Sanyo VPC-CG10EBK Dual High Definition Video Camcorder & Photo Camera – Black
Posted by Notcot on Jun 6, 2010 in Photography |
- HD Digital Video (720p, 30fps)
- 10-Megapixel photos
- 5x optical zoom
- 3-inch Widescreen LCD
- Digital Image Stabilizer (video and stills)
Sanyo VPC-CG10EBK Dual High Definition Video Camcorder & Photo Camera – Black
That such a small and relatively inexpensive camcorder should be capable of excellent HD video and 10 megapixel still pictures and be nearly as pocketable as a mobile phone has got to attract a lot of attention. Having said that there are some things you should be aware of. The HD records at 30 fps , nothing wrong with that until you try to shoot fast moving objects. Just shooting the traffic on the High street revealed the problem, the vehicles jerk a little rather than move forward smoothly, it isn’t that glaringly obvious but is evident all the same. This only revealed itself when I burned to DVD so I don’t really understand why this should be. Videos played on the PC were OK.
I’ts the same with panning, do it slowly and smoothly and you may not notice, just don’t speed up the panning otherwise you’ll see what I mean. In a nutshell then if you want to shoot sports and quick moving objects then shoot at the alternative 640 x 380 60fps mode provided instead, that’s not HD by the way but it’s good enough for home use.
All the video I shot inside and out was superb and the still pics set to Vivid mode were excellent too. I think even serious videographers would find a use for this where it would be inconvenient to carry anything larger. It really does deserve 5 stars as it is because it will tick a lot of boxes for a lot of people, and it’s comparitively inexpensive and so so convenient.
If only it had a 60fps mode as well, it would be perfect. If Sanyo ever does another model similar to this but with 60fps it will be worth 10 stars for me. For most users then this camcorder still comes highly recommended and a well earned 5 stars!
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve been wanting a camcorder for years but have only just got around to buying one. I searched through all the camcorders within my price range and compared them for features, value and quality. After reading customer reviews and watching sample videos of footage taken by the various camcorder owners on Youtube (something I recommend you do, you can see the quality for yourself) I settled down on this one. It’s a new gun-shaped device that is very comfortable to hold and this looks like a design that could become the standard in the near future. Using this camera is so simple with the easy user-interface setting as default. However, even on advanced mode it’s fairly easy to operate once you’ve read the manual and experimented a bit. The image is stable when recording with two hands – you may want to hold the edge of the fold-out screen with your left-hand for more stabilization. Holding it in just one hand can produce a somewhat shaky video, but this is getting better with practice. The features cover everything you need for beginner to intermediate users and it could be argued that the device proves good enough for some professional shooting when knowing how to use these features to their best advantage. 720p HD video looks fine on my 32″ flat screen TV and you can record about 2hours of this to an 8Gb SD card (or 1, 680 still images at highest resolution). If you want to record fast moving objects then use the standard definition recording feature at 60fps to prevent blurring. I would recommend a Class 6 SD card for this camcorder in order to reduce the time it takes to write files to the card. Taking photographs is easy and the resolution is impressive. So easy to take self portraits mainly by being able to turn the screen around. Battery life lasts at 70 minutes in HD-SHQ mode. Conclusion: HD video at a decent price, excellent features and all round good value for money. Note: I paid £166 for my camcorder.
Rating: 5 / 5
I needed a camera quick as i was going snowboarding. We bought one from a supermarket that was waterproof but it did not live up to expectations. I searched for ages for a good camera & I found this. I have to say this camera is AMAZING and totally better than expected. When I saw the price I thought that it should do the trick but I wanted more in the future…well I won’t be needing another camera any time soon. This great, lightweight, easy to use camera is so simple yet very effective. As mentioned before, I took mine snowboarding and the zoom and light capture was excellent. I turned the digital zoom off on the menu so that I wouldn’t lose any quality when taking footage from afar.
I am no expert in video production but this camera gives the ability to create Avatar like movies. The quality is great and the sound pickup is fantastic for such a little camera. I wasn’t expecting full stereo sound however it managed to pick up all the noises I wanted on the busy slopes and also capture some lovely backround noise for effect.
I highly reccommend this to anyone who wants to get some footage of holidays, friends, family or anything else.
I also bought a spare battery pack to go with it as recording in HD can deplete the battery quicker but having said that the battery is still very good. Also I purchased a 16GB card to store all of my photos and videos.
A handy feature this camera has is that you can take photos while recording a video. This is great when you want that unmissable still photo to hang on the wall!
Rating: 5 / 5
My teenage daughter wanted a camcorder of her own, so after some research, and a limited budget, we settled on this one. The camara is perfect for what she wanted. Very easy to use, great picture quality and perfect size. All in all I would say if you want a point and shot type of camcorder (and you are not uber sniffy about spec) you really cant go wrong with this little stunner.
Rating: 5 / 5
When I first got my camera I was over the moon with it. It is very easy to use, produces crystal clear photos and video and comes with a good range of simple settings for ISO, white balance and resolution. The price of the camera is a steal for a camera that films video in HD quality.
However (and this is a BIG however!), the 30fps (frames per second) film rate for video makes the videos useless for all but playback on the camera itself (and with no AV connection you can’t even connect it to a TV to playback through that!). PAL video (which is standard in the UK) is 25fps. NTSC (which is the American standard) is 29.97fps (close to 30, but still not an exact match). The result with any output either on a pc or a burned DVD (in either PAL or NTSC) is frames are dropped, causing very visible jerks every so often. Conversion through pc software is possible, though not flawless. It’s also time consuming and overall, a real pain in the backside!
In my opinion, the benefits of having crystal clear HD quality video are negated by the jerky output. While the photo functions are ok, they’re nothing special I couldn’t have got in a cheaper single purpose camera. I wish I had bought a standard quality video camera that filmed in 25fps.
BOTTOM LINE: If you’re thinking of getting this primarily for video then look elsewhere.
Rating: 2 / 5