Low light samples
 

Hi HD1-owners !

Is it possible for one of you to post one or more movie clips from low light environments ? Example a livingroom in the evening/night with normal (and only) incandescent lightening. If possible, clips with full auto, and clips with manual settings.

And what is your experiences with HD1 in low light compared to other movie cameras ?

Best regards
Kjetil, Norway

Graham, just curious how quick Sanyo is on releasing upgrades. Was it issued weeks, months or years after the release of the C1?

No idea, sorry.

I simply googled, curious to know whether the Xacti line had a history of updating firmware.

Actually, my national Sanyo repair crowd says I would have to visit them to get such an update. If within warranty it would be free, otherwise it would cost about €50. They seemed unawares that a C1 update was downloadable.

Or maybe they are fully aware of that - but the HD1 is going to be a totally different story.

My hunch is that we will see a firmware update within 12 months - whether online or in repair centres.

The interest in the HD1 is far greater than the interest in earlier Xactis.

I've heard there will be a short period during which it will become difficult to get one - that they only manufactured 5,000 to start with.

Sounds unlikely to me, but I don't know much about that kind of thing.

See Below


1--Can the HD1 serve as my primary compact camera?

No one here can answer this it depends on your wants needs and expectations

2--Related to 1 above, will the stills be better or worse than a FUji 700?

I dont have a fuji 700 so I can say. I can say I prefer the still sfrom my casio z57 but that 10x just rocks !! so its a toss up I say yes.

a--Forget that the flash is weak. That means little since most small cameras have weak flash. Is the flash and low light operation comparable to a $300 compact camera?

Dont know. I have a Casio Z57 I think its better it low light but not by much I think the flash in the Sanyo is fine but I dont plan to do much still shooting with it.

b--Is the speed comparable to my Fuji F700 in terms of shot ot shot still speed and focus speed?

My casio is faster but the sanyo really is not far behind at all. its pretty quick. and the flash recharge time is DEFINATELY faster than my casio (pretty impressive really)

the shot to shot in single shoot mode is under 2 seconds. it can also d 3 shots in about half a second.

3--I don't care if the video isn't fully HD quality. Is it significantly better than the 640x480 AVI video taken by most compact cameras like my F700?


So far it is better than ANY under $500 camera I have ever touched and better than ANY video from a digital still camera.


4--Can the camera function as the primary non-enthusiast video camera?

I would say yes. It also has a sickeningly amazing macro mode !!

a--Do you get usable video indoors?

Depends. Normal "lit" indoors absolutely (to me at least) Candle light or dark restaurant ? NO not even close will need aux lighting. then again not one of my $500 of less camcorder could do this either.


b--Is it automatic enough to just turn on and start takign pictures of kds playing i.e. ability to focus, exposure capability when automatic?

Absolutely. two dedicated buttons right for video left for pictures. if you set it for 1.2mp it can seemlessly take pictures WHILE shooting video without interuption. higher than 1.2 and the video will "stall" during that moment when you took the picture and then resume.


I think the 4GB SD card question has actually been answered in the positive since at least two people have used them successfully in the camera. Computer card readers, however, may not work. You may have to transfer from the camera to the computer via USB.

Just find a card reader that does work. that issue is totally irrelevant since card readers are ultra cheap.

Chris Taylor
http://www.nerys.com/