Sanyo announces HD2 !!!
 

Well...well...well...here we go again. A new xacti from Mr. Sanyo.

Read all about it over at Engadget.com:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/s...apixel-stills/

If Sanyo has lifted its quality control on this camcorder, I just might bite again.

"the HD2 kicks the stills up to seven megapixels, delivers 75% better low-light sensitivity"

It would be nice if that’s true.

I can't wait to see one. I have a JVC HD100 but want something for around the house in HD. The Everio HD was at the top of my list, but if the new Sanyo is much better than the previous model, I may look into that.

Will they also better the autofocus part? And what does 75% better mean? Fingers X-sed :)

Under Water Case
 

Does anyone know if the Hd2 Xacti will fit the newly released under water case?
http://www.divervision.com/catalog/p...roducts_id=311

75% better low light sensitivity would be great, but we'll need to see it to measure with any certainty. If it's just a gain increase, it's worth little. Comparing actual content in low-light will be the best test.

I don't know how good 75% good is but surely sounds like a substantial number. I hope they did improve the sensitivity and dynamic range. Can't wait to see the first test clip from HD2. It reminds me of when I first discovered DVinfo net. I was lucky to find this place in search for some HD1 sample clips.

There are 3 things that Sanyo has to improve:

1. jaggies
2. low light performance
3. autofocus

What I find amazing is that all non-professional reviews (T3 magazine, Stuff magazine) are raving about this machine and price. Mainly because of size, design and price. No wonder, after all it is a real gadget. A dutch gadget magazine didn't like it and was only positive about the 5MP photos. But all professional sites just give the HD1a bad reviews: Akihabara News, New York Times, etc. You name it, they smash it.

I did see some great footage from a spanish guy with the HD1 that he made around Madrid during sunlight. Great great PQ but taken with a tripod and hardly any moving scenery/zooming in.

So if Sanyo fixes these 3 things they will have a winner in their hands. Fingers X-ed until march :)

Some of the things are improved, but they are still stuck at 9mb/s. The question is, can they reduce the the noise and latitude problems with the higher mega-pixel sensor. The noise is what destroys codec quality a lot. The higher resolution might help with accuracy, jaggies and binning.

Shame, I was hoping they might have gone to 19mb/s and 60fps (and 19mb/s on 25/30/50/60p). It is the cheapest gadget, but HDV cameras are below $1000 on the street. I did some filming at 30th/s on my interlace sharp viewcam. If you film the way they do in 35mm film it is usable, but I think 60fps is a preferable over wise.

Maybe the senor is improved, but a wider aperture would have helped with low light noise etc. 1.8-1.2 (like the JVC GR-3000 1.3mp did) but I think around 1.8 is the limit because of size.

Will be interesting to compare.


Re-edit:

Forgot, I wonder if they will have one of those portable cable connectors with this one, that will give a live uncompressed undelayed output while filming?

Specs
 

Found a good link to the press release information and specs:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/pr/sa...pc-hd2_pr.html

The increases in low light are dramatic, interesting to see how low the previous camera scored.

HD2 at Sanyo website
 

Here you have the full info and specs:
http://www.sanyodigital.com/video_ca...HD2/index.html

There's a FIRST IMPRESSIONS review up elsewhere:

"We expect the VPC-HD2 to perform better overall, based on the upgrades Sanyo has made since 2006."

"Whether the performance increase will make the HD2 a respectable HD camcorder remains an open question pending our full review of the finished product."

"What we do know is that the CCD size remains 1/2.5” but that the gross pixel count has increased considerably from 5.36 MP to a whopping 7.21 MP."

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

My friends, I'm a marketing guy. As such, I know the importance of building hype on new products. These are press releases. They are made to build market awareness and interest, not necessarily to represent the truth. Remember the accolades Sanyo gave itself upon release of the Hd1. The reviews weren't all that accurate; the model went to market with significant flaws that Sanyo never corrected.

Until an actual unit is reviewed by a reputable source, it's all just smoke and mirrors... every day marketing propoganda. Show me substance and reliability. My faith was shaken with the HD1.

From the hype page: "Super-fast 9Mbs frame rate "..................

LOL, never realized 9Mbs was super-fast. That being said, I hope this little camera pushes the pocket-cam envelope.

JohnG