Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1010

When you’re out and about, it’s handy to have the option of whipping out a video or still camera to capture some footage or take a few snaps, especially now that it’s so easy to share the results on the internet. But carrying around both a camera and a camcorder can be a drag. However, models that build the two options into one are rarely the sum of two equally strong parts. More often than not, you get a good camera that produces so-so video or a quality camcorder that isn’t great at stills. So, can this Sanyo model buck the trend?

Features:
There’s no denying that the HD1010 is an excellent video camera, capable of full HD quality with its resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and recording at up to 60 frames per second in interlaced mode (the equivalent of 1080i HD). It has a 10x optical zoom – impressive for a device this small – and good image stabilisation.

On the stills side, a pop-up flash helps in low-light conditions and its maximum resolution of 8 megapixels is approaching what you’d expect on a standard compact camera. It’s not quite as good as a dedicated snapper, but if you’re more likely to capture the moment on video, rather than still shots, it’s a perfectly adequate back-up.

Performance:
Video quality from the device is excellent but, to make the most of the HD options, you’re going to need some serious computing power to play and edit the footage. If your PC is reasonably new and already has a Blu-ray burner, you should be able to cope. The other alternative is to stream it straight from the camera to TV using the supplied dock and HDMI cable, though you’re going to get through a lot of memory cards – its MPEG-4 compression promises 87 minutes of full-resolution footage on an 8GB memory card. The camera can even take video at 300fps (frames per second) so you can get non-jerky slow-motion footage.

Unfortunately, you can only get widescreen mode on higher resolutions – the camcorder’s TV and web quality modes are all 4:3, which doesn’t take into account YouTube’s recent decision to go widescreen.

Photo quality is excellent – for a video camera. However, if you’re a keen photographer you’ll probably find that you can get better results from a dedicated model.

Ease of use:
There’s something about these pistol grip cameras that makes them extremely simple and comfortable to use. You needn’t lose grip when you’re adjusting the settings with your thumb and your hand stays in a natural position all the time you’re using the camera. All the controls are just under your thumb so swapping from camcorder to still camera, zooming and using most other functions is easy.

Value for money:
Surprisingly, given its specifications, this isn’t Sanyo’s top-of-the-range camera – the HD-2000 will do a jaw-dropping 600 frames per second, or a full 60 frames per second (non-interlaced). This model offers decent value for money for a high-quality camcorder. It’s still not cheap but compare it to what you could buy for the money, even just a year ago, and the price-to-quality ratio is very attractive.