Comments on: Review: Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 Waterproof Camcorder

By: Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:21:09 +0000

I bought the E2 Christmas 2008, Love it! works as advertised. got some great underwater pool shots and video.

By: Udo Satiz

Udo Satiz — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:43:56 +0000

Good job! Keep going.

By: Gundy zultner

Gundy zultner — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:31:21 +0000

UNDERWATER WILL RUIN THE CAMERA – do it before warranty expires. Video is great, photos great for a year – but 14 minutes of “arm’s length” deep underwater and the camera stopped working. Customer Care Center said two CCAs inside were damaged. No consideration given: priced $250 to repair the $350 camera, back to its original “non-working” underwater performance!

By: Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:36:33 +0000

I have read your review and watch your video of you using the Xacti VPC-E1/E2 and excellent job by the way.
I was hoping you can tell me the difference between
the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1/Xacti VPC-E2
and Sanyo Xacti VPC-CA6/Xacti VPC-CA8
They look basicly the same and specs look the same, are they?
So are there just having 2 different model’s or are there actually 4 different.
I’ve asked Sanyo, and I’ve goten no response.

By: Lizzie_rb

Lizzie_rb — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:13:13 +0000

I have the Olympus that goes up to 33ft. It was a great buy! I have killed one, but the warranty covered it, and they basically replaced the camera. I’ve gotten some great pictures. I have found that you can take pictures faster with several setting options. The video mode is not awesome, but with a 10.1Mp camera mode, it says enough.

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:58:54 +0000

this camera is available in the UK its called the vpc-ca65

check it out here:

http://www.plemix.com you can get a REAL good price on it there.

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:57:02 +0000

Just was looking at your review of the xacti. I got one of the euro VPC-CA65ex models for a really good price, the only differences between the usa and overseas models are that the overseas model came with an international charger, and the ability to use on PAL and NTSC tv setups.

the lack of lens cover isn’t really a big deal, i have found the camcorder very durable, i take it with me everywhere i go.

Also, i’m not sure if your camera is different, but mine has a tripod mount on the bottom…

I found that the only downfall to this camcorder is the short battery life, and the nighttime outdoors video. (it doesn’t have a way to light up what you are shooting in the dark) so i built a led flashlight mount that holds a small led light on the bottom of the camcorder for night use, it screws into the tripod mount, works fantastic for camping or nighttime.

By: Lillian

Lillian — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 06:02:42 +0000

Thanks for the review. I fin the artifacts/shadowy/blur to be highly unacceptable. I only bought this because I have a $300 store credit at Sharper Image and with the sale of my Casio Exilim EX-S80, I could walkaway with a great deal. In fact, I wanted this to replace my Casio because I only use it as a camcorder. I assumed that this would be an improvement, but it’s not. The lighting is superior, but the audio and sharpnes of the Casio is highly superior. In every single video I have seen, the video on the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 looks poor (soft edges). Living in NY, I like the idea of being able to shoot spontaneously whenever, but not with this. I will return this and incest in a similar styled 3CCD camcorder.

By: SonicWind

SonicWind — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:22:39 +0000

@Jamie Harrop: I’ve seen complaints about the video fps, which is 30fps whereas the standard in the UK is 25. But I don’t really see what the big deal is. The Sanyo says it outputs PAL, though, so it’s probably just a menu item to select the direct output type. You might have to reconvert the videos you save to you computer in some cases, though.

By: Jamie Harrop

Jamie Harrop — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:26:21 +0000

It seems this isn’t available in the UK yet. :(

Does anybody know whether I’ll have any compatibility problems if I order it from Amazon.com and use it in the UK? I can’t imagine there would be any problem. Your water is the same as our water, after all. :lol: I just want to make sure. :)

By: John P.

John P. — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:13:19 +0000

JL,

Wow, you got a great deal! I need to go back to Amazon and try to get a credit!

And thanks for pointing out the tripod mount! You’re right and I am very, very happy to see that now! I don’t know how I missed it before, but it makes all the difference in the world. I guess I had been looking for a silver mount, but since it’s moulded in I missed it.

I just took a bunch of photos and videos in Hawaii, so I’ll be posting them over the next week or two as I get access to some broadband. The connectivity on the island of Lana’i is very poor. :-)

Take care,

John

By: JL Koffel

JL Koffel — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:32:59 +0000

Just bought the Xacti on Black Friday (2007) from the Apple Store online of all places. Amazing one day deal… $278 with free shipping!

Anyway, it arrived yesterday and I just got around to opening it up. I thought you might like to know that it does indeed have a tripod mount on the bottom, the lack of which was cited above in the review. I’m glad it’s there and that the stated lack of one was not a deal breaker.

Looking forward to trying it out. Not planning on a much underwater usage, but I will feel much more comfortable using it in rain or snow.

Cheers!

By: Derek Wong

Derek Wong — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:19:07 +0000

Oh I’ve totally snorkeled off of Lanaâ€™i! It’s beautiful there. Do you often go out there?

When I was there we tried to bring a cheap underwater camera to capture some of the sights, but unfortunately it wasn’t all that great. I could have used one of these things then, that’s for sure.

What else are you going to do there?

By: Lisa Marie Mary

Lisa Marie Mary — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:09:44 +0000

Wow! Great replies! We’re covering a lot of ground here, eh?

Well, if that’s all you’ve made with Revver, then I guess I’m none too excited. I had just learned about the earning potential the other day and my ears perked up, you know? Oh well – I’ve got plenty other dealios on the fire!

Viddler does sound cool!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my million questions! :)

By: John P.

John P. — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:17:43 +0000

OK, here is a long string of replies:-) :

Yeah, hopefully the camera will do well. I'm going to make a real attempt to start video blogging, and I think the upcoming trip to Hawaii will be the perfect time to do that. We'll see!
The cat is actually one that my brother and his fiance are taking care of for a friend. I have two very big dogs who would LOVE to play with Murmur... but I don't think he'd appreciate it very much. ;-)
I was using Revver almost exclusively because of the quality of the video embeds, not because of the revenue. In fact in total I've earned less than $20 from Revver.
I switched over to Viddler after Colin Devroe, Viddler's Community Evangelist, asked me to give it a try with the WordCamp videos. I had a little bit of a rough start with them, but now post everything there.
I like several things about Viddler:

People can leave tags and comments within any video posted. This helps organize them and lets people skip to good stuff.
They allow high quality uploads, and their compression doesn't make things look like crap.
I like the user interface much better than all other video hosts.

They are however going through growing pains, and are struggling with occasional service interruptions, etc. I really hope they do well, especially since I don't want to have to go and re-upload all of my videos to other hosting providers if they end up going away. :-)

I think I got it all! John

By: John P.

John P. — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:57:35 +0000

hehehe

By: Urbanist

Urbanist — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:51:25 +0000

OK now I’m sure this will be fun for snorkling and all … but I really think you should also sign up for the PlayBoy Passport club so you can use it in the hot tubs as well :D

By: MG

MG — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:50:35 +0000

Awesome review John! Wired also ran a comparo a while back on underwater-able cameras, although I don’t think they included this model (will have to double check). I haven’t been on a tropical vacation yet, but if I ever got that close, I promised myself I’d invest in one of these so that you don’t miss the cool ability to take home vids underwater :)

By: Lisa Marie Mary

Lisa Marie Mary — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:30:57 +0000

This is weird – when I go to the individual post page, I get signed out. Hmm…

Anyhoo – that camera is SUPER cool! I am just amazed that you can get an underwater camera for that ‘reachable’ of a price! I didn’t realize they weren’t in the thousands of dollars anymore – see, I come here to get my gadgetmucation! hahaha!

I like that camera – I’m excited to see what all you film with it on your travels!

And your cat is just way too cute!!!

Oh, and why’d you switch from Revver to Viddler? I just noticed you can actually make money using Revver – I didn’t know that before! So that sounds cool, but, if you have had a negative experience with them, it would be interesting to hear about. Or am I crazy and you’ve always used Viddler?

Gosh – that’s a lot of subjects in one comment! Sorry! Heee.

By: TheDane

TheDane — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:30:25 +0000

Looking forward to your future visit, we will gang up with Rhoody as well and go diving / snorkeling in one of the marine sanctuaries. Rhoody has a ton of great underwater shots on his site so you can see some of the stuff in store :)

I am looking forward to the videos from Hawaii, I think there is a turtle cleaning station there where you always see an abdundance of turtles…

I have only ever seen one turtle while diving and 2-3 while snorkeling here in the Philippines.

Turtles are cool!

Kim:)