Sanyo Xacti HD1A 5.1MP MPEG4 High-Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I bought this camera one year ago just prior to one of my mountain climbing expeditions. I liked it for the lightweight and the HD performance. I bouth it from a shop in San Francisco and paid over $900.

I think this was the worst product I have ever purchased.

The camera did not make me any movie in the mountains (in any mountains, not just this one). Once at high altitude I felt so frustrated that almost threw it down from 15,000 ft. The snow in the high mountains and the strong sun completely incapacitate the camera, even at the lowest sensitivity and with strong ND filter. Because of the strong sun the LCD display is completely invisible to the operator, so I just shot and hoped that the camera will record something. The result is that I do not have any movie or any picture from the climbs. Everything became white during the day.

The camera is not recording anything sensible in the evenings either. It is not possible to accomodate to the contrast. Everything gets white or completely black.

Well, you may think that I am unexperienced photographer, but I have over 20 year experience on Photography. This is the worst I ever had.

I thought that al least I have e good camera for the normal conditions in the city. Another disapointment! First, before you can record any movie you have to spend several minutes to select the right settings. The camera is unfriendly and clumsy. There is no auto mode. Second, the HD feature is a pure BS. Any Canon camera, even the normal still camera makes better movies that this one. Xacti is ways too slow to adjust to the changing light conditions as you move the camera.

Well, you may think that at least it has 10Mp resolution when used as a still camera. Hah!!! The pictures you get with this camera are as good as the pictures you get with your cellphone. I haven't made any good still picture with this camera.

If you think that this is bad enough, wait for the rest. The reliability of this "HD thing" is really the worst. As I was making shots the camera shut down and could not be started anymore. I called Sanyo and they told me, that the camera is NOT under warranty (the warranty is only 90 days!!!). You have to send it somewhere to IL to a private repair shop. You pay for shipment, pay for evaluation, pay for the repair, pay for the shipment back. Totally I paid about $200. The evaluation showed that the camera has a burnt PCB. From WHAT? From a 3.7V 1A battery? The repair shop waited 3 weeks for Sanyo to send them only the spare part. Anyway, it took me over a month to get it back.

It is already 11 months since I have this camera and I am happy to dispose it.

I would rate this product zero stars, but the systems requires me to asign at least one star.

I did quite a bit of research on the Sanyo Xacti and other waterproof digital video cameras. The choice was between the Sanyo, Olympus or the Pentax Optio.
I chose the Sanyo for its style, design and ease of operation.
I took the camera to Miami Beach and had a blast with it. I was not let down.
I had no problem hanging on to the Xacti even when knocked over by a wave. The quality of the video is suberb.The still images are razor sharp. The camera should be used on the highest quality setting for both still and video. I therefore suggest you buy the 4gb card.

The menu offers a large number of options for both video and still image.
Don't be intimidated by the size of the operators manual. Start with the 'Quick Start Guide' and gradually read about the other features.
The price of the camera varies from store to store. That should be your biggest problem with the purchase.

This is a high quality camera that is not real easy to use. The docking station takes some effert to get a good connection, you just have to feel around until it is docked. The real disappointment is the software the camera linked with a touch of the button but after a week of trying I never did get a MP4 file to load into the computer. I was able load some files out of the camera with other software but not with the programs that came in the box. Where is their quality control? If the software had been of the same quality as the camera and the price had been $200.00 less, I would still have the camera.

The one star is a knock against the seller, Wall Street Photo, not the Sanyo Xacti.

I purchased through Wall Street Photo via Amazon at a good price and several days later the order was cancelled by Wall Street Photo.

Amazon customer service has informed me that Wall Street claims they are out of stock. This is clearly not the case because the product is listed as in stock with a steep price increase.

After having used DV tape for the past four years (Canon Elura), I wasn't expecting much with this Xacti HD1A but I was pleasantly surprised that many of the negative negative reviews posted here at Amazon weren't as bad as I thought. The fact is, your expectations have to be realistic -- DV tapes are (as David Pogue says) best for quality. But let me be honest -- quality is only one factor when choosing a camcorder for me. Rewinding is a hassle and the amount of time it took to get DV footage into my PC for editing got to be a real drag (it's in real time). With SD cards, I am burning DVDs in minutes for the grandparents, something that took me hours to do before. And believe me, grandparents aren't too concerned about the quality difference between this Sanyo and my old Canon! BTW, my Canon, which had many more moving parts, was in the shop at least once every six months. I've only had this Xacti for a week but I'm hoping that this won't be the case with this unit. So in short, unless you're shooting your first project for Sundance, you won't find anything this convenient. Believe me, I researched for four months before deciding that this HD1A was a keeper.