Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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Sanyo Xacti 1080 Full-HD Camcorder with 3x Optical Zoom
$89.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: New

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!
(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

Product site http://us.sanyo.com/Dual-Cameras/VPC-PD2BK-Full-HD-1080-Pocket-Movie-Dual-Camera-with-10MP-Digital-Photos-and-3X-Optical-Zoom

Amazon Link

$119.99 last time September 23, 2010:

http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4157392

edit: and October 21:

http://www.woot.com/forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4201393

Anybody have this? How's the picture quality?

YouTube Review- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oLZvsyacoI

Here is the manual .

Well I bought my piece of crap for $119.00 and it didn't even come with the BAG!! Now I am even more upset!! Wouldn't buy another one if they were $19.99!!

phacopida wrote:Anybody have this? How's the picture quality?

This thing is junk, besides the fact that it feels like it's from the dollar store in quality, the pictures aren't great - don't waste your money.

Here are some reviews. They're consistently high. A common complaint is only fair video quality, but most people seem to agree that it's a great value for the price. Of course, that's even more true here at woot, since it's cheaper.

my father and I was just talking about buying a $1,000 Sony HD Camcorder and then Woot! posted this thing. Not comparable but decent for our needs. Imagine the savings!

Here's some vids showing video quality:
(Make sure to change the YouTube quality setting to 720p HD)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNo5MIU1MC8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idoEvvkqfKY

Edit: And some low-light footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkcPtWZbqm8

And a 10 minute video review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr-QPBTM96A

I read a few reviews and watched a few videos on YouTube and I gotta say for the price it seems fairly impressive.

So I am in for 1.

Got it on Woot when it was about 120. Used it a couple times, and the lens wouldn't retract.. and it refused to operate. Finally it retracted then refused to come back out. I need to get it in for warranty, but I'm not real thrilled with it at this point.

It takes decent pictures, but distance video really starts losing quality. It's great for relatively close up vid though.

rom wrote:my father and I was just talking about buying a $1,000 Sony HD Camcorder and then Woot! posted this thing. Not comparable but decent for our needs. Imagine the savings!

I'm imagining $910. Was I right?

I bought this last time, mainly because of the optical zoom. But it was a big disappointment. The zoom lense is so NOISY! It makes this feature useless. In addition, they try to remedy the noise by dampening the sound! Which makes it even worse because whenever you zoom the sound would drop out! So annoying! I believe that this is a flawed design.

I just don't understand cheap camcorders. It makes much more sense to pay a little more for a good quality digital camera with a decent zoom lens and 8 or 10 megapixel sensor of decent size. It will take better HD video and of course excellent still images. It does cost a little bit more but not that much -- probably the price of a couple of meals and less than a tankful of gasoline added to the price of this thing will buy the better camera.

I agree with LLDACE, good reviews. Watched some youtube videos shot with the cam, but hard to tell quality based on those vids, even in 720p. Considering the almost ubiquitous positive reviews and the basement price woot is selling it at, can't help but give in to curiousity.

Put me down for one

Can it be used as a webcam? I want a decent camera to run a live webcam feed from my glassblowing studio.

I bought this one in a previous woot for 30 bucks more that it's in today's, but I don't regret it.

It's a great little shooter, with good picture quality for both movies and stills, even under low light conditions. But, I want to emphasize that it's just good, not great and much less excellent, so don't expect it to replace your uber-expensive camcorder/camera.

I carry it with me most of the time in my car or in my backpack, because you'll never know when the next viral video moment will pop up in front of your eyes and you don't want to be unprepared for it. It's acceptably fast from off to shooting, taking about 4 seconds.

No, it can't be used as webcam.
No, it doesn't shoot clips over 20 minutes each.
No, it doesn't come with a strap or a bag.
No, it doesn't shoot stills while you're recording a video (except during the first 20 seconds).
No, you can't use Flesh while shooting video.
No, it doesn't have any in-camera post processing for images/videos.
No, it doesn't snap the time/date to the pictures/movies.

Yes, it records stereo sounds.
Yes, it has an optical zoom.
Yes, it keeps the focus while you zoom in/out.
Yes, it has a Flesh for pictures you can enable/disable.
Yes, it shoots HD videos (1080p, 720p).
Yes, it has a still motion mode, but you can't control the time between shots.
Yes, it has image stabilization, although don't have to expect too much from it.
Yes, it can be tripod-mounted.
Yes, it has a HDMI port.
Yes, it can be recharged via USB.

There are only two things that bugged me at the beginning but I got used to them:

1. It doesn't keep the numbering of the images/videos and restarts it back to 1 when you wipe out the SD card.

2. When you connect it to your PC to download the images/videos through its USB dongle, only the internal memory is recognized by Windows as a storage device, which means you can't download what's stored in the SD card. However as almost every new laptop/desktop now comes with a SD card reader, you can just take the SD card out of the camera and download your pictures.




PS. As an unrelated comment, I wonder why Woot changed the word fl.ash to Flesh during comment preview (and maybe after posting)???

Easton201 wrote:I'm imagining $910. Was I right?

Yes. without considering forex conversion.

Well, I'm sold on the eazy upload. If it had merely been "easy" I wouldn't even consider it.

That video with over 12,000 Views reports you can surprisingly take a picture to capture a still photo while recording video.

mariobros wrote:
No, it doesn't shoot clips over 20 minutes each.
No, it doesn't come with a strap or a bag.
No, it doesn't shoot stills while you're recording a video (except during the first 20 seconds).

* Quick Start Guide
* Warranty Card
* Sanyo VCP-HCX10 Camera Bag with Shoulder Strap Compatible with all Dual Camera Models

I'm fairly sure the "In the box" section begs to differ.

pierre4list wrote:I just don't understand cheap camcorders.

You don't understand why Flip is successful? Only 720p. But... people know how to use it. It.. just works.

You can have a small HD camcorder that fits in your pocket and not miss anything you would want to capture. Or you can have a DSLR that takes much better video.. but it's a pain to take to your kids birthday party, or to the beach where it will get full of sand... or on a boat where it will get wet... or you'll be all paranoid about leaving it your car.

Which is better, this or the Kodak Zi8?

It does sound fairly impressive...but...I still have my doubts about this particular, and ever-popular, Shape for a camera. Those who have one (any kind, but this shape)...how comfortable is it while using?
Oh..and now I know why CompUSA and Circuit City went out of B&M business...they are trying to sell this camera for $328.99!! Yipes!

I have a 3rd gen creative vado already which takes nearly identical, if not better footage. I am pretty sure the point and shoot i bought from woot around christmas takes as good or better footage. sound is average as are all handicams. im more interested in how these perform in low light or indoors. however people RARELY make indoor video samples. I wonder why, guess they dont wanna be in their own video

I bought one of these camcorders elsewhere awhile back after missing out on Woot's deal. I paid slightly more, and believe it was still a good buy. Woot's price now makes it a steal.

The VPC PD2's fit and finish are very good. The picture quality for videos is quite good. Still photos are decent for 4x6 snapshots, maybe 5x7 too — a handy feature.

What sets the VPC PD2 apart is the zoom, which really is handy. Being an optical zoom, it maintains image quality in a way digital zoom does not.

The VPC PD2 is a fun, easy-to-use, take-anywhere camera. It lacks the advanced capabilities of a $300-plus camcorder but costs less than $100 in this deal. If you're at all interested and $89 isn't going to reduce you to eating candy bar lunches, go for it.

Does the audio hardware on this have automatic gain control (AGC)?

That is, if you bring it to a loud concert, does it reduce the levels accordingly, or does everything start to clip and distort?

Batman4oz wrote:It does sound fairly impressive...but...I still have my doubts about this particular, and ever-popular, Shape for a camera. Those who have one (any kind, but this shape)...how comfortable is it while using?
Oh..and now I know why CompUSA and Circuit City went out of B&M business...they are trying to sell this camera for $328.99!! Yipes!

compusa and circuit city also went out of the online business, and not for selling this item for $300+. They simply failed in general, and I believe it was tigerdirect that bought their domains because of the name recognition.

What file format (codec/container) does this record in?

pierre4list wrote:I just don't understand cheap camcorders. It makes much more sense to pay a little more for a good quality digital camera with a decent zoom lens and 8 or 10 megapixel sensor of decent size.. . .

That's a valid point, but not everyone wants to take their more-expensive camera anywhere and everywhere. Nor does everyone require that their every still exposure be suitable for making exhibition-size prints, or their every video look like it came out of a professional studio.

Then there's the situation when son or daughter is going to the county fair with a bunch of friends, and could he/she take Dad's $500 Canon camcorder to record the fun, oh please, oh please?

tethered balloon cameras
balloon space low orbit hd cameras with gps recovery
float barge at equator fireing long electric space canon
space shots to moon with rc trucks
hunt meterites like on meteror men
( gold , water , life , nasa golf balls , aliens )
profit?
bates space program
will this work with this?

I am torn on this. I am going to Italy at the end of the year, and I am looking for a camcorder similar to this. Something that will do a decent job, but wont make me sob hysterically if it gets lost/stolen/damaged during the trip. I was thinking about getting a Flip Ultra HD before I saw this.

What do you guys think? Between the VPC-PD2BK or
Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation)

Is it 3D compatible?

BrittWilson wrote:I am torn on this. I am going to Italy at the end of the year, and I am looking for a camcorder similar to this. Something that will do a decent job, but wont make me sob hysterically if it gets lost/stolen/damaged during the trip. I was thinking about getting a Flip Ultra HD before I saw this.

What do you guys think? Between the VPC-PD2BK or
Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation)

Whoops!

Not sure how I got the wrong link there!

Flip UltraHD Video Camera - Black, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation)


Edit: Ok, there is an edit button. I need to stop posting at 2:45am.....

I bought one last time. Good little unit, it has worked without flaw with high quality pics. A little odd holding it, but great value for the money.

pierre4list wrote:I just don't understand cheap camcorders. It makes much more sense to pay a little more for a good quality digital camera with a decent zoom lens and 8 or 10 megapixel sensor of decent size. It will take better HD video and of course excellent still images. It does cost a little bit more but not that much -- probably the price of a couple of meals and less than a tankful of gasoline added to the price of this thing will buy the better camera.

I agree with your post except for when you said one that costs a "little" more will take excellent still images. I think you have to get in the $1,000 range for a camcorder to take excellent still images. at $500, they look ok on the camcorder lcd, but if you look at them on your computer or especially if you print them, they are very grainy and the colors are not realistic. Just my $.02.