Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40 4MP MPEG4 Digital Camcorder with 5.8x Optical Zoom

Amazon.com Product Description

With the innovative Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40, the days of digital tape are over. Pop in an SD card and start recording high-quality MPEG-4 video, or take stunning four megapixel stills--all with a device that fits easily in the palm of your hand and runs on a rechargeable battery.

At the heart of the C40 is a 4.23-megapixel CCD that records MPEG-4 digital video at 30 frames per second. The lens offers a 5.8x optical zoom and a 12x digital zoom, and to keep those shots steady, the unit features an image stabilization system. The C40's 1.8-inch LCD display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285-degrees on an axis for taking great video or still images from otherwise difficult-to-view positions. And when not in use, the screen tucks securely back into the side of the camera for a pocket-sized portability and convenience.

As with all of Sanyo's previous digital media cameras, the C40 can record still images in addition to video. While conventional digital camcorders can often snap stills, they are usually low quality. And while conventional digital cameras can record short video, they are frequently grainy with a slow response speed. The Xacti C40 can do it all, recording both still images and digital video on the same unit. You can even snap a still image while recording digital video with the simple press of the shutter button. When recording video you'll get an hour of footage on a one gigabyte SD card (sold separately). And because audio is important, too, the C40's wind noise reduction system helps cut out unwanted microphone noise while the unit records audio in high-quality AAC-format.

The C40 lets you choose from several automatic exposure modes including auto, sports, portrait, landscape, night view, fireworks, lamp. Meanwhile, a built-in three-mode flash makes getting still images in low light situations easy, while 15 adjustable manual focus settings let you get creative with your compositions. There's also a super macro shooting mode that lets you focus down to a distance of one centimeter.

With convenient, menu-based settings, the C40 has been designed from the ground up for ease of use. There's even a talking navigation guide for first-time users. And when you're ready to connect the camera to your computer, you can use its high-speed USB 2.0 connection to quickly transfer footage from the camera's SD memory card. Software is included for video editing and there's also an S-video output for viewing footage directly on your TV. Printing stills from the memory card is a breeze, too, as the camera is PictBridge compatible, meaning you can print directly to a photo printer that supports the PictBridge standard.

What's in the Box
VPC-C40 camcorder, li-ion battery, AC adapter/power code, AV cable, USB cable, lens cap, hand strap, and Sanyo Software Pack 7.4 CD-ROM.

Product Description

Everyone loves to take video or still images but often forget to bring the camera along. It's likely because cameras tend to be bulky. Over the past year, for example, more pictures were taken with cell-phones because the feature was there in a product you always remembered to take with you. That's essentially the concept behind the Sanyo Xacti C40 but it isn't a cell phone. It's a really compact and lightweight hi-res still and video camera that uses an SD memory card to store all images. This remarkably compact digital media camera combines a totally tapeless design with cutting-edge MPEG- 4 image processing. The result is full TV resolution video with full-range stereo sound, which can be played back with clarity and detail at 60 frames per second on any big screen TV. The C40 also puts exceptional 4 megapixel still photo resolution right in the palm of your hand. In fact, you can actually capture a 4 megapixel still photo and full TV resolution video at the same time. It's powerful, flexible, versatile, easy, and light. Take it with you! Long-Life SANYO Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery (DB-L20) Capture still and video images simultaneously Built-in electronic image stabilization Built-in 3-mode flash for stills High quality stereo recording (AAC-LC) with wind-roar reduction 5.8X optical zoom lens / 10X digital zoom Seven scene select modes (auto, sports, portrait, landscape, night view, fireworks, lamp) / 15 adjustable manual focus settings Super macro shooting (down to a distance of 2cm) Self timer (2 seconds/10 seconds) 1.8 trans-reflective LCD screen for easier viewing in direct sunlight Talking navigation guide for simpler use You can also use this as a webcam with your computer PictBridge Has USB 2.0 & S-Video output PC and Macintosh computer compatibility Requires and uses SD memory cards (sold separately) - We suggest optional 1GB for optimal video and still photo

Customer Reviews:

Better still camera than my $400 Olympus.......2007-07-15

As others have noted, this little unit falls a little short when compared to a MiniDV camcorder. Sound quality is very modest, and the video quality has more artifacts that you expect from a MiniDV unit. Still, it's so tiny, and handy to shoot with, you'll likely catch a shot you'd miss with your bigger camcorder, as you left it back home.

The amazing part is the still camera. Fairly quick time to shot, and very respectable image quality. It actually does better in low light than my pricey Olympus. The teeny flash has more output that you might expect too.

Best camcorder at this price point.......2007-01-18

Purchased this camera to replace my old digital camcorder. Still picture quality is above average which is a bonus since you don't need to carry both a camcorder and still image camera on trips. The 4 megapixel shots should be just right for most casual photographers. Higher resolution just makes it harder to manage and share photos since the picture files become too large to email and don't really add anything in terms of quality to anything smaller than a 5X7 print. Great video performance except in low light conditions. When capturing video in low light, the color fades and turns brownish. Other than that, performance far exceeds what you would expect for the price.

Where this camera excels is in value. What most people don't realize is your true cost doesn't stop at what you pay for the camera. For my first camcorder (which was also a Sanyo), I had to purchase an extra high capacity battery for about $40. The standard battery lasted only about 45 minutes and the extended battery lasted about 90 minutes. Plus, countless mini DV tapes which run anywhere from $5-7 each or more for 60 minutes of recording time. With the xActi, I was able to find 2 extra batteries online for $30 (for a total recording time of 3 hours), plus cheap and readily available 2Gb SD cards for $15 each (each card can hold 2 hours of video or over a thousand stills). So not only do you get a great value with the camera, the add-ons are reasonably priced, and reusable for the life of the camera. Total investment was under $300 which you would be hard pressed to beat with any other digital camcorder on the market if you included the accessories and tapes.

Picture this....you go on vacation overseas with a full-sized camera bag. In the bag you have your camcorder, still camera, tapes, film or memory media, chargers, and anything else you need to take video and stills. All this probably weighs at least a few pounds, plus the headache of packing it with your luggage or carrying it on a plane and to your sightseeing destinations. Or, you can carry the xActi, plus batteries and extra memory all in your purse or pocket. Travel light and be ready to take the picture at right moment.

So if you fall into the 99% of casual shooters out there, this is definitely the camera to buy. First rule of technology, unless you have money to burn, never buy the "cutting edge" products. You'll pay through the nose and it will be half the price you paid for it within a year or two. For convenience, ease of use, features, and total investment cost, you can't go wrong with this camera.

Great little camera/video camcorder.......2006-12-27

I own this camera and have to say it is a very good with stills and video. It doesn't compare with a 3CCD camera or even to a mid-grade MiniDV camera but the portability and ease of use is fantastic! This unit can easily fit in your pocket/purse and within seconds can be turned on to capture video. I cannot do this with my regular MiniDV camera as it is too big to haul around. In low-light the unit performs okay but not crystal clear. I am able to easily capture Christmas lights, etc. with the unit @ night time. There are add-on lights you can purchase. If you are into archiving video, such as converting footage to DVD, the MP4 video codec it uses allows for easy editing; only if your video editing program supports MP4 format (I use VideoStudio 10). Most important is that when you convert your video to DVD the quality is still very good for viewing on a TV. I had tried Aipteks, Samsumg, etc. but always during DVD conversion the video quality degraded substantially. Not with this unit. When converting remember MP4 to AVI then to DVD.

There is the C6 model to always consider. I choose this one instead since the difference in price between the two models doesn't justify.

One note, if purchasing this unit, make sure you have no bad pixels on the CCD sensor. A simple test is to put the lenses cap on and take a picture. Then examine the picture on your computer screen and look for any visible white or pink dots- hint boost zoom up to 300%. Google this topic if you have any concerns.
Cheers,

This camcorder is great.......2006-12-07

This is a great camera and camcorder. The daytime pictures and mp4 clips come out good and is comparable to the more expensive Sony. Nighttime/indoor pictures are okay. The MP4 clips indoor and at night is good enough for TV viewing unless you are looking for high def stuff which will run your at least a thousand bucks at this time.

If you want a camcorder that captures to a memory card instead of DVD or tapes, then this is the one with an affordable price and quality. The size is small enough to slip into your pocket so you don't need to carry a camcorder bag around with you all the time.

Capable little device.......2006-11-22

I was hesitant at first to buy it, after reading about the blurry images but I went ahead anyway, after all I could always return it. There was no need to worry. I found my photos came out fine with no blurryness at all. The trick? Press the button halfway and then wait for the autofocus to do it's job. This is really no different to a lot of cameras such as my Minolta. Many people expect to be able to press the button all the way down straight away. Digital cameras are often slow to focus compared to film cameras. Of course there are many that are much quicker now, but this Sanyo is not one of them. Once you get used to it, it's a fun capable little device.

Also remember that this is primarily designed to be a camcorder first and a still image camera second. If your needs are mainly still images with a little bit of video now and then, you would be better off getting a regular digital camera with a video mode, since they will be optimized towards better photos over video. On the other hand, if you like the concept of a palm sized video camcorder that also happens to take very good still images then this is the device for you, especially when you consider that it can fit approximately 41 minutes onto a (now inexpensive) 1GB SD memory card. This is due to the use of a more efficient compression than is still used on most current digital cameras. You also don't need a highspeed SD card, the cheaper regular ones will do.

When there is sufficient light the video quality is very good and the camera is not as bad in lowlight as is often suggested either. Using it in poor indoor lighting still produces usable video. Overall the video may not quite be up to regular miniDV camcorder standards but then you probably only use that for 'main events' such as birthdays, graduations etc. and rarely get it out for more seemingly frivolous use. With this, you can be far more spontaneous due to it's size and the ability to instantly transfer the video to your PC for viewing or emailing etc. The only real problem is that editing the resulting video files is more difficult due to there being hardly any software that supports the format at the moment. On the other hand, if you tend to shoot lots of short clips of kids etc. and don't do much editing then it's really not such a problem.

These are part of the future of camcorders. As the memory card capacities increase, the quality of video for the same recording time on future devices will only get better.

Average customer rating:
Bushnell 24-0828 Excursion 8x 28mm Roof Prism Binoculars

Manufacturer: Bushnell
ProductGroup: Photography
Binding: Electronics

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Accessories:

Bushnell Binocular Cleaning Kit

Ogio 2007 Hip Hop Messenger Bag - Ron Burgundy - 711202.029

Tommy Armour Golf Allegretto Women's Fairway 3 Wood- 869992

Product Features:

Ideal binocular for nearly any weather condition

Lightweight composite chassis and streamlined, roof-prism design for ease of use

Premium BaK-4 prisms with PC-3 phase coating for outstanding color fidelity and sharpness

100 percent waterproof and fogproof

Includes a wide field-of-view, long eye relief, and a large center-focus knob for precise focusing

ASIN: B000F4GI2K

Product Description

In low light, it's usually your eyes that have to adjust. Now it's your expectations. In rain or fog, at dawn or dusk, your eyes don't plan on seeing much detail. So when you put one of our new Excursion series in front of them, what they see may come as a shock. This composite chassis, roof prism design is lightweight and packed to the eyecups with quality features, from PC-3® phase-coated lenses to BaK-4 prisms. The result? Outstanding clarity, detail and brightness in low-light conditions. Your eyes will be amazed. So will the rest of you

Amazon.com Product Description

With the Bushnell Excursion 8 x 28 PC3 Compact Roof Prism Binocular you can embrace nature with abandon. Don't settle for a quick handshake; with the Excursion 8 x 28 Binocular, you'll have more time to take in the details of the great outdoors. Fully multi-coated optics ensure that you get the light you need, and premium BaK-4 prisms with PC-3 phase coating grab images with outstanding color fidelity and sharpness. A lightweight composite chassis and streamlined, roof-prism design make this 100 percent fully waterproof and fogproof binocular comfortable to carry. Other features include a wide field-of-view, long eye relief, and a large center-focus knob for precise focusing -- even when you're wearing gloves.

Selected Features:

Field of View (at 1000 yds.): 417 ft.
Close Focus: 6 ft.
Exit Pupil: 3.5 mm
Eye Relief: 15
Weight: 15.2 oz.

Note: See Technical Details for full list of features.

What's in the box
24-0828 binoculars, neck strap, and carry case.

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