bit-tech Shopping: Sanyo VPC-HD700 SDHC Camcorder

• Auto Focus
• Manual Focus

• SD Memory Card
• SDHC Card

• NTSC (analog)
• PAL (analog)

• Aperture Priority
• Auto Exposure
• Manual Exposure
• Multiple Program Modes
• Shutter Priority

• Manual
• Preset Modes
• TTL Auto

• A/V Output
• Audio Out (1/8" Mini)
• Component Video
• HDMI
• S-Video
• USB - Universal Serial Bus

• Cables - A/V (RCA Composite)
• Cables - Component Video
• Cables - USB
• Carrying Case
• Carrying Strap
• Docking / Cradle Stand

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: Compact, easy to use

Weaknesses: Low light recording, carrying bag

Summary: This camcorder is one of the smallest, if not the smallest HD camcorder on the market. It records beautifully in day light but suffers somewhat at low light conditions. Overall it's a good cam for the price of $300. The 7.1 digital camera function cannot be compared to a "real" digital camera's picture quality, like my Canon SD800, but still beats cheapo digital cameras and cell phone cameras. If you are in the market for a HD cam, you can't find any model that does more bang for the buck than this Xacti HD700.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Great 720p video and very small

Weaknesses: low light performance and starting focal point

Summary: This camcorder is great. cant say enough about it. i take it everywhere. it is so small and yet produces great 720p video when the lighting is good. still are good as well. this really serves as a functional hybrid and using sd cards is great. great product. highly recommend.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 10 Days

Strengths: Records high-definition digital video and 7 MP digital still images,5x HD zoom lens,HDMI high-definition output.

Weaknesses: Not clear in dark conditions.

Summary: I paid $300 for this HD camera from Amazon. What a great deal! It shoots great HD videos and pictures in well-lighted conditions. I can't complain about the quality for the price I paid. The only downside is there's no light to brighten up the subject being shot.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2

Strengths: HD video, 7.1 Megapixel Photo, very good price, small size

Weaknesses: Only 5x optical zoom, the handle is not very comfortable to use

Summary: I bought this Xacti HD700 HD camcorder for only $299.99 from Amazon.com. With the price, I thought that this would be just another high-tech toy for my Christmas and was never too serious about high-def feature. The camcorder is actually built with high quality. It has a HDMI connection and a tiny remote control. The quality of the video is actually very good, comparing with some other high-def camcorder video. I played the video on my Sony 60' 1080P HDTV and the video was just amazing! The quality of the photos are not bad either. Hi, I am talking about $300 HD camcorder and it does what it supposes to do, what else does you expect from it?The other thing is that this camcorder uses SD card which is why it is very small. In terms of recording time, if you record HD video with HD-SHQ 720P/30FPS, the highest quality video setting, it takes about 1MB for a second video. This means a 2GB SD card can store more than half an hour HD video. Not very bad! Now, here is the downside. This camcorder has only 5x optical zoom and 60x digital zoom. It can not stand by its own, which means that if you would like to use remote control to shoot a video or take a photo of yourself, you have to buy a tripod and put the camcorder on it. Also, the handle is not very comfortable to use. When I tried to press the video or photo button with my thumb, I could not hold the machine steadily and had to use my other hand to hold its LCD. Another thing is that the bag for the camcorder looks very cheap.Overall, this is a HD camcorder that does its job well. This is definitely my best buy for the year. You may find some negative reviews in Amazon.com or some other sites. But keep this in mind, most people are comparing this one with some HD camcorder with more than doubled or tripled price.