Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 Flash Media Camcorder

This is a great little camera. It's very simple to use, even a child could operate it. This model shoots, for video, either 480i SD or 720p HD. You can switch back and forth freely combining videos of multiple resolutions on one SD card.

This camera has no moving parts save for the autofocus and zoom, as it records to a SD card. Figure about 20 minutes of video for a 1gig card, depending on the quality and resolution settings. It comes with a very robust feature set, like several quality settings for both video and still photography. It also has very sweet optics with 9 groups and 12 elements.

It has decent editing software right in the onboard firmware, which is handy for squeezing space from your memory card in the field. It charges via a docking module that connects via USB to your PC.

It also comes with editing and conversion software on CD. It's ok, but you'll probably want 3rd party apps for serious work.

For HD it records at 720p, but be advised that hand holding a HD video cam will net you iffy results at best. A monopod at minimum is recommended for HD work.

There are lots of accesories available for this cam, like add-on telephoto and wide angle lenses, battery chargers, lens filter holders, and the like. A required, IMO. accessory is a second fully charged battery while in the field.

The cam comes with a nice case, an excellent (200 pages in English) printed manual, a multi-function docking port that can be used for Component HD/Composite SD video display directly from the camera as well as a charging and a USB port.

Also, with Sd card recording, this camera is best suited for small snippets of video as opposed to half hour chunks. But then, with 8gig SD cards available, who knows!

If you are looking for a quick shot video cam that gives great quality imagery and is ultra compact, then this is the ticket. With no moving parts you can go from the case to power on to shooting in a second or two. Very nice indeed.

Small, lightweight, and easy to use. Excellent quality imagery due to the advanced optical system. A great deal for the money. SD card recording means you are up and running FAST! Nice ergonomics, easy one hand operation. Nice quality audio recording too.

Battery can go dead in less than an hour, so get an extra one (about $40). Long video segments make for gigantic filesizes, and take a long time to convert to other formats and to move to your PC's HD.

I have owned several video cameras over the last 20 years.

No need for it yet!