Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Reviews

Before purchasing E2 I was torn between E1 and E2 but decided to go with a new model. There were no reviews on E2 other than a single one for Euro/Japanese/Canadian version of E2 called CA8 and that review blasted the camera's new sensor. Nevertheless, with Amazon's liberal return policy, I decided to take my chance and to get E2 instead of E1. After all, it is a second generation of this waterproof camera, and I thought the second generation is typically better.

If you are trying to decide between E1 and E2, here are the major differences:

The most obvious is a change of sensor.
E1 uses 6MP CCD 1/2.5 sensor
E2 uses 8MP CMOS 1/2.5 sensor.

E2 adds a 60 frames per second movie option (E1 was limited to 30 frames per second)

E2 adds face recognition mode. E1 has no such face detection mode

E2 adds a dedicated 'underwater' mode among several others. E1 did not have a specific 'underwater' mode.

First, I tried both the new 60 frames per second mode and the old 30 frames per second mode and I decided that I will be using 30 frames per second, I actually like the quality of 30fps mode better.

I then tried the photography mode. I took most photographs inside in tricky low-light incandescent and florescent light conditions, because I know these give ANY camera, including DSLRs such as my Canon 40D $1300 camera, the most problems. I upped the ISO to 200 and then to 400. You can see samples I posted here. BTW the macro mode on this baby goes to 1 cm!!!! I don't know if E1 had such super-macro to 1 cm. I found the photo quality acceptable and similar to that of other point-and-shoots using the same 1/2.5 and similar sensors. I felt that ISO400 was acceptable. I have not tried ISO 800 and 1600 yet.

E2 has following ISO range: in photo mode 50-1600
in video mode: 100-3200 in high sensitivity mode (3200 I don't believe you can select, but it does it).

The image stabilization feature is tricky, it is EIS, Electronic Image Stabilization, not Optical Image Stabilization, so when you use it, it crops a little bit on sides of your video and photographs, depending on which mode of EIS you use.

The sound is stereo and the quality is acceptable. The camera is tiny btw, I fit mine in case logic case I had from my Canon A75 camera.

I tried this camera underwater in my pool, both video and photographs. All worked fine, even shoots photographs with flash underwater, which makes for very freaky results.

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Finally, some people complained that Sanyo has their own unique USB cable which is a pain if you lose it or don't have it with you, and cannot read it in ordinary card reader. WRONG. I did not even bother taking the proprietary Sanyo USB cable from camera packaging. The card works easily in my HP (windows vista) desktop's card reader. I downloaded PICASA 3 which I recommend. Picasa 3 will find, download, and play all photos and every video you shoot with this camera easily and quickly, just take the SD card, put it in your card reader and Picasa will do the rest. Very easy, so don't need to bother with this cable that comes with it.

Problems: Battery life is not impressive. Battery is tiny. I am used to Fuji F30's 500 shots per charge. This battery sucks. I charged the battery fully. I then took 80 photographs (some with flash), 4 or 5 2-minute videos and my battery showed 70% gone. You need a second battery, and hopefully there are some with more juice in it that the Sanyo one that comes with the camera.

I also wish the lens would start at 28mm and not 38mm as it would make easier to take pictures/videos of oneself without need to stretch your body away from the camera. Also my belief is that the flash only operates in photo mode and not in video mode. However, it is much better than its only competitor, Panasonic SW20, which does not have any flash at all

I will add more photos later.Get more detail about Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue).

Love it. Easy to use. great pics.
Only con is that in order to take a picture, you have to push relatively hard on the button.Get more detail about Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue).

The Xacti E2 is a good video camera & it takes lovely photos (not printed them yet but on the telly or Mac they look good).
very EASY to use with a basic menu or the more complex, it is able to play back videos in NTSC & PAL.

It would seems that it captured us surfing (in the sea) without damaging the video camera (that was the main application for the purchase)! After getting the camera wet i followed the simple care instructions & after i was sure the camera was dry reviewed the video clips on my Plasma telly the picture quality is good & fitted the whole screen (not exactly HD) but i am very satisfied & am sure when it come time to making an edit with the various clips i am going to be more than stoked!!!

Hit the record button before the subject starts moving and keep it going for a few more once they are done as it seems to cut of a little sooner!
I found as a stills camera the it does not shoot exactly when you want it too, so its a bit of hit and miss, I'm sure as i use it more it will improve. shoot with the sun behind you helps with the white balancing & remember that the screen is not exactly where the lens is pointing at.

The one down side is the battery life is not the best, so make sure its charged properly before playing.

I did purchase the Water Leash & an 8-gig card which is still empty. Get more detail about Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue).

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder is ideal for all kinds of environmets. It handled the desert without a hitch. It captured great photos and video during our trip to India. I suggest getting the wrist strap as it keeps the camera from falling when riding a camel and navigating through the crowded markets. I have recommended this model to family and friends.Get more detail about Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue).

Before I start, let me mention that I am a professional photographer and I teach photography for our local college. When I look at a new camera, that background plays a role. You may be looking for something completely different in a camera than I am.

My first impression of the Sanyo Xacti VCP E2 was all about its size. It slips right into my shirt pocket. Once I got over the size (and got the battery charged up) I was ready to go. Oh, and install a memory card. The E2 takes the popular SD cards, and it does not come with one. That's probably not a bad thing. Most people who have had a camera or two have a few of these cards lying around. If you don't, get one with the camera. I installed an 8gig card.

I was first trying to hold the camera in one hand. That didn't work very well for me. Your hands may vary. The best hold for me turned out to be with the camera in my right hand, and my left thumb and index finger on the top and bottom of the LCD, which steadies things nicely. The controls, located on the top rear of the camera, are designed to be thumb operated.

The two buttons at the very top take still photos and movies, respectively. They are easy to operate, and the still photo button does the usual "press halfway to lock everything in" function. Below these is the usual four way rocker with the button in the middle. When you are making pictures, this area is used mainly to zoom.

There is also a menu button on the back, and many functions, like turning the flash on and off, can only be accessed through the menus. If you have used digital camera menus before, these will be easy to follow.

So, how well does it work? Pretty well, actually. The macro ability of the lens is outstanding in a camera of this type. It focuses at 1 cm. That's less than a half inch, if you are metric challenged. In addition, it has a full range focus mode that will go from 1 cm to infinity without putting it into a special macro mode. I like to get in close, so that's important to me.

The camera has all the usual settings for ISO, light balance, etc., and will go as high as 3200 ISO. If you get higher than 400, buy a good noise filter plug-in for Photoshop. Once I apply that, even photos shot at 1600 look pretty good. The 8 megapixel stills are 3264 by 2448, and print nice 8x10s. You can grab stills while shooting a movie. If you do that, the stills will be 1600x1200. With 2 megapixels, you could still print an 8x10, but a 5x7 will be better. The 5X zoom works fine. There is also a 12 megapixel setting, but the sensor is 8 MP, so I assume it is simulated. I didn't use it.

Videos are either 640x480, which is plenty for display on a TV, or 320x240, which is perfect for UTube or similar services. You can record at either 30 or 60 frames a second, and I didn't see much difference. At the lower resolution, you can also record at 15 FPS, which makes a small file that's easy to email or upload.

The waterproof feature is interesting. It is supposed to be safe to 5 feet, and it seems to be. I tried it by holding it under water in my backyard pond and bothering my goldfish. Water's a little chilly this time of year!!! Anyway, it worked fine. For many people, the main advantage of this would be that you don't have to worry if you are getting rained on, and you can use it by the pool with no issues.
This camera won't replace your DSLR, but it might replace both your point and shoot still camera and your camcorder.

Pros: Size, easy to use, great macro ability, and very acceptable photo and video quality, with the waterproof feature a plus.

Cons: Not many - Uses a non standard USB cable (included) and battery life is around 100 or so stills if you are using the flash - more if the flash is off. Figure an hour of video.
Get more detail about Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue).

I love toys, so I was very happy when my new VPC-E2 arrived yesterday. The first thing I noticed when holding the E2, is how well it fits in your hand. It's lightweight, and the simple controls are very well laid out. After skimming through manual, and charging the battery, I loaded it up with an 8GB SD card. I then went out to see what it can do. First off was taking still photos in various lighting conditions. Then I took several different videos. The VPC-E2 is very simple to use, and I didn't need to refer back to the manual for anything. After putting it through various tests, I discovered what is my first minor disappointment. Batterty life isn't great. If you plan on using it for a good part of the day, a second battery is going to be a must. All the pictures and videos looked good on the E2's screen, but the real test was when I got home and downloaded them to my computer. The still photos were very good. I was especially surprised how well the photos taken in low light at ISO 800 and 1600 came out. They were perfectly usable despite the noise level. While it's not ideal shooting at those levels, the results were better than expected. The results under normal lighting conditions were good too, for a hybrid camera. While the results weren't quite up to what a top stand alone digital point and shoot might take, the pictures were perfectly fine for viewing on a screen or printing at 4x6 or 8x10. I shot the test videos at 640x480, 30fps, high bit rate, using all "Auto" settings. Again the results were very good. The videos were clear. The sound was good. The camera focused well under all conditions. All in all, Sanyo has a winner here. You could call the VPC-E2 a "jack of all trades, master of none", but that would be a little harsh. What it does, it does well. It's not really great at anything, but it's very good at most. I look forward to my next vacation when I test it underwater on a snorkling trip. First thing I will do is order an extra battery, and buy a real case for it. The included wrap around velcro case is a joke. Here is a brief list of the pro's and con's.


Pro's:
Well designed, versatile, and easy to use.
Waterproof.
Good pictures and video for a hybrid.
Usable pictures at high ISO.

Con's:
Battery life is disappointing.
No 16:9 video options.
Price isn't cheap.
Cheesy velcro "case" that is included is terrible.
Non-standard USB cable. Get more detail about Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue).

Where has this been all my life???

I think of all the cool trips I've been on and I would've killed to have one of these at that time. I didn't even know such a thing existed until I found this. Who knew that these were being made for average everyday consumers and at an affordable price?

Got water? No problema! This camcorder can handle the water and anything else you can throw at it. In an effort to give the most precise review possible, I did don my wetsuit and dove into my 60 degree pool. Brrrr. I even dropped this camcorder to the bottom of the pool a couple of times and when I played back the recording, no skips or anything and no problems with the camera. This gadget is wicked cool! The battery did poop out on me a little quick, but that could be from the cold water. I recommend getting an additional battery, but I do that will all my gizmos. Nothing more frustrating than having the battery loss at a critical moment in filming.

Did I mention that this takes still shots, too? Pretty good ones, at that. This is the camcorder/camera that I have dreamed about.

I found this device incredibly easy to use, but it will take me a while to become accustomed to all of the features. My teenagers are dying to use it in the pool next summer. I will update this review as I use the camcorder more. I plan on purchasing some accessories (extra battery, new camcorder case) for it and I'll update with what I got and how it worked out.Get more detail about Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera (Blue).