Sanyo VPC SX500

I have just bought this camera. It is extremely good. The market price in Hong Kong is only $4280, but it worth much much more than that.

- Compact in size. It is just the same size as an ordinary full-auto camera. - Low power consumption. It comes with 4 NiMh AA sized batteries. As it only takes two at the same time, totally operationg last at least 6 hrs in total. You can also use traditional alkaline batteries which is available everywhere. - Extremely high speed (Hi-Tech). It can take 640x480 video clip with 15fps, or 320x480 with 30fps. Amazing! - It has manual shutter upto 4Sec which is good enough to take night scene. I have tested it. Really good and easy. - The resolution is extremely good for computer as it has 640x480 and 1024x768. Good for wallpaper without any editing. - Good picture quality, both day and night.

No manual aperture setting.

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A really fine camera. 1360x1024 resolution (stores pics as JPEGs) is great. It uses CompactFlash cards which are readily available. Includes four AA NiMH batteries and a charger (two go in the camera while the other two charge). Includes a serial cable which can be hooked up to either a Mac or PC. I would suggest getting a USB CompactFlash reader, instead, for $30 or so. This would negate the drawback of it not having a USB port. THE COOLEST FEATURES ABOUT THIS CAMERA IS ITS ABILITY TO RECORD QUICKTIME VIDEOS WITH SOUND!!! (stores video clips as .mov files) Using the 8MB flash card included, you can record a 23 second video with 320x240 resolution at 30 frames per second. I got a 48MB card which allows me to record up to five 30 second video clips. The camera is a little larger than a pack of cigarettes, so it fits into a pocketbook. Or, you can strap the included case onto your belt. The pictures are really great, as well...vibrant...sharp...detailed. The camera has a self-timer, a macro feature, a 2:1 digital zoom, and a built in flash. It's really an awesome camera. It's just a shame that Sanyo hasn't marketed it well in the U.S. (it is only sold at Sears). I think it's great!!!!!

Quicktime video recording capability with sound

No optical zoom...just 2:1 digital zoom No USB port

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