Akihabara reviews the Sanyo HD1
By Matt Burns 
posted February 28th 2006 11:04AM
posted February 28th 2006 11:04AM
Our pals at Akihabara News all the way over in
Japan has conducted an extensive test of the infamous Sanyo Xacti HD1; their
conclusion...well you might not like this. Let us say that we love the idea of small, portable HD devices but in all
honesty, this review did not surprise us. You have to know what the review is going to say, right?Well, it really was bad. In fact a huge disappointment. But don't just take our word, check it out for yourself. Akihabara News has three videos right from the HD1's lens; we wouldn't spend our money on it. Oh and the review is of course in WMV9HD 720p format.
[Daimaou, thanks for the heads up]
I've just tested Sanyo HD1 in the shop with my 4Gb memory card and it seems to be fine. The standard mode is as good as on my older model, while HD is incredibly sharp. I could not play HD files on my computer as it is not fast enough – so when I converted the video files from HD to a smaller resolution, the video was OK, not perfectly smooth when moving camera quickly, but what can one expect from MPG4? The sound was really good despite the background noise, and the fact that this camera has an external microphone input makes it fantastic.
Focusing in low light condition was slow. Image quality is just as before, not perfect when 100% zoomed in, too much granular noise for my taste, but fine when image resized to a slightly lower resolution – good enough for web.
The camera is slightly bigger than previous models and it does not look as a toy any more.
Bottom line: an excellent pocket camera for making Internet TV, spontaneous interviews and recording holiday journeys – I, personally, like it.
I have not yet bought one, but played with one at Ritz Camera. Seemed pretty terrific, comparied to my JVC-GR-DVM90U and would cost about 1/2? My test was not real good, but the review on Steve's Website and many downloaded pic's and videos it seem very good to me.
I would like to see more independent opinions.
Also, is there an upgrade to the firmware that is or will be makeing a difference???
Thanks
I don't have one, but I have tested for quite sometime at a Ritz Camera Store. I was very impressed. Is much nicer then my JVC-GR-DMV90U. Also have looked at the review on Steve Website and commemts on dpreview etc. Downloaded many video and stills. So far I am impressed, I would have to say. Is it possible there is or will be a Firmware update, compared to what was available for the earlier reviews? I would like to seem more independent reviews before I make a purchase. All experiences and examples are welcomed.
Rich