Originally Posted by Wacharapong Chiowanich

From what I've read on a number of online reviews, the Sony TG-1 may be superior, albeit a more expensive choice (camera, memory card etc.)

I have the Sanyo and after extensive field use, I've been absolutely convinced it has a few glaring weeknesses:

1. Image stabilization is wholely ineffective even at the wide end of the zoom which is not nearly wide. In full zoom, it is merely useless forcing you to use a tripod or at least a monopod. Quite often I have had to put the camera on my Steadycam Merlin to steady the footage. This is sort of silly as it defeats the main purpose of having a pocketable camera.

2. Auto focus is weak even in good light. In poor light it's worse. It often goes hunting as I pan across a scene or just when the main subject moves. You will need to learn how to use the focus lock function and use it frequently. Or you have to resort to manual focus, with a tiny toggle knob in place of a ring, again defeating the purpose of having a camera like this.

3. The LCD screen doesn't show the level of exposure you have set whether you are in manual, shutter priority, aperture (iris)priority or full program. The camera is obviously designed for newbies or casual users who could care less about manual control. In field use, I have had to go into one of the non-manual modes first, check the readings and then switch to manual to make sure I had gotten the exposure right. Very cumbersome and frustrating.

Other than that it is OK in my view. Also the camera records the footage in a format unique to what other brands, including the Sony TG-1, use. This ensures incompatability with most video editing software on both Mac and PC though this is another weakness I can live with.

The camera has it's strengths. The lens is sharp though not wide enough. When put on a proper support, the footage in good to moderate light always came out sharp with excellent color and detail (for a rather low bit rate of 13mbps). The battery lasted a long time. You can also archive your footge on any hard disk and view it later on your TV screens without hooking up to a computer.

There may be some more points but that's about it that I can think of.

Hope this helps.

Wacharapong