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

By: Ronald Fischer

Ronald Fischer — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:37:00 +0000

With this pup it is simple to record video or images and almost impossible to download them successfully! In standard mode, the playback of video is anything but smooth. Looks like an old time movie.

The software could best be described as, "User Hostile". I haven't been able to download any videos without getting an error message before the transfer is complete.

The normal video isn't as good as my DV camcorders and downright sad indoors. The photo portion is slightly better than my cell phone (a pocket pc). Still pictures haven't downloaded successfully either (approximately 11 out of 185 have made it across the wire before error messages start interrupting the transfer).

It's a handy size and easy to operate. After you're done recording you'll likely spend a lot of time with the manual (I have) and then you start getting frustrated.

If I could return it, I would. Rating: 2 / 5

By: John Quincy

John Quincy — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:21:15 +0000

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.

Rating: 1 / 5

By: Miguel Stanley Reed

Miguel Stanley Reed — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:32:30 +0000

I am fascinated with this machine. It has incredible detail although it lacks a little lattitude and details are lost as soon as there are some shadows.

The battery so far usually lasts me the whole day when I go touring. If I take care to shut the display down as soon as I dont need it anymore I find that when I am on a cruise ship or visiting another country I can take all the movies I usually want - - and recharge when I get back to my room at night.

The only problem is playback on a TV or PC. The bundled software made by ULEAD is not user friendly and, whereas the previous Xacti I had played back images and video clips in the order I had taken, this one separates them and plays back either clips or images. Before I played back through my Panasonic Hard Disk DVD recorder and recorded a DVD directly. Now I have to go into my PC and do a whole lot of editing and so far the "Movie FActory" program keeps crashing.

I imagine somebody will eventually suggest a better software program, or I will learn to use Ulead, but for the time being the pictures and clips Ihave taken have very good detail, and the machine has operated flawlessly. Rating: 1 / 5

By: Gerald R. Mazetis

Gerald R. Mazetis — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:19:19 +0000

Although my camcorder delivery (extra fee) was rapid and well timed for a planned recording weekend, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment after opening the package. I was unable to either charge the battery or use the camcorder because the seller delivered a version suitable only for a foreign power supply. In other words, the power cord was unusable in the US. This means a lost weekend as a minimum, with longer delays and higher costs likely in obtaining a suitable power supply cord. My first business with this seller laid an egg in the form of an expensive movie camera. UPDATE (ONE WEEK LATER): I received a torn, white envelope in the mail today from TB Trading Corp. with nothing in it. TB Trading Corp. sent an electrical adaptor in a plain white envelope expecting it to pass thru the post office mail machine, which it apparently didn’t…and got lost in the mail somewhere between New York and Virginia.

Still waiting patiently…
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Y. Park

Y. Park — Sun, 09 May 2010 11:52:45 +0000

It is really not a worth a $600. Bad quality, slow motion.
Rating: 2 / 5