Archive for 2009
Does the Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 camera live up to full HD expectations?
Hi everyone, this is my first review so please be gentle. When Matt told me I would be getting a full 1080p HD camcorder for my first review I was really looking forward to it and at roundabout the £400 mark, one that was quite affordable in the growing market of full HD cameras and the latest in the already popular Xacti series. Let’s see if it’s as good as I’d hoped.
The Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1
What’s in the box?
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Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1
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Battery
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Hand Strap
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Lens cap
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Mains Charger
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USB Cable and USB adapter
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Component AV Cable
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Remote Control
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Easystart manual and software/manual disc
Check out Matt’s Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 unboxing video for a more detailed look at the camera.
Sanyo Xacti VPC-FH1 specification:
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Effective pixel count/Camera element |
Stills: Approx. 8.0-Megapixels |
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Camera element |
1/2.5 inch CMOS sensor, Approx. 8.1-Megapixels (total) |
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Recording media |
SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card (up to 32GB) |
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Recording file formats |
Photos: JPEG (DCF*1, DPOF*2, Exif Ver2.2*3) |
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Resolution (pixels) |
Photos |
12M: 4000 x 3000*4, 8M-H: 3264 x 2448 (low compression) 8M-S: 3264 x 2448 (standard compression) 6M[16:9]: 3264×1840 2M[16:9]: 1920×1080 2M: 1600 x 1200 0.9M[16:9]: 1280×720 0.3M: 640×480 |
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Continuous shots |
8M: 3264 x 2448 , 6fps/Max 9 photos, 4M: 2288 x 1712 , 12fps/Max 15 photos |
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Videos |
Full-HR: 1920 x 1080 (60 fps/ 24Mbps) Full HD: 1920 x 1080 (60fields/sec 16Mbps) |
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Lens |
10x optical zoom lens; Aperture: F=2.0(W) – 2.8(T) |
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Photo range |
Standard: 50cm to infinity (wide), 1.0m to infinity (tele) / Super macro: 1cm – 1m (wide) |
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Digital zoom |
Shooting: 10x max., Playback 62.5x max. (12M mode, depending on the resolution) |
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Low light sensitivity (video) |
Approx. 6 lux (Auto mode, 1/30 sec.) |
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Stills sensitivity |
Auto (ISO 50 – 200), Manual (ISO 50/100/200/400/800/1600/3200, Switching system) |
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Digital Image Stabilizer |
Photos: Digital Image Stabilizer (Multi-Calculation method),Videos: Digital Image Stabilizer (electronic) |
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Audio |
Microphone: Built-in stereo, Speaker: Built-in monaural (L+Rch mixed output) |
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LCD monitor |
3.0 inch, Low-temperature polysilicon TFT color widescreen LCD display, Approx. 230,000 pixels (7-level brightness, 285 degrees rotation) |
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Languages |
English/ French/ German/ Spanish/ Italian/ Dutch/ Russian/ Portuguese/ Turkish/ Thai/ Korean/ Simplified Chinese/ Traditional Chinese |
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Interface |
AV output (Video: HDMI/D/ S-Video/ Composite video(NTSC/PAL) Audio: Stereo sound) |
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Power source |
Lithium-ion battery x 1 (DB-L50 included: 1900mAh) AC-adaptor |
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Power consumption |
When using battery: 4.3W (when filming videos) |
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Approx. battery-use time |
Photos: Approx. 355 shots (CIPA standard), Continuous video filming: Approx. 135min./Continuous playback: Approx. 350 min. |
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Dimensions/Volume |
53.3 (W) x 57.3 (H) x 105.0 (D)mm (maximum dimension, excluding protruding parts) |
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Weight |
Approx. 299g (main unit only), Approx. 342g (including battery, Approx. 41 g, and SD card, Approx. 2 g) |
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SD Memory Card Type |
Video Recording Time (Total Time) |
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Full-HR |
Full-HD |
Full-SHQ |
HD-SHQ |
TV-SHQ |
Web-SHR |
Web-UHR |
Audio Memo |
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16 GB |
1 hr 28 min. |
2 hr 11 min. |
2 hr 54 min. |
3 hr 51 min. |
11 hr 06 min. |
4 hr 19 min. |
41 hr 19 min. |
261 hr. |
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SD Memory Card Type |
Number of Photographs |
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12M |
8M-H |
8M-S |
6.0M [16:9] |
2M [16:9] |
2M |
0.9M [16:9] |
0.3M |
8M Cont. |
4M Cont. |
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16 GB |
4,020 |
4,020 |
5,940 |
7,920 |
21,700 |
22,700 |
41,600 |
99,800 |
5,940 |
11,800 |
General
Front – Lens, flash and stereo mic’s left and right side
Sanyo Xacti FH1 front view
Side – Right side has hand strap and lens cover holder, left side has Viewing screen which when opened reveals the on/off switch plus USB, Component/AV and HDMI sockets as well as the SDHC card holder
Sanyo Xacti FH1 left side view
Screen – The screen is a 3.0 inch, Low-temperature polysilicon TFT color widescreen LCD display, approx. 230,000 pixels (7-level brightness, 285 degrees rotation)
Bottom – Underneath is the battery pack cover which slides off and the tripod screw
Top – On top is zoom rocker switch and small speaker grill
Controls – Controls are at the rear of the camera with the stills record button on the top left and the video record on the top right with a set joystick and menu button. Underneath that is the AC adapter socket which has a rubber grommet type cover and the unlock latch for the battery cover.
Sanyo Xacti FH1 back view
Highlights
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Good build quality and looks
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Value for money
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Light and easy to use
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Good quality video and stills
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Remote Control
Lowlights
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No HDMI lead (optional extra)
Review
I don’t know about you, but being a bloke I tend to get things out the box and see how much I can do before referring to the instruction manual, this was no exception to that rule. I am pleased to say that it was all very user friendly and I managed to use all functions of the camera and navigate the menu system without any need for instruction. Big plus point for Sanyo.
I like the looks of the camera especially in gloss black which has a glittery paint finish on the main body of the camera with silver round the lens. You can also have it in gold as well if that takes your fancy. The Xacti FH1 feels solid, robust and comfortable in your hand with your thumb falling nicely on the rear controls. These controls are large and nicely spaced out and you get used to them very quickly which is great when you need to record the action fast.
The 3″ screen is sharp and clear and makes framing your shots easy. The menu system is very straightforward to use and even gives you a simple menu option for a less detailed format. You can even adjust white balance , exposure etc for the more manual touch and has 9 point or single spot focus and autoflash. It has face recognition/ face chaser technology which keeps track of up to 12 faces at any one time which is great for group or family shots. The FH1 also includes video and image stabilisation, a must for any kind of movement while recording.
I tested the video and stills out on my 46″ Toshiba LED TV and were very pleased with the results. I used the supplied component leads and also dropped the SDHC card straight into my PS3 which outputs in 1080p just to see if there were any difference, but both ways resulted in great picture quality and clear sound with the camera switching from high to low light very well. The stills are 8mp (12mp interpolated) and were good quality with nice colours and sharp focusing although you have to get used to pressing the stills button down halfway, waiting breifly for focus then pressing all the way down to take a picture with a shutter sound effect, the clever bit is being able to take stills while recording video. I also like the included remote control, very handy when playing back through your tv still sitting in your favourite chair.
The only thing that disappointed me was a lack of an included HDMI cable, especially when there is a HDMI socket on the camera, it is an optional extra (VCP-HDMI02) as well as a battery charger (VAR-L50) and spare battery (DB-L50).
As far as recording time goes I used an 8 Gig SDHC card which will give about 1 hour recording time in full HD (more info in specs). Battery life is also very good with an average of over 2 hours this includes recording video, taking pics and playback through the screen and TV output. The 10x optical zoom with 16x advanced zoom and 160x digital zoom works well and is smooth and progressive with the super macro mode working well for close-up work.
Software
A Sanyo Xacti software CD is included with:
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Arcsoft Total Media Extreme for full hd playback and editing
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Arcsoft Panorama Maker 4 for easy panoramic photo stitching
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Xacti screen capture 1.1
Conclusion
In conclusion I really love this camera and would have no problem buying it myself or recommending it to anyone else. Apart from the unincluded HDMI cable I cannot find any real faults as it did exactly what it said on the box , a small, easy to use full HD Dual camera at a very reasonable price. What more can I say ?
Review by: Charlie
[ Post Tags: Camcorder, Video Cameras, sanyo Xacti FH1, VPC-FH1, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]
Edward has finally completed his full examination of the HTC HD2. In this great review we are taken through all major aspects of the HD2.
- HTC HD2 review – part 1: first impressions
- HTC HD2 review – part 2: camera
- HTC HD2 review – part 3: software – too much lipstick on that pig made by Microsoft
- HTC HD2 review – part 4: video recording
- HTC HD2 review – part 5: usability of user interface
- HTC HD2 review – part 6: apps and mobile broadband speed test
- HTC HD2 review – part 7: more about photo taking and video recording
- HTC HD2 review – part 8: size comparison of HTC HD2 with iPhone and other cellphones
- HTC HD2 review – Part 9 – Conclusions
There’s no debating it: having 8GB of onboard storage on your phone is great. What’s even better, though, is if you can actually use it — and currently, owners of Palm Pres and Pixis are stuck with an arbitrary limit for curious technical reasons that caps app installations after a couple hundred megabytes and change. Back in the day when the App Catalog had a few dozen submissions, that was fine and dandy — but these days, owners are staring down the barrel of a selection more than 500 apps deep, so the time’s definitely come to put this annoyance to bed. PreCentral is reporting that webOS 1.3.5 will finally kill this one by moving app storage to another partition on the device’s memory — the media partition — which has about 7GB free on a completely virgin phone. Coincidentally, this is the same partition that gets used when you hook up mass storage mode on a PC, so to prevent unencumbered copying of apps off the device, Palm will allegedly be employing some sort of on-the-fly encryption that keeps apps secure while connected. Next step, Palm: microSD expansion so we can install each and every one of those 500-plus apps. What do you say?
[Source Engadget]
Launched a few months ago in Korea the LG GD510 Pop offered to be a more environmentally friendly handset with the option of a replacement battery compartment with a built-in solar panel.
The LG GD510 Pop
The DG510 may be fairly basic, no 3G or WiFi connectivity available for starters, but it’s not a bad looking handset and if you are looking for something that’ll easily slip in your back pocket or purse then the GD510 is small, slim and light enough to do that and still sports the S-Class user interface!
So we’ve been playing with the LG Pop for a few days and will have a full review on site for you soon. Have a look at the unboxing video below for a tour of the hardware and a brief look at the UI.
LG GD510, or more simply, “Pop”, the most compact 3-inch full touchscreen phone ever made. The LG GD510 is the handset people who want a simple touchscreen phone have been waiting for.
LG has been one of the industry’s leading innovators in touchscreen phones since it launched the world’s first full touchscreen phone, PRADA Phone by LG, in January 2007. Since then, the company has achieved great success in the touchscreen devices market by creating an array of handsets designed to meet different consumer needs. For instance, LG’s Cookie (KP500) is an affordable full touchscreen phone that has already sold more than 7 million units worldwide since its launch earlier this year. With the LG GD510, LG is applying its tried and true strategy to another new model – this time, to a compact full touchscreen handset.
LG GD510 Pop specification:
- Display: TFT touchscreen 240 x 400 pixels – 3.0 inches
- Memory: 42MB internal storage
- Card slot: up to 16GB
- Dimensions: 97.8 x 49.5 x 11.2 mm
- Weight: 87g
- 2G: GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
- Camera: 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels
- Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS
- Bluetooth: v2.0 with A2DP
- USB: microUSB
Posted by: Matt
HTC have stated they are going to down the number of phones produced and concentrate on promoting those devices. Fewer devices and better level ingenuity in each. So, HTC have announces no less that 15 Android devices, So of the name include – Bahamas, Bravo, DesireC, Dragon, Espresso, Halo, Huangshan, Incredible, Legend, Liberty, Memphis, Paradise, PassionC, Passion, Sapphire, Supersonic, Dream, HeroCT, HeroC and Hero. Some models are already known, and others are new.
So in actual fact they have downed the number of Windows Mobile devices in favour of Android. I would imagine that a number of these are variants of the same model.
In light of the recent Sony Ericcson mess The Inquirer have typed up an article that I’m sure any mobile phone user can identify with, buying a new phone that just isn’t up to scratch. Be it a hardware problem, undeveloped software or just plain broken right out of the box, The Inquirer has outlined feelings on both sides of the board.
Built by Huawei and is a rather splendid Android handset which is getting positive vibes across the web.
Inside you’ll find a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.5" 320 x 480 screen, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, compass and more. Now it’s even cheaper than ever before – just £91.34 on Pay As You Go! Mental! That’s a real bargain, and I’m seriously considering buying this as a Christmas present.
Link – T-Mobile Pulse
Source Coolsmartphone
Well it doesn’t seem so long ago that we reviewed the Nokia E71 but it was in fact over a year ago that the E71 landed on my desk! This week we are going to be looking at the Nokia E72 which replaces the E71.
The Nokia E72
As you can see, the E72 is an evolutionary step from the E71 rather than a revolutionary handset. Virtually the same keyboard, screen and form-factor for the E72 but the design is updated, the black version we have has a chrome bezel around the front and a mirror finished battery cover which I think looks really good.
The other thing to like about the E72, and the E71 for that matter, is just how thin it is; just over 10mm thick it will easily fit in your trouser pocket without leaving an awkward bulge.
We have a number of forward-facing QWERTY handsets in for review at the moment so we’ll be making comparisons between the E72 and the Blackberry 9700 and Samsung Omnia Pro. Review will be here soon but take a look at the unboxing video for a tour around the handset.
Nokia E72 Specification:
- Dimensions: 114 x 59.5 x 10.1mm
- Weight: 128g
- Battery: Capacity: 1500 mAh
- Talk Time: 12.5 hrs
- Standby Time: 576 hrs
- Display: 320 x 240 pixels/2.36 inch
- 2G: 850/900/1800/1900 (Quad-Band)
- 3G: 900/1900/2100 (Tri-Band)
- Camera: 5 mega-pixels (auto-focus)
- LED Flash
- FM Stereo Radio (RDS)
- Visual Radio
- Nokia Music Store
- SMS / MMS (with video)
- E-mail (POP3, SMTP, IMAP4, MS Exchange)
- Memory: 250MB (internal)
- microSDHC (external)
- microUSB
- Nokia 3.5mm AV connector
- Bluetooth (2.0)
- Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11g)
- AGPS
- Electronic Compass
- Nokia Maps
Posted by: Matt
If you own or work at company that is selling something, then forget having a fancy website! Now it’s all about having an iPhone app: if your company has one, you can count on sales…
Continue Reading »
You may have read in the last few weeks that some retailers had halted all Sony Ericsson Satio sales due to a software problem.
Sony Ericsson Satio
Well, the word on the street is that the problems has been resolved and devices will be on the shelves again tomorrow. This has been confirmed by Carphonewarehouse.
Clearly it may take a while for all retailers to get sorted out as there will be operator specific versions of the firmware that will need tweaking also.
It looks like Sony Ericsson have pulled this one out of the bag just in time for the Christmas rush. It very nearly went a bit pear shaped for them!
Posted by: James
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