn’t work, there is no workaround. Viewing movies in a 42′ screen is a headache as images are blurred; maybe you can see them better in a smaller screen but there is no point to have this camera in that case. Sanyo needs to solve it to have a customer ready product. It is a pity and I returned this product and bought the Sony hdr-tg1 instead.

First consumer 1080p camcorder on the market
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Wow, finally a consumer camcorder that shoots 1080p! It is interesting that they released this without fanfare, as this is the first time in history that 1080p is available on an consumer camcorder (that I’m aware of – with exception to the Aiptek A-HD+ which is $149 on Amazon Aiptek A-HD+ 1080P High Definition Camcorder (Silver)

The main differences between this model and the HD1000 is that there is now 1080p (30fps), improved image processing and higher bit-rate on the 1080i (60fps)(14mbps instead of 12mbps) and a 300fps slow-motion mode that works at 448 x 336

Also, Amazon lists the weight incorrectly at 4 pounds. In fact the correct weight is 311g (11 ounces) – making this much lighter than the competition from Canon, Sony and the like..

Right now there are very few reviews on the HD1010 on the net, so I thought posting this might help a few people

Great device!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
For the last few weeks I have been searching for as many reviews as I could on the Sanyo HD 1010 to help me make a decision on which camcorder to purchase. Because I could only base my decision on the 4 reviews that I read here (which did help immensely), I thought I’d share my opinion of this camcorder to help other potential consumers make up their mind.

I should tell you that I am a professional wedding photographer (still images, 14 years) so that you have a reference point of who’s telling you what. I received the Sanyo HD 1010 3 days ago, and had the entire weekend to play around with it.

The quick answer: For my purposes, I love this camcorder. However, this camcorder is not for everyone-you should determine what you plan on using the camera for before deciding to purchase (see below, two paragraphs down).

My wife and I love to travel. I was looking for a camcorder that tooks great video, was portable and took decent still images. The 1010 does just that. I’ve looked at the Canon HF 100 and the Samsung HMX20C and they are also small, but the 1010 just feels smaller to me and more portable. I own a Sony PC9 which was a great camcorder in its day, but it has stayed at home the last five years. (I like to have a camera that I can put on my belt clip or is light enough to dangle from my neck.) The video’s that I’ve used have come from point and shoot cameras that took decent video clips. The image quality (from the point and shoot cameras) is certainly not as good as mini DV, which the PC9 is, but it was always there for the taking. I only recently became interested in shooting better quality video as the size of these new camcorders have come down recently. Understand that I am not replacing my still camera (the Canon G7 is my travel camera) and don’t recommend anyone to replace their still camera with this all in one camcorder. However, the 1010 does take nice stills (a little oversaturated, but quite acceptable). You obviously can only use one camera at a time, so when you are using the 1010 and want to snap a quick photo while you’re shooting video or you stop shooting video, it’s nice to know you can get a decent photo with this camcorder.

The reason this camcorder is not for everyone is the poor image stabilization. If the 1010 had optical image stabilization, it would be hands down perfect! Does this ruin it for me? NO. Most people have a tendency to overuse the zoom lens and pan too quickly. Most of my videos are taken at wide or mid range (travel, scenic footage and family gatherings). When I do pan, I hold the camcorder as steady as possible and SLOWLY pan, almost exaggerated. I do this whether or not the camcorder has image stabilization. You shouldn’t rely on the image stabilization as a crutch. If you use good techniques for average subjects your videos will be fine. I shot 12 minutes of a family birthday party using the techniques I described and my videos were fine, no “motion sickness videos”. However, if plan on buying the 1010 to videotape your young children or children’s sports, I don’t recommend this camera. That’s where a good optical image stabilizer will shine.

Ok, my observations:

* As I said, I love this product. It produces beautiful videos, better than any camcorder I’ve ever owned. I tried all the different quality settings and decided to stick with the 1080i 60fps as my permanent setting. On this setting, I didn’t see any artifacts, or lagging, when panning with image stabilization (IS) off. I really need to do some more comparisons with IS on, but this is my initial impression. I looked at my brother in law’s HI Def Sony with him. He’s a computer/techie expert and we looked together and both agreed on the same things. The 60fps settings on both the 1080i and 720i were better than the 1080p 30fps and 720p 30fps settings. I know everyone makes a big deal about the 1080p setting, but 60fps LOOKS better. It’s smoother. The 1080i and 720i at 60fps are very close in quality on the High Def set, but on my 36 inch Sony, the 720i when panned had some artifacts (don’t know why; didn’t happen on the Hi-def set. I’m sure you techies know). But the reason I’m going to leave it on the highest quality is two reasons: 1.) You should always record at the best setting. You can always down convert, but you can’t upconvert. 2. ) With the software(Nero that comes packaged with the product, I am able to burn a standard DVD taken from 1080i 60fps footage. As others have said, I cannot view the footage at normal speed (views jerky) on my PC(windows XP, laptop, dual core), but I can still burn it un-edited to a DVD which plays beautifully. I don’t have time anyway to edit videos on a PC. What I CAN do, is splice the mpeg 4 clips together in the camera (very easy to do!) and/or edit them in camera, and then burn to the DVD. It’s not Hi-def quality, but it’s DVD quality and still better than any other home video that I have ever produced. I plan on getting a separate USB drive to keep my “albums” in Hi-def and play them back on Hi-def TV, and use the DVD’s as a lower quality (but still good) back up and/or to share with family/friends. FYI, the 12 minutes of footage took roughly 50 minutes to burn. Not bad! I haven’t researched recording on to a Blu-Ray in Hi-def, but even if it’s not till next year, the hi-def footage will be there when I’m ready to.

* I love the size. Not really pocketable as some people claim (a jacket yes, pants, no), but small enough to put on your hip or dangle from your neck (I use a Canon neckstrap made for their Elph camera’s).

* You can “pull” high quality jpegs from your video footage. I was really amazed at how good the images are when you do this! Very clean and smooth.

* The holster case from Sanyo is so-so. It’s ok for a house party or short term use, but the clip is not tight on the belt and there is nothing to prevent the camera from falling out if you snag the case on something or have excessive movement. I bought a UV filter to protect the lens and the lens cap does not fit very snug on the filter. The filter falls off EVERY time I put the camera in the holster. I will look around for an aftermarket case to use instead. I would not use the holster outside of the house.

* The controls/menus, etc, are GREAT. I have never had a camera that navigates so easily and quickly when looking to change settings. This is a big plus and not to be overlooked.

* I use a Transcend 8gb class 6 card and it works fine. Did not seem to take a long time to write the file to the card, but my longest clip was only 3 minutes. Maybe if I shot longer footage, a faster card would make a difference.

* Low light footage is FINE. People have complained about the grain in the low light footage. I don’t have an issue with this. In very, very low light you are going to get grain. Of course! Here’s my experience. I took my family footage at night at a well lit house (lighting from the ceiling, high-caps) and there was no grain. When we went to the dining room for the birthday cake singing, the lights went off, and a single candle lit the room. I had the camera ISO set to AUTO, which appears to me to set the lowest ISO that will take an acceptable video. That’s the way it should be. Anyway, when the lights went off, the video went black for a split second until the ISO adjusted to the candle, and the video had some grain but was fine. It’s not a professional camera. This low light problem that reviewers are complaining about is a non-issue. When the lights went back on, everything shifted back to normal.

* I had no problem with focus hunting. There was very little of it and it was not noticeable. There was one time when the camcorder shifted completely out of focus but only for a split second. It seemed no different from any other camcorder that I’ve owned.

* I’m thinking of getting the wide angle converter (for the travel usage), but don’t really have an issue with the widest angle of view. Yes, I would have loved a 28mm equivalent, but the 38mm is fine.

* Battery life seems fine, not an issue. Again, haven’t used it too much, but I did get two equivalent batteries on Amazon for twenty bucks.

* I find the pistol grip to be quite comfortable and easier to hold than the more common “palmcorders”. Also, I use two hands to hold the camera and keep it steady. I keep my left hand on the LCD screen. This helps steady the camera and keep down the jerkiness when zooming in tight and also panning.

* The flash is pretty good. I was very surprised. However, I found that when I used the flash, it seem to oversaturate the image vs. when I turned the flash off and used natural light.

Conclusion: Great camcorder, great video results. Don’t let the image stabilization issue stop you from buying this product unless your primary purpose is taking video of your young children and sports action.

IS and focus hunting… otherwise GREAT
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a fantastic little camera. The image quality is great, and I love being able to finally record true HD and have them look stellar on my HD TV. I think everybody agrees on what’s right with the camera. I’ll skip that, and go straight to the two glaring problems. Others have pointed them out, and I just have to add my bit.

Focus hunting.

Doesn’t matter what I’m filming. Doesn’t matter what settings I have. The subject will start off in perfect focus and the camera will always dart quickly out of and back into focus. For the life of me, I don’t know how to stop it. If I set the camera on a tripod and film an empty room, there is no hunting. But add ANY movement, and the hunting begins. It is always brief, and it always recovers. But why is it there? My cheap cameras would sometimes lock to something else, and eventually would wander back. But this thing goes -POW- way out of focus and right back in quick blips. I’ve studied the clips and can’t figure out what it is even trying to focus on. Whatever it may be, it never gets there. It isn’t locking to something else. It is just darting out of focus and right back again. Some say they’ve noticed it, and it isn’t annoying. It sure is annoying to me!

Image Stabilization.

Does it really do anything? I can’t tell if it makes the images better or worse… or maybe does nothing at all. There seems to be no way of walking with this camera and then being able to view the results on a TV. Try as you might, there’s just no way of holding the camera still enough. And even bracing myself with elbows locked to my sides, the image still wanders around. Just what does the IS do? And when does it do it? If I use a tripod, the image is great, of course. But even panning on a tripod creates image jiggles that I don’t understand. The sad truth is that I’ve never owned a higher-end cam corder than this one, and I’ve never had one with worse IS.

But you know what? Even with these warts, I’m keeping the thing. If these two items could be solved (seemingly with a firmware upgrade) I’d be down-right giddy about this thing.

My opinion on Sanyo Xacti HD1010
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Sanyo Xacti HD1010 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i/1080p Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

PROS The picture is extremely sharp ! No question about it. Unlike the older version (the HD1000), this model is way more robust, less plastic feel and a strong metallic attach on the flip out LCD screen.

CONS the manual focus is a total joke ! First of all, it is not located on the ring of the lens but on the menu. Even worse, once selected, impossible to actually set up your focus as you are filming !! You would have to stop recording to set your focal length. Extremely frustrating as you get a lot of out of focus as subject filmed are constantly moving.

CONS I havent figured out yet, but footage seems to be jiggering when played back. Maybe has to do with the progressive mode ? Or my poor graphic card on my mac mini ? Or could be the fact that my 42″ Samsung LCD screen doesnt support progressive mode ? Again, i will need to figure this out before complaining.

FINALLY, if i were you guys, i would probably get the canon AVCHD. It has a real focus ring. A tripod (or even a monopod) is a MUST when filming with the tiny Sanyo Xacti.

A steal at $350
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I do have 4 HD cameras including a professional Canon HDV. This camera has a video quality that is just incredible. It is the closest thing to my Canon and I often mix and match footage. I ended up using only this camera (that I bought in February 2009 for $500). IS is not perfect but I use a very skinny manfrotto monopod and it is fine. The monopod double as a poor man steadycam. I also bought a good quality 0.7X lens and a wider lens improve stability enormously.

I’m now producing everything I do in progressive and the Xacti is sharper than the big Canon in frame mode. I found a good workflow to reduce from 30fps to 24fps (normally not a recommendable thing) so I can mix the progressive material with the Canon and make blue ray.

To me this deal is impossible to beat. I never did so many videos like now, it is always in my bag when I travel for business.

Buy it, you will not regret it. You just need a good computer to edit MP4 native although many applications can do smart-rendering now.

Poor stabilization mars otherwise good camera
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Before HD camcorders became available I had a DV (tape based; standard definition) camcorder. The trouble with DV camcorders is that it is time-consuming to (1) import the movie into the computer and (2) encode it into a suitable format. Needless to say, because of the hassle I wasn’t making very many home movies. Then I purchased an Xacti C4. This camera made a big difference. It was tiny, easily fit in the jeans pocket, the image quality was decent for an SD camera, and most importantly, no post-processing was needed! All you had to do was drag & drop files from the camera to the computer. No waiting for the tape to wind. No re-encoding needed either because the file format is already MP4. To watch the movie on TV all I had to do is drop the file into iTunes, then wirelessly stream the movie to AppleTV. It doesn’t get any easier than this.

Then HD cameras became available. My first HD camera was Sony HDR-HC1. That’s a pretty decent camera. But once again I wasn’t making very many movies because HDR-HC1 is tape based, which means a time-consuming process is needed to transfer the movie and to encode to H.264 MP4 format. So I purchased an Xacti HD1010 hoping to repeat my success with the old Xacti C4 but in HD this time.

My first impression when I got the HD1010 was that it is larger and heavier than I expected. This is not a big camera by any means, but my expectations were set by the tiny Xacti C4, and compared to that camera the HD1010 seems big and heavy. It won’t fit in my jeans pocket either (unlike the Sony HDR-TG1, the smallest HD camcorder available today.)

What about image quality? I shot a test footage in low light. I was not impressed with the image quality. Fine details seemed to be missing apparently due to heavy noise-reduction. I then decided to compare the HD1010 with my old Sony HDR-HC1. I held the Sony in one hand and the Sanyo in the other and simultaneously shot test footages using both cameras, in a semi-lowlight situation. Initially the Sony appeared to have much better image quality. But that was the raw uncompressed footage. I encoded the Sony footage into H.264 and adjusted the bitrate so that the resulting file is about the same size as the one from Sanyo. Now the Sony and Sanyo quality seemed comparable. In fact the Sanyo seemed to have more accurate color. But the big difference was in image stabilization. I didn’t know how good Sony’s image stabilization was until I compared it to the Sanyo. The Sanyo movie is very jittery. This is with Sanyo’s image stabilization on, and with zoom set to 1x. For HD camcorders stabilization is important, and the HD1010 disappoints in this department.

Another disappointment was that although the MP4 files from the Sanyo are compatible with QuickTime they are not compatible with AppleTV. AppleTV expects 720p 24 fps (frames per second). Sanyo supports 720p but it uses 30 fps, not 24 fps. As a result the file has to be converted before being streamed to AppleTV. It is easy enough to convert using iTunes, but it takes a long time. The resulting file is 960×540 not 1280×720 because iTunes gives priority to preserving the fps and at 30 fps AppleTV only supports 960×540.

I like the fact that this camera comes with a soft case. For comparison Sony charges $50 extra for a soft case for their competing HDR-TG1.

Bottom line: I am a little disappointed because the camera is bigger and heavier than the Xacti C4, the files are not immediately compatible with AppleTV, and most importantly the image stabilization is poor, which means you have to use a tripod. For comparison the Canon HF10 has optical image stabilization and it has a 24 fps mode, both of which would have helped me. The Canon is more expensive but it has 16GB of internal memory which HD1010 doesn’t.

Good, Light camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Overall this is a good camcorder. I’ve been happy with the results, the big lens is somewhat faster then most in this size range. it does have more noise then some other cameras and the stabilizer isn’t as good as sony or canon, but the size has been perfect and I usually carry a small monopod anyways. I like the “hotshoe” on top to attach a separate mike. Overall, I’ve been very pleased with this camera and have used it for interviews, news, home movies, etc, and its almost always with me, unlike some of the other cameras that are bigger. It works well on a Mac using FCP or iMovie, though the video does need to be converted first.

Great HDTV camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Some of the controls are not that easy to operate from the hand held position. The remote control is nice.

The camera takes beautiful images, still and HDTV, but it takes a while to master all of the controls and video technique in general. Simple mode works well, but you will not see the real potential of the camera until you get into the many manual settings.

Great Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The camera feels a bit odd in your hand with its handgun style but once you get used to it you love it. The start up time is very fast (a matter of a couple of seconds). When you close the LCD it goes into “sleep mode”. To all effects it looks as if the camera was off. Once you flip the LCD open you are almost instantly ready to shoot movie or still pictures. I have been very impressed with the quality of the still pictures. One thing I was looking for and I could not find is the capability to record from other sources such as if you wanted to transfer a tape to the camera by connecting it to a VCR or other source. Sorry but that capability is not there. I bought a 16GB card for $40 and I could record in HD for 2 hours and 20 minutes.

very nice hd camcorder, great macro pictures!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this camcorder a week ago. great macro pictures, and nice video

NOT THAT GREAT
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
While it does shoot at 60p, the image quality is mediocre at best. Motion artifacts every time you pan (and this is true ALSO for interlaced resolutions so let’s not go there) Heavily compressed image looks “plastic” and too electronic. Just like the type of video you can shoot with a point-and-shoot digital camera, but at higher pixel count.

The size vs convenience ratio simply does not justify the price and poor picture quality.

Brilliant camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Easy to use out of the box. Handed it to a nephew and he was filming in a minute. Brilliant quality image. Practical. Beautifull little camera. Easy transfer to the PC. Now i have to learn more about video editing.

(Never get the Xacti holster for it, it’s absolute rubish. The camera simply does not fit and can easily fall out. Mine did and luckily nothing happened to it. The included black cloth bag is good. I later got a camera bag with zippers. Much better.)

The best ever electronic purchased
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Awesome quality, portability, better than expected stills, battery life is good but think in buy the extra baterry and also the travel charger.

So simple, record, take the memory card, insert in the PS3 then enjoy high quality videos at 1080P on my Sharp Aquos 46″ with awesome quality really good definition of color.

Install on your pc Nero 8 first that came with the camera to avoid the slow download from the camera or from the memory SDHC card reader.

The only issue for that reason i rat 4 of 5 stars is about the issue with the accessorie Sanyo wide conversion lens on the manual can be read is an accessorie for the HD1010 also same for the HD1000 but when i received the lens i notice that the camera lens doesn’t have thread to put the lense, so i call today sanyo support and a guy told me that he has in his hands the HD1010 and certified that the camera doesn’t have the thread to insert the lens, he ask me for my info for later contact me to see how to resolve the issue.

Nice camera for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I wanted a small, lightweight hidef camera at a reasonable price. So far the Xacti seems to match my needs. I saw several cameras by high end companies, Sony, Cannon, etc, but I wanted to keep the price well under $1000. This camera has simple controls, a full function docking station, and is pocket size. Very good buy from Amazon.

A Unique Combination that you will use
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Have you ever purchased a camera and then discovered that you weren’t using it as much as you thought you would. In addition to being a solid performing camera in its own right, it is simply a camera that you will use. It has one unique feature that I couldn’t find in any other camera: capturing both HD video and hi-resolution still images. And the controls live side-by-side so there are no arcane menus to navigate to get from one to the other. I could nit-pick the image quality, but I’m more than happy with it for the type of video that I shoot and, as I’ve already said, I just find myself using it a lot.

Beyond that it is solidly made and comes with a convenient docking station. You’ll be happy with this one.

Great Camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The camera works very well. When plugged into my HD TV the quality of the video is awesome. However, some of that color gets lost for me in my mac, and when I post movies online. The darks are to dark and sometimes lose definition.

Overall the camera is awesome for the price.

It had potential
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I purchased this cam with high hopes, but it never worked correctly. Audio and video was out of sync and lines,….some vidoe came out garbled. I am returning it, I may buy another. Thank goodness Amazon has a great return policy.