Sanyo US was nice to provide a sample to MobilityMinded of their newly released Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 Digital Video and 10 MP Photo camera. Since we have been doing many more video reviews I wanted to find a small affordable HD video camera that would do the trick. One of the requirements (based on our viewers) is that the HD video needed to be able to focus on close up shots.

In my previous video reviews I used the Flip Ultra HD to get the HD shots I wanted. However many readers complained that they were not able to view the details on the screens of the mobile devices while we were handling them during the review. Take a look at our review of the Samsung Omnia II by Verizon. Because of this reason I had go back using a Canon Powershot SD870 IS. I lost the HD quality but I was able to get the macro close up shot I needed. Take a look at the the Part 3 review of the Samsung Omnia II and you will see the difference between the two.

I had a chance before to play with the Kodak Zx1 and ran into the same problems.

My search for an affordable  (up to $150) HD video camera has probably come to the end since I have now used the Sanyo Xacti VP-CG10 HD. Besides being a HD video camera the Xacti is also a 10 megapixel photo camera. The amount of possible settings are very similar like the great quality pocket photo camera’s on the market. For example;  flash settings, scene settings, macro (yes) settings, etc. You can even take a photo while you are recording a video at the same time.

Specifications

Effective pixel count/Camera element	Photos: ~ 10.0-Megapixels Videos:    HD:~8.28-Megapixels / SD: ~10.00-Megapixels
Camera Element	1/2.33 inch CMOS sensor~10.66-Megapixels (total)
Recording Media	SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card (up to 32GB)   Internal memory: ~ 40 mb
Recording file formats	Photos: JPEG (DCF, DPOF, Exif Ver2.2) Videos: ISO standard MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (.MP4) Audio: 48kHZ sampling, 16bit, 2ch, AAC
Resolution (pixels) Still shots	12M: 4000 x 3000, 10M-H: 3648 x 2736 (low compression) 10M-S: 3648 x 2736 (standard compression) 7.5M[16:9]: 3648 x 2056 2M: 1600 x 1200 0.9M[16:9]: 1280 x 720 0.3M: 640 x 480
Resolution (pixels) Continuous shots	10M: 3648 x 2736, 1.3 fps/Max 11 photos 2M: 1600 x 1200 , 7 fps/Max 14 photos
Resolution (pixels) Movie clips	HD-SHQ: 1280 x 720 (30 fps/ 9Mbps) TV-HR: 640 x 480 (60 fps/6Mbps) TV-SHQ: 640 x 480 (30 fps/3Mbps)
Lens	5x optical zoom lens; Aperture: F=3.5(W)-3.7(T) Focus distance: f=6.8 to 34.0mm; Galvanometer method structure, Auto focus: 8 groups, 11 elements (3 aspheric elements, 6 aspheric surfaces), Built-in neutral density filter Photos: f=38-190mm(=35mm) Optical 5x zoom Videos: f=40-200mm(=35mm) Optical 5x zoom
Photo range	Standard: 50cm to infinity (wide), 1.0m to infinity (tele) Super macro: 1cm – 1m (wide)
Digital Zoom	Shooting: 12x max., Playback 62.5x max. (12M mode, depending on the resolution)
Low light sensitivity (video)	Approx. 16 lux (Auto mode, 1/30 sec.) Approx. 4 lux (High-sensitivity/ Lamp mode, 1/15 sec.)
Stills sensitivity	Auto (ISO 50 – 400), Manual (ISO 50/100/200/400/800/1600, Switching system)
Digital Image Stabilizer	Photos: Digital Image Stabilizer (electronic), Videos: Digital Image Stabilizer (electronic)
Audio	Microphone: Built-in stereo, Speaker: Built-in monaural (L+Rch mixed output)
LCD monitor	3.0 inch, Low-temperature polysilicon TFT color widescreen LCD display, Approx. 230,000 pixels (7-level brightness, 285 degrees rotation)
Languages	English/ Japanese/ French/ German/ Spanish/ Italian/ Dutch/ Russian/ Portuguese/ Turkish/ Japanese/ Thai/ Korean/ Simplified Chinese/ Traditional Chinese
Interface	AV output Video: Composite video, NTSC/PAL, USB 2.0 (high-speed mode compatible)
Power source	Lithium-ion battery x 1 (DB-L80 included: 700mAh)
Power consumption	When using battery: 2.7W (when filming videos)
Approx. battery-use time	Photos: approx. 180 shots (CIPA standard), Continuous video filming: ~ 70min/ Continuous playback: ~ 220 min.
Dimensions/Volume	72.0 (W) x 112.8 (H) x 38.0 (D)mm (maximum dimensions, excluding protruding parts) Volume: approx. 167cc
Weight	~ 171g (main unit only), ~ 188g (including battery, approx 15 g, and SD card, approx 2 g)
Video Recording Time (Total Time) SD Memory Card Type 16GB	HD-SHQ: 3hr51min TV-HR: 5hr43min TV-SHQ: 11hr06min Audio Memo: 261hr
Number of Photographs SD Memory Card Type 16GB	12M: 3,370 10M-H: 2,800 10M-S: 3,930 7.5M [16:9]: 4,940 2M: 11,600 0.9M [16:9]: 15,100 0.3M: 19,200 10M Seq.: 3,930 2M Seq.: 11,600

User Experience

HD Video Quality

The video below was made with Flip Ultra HD

Conclusion

For about $150 dollars you can get many Pocket HD Video camera’s, but the choice is very easy for me. The Flip Ultra HD can’t do Macro HD Close-up’s, can’t expand memory, can’t take still pictures and has no flash, no advanced settings.

For the same amount of money you can have an affordable compact dual camera (HD video and 10 megapixel Photo). The Sanyo Xacti VPC-10CG is our highly recommended and best choice of the pocket 720i HD video camera’s on the market today.

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 is available at many online stores for around $150-$170