About a year ago I shot a similar video with my HV20.

After picking up the Sanyo Exacti DMX-HD1000 for $570 US in Akihabara, I of course started shooting some tests with it. So far, I've gotten some real crap footage and some fairly decent footage.

This is in contrast to the HV20 which, compared to the Sanyo, almost can't shoot bad pictures.

I'm not using the full auto setting because that seems to kick it into the full HD 1080i mode and my computer has a hard time editing it (core 2 duo, Sony Vegas 7.0e). The 1280x720, 60fps setting on the camera can be edited natively in Vegas but I've only done short projects so far.

So, I believe I had it in shutter priority mode (I can't read Japanese very well and there is no English menu on my cam). That said, I'm pretty sure I've got most of the settings figured out.

That left me to experiment with ISO and shutter speeds (does that make sense?). Basically, it seems like if you set the camera up right, it will give you some good pictures. But it is finicky. I've gotten some very bad footage with flickering lights both indoors and out. Really have to be careful with that and, unfortunately, you can't always see how the end result will look by the Sanyo's LCD screen.

The longer I shoot with the HD1000 the better I get with it so I'm going to hang onto it. Shooting to SD card is very cool. Just a joy not to have to input tape.

Oh, the cam did lock up on me once and refused to even turn off. I had to remove and replace the battery in order to continue shooting. I didn't lose any footage.

http://www.vimeo.com/859666

Just FYI, the clip is showing as protected.

Thanks Michael!

Stupid me. I think it's fixed now.

Randall ..'got to be a wild place to live! In roughly 200acres (80hectare) around there are only four houses where I spent my nights.

I love that billboard ..that begins to move! ..and the interesting lighted entry where you can quite clearly see people.

Also, if I was to do the 90meg dnld - how would the image change compared to Vimeo?

Do you think you get decent image quality when there are fewer colors and less contrast. ..I remember trying to do a watercolor of four eggs in a white dish - my talent was not up to my taste.

I'm fence sitting between a Canon HF and this cam. ..I have - and love - the Exacti WP, but am only loyal to quality.

Hi Jim,

I wanted to get a camera that recorded to SD card and not spend too much money because I already have an HV20 which I will use for more "serious" work. I put that in quotes because I'm just an amateur here!

But if you need a camera for a wider range of projects, you should probably take a close look at the AVC-HD offerings from Canon, Sony or Panasonic (I think it would be in that order for me). I haven't been able to use these cams personally (just seen them in the stores) but they very well may be worth the extra money.

Getting consistently acceptable images from the Sanyo is still a work in progress for me. But, admittedly, I really don't know what I'm doing. And I seem to be improving so that's a good sign that the camera may have enough "ooommph" in there to make it worthwhile.

I just see (like you mentioned) that some of these shots ain't too bad which gives me hope :-)

Under less colorful and contrasty conditions? I don't think that's a problem. It definitely needs light. I don't think I'd be very satisfied with it as a vacation cam. I also don't like the way it looks when I hand hold it and move it around. So I always use a tripod. But again, this could all be due to ignorance on my part.

If you d/l the file it will be cleaner/clearer. I also think you can see some of the foibles more easily :-)

I'm with you on the SD cards. My Canon SLR shoots to a card, the Exacti is carded .. I use lipstick drives for all sorts of things, so about the last thing I'll use are tapes. Most people in love with retro never had to use it - before it was retro.

I ran into the same 3-axis movement issue with the Xacti WP - it's so small I had to get a monopod to temper the Red Bull Shakes.

Have fun over there!