I've had mine for several months now and have had the opportunity to use it in a variety of environments.

First, the pros: the build is better than anything I've seen from Sanyo to date. It has a nice heft to it, the controls are much smoother and more precise than in previous models ( allowing for less herky-jerk zooming ), and it looks like something out of the future. The flash is quite powerful, the lens seems to have none of the ghosting issues that plagued some of the earlier models and controls flare well even in oblique sunlight. It has a threaded lens so you can attach a 40.5mm protective filter as well as Sanyo-branded wide-angle, fisheye and teleconverter lenses. The menu system is intuitive like few I've seen from any manufacturer, the LCD is clear and bright ( if not razor sharp ) and the camera and SD compartments have now been separated from one another as well, with the ( long life ) battery being under the hand grip.
Ease of playback on an HDTV with the included base docking/charger could not be simpler, and the Sanyo Image library feature that allows movies to be stored in full HD on an external hard drive and be played back directly through the camera dock to the TV is brilliant. The ability to edit clips in camera is a real marketing advantage over the competition. It works well, too.
The camera seems quite durable, and after several months of use there is not one scratch on it. The fact that a lens cover is supplied and that it is a squeeze-type bayonet type is very nice by comparison to some of the primitive lens covers on other Sanyo models.
The camera has a vast variety of selectable options for metering, white balance, exposure, programs, movie and picture quality, saturation and color effects, flash modes, exposure compensation etc etc. It will take you quite some time to find out how to use this camera to its fullest potential.

Now the cons:
I'd hesitate to recommend this to people with small hands, as it is bulky enough to be "barely" hand-holdable by someone like myself with fairly large hands. My wife certainly couldn't hold this with one hand.
You like reviewing on your PC, you say? Again, forget about it. Unless you have the latest and greatest computer hardware and oodles of patience to find, download and install codecs, you won't be able to. As simple as that. My PC is two years old, and it can't even handle the 720p/30 fps resolution , much less the full 60 fps 1080i. Now, this is NOT a flaw or a fault of the camera, since other AVC/h.264 cameras have similar backward-compatibility problems with hardware and software that just can't keep up with the huge processing demands of the format. But it's still something you should know before you plunk down $ 700. Especially for Mac users. I'm not one, but discussion forums are a-twitter with angry Apple fans who notice that QT is not handling the full 1080i files.

The lens, big and lovely and fast as it is, still has the infamous Sanyo blue spot, which although barely visible still shows up in some shots, particularly indoors if there is a bright overhead light in the picture. I happen to notice it because I've had previous Sanyo models and was looking for it. You might not even notice it, it's that faint.

I was at first undecided whether to keep it or not, especially since at the time I bought it the price was $ 799 and the cheaper HD 700 had not yet launched. When it did launch, I ordered one , thinking it might be a cheaper and more compact but otherwise fairly similar model to the HD 1000. Wrong! After two weeks of side by side testing, the HD 700 was returned and I felt much better about the higher price of the HD 1000 considering the superior optics and video/images. It's worth the extra bucks.

It's worth noting that one of the more intelligent features is to have supplied the camera with a "Normal" and "Simple" mode. The normal mode allows more creative control; the simple mode automates the camera functions for those who just want to get good pictures and video without necessarily wanting to fudge around with settings.

Conclusion: very good and definitely a huge bound in the right direction for Sanyo to compete with the more established marques. It won't give you HD like a professional broadcast HDTV camera will, but try putting one of those in your pocket!

I have a Sony HDR-SR1, which I've had for a year and loved, but it only comes out when I know I want to shoot video... and so I've missed some spur of the moment footage because I simply didn't have it with me. I bought the Xacti to carry around all the time.

First off, this camera was designed to work with the Mac, and even comes wiht iTunes and Quicktime on the DVD in the box. There is a version of Quicktime 7.20 which has come out since which has a bug in it that prevents displaying the video. I expect that as of 6pm today-- when Leopard ships-- there will be a new version of quicktime that resolves this issue, so it should be resolved at any rate by the time you read this review. There is a workaround that I'm using to watch my footage-- I simply copied the H.264 component from Quicktime 7.16 (on the DVD with the Xacti) over the H.264 component on my 7.2 quicktime in /Systems/Library/Quicktime... and its working perfectly now-- editing in imovie, etc.

The camera has some great features compares to my sony-- more resolution options and it actually is higher resolution (1920x1080 at 60fps vs 1440x1080 at 30fps for the sony).

But the really compelling things is that this camera can live in your pocket and always be there.

It docks conveniently and will even act as a USB cam while docked if you want. Changing settings on the fly is really convenient- a lot easier than the sony. It does seem to have mroe difficulty focusing than the sony and it doesnt' have the niteshot feature or super-slo-mo that the sony does.

But the final straw that makes me love this camera-- since it shoots MP4 natively, you just copy the files over to imovie events folder and start up imovie. There's none of the long, tedious and hard drive consuming conversion that you need to do with AVCHD files (like the Sony and Panasonic cameras make.)

This alone make this a great camera for quick turn around shooting- you can shoot during the day, edit at night and post to the net that night.... its a really convenient workflow.

I have recently purchased a Sanyo Xacti HD1000 and love it.
My main requirements were:
1. Small so that I can take it anywhere.
2. Easy to transfer video to computer for editing and back up
3. Shoot great video
4. Take a decent photo in a pinch.
This camera performs all perfectly. I don't have one complaint!
I have just replaced a Panasonic 3ccd mini DV camera that took great video but was much more bulky than the Sanyo Xacti, it took forever to get the files on to the computer and was difficult to navigate from one clip to another. You would have to rewind or fast forward the tape to replay your clip from the camera.

Another great feature about this camera that I did not know until I received the camera was the ability to plug an external hard drive directly to the camera and use it for backing up and replaying files. This is great if you want to bypass putting the files on the computer. You can plug the camera into your TV via HDMI (or you're A/V receiver like I am doing) and play your videos through the camera to your TV. It comes with a remote control that allows you to use the camera just like a DVD player with menus to navigate your saved pictures and videos. How easy is that! When you add the external hard drive you are not limited to the files currently on the SD card in the camera and the playback quality is perfect.

I also purchased the 16gig HCSD card and the 32gig card will be out in January I hear. That's over 5 hours of pure HD content on a card.

One caveat that comes with this camera in regards to computer play back. You will need a newer computer to take advantage of the full hd 1080i, 60 frames per second video or you can reduce the quality to alleviate the strain on your computer. "Reduce the quality" does not mean all of a sudden your video will look like garbage. Even taking the quality down to 720P at 30 frames a second will be a huge improvement over any standard definition camera. The cameras capabilities exceed the capabilities of most older computers. This is not a bad thing. If we only expected Sanyo to release cameras capable of playing on most peoples three year old computer we wouldn't have this great piece of technology and we would all be complaining that only the people in Japan get the good stuff.

Something to keep in mind. If you are like me, your parents might have had an 8mm film video camera that they shot home movies with. We would set up the movie projector and the screen, feed the film through the reel and watch soundless, grainy, jerky video and it was GREAT! Any camera you by today will be an incredible improvement but you have to have the camera with you to shoot. Debating the image quality from one camera to another really doesn't matter if you don't carry the camera with you to record your memories. When you look back at your "home movies" 20 years from now when the video cameras will be 1000 times better than whatever is out there now you will still love the memories you caught. Don't agonize over reviews stating the ever so slightest advantage from one camera to another. Make a list of what you really want to do with the camera and how you will use it and find the best camera that suits those needs.

If having an easy camera to use in your pocket at all times to catch the moment is important to you, this could be the perfect camera.

After owning and returning the Sanyo Xacti HD700 I'm pleased to say that after 1 month with the HD1000, I love it. The model is far from perfect but it's the smallest 1080i camcorder on the market and truly jacket pocketable. Here are the major points for/against:

1. No optical image stabilization included. EIS just doesn't do as good a job and with a small cam any movement is exaggerated more so than with a big cam. This can be partially overcome by practicing good technique - learn how to hold your arms at your side and pan and breathe slowly. I use the analogy of skiing - many people complained that shape skiis helped poor skiers ski better than they were capable of on conventional skiis. With a cam this small and no optical IS, good technique is everything. I've also found that when possible, mounting and holding on a monopod (my cheap version of SteadyCam) greatly reduces hand shake. Shooting 720p at 60fps is amazing as there's very little jitter (jagged lines on screen) if you pan too quickly - not the case when using 30fps or slower.

2. Autofocus hunts around a lot and isn't as quick as Canon/Sony/Panasonic models. This took a while to get used to, using the manual focus and focus lock along with spot focus helps. This is my biggest complaint and I hope a future firmware update will alleviate.

3. As mentioned by many, it's an average low-light performer; not recommended if all you do is shoot indoors. There's also the problem that the wide angle part of the lens isn't that wide so shooting indoors is problematic.

4. HD quality is great, but it's not Discovery channel HD. Don't buy into the HD hype that a sub-$1000 cam can beat $5000+ cams. Given the size of the cam the quality is amazing - watching on a computer monitor doesn't do it justice. I HDMI outputted to to a 46" Sony Bravia LCD and all I can say is WOW. Once you've seen HD you can't go back to SD. Sure there are cams like the Canon HV20 that give better image quality at about the same price, but as of this writing, no cam that is pocketable. Furthermore in bright daylight, the HD quality holds its own against any consumer HD cam - the only people who will vehemently disagree are pixel peepers - the rest of us sitting 6ft or more back from the LCD screen can't tell the difference.

5. Photo quality is not as capable as similar small point and shoot cameras. But, given the size of this cam, I have room in the other pocket to carry my trusted Canon PowerShot SD870. In bright light the HD1000 photo quality is very good, but just don't expect it to beat a dedicated point and shoot. Keep in mind I'm a semi-pro photographer so I place a lot of emphasis on still image quality.

6. Very little MP4 file support in current video editing software. I've found that with tape I used to tape for 10-30min at a time. With digital MP4 I learn to shoot in spurts, 2min here, 1min there, 4min etc rather than trying to get the entire event without pausing. This makes it easier to watch short clips later and join together in editing. The cam also allows minor editing so I trim out bits I don't like before I download the MP4 files off the SD card.

7. Problem of workflow and what to do with all those MP4 video files; can't easily store away like tape archives. Be prepared to start buying external hard drives and doing regular backups. With tape, you'd fill the tape, transfer to computer to do any editing and then store the tape. With SD card, it's too expensive to keep buying them so the files are best offloaded to external hard drives, which are then backed up to DVD or another external hard drive.

8. It looks like a gun, even the Sanyo manual warns of potential of misunderstanding. Be careful of whipping out the HD1000 at night or pointing at anyone too quickly, especially in countries with relaxed gun laws :) The pistol grip design does take getting used to but I find it more comfortable now to hold than conventional cams - the other reason being I don't tape for an hour at a time but small segments.

9. Plastic lens cap isn't attached to cam (or built-in retractable) and easy to lose. Get a UV filter for the lens. Since this cam will probably live in your pocket and get used a lot it's quite easy to scratch the lens.

10. 1080i video requires latest modern Core2Duo computers to playback. My Mac can't play the 1080i but there are some codec workarounds until Apple fixes Quicktime. Windows users have more codec options but it is still taxing on the PC. Be warned, if you don't have the latest and greatest PC you're not going to be watching videos smoothly or doing any editing.

Whereas the mantra in real estate is location, location, location, for the consumer camcorder segment, it'd suggest size is everything. I recently sold my Panasonic PVGS500 which was a top performer in the consumer SD cam line. One of the reasons I sold that cam and didn't buy the comparably sized Canon HV20 was that I rarely brought the cam with me. It was too big and required its own carrying bag. It's like the guy who owns the Ferrari but never drives it because he worries it will be dirty or scratched. The HD1000 comes with me everywhere and is instant on! Previously there were so many missed moments that many times it was easier to film with my Canon point and shoot camera. BUT, there is no comparison in HD video quality once you've seen the HD1000 in action.

The HD1000 won't live in your pant pocket - too thick - but it fits perfectly in any jacket pocket. The HD700 was more pant pocketable but the video quality and performance just doesn't compare and even at $300 I'd hesitate ... yes the HD1000 is just that good! The sweet spot for me is filming in 720p and 60fps mode. 60fps is quick enough to capture most objects in motion smoothly and fluidly. 1080i gives slightly more detail, but the file size is also larger. Until video editing software catches up I'd suggest keeping the HD1000 at 720p/60fps.

The ability to playback the movies directly connected to the dock and external hard drive (Xacti File Library) is also a nice touch until BluRay or HD format DVD's become commonplace.

In conclusion, the HD1000 was one of my top useful gadget purchases of 2007 and one that is likely to be used weekly rather than living in my desk drawer.

****** Jan 2008 Update ******
I still love this camcorder. I've discovered that it is drag and drop easy to edit on the Mac using iMovie 08. iMovie and Final Cut Express 4 will both convert the H.264 files to Apple Intermediate Codec when imported - all done behind the scenes. Doesn't take long on my Intel iMac to do this conversion and then the file can be easily trimmed, titled, etc and one button publishing to .Mac web gallery.

The focus hunting still annoys me but the workaround is to setup your focus beforehand manually and adjust when needed. All things considered, I've taken more family videos with this HD1000 than I ever did with my full-size camcorders. The HD quality still continues to astound me and when Sanyo releases an update to the HD1000, this loyal convert will be happy to upgrade.

I first purchased the Sanyo 700 series HD camera and was not satisfied with the EIS or quality of the video as it relates to clarity and saturation. I played back the video on a relatively fast core duo machine with Nerovision and was very disappointed. The HD1000 is a little larger in size, but the quality of the 1080p video is just amazing. I also have the Aiptek GoHD camera and the 720p video on it was more superior than the Sanyo 700 series camera despite its 5mbs playback. My problem with it was the lack of a buffer and no image stabilization. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I went to a college homecoming football game and shot the halftime activities with the HD1000 and brought the camera home and hooked it up to my Vizio 47 inch 1080p TV and the video was most impressive. The size, portability, battery life, EIS, build quality, image clarity and color saturation are all pluses for Sanyo. I have considered the Panasonic SD series, Sony, Canon HG-10 and all I can say the best value for me is the Sanyo. Further, I have used the library function and attached a 250GB usb drive and the camera does all that is advertised. I do not however like using the camera for playback so I have on the way a TVIX 4100SH with a 300GB drive to drop my Sanyo HD footage on and use as a playback device in native h.264 format . I almost missed a most important point: SD ram, no harddrives to crash or tape. Playback on the HD TV was as smooth as my local HD TV channels. Bottomline: 5 STARS!!Sanyo Xacti HD1000 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I recently bought this video camera as I didn't want to go with the current trend of camcorders that tout 1920x1080 but are actually 1440x1080 anamorphically squashed recording (pixel aspect is 1.33). I also wanted a video camera that used SD cards rather than tape or built in hard drives. SD makes getting the file onto the computer the easiest it's ever been. I have an MP3 player that accepts SD and I use it to connect to my PC to move the files over. No more capturing from tape. One of the greatest features of this video camera is the ability to connect a small portable hard drive to transfer your videos over to. Think about it... you only need one SD card, say 16gb, and an inexpensive portal hard drive (80 gb are as low as $60). Then, when the card gets full you simply dump the video files to the hard drive, erase the card, and continue recording all over again! It's a cheap and effective way to increase your available recording time while traveling rather than buying a bunch of pricey SD cards.
br /
br /The HD1000 is simple to use and produces great results. Don't be mistaken - you are NOT going to get video that looks like what you see on HD broadcasts. Those cameras used for broadcast cost $7500 and higher. You will however have great video that looks better than anything you've ever seen on the prior generation of DV cams. And while some of the 1440x1080 cams may produce more impressive video the other features of this cam make it extremely worthwhile. I've found the indoor lighting footage to be much better than my older Canon DV cam. The sensor in this cam is fairly big at 1/2.5". But even better, I've found if indoor shooting looks too dark you can create a shortcut operation assigned to the joystick to increase exposure value. You simply increase the exposure value (EV) by pushing the joystick to the right. I went from somewhat dark indoor footage to excellent looking indoor footage.
br /
br /Editing the footage was simple and easy with the trial version of Vegas Pro 8 I downloaded. You can even re-encode back to the same MP4 format. But even cooler is the camera's function to do simple edits IN CAMERA with no quality loss. You can cut and join clips with no quality loss which is an invaluable feature. The HD1000 has a cold accessory shoe and a microphone in jack. With an external microphone you can adjust the input gain sensitivity which is great to avoid clipping when recording loud sources like a concert. It's also super small an light - so small you can fit it in your jacket pocket.
br /
br /The HD1000 can have a harder time focusing in some low light situations but it's tolerable and you can use a type of manual focus by selecting the targets range. The camera functionality on this camera is great. I've recently changed over to taking all my pictures in 16:9 since I prefer viewing pictures on our 52" Samsung LCD and this camera will take 3.5 megapixel images in 16:9, even higher in 4:3. The images look fantastic. They won't rival a higher end digital camera but they look excellent for a dual function video camera.
br /
br /As a last note - the MP4 files this camera records video as WILL play perfectly fine in a PS3 or XBOX 360 as both support AVC. For the PS3 you just need to make sure you put the video files in a folder called VIDEO or they will not show up. Again - create a folder on your SD card or USB stick (whatever you're using) called VIDEO and put your .MP4's in there. Beware of sample video clips on the net cause the 1080 interlaced footage looks so much better on an LCD TV than it will on a computer screen at lower resolution than 1920x1080. Also, a lot of the clips on the net are re-encoded to DivX and whatnot so there is some quality loss.
br /
br /I highly recommend this camera if good video picture quality, portability, ease of file transfer, or fast motion recording is important to you.

This product is amazing for the price. It has great color very crisp greens, blues, and reds. Very small and light weight fits into the palm of your hand. I found the menus to be logical and the controls easy to use. You also get a remote control to use for play back and recording. It comes with a docking station you can use to record HD video directly to an external hard drive or computer. The anti-shake feature works great. I recorded a scene doing a chase like sequence and it was very smooth. The camera works pretty well in low light however it does start to get a bit of grain when lighting is too dim. You can control your aperture, shutter speed, and iso manually. The cameral has output for headphones and input for an external microphone. It will also allow you to take photographs with a flash that will do red eye reduction. The videos on my 50" plasma look as clear as real life. Overall I am very pleased with this product and don't regret buying it at all.

I've had this camera since just after it launched. I have used it in a number of situations and have found that it performs quite well - doing what it says it will do and doing it quite well. I recommend the camera - if you have the tools to support it (more on that below). In summary:
br /
br /Pros:
br /1. Compact - carry it with you all the time if you want
br /2. Easy to use
br /3. Good feature set
br /4. Good video quality
br /
br /Cons:
br /1. Occasional focusing issues
br /2. Videos are limited to 4GB
br /
br /The details
br /First of all, I find the camera itself very easy to use. The controls and menus are extensive and intuitive. I've been able to set this camera up for a variety of shooting situations easily and with consistently good results. Once you understand the settings you should use, you can get great quality video from this camera.
br /
br /I have noticed occasional focus issues, but they've never been a significant problem. Other than that, the camera itself performs marvelously. Also, be aware that the video files are limited to 4GB. The camera warns you, but if you're shooting long sequences (40 minutes or more) be prepared to stop the camera at an appropriate point and start the recording again with a new file.
br /
br /When plugged into my 1080p TV through HDMI, the highest resolution video looks spectacular. I'm not sure what the reviewers who talk about "webcam" quality were doing, but that has not been my experience. The video quality for me has been consistently amazing.
br /
br /You'll also read other reviews here that talk about a wide range of difficulties people have had editing and rendering video - specifically for DVD. I experienced some of these problems as I figured out how to use the camera and get the media into DVD format. The biggest problem you'll face if you want to record and manage the highest resolution footage is having the computing power to edit the footage. 1920x1080 video demands VERY high processing power to edit. If you don't have a high-end core2 duo processor and lots of RAM (and the software that can take advantage of its power) it will be very time consuming (if not impossible) to edit and render high-def video.
br /
br /But let me say this, unless you're producing blu-ray or HD-DVD video (or simply showing the video straight from the camera) you shouldn't be shooting in the highest resolution. Remember that standard DVD video is a 720x480 pixel frame. So, if you shoot at one of the medium resolution settings, you have more than enough pixels to get great DVD video - and you're not taxing your editing system unnecessarily. You still need a good computer, but it's a reasonable process.
br /
br /So, once I understood some of these issues, I have been able to produce extremely high-quality DVDs with this camera. I'm very pleased. I'm even considering getting a second camera so I can do multiple camera shoots.
br /

I love this cute HD camcorder. My priorities are as follows in order:
1. small enough to carry around anywhere
2. Better video quality than miniDV
3. Easy video editing

I don't do video editing usually but this product allows editing the video from the camcorder without PC. Even the files in external hard disk can be edited without PC connection. Wow! This is enough for me. The picture quality is very good and far enough for consumer market. Yes in indoor it is not HD quality but it is on par and enough for me.
The focusing and image stabilizer should be improved especially in indoor. But I'm happy with the purchase.

Initially, I had purchased the Xacti HD2, basing the purchase off reviews from Amazon. Boy, what a let down. Awful HD picture quality: muddied lows, over-exagerated highlights, FisherPrice-like compression. Yet, the SD (standard definition) quality was spot-on. Seeing as I was looking for HD, though, I returned it and began reading reviews for the HD1000; initally I was wary that Sanyo would offer up the same shortcomings as it had with the HD2. Not to worry. Sanyo has done its job and then some with the HD1000 ... so long as you keep the camera in 1440/60fps mode.

Low light produces only a little more noise than one would expect with most other cameras on the market right now, and in daylight this camera outputs some of the most beautiful footage I've seen from a consumer-grade HD camera. Do yourself a favor when you get this camera, and set aside the bucks for at least an 8GB HCSD card. Anything less ain't worth it.

Just like with the HD2, stay away from the camera's highest setting, and you'll be impressed with the results. Well worth the price.

UPDATE: As of December 18, 2007, this camera is sold cheaper than the HD2 on Amazon. PLEASE do yourself a favor, save some money, and get this above the HD2. You'll thank all of the good reviews for the HD1000 later.

I have the Sanyo HD1000, I have yet to find any alternatives that match up. Come on Canon, Sony, Panasonic, we are waiting. (Sony has the "HDR-TG1" for $900, but it doesnt have microphone, the pictures are "horrible", the interface sucks, and you need to use their memory cards).
br /
br /POSITIVE:
br /4MP photos. 1080i Video, 720p 60 fps video. Find those kind of stats anywhere else in this size.
br /FYI: It has 8MP pictures, but they are "interpolated".
br /
br /NEUTRAL:
br /The glass large lens = great, but doesnt have an automatic cover. The lens cover is always coming off in my pocket. I bought a $12 Hoya UV filter from BH, and it was a perfect solution. Now I also dont have to worry as much about lint getting in under the lens.
br /
br /
br /NEGATIVE:
br /I turned off the image stabilization after I started noticing parts of the video jump around. I thought the camera was broken until I saw a video of a kid showing how bad "software" image stabilization was. the kid mounts this camera on a tripod and videos himself dancing around the room. The camera moves the fireplace, and other fixtures to "stabilize" the image.. it is wacky. Is it a big deal? No, I'd still buy this the Sanyo HD1000.. there isnt anything better. But it sucks to not have any image stabilization. At 10x, it looks like a drunkard videoing.
br /
br /POSITIVE:
br /Small, I can put it in a shirt pocket, front pocket of jeans, etc.
br /
br /POSITIVE:
br /GREAT microphone in, headphone in jack. Excellent sound recording.
br /The camera is so small, I take it everywhere. I used to be frustrated watching something AWESOME I recorded only to discover I couldnt hear people I video'd (I'd hear the room/car/blurry noise instead). This camera has an external (small, wired) microphone and headphones that I use when recording specific conversations/sounds. It is AWESOME. The headphones is a nice touch, I will have these features on all my next video cameras. Now I can record and HEAR in a restaurant, noisy environment (subway), or just isolate a conversation to hear it better.
br /
br /POSITIVE:
br /Another thing that absolutely stands out: It is EASY to use.
br /EASY EASY EASY EASY EASY. This is the first camcorder that nobody in my family has had problems using. They (and I) complain about the shape, but the interface is such a beauty. I wish they would sell the interface to other companies, Fuji, Canon, Panasonic.. could all learn from this camcorder.
br /
br /NEUTRAL:
br /The picture taking ability = "OK". It sucks to look at a guy with a $200 camera that takes better or just as good pics as me.
br /
br /NEGATIVE:
br /Video auto-focus. Whoever designed the autofocus must have been given a budget of $1. On most camcorders, you never even notice autofocus.. you move the camera and it takes a second.. no big deal. On this one, is is HORRIBLE. It will autofocus for 10 seconds, then be ok for about 5, then autofocus 10 seconds again. Recording video in low light is so maddening. I have to turn the light on or just give up. Is it such a big deal that I regret buying it? HELL NO, what other options do I have? Nobody else makes anything even close to this good.
br /
br /
br /POSITIVE:
br /This comes with a GREAT remote control! My first response was... why would I need one of those? Well, it rocks. Usually I am never in the pictures... when my family takes them, 90% are of the wall, a foot, or the back of someone's head. I never see video of myself. Soooo, now I carry around a pocket tripod, set it up sometimes (along with my headphones in and microphone) and can take pics video with the remote. Features it has: zoom in/out, video, pictures, menu, and more. It also has a "power" button, but it doesnt allow me to turn it on/off with it, I am not sure if it is broken or is supposed to not work.
br /
br /POSITIVE:
br /Battery life = GREAT
br /I have not yet run out of battery when video taping at an event. This is a really important feature that most companies leave out. I hate having to bring 3 or 4 batteries with me.
br /An 8GB card holds about an hour of video, and 3000 pictures or so. I dont believe in taking more than 3 or 4 minutes of video, so I rarely fill it up. The battery life is so good, nobody is selling aftermarket batteries that are better, it is really cool.
br /
br /

I was just lucky enough to purchase one of these on eBay for $300. I had originally purchased the HD700, but it is being discontinued so they upgraded me to the HD1000 for no extra charge. I was worried about some of the reviews, but most of them that are negative seem to be put out there by people with too much time on their hands. While I respect that the camera won't compare technically to $3k and up models, most of us are just looking for something compact with good quality. This camera does not disappoint. So far most of my testing has been indoors in low-light conditions and it is excellent. Is it "HD" in those conditions? Yes and no. The ability is there, but with such a lack of light you see the imperfections. When you have the light to work with, the picture is beautiful. Obviously it won't work for professionals, but for amateur filmmakers and home video enthusiasts it is perfect. It has plenty of features and links up with my iMac easily. I had to copy the old H264 codec (from CD) over the new one I had installed to get the 1080 video to play, but it works now. You can import directly into iMovie from the memory card in the camera. It is fantastic! I am very happy so far and would recommend buying to anybody who is having doubts. Remember that most of the naysayers are speaking from a technical POV, and not from a practical one. I would recommend however that you try to find it cheaper. Also, make sure you have a class 4 or better memory card to avoid complications when recording. I haven't had any problems with my class 2 card, but have heard horror stories.
br /
br /I love this camera. I use it for personal use, but do have a video editing company/background. It won't disappoint most people, and you should buy it.

My boys are 12 and 14 yrs old and play basketball for their club and school teams. I thought about videorecording with my camcorder but my experience told me I would rarely look at the footage again.
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br /I started using my digital camera with its 640x480 resolution and its 30fps output. Very happy with it as it recorded to SD cards that I easily transferred to my computer and edited using Windows Movie Maker 2. I must give Windows high praise for this free software as it is very easy to put together great video compilations with various special effects, titles and music.
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br /As with all things technical, I started to learn more and wanted better quality. Needed higher resolution, better low light performance, better optical zoom, etc. etc.
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br /Voila! This is where the Sanyo HD1000 solves my problems!!
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br /1 - widescreen format - fills the whole TV screen
br /2 - it is HD quality - we have a 60" TV so this makes a big difference
br /3 - it is compact thus ensuring I'll bring it to the game in my jacket pocket and not feel dorky carrying a big camera bag.
br /4 - it records to SD cards - makes it very easy to transfer to the computer. For sports, I stop recording at each whistle. When I review later on my computer, I'll edit the filename of clips with good action so that I can identify them easily later
br /5 - very good performance in indoor lighting situations
br /6 - recording media is cheap - I bought an 8gb SDHC card for $30 which provides about 90mins of HD quality recording.
br /
br /As to the cons for video, I haven't found one yet. Minor stuff like proprietary battery, etc. are annoyances rather than a con to me.
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br /As to computer editing, here's what I've found. I have a 1yr old Dell laptop with Vista Premium and 2gb of ram. It seems that the 1080i setting is causing problems for all software both Mac and Windows so I record in 720p for now - it's still fantastic quality. I googled for the latest Vista video codecs and installed it. I then use Windows Movie Maker to edit the video (when you try to find files, it does not show in the Windows Movie Maker list unless you choose "All Files"). I trim the clips, add the transitions and titles, add the music and create the movie! (Note the preview function doesn't work well but it's only a matter of time before Windows catches up with the hardware).
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br /Having said that, my next improvement may be to get an Imac - the iMovie software is so smooth. Normally, I wouldn't think of trying to get a $1500 purchase by my wife but she loves the video compilations so far and would probably think it is money well spent to create these memories!
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br /Update - June 5/08
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br /Still loving this videocamera. An update on my s/w adventures. I have tried Adobe premiere elements as suggested and found it to be OK but it doesn't work well with MP4 files and crashed when working with my project. I usually make a 4 minute compilation of 5 second clips so about 48 video clips. Adobe Premiere crashes with this many clips. I learned that both Adobe and Windows Moviemaker process AVI clips better than MP4 so I found some free software to convert the Sanyo MP4 clips to AVI clips. (Note whenever I read this I always feared that the conversion process would degrade and take a long time - well, no degradation that I can see and very fast conversion which is probably a function of your computer speed - I have a fast computer so conversion is fast!). With AVI clips, Adobe works better but still crashes; Windows movie maker is much better.
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br /One minor complaint about the camera - while recording, the viewing screen is covered with too many icons so it obscures what your watching. I have switched to "simple" mode which clears the screen a bit but weirdly degrades the recording image which makes no sense since it is only supposed to limit the menu functions.

I showed it to my Pastor and he was totally impressed. And he's edited hundreds of hours of video in final cut pro so his frame of reference is very credible. We did a comparison with the Canon HD20 ($1000) side by side with a recording of the same thing and with both hooked up to a TV and he was blown away. He also mentioned that it the video competed well with a couple of 3 CCD Panasonic professional cameras we use for our videos which both cost nearly $4000. You'll just need to practice with the different settings to get it right for different types of shots or different environments. I ended up getting it for $727 from AntOnline and it's already down to 749 through amazon. I paid for expedited shipping, which was $25 or so. I also got a 8GB SD card for $70 which holds 1hr 20 min of video at HD quality.

Taking the video off of the camera is a snap. It's as easy as putting the card in an SD card reader and dragging it across. No complaints. at all.

There are a couple of workarounds needed for our FCP editing purposes, but I have it all pretty much figured out with some help from the apple forums. Most of our video will be on the web so this is more than adequate video quality and the time getting the video off of the device will be significantly decreased as compared to pulling video from a miniDV tape. 1 min of video = 1 min of time as opposed to 45 min of video pulled off in 10 with random access to the video immediately in QuickTime.

One user tip...Apple and Sanyo don't have the H.264 codec figured out for 1080i video. If you record in 720p, there is no visible loss in quality and it will play immediately in Quicktime. I figure it will be all figured out by the end of the year.

This is a great, very interesting and fun camera to use. The 720P 60 FPS works as a charm after you process that in Vegas Video. You can have smooth 60FPS Slow motion playback in HD!! Also 1080i works great!
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br /The image quality is good enough, some compression but you can live with it. Also some grain in the dark areas, but nothing that really bother a regular user.
br /
br /The best part of the camera is the fact that you send everything directly to the SD card! So right away you can publish, burn to DVD/Bluray, etc!!
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br /Because of that, you REALLY use this camera, cause it is easy to download and share images. THE BEST CAMERA IS THE ONE YOU REALLY USE!
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br /

I can at last say I have found the camera that looks better on my HD tv than the shows I am watching! I have owned an Aipek GO-HD, Aiptek A-HD, two Canon TX-1's, Sanyo CG6, and two Sanyo HD700 all of which had some sort of fault or major shortcomings. This camera works fantastic for pics or video outside and works just as well inside with only normal lighting. Only other camera that came close to working as well indoors was the Aipek A-HD and up until now was the only camera I kept. Others have complained that the video will be jerky when played back on the pc. The oonly program that will play any HD video back smoothly is NERO 8!!! None other will work as good as this. I am using a 1.6gig single core processor and 1gig ram so you don't need a fast pc just a great program to run it and will also mantain full hd when burned to a DVD. Most other programs will drop the resolution to dv1 when burned to a DVD.
All in all I can say this is a keeper which says a lot and my wife is so happy that I will be spending more time with her. Now that my serach for the ultimate point and shoot camera is done. Only took 8 cameras and 8 months. This one is truly a point and shoot to get great results without having to play with all the settings to get great pics only to loose out getting it because you were to busy trying to play with the adjustments.
Hope this helps someone avoid all the trial and errors I have had to endure.

I was looking for a HD camcorder that I could also use as a camera. The size of this one makes that easy. The quality of the video and pictures is sufficient for family movies, vacation and sports pictures,etc. The battery lasts a decent amount, I have never been unable to tape something because the battery died as long as I started with a full battery. I bought a 16Gb memory card and it works great. Highly recommended for someone who wants a camcorder without holding a brick in your hand.

Awesome Camera! Listen don't expect Hollywood level quality when you pay anything under 25k for your camera. That Said i love this cam, I hooked it up to my HD television after filming a few minutes on a beautiful spring day and I was blown away! The picture was crisp and bright! I'm not kidding when I say I felt as if I could step into the screen. Filming in 1080i at 60 fps give you an impressive image. The camera is small and very pocketable. Controlls are easy and intuitive. You can change the resolution you shood it from 1080i to 720p and downwad till you hit a webcam quality setting. The microphone is very goog on its own but if you want a more professioinal microphone there is a stereo microphonejack and a hoshoe hidden on top to mount it.
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br /Teh battery lasts a long time!
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br /There is something about big lenses that give me a warm feeling inside, and thats what this camera does for me its practically all lens! The Large aperture allows lots of light in for relativley good shooting in lower light situations.
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br /My one problem with the camera is that it is ahead of its time as far as the format it saves its videos natively in. It took a little searching but i finally found all the stuff i needed to make it play in windows. Also Adobe premier does not support the new h.264 AVC MPEG-4 without the proper codec that is ransomed at a website for 500 dollars. But hear that final cut does support this format. To look for the codecs you take a look at the wiki on h.264 AVC MPEG-4 encoding, thats what set me strait.
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br /Practice good stable shooting techniques to keep you image still
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br /All in all its a great camera, my only video camera, and i believe i made the right choice

The Sanyo HD1000 HD camcorder captures excellent 720P and 1080i video. It has an easy to hold pistol grip and is small enough to fit into a jacket pocket. The camera comes out of sleep mode in 2 seconds. The transfer of video to your PC for non-linear editing is simply drag and drop the files to a folder on your PC drive via a USB connection from the included docking station. That saves money becaue you don't have to invest in a HD video transfer card. I have edited the mp4 files in both Vegas and Premier with perfect quality. The capture to the SDHD card is great - recommend you buy at least a speedy class 4 card for it. An amazing camcorder that also takes 4meg jpgs while you shoot digital HD. You can edit your clips in the camera if you don't have an NLE. It has HDMI so you can hook it into the HDMI port of your HDTV and watch the best home video you have ever seen.

I can at last say I have found the camera that looks better on my HD tv than the shows I am watching! I have owned an Aipek GO-HD, Aiptek A-HD, two Canon TX-1's, Sanyo CG6, and two Sanyo HD700 all of which had some sort of fault or major shortcomings. This camera works fantastic for pics or video outside and works just as well inside with only normal lighting. Only other camera that came close to working as well indoors was the Aipek A-HD and up until now was the only camera I kept. Others have complained that the video will be jerky when played back on the pc. The only program that will play any HD video back smoothly is NERO 8!!! None other will work as good as this. I am using a 1.6gig single core processor and 1gig ram so you don't need a fast pc just a great program to run it and will also maintain full hd when burned to a DVD. Most other programs will drop the resolution to dv1 when burned to a DVD.
br /All in all I can say this is a keeper which says a lot and my wife is so happy that I will be spending more time with her. Now that my search for the ultimate point and shoot camera is done. Only took 8 cameras and 8 months. This one is truly a point and shoot to get great results without having to play with all the settings to get great pics only to loose out getting it because you were to busy trying to play with the adjustments.
br /Hope this helps someone avoid all the trial and errors I have had to endure.
br /My Update: This has been a fantastic camera but have had some problems with processing the video recently. I got a new laptop and it does not handle it very well. After owning it for almost a year now the battery still holds a great charge. The pictures are still good but after more use and after buying a Kodak V1253 I realized that the pictures were not that great even at 8mp. The camera has been dropped few times and still keeps on ticking. The drops were from the wonderful case that Sanyo sells. It is junk do not waste your time or money on the case. The camera will yes will come flying out of it and bite the dust.

I was tired of carrying around my Canon Rebel SLR and my 3 CCD Panasonic DV camera on family trips and this was a perfect solution as I was having trouble finding a point and shoot that took decent video. This camera is very to use and the picture quality-for what it is-is outstanding. I am a video engineer by trade and a friend shot a high end commercial on this camera. I said huh? He was looking for a style that would be home video but professional enough to get the job done. No, it's not as good as my Panasonic 3CCD DV video camera, put it fits in a pocket, is well made and shoots in HD. The interface and buttons are terrific--I can decide to shoot video or take 8 megapixel pictures or grab stills while shooting video. It's menu system makes it as easy to use as you want with a "simple" mode or you can go manual.
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br /Connected directly to a HDTV the picture is startlingly beautiful. When I drop the camera into the dock my Mac recognizes it and iPhoto launches. One caveat as many people mention is the 1080i is not compatible with the latest version of Quicktime. Sanyo doesnt seem to care either. On the other hand the 720P works terrific with iMovie 6 (and iMovie '08 if you are so inclined) and will even work with Final Cut Express and Pro. The 720p edits and displays beautiful and burning the HD files to iDVD are crisp and clean. There are ways to get the 1080i to work such as converting the files using MPEG streamclip. The bad news as with any 1080i/p file is editing them is a nightmare as the H264/AVCHD file is a processor hog and you must wait for everything. I have the latest 20" iMac and the 1080i won't even fit on the screen and crawls and jerks during playback. As with most 1080/AVCHD formats a Mac Pro is a must.In other words--stick with 720P. The progressive scanning, small file size and HD quality will make you very happy. Bottom line, the loss of 1080i to edit isnt a real loss. When processors eventually catch up to where H264 1080 HD is (for example putting an MPEG4 co-processor on the graphics card) hopefully Sanyo would have resolved the problem. You can see the 1080i on an HD wide screen TV.
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br /I highly recommend this camera for easy of use, portability and very good video and still picture quality. One caveat, stay away from the holster case accessory--the camera easily falls out of it unless you add a velcor strap to keep it closed.

I've been wanting to get a small digital camcorder which used flash-based storage and was capable of HD resolutions. While I'm on my third digital still camera, this was my first camcorder and I'd put myself in the gadget-happy consumer category but by no means a pro or even prosumer.
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br /I read a bunch of reviews and did other research online and ultimately purchased a Canon VIXIA HF100. The HF100 is an oustanding camera in terms of feature set and video quality. But I ended up returning the HF100 after about a week or so. I realized that I'm more of a point-n-shoot type consumer and while the HF100 was a great camera, given it's size (i.e. non-pocketable) I was less likely to actually carry it around and use it often.
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br /So after some more research I bought the Xacti HD1000 and I've been very pleased thus far after a couple weeks. The video quality is very good, albeit not as good as the HF100, but I actually carry the HD1000 around and end up using it far more than I would have w/ the Canon. The HD1000 fits in my pants pocket (albeit a bit bulky) or comfortably in a jacket pocket.
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br /The camera is easy to use generally and has a "simple" mode which makes it virtually idiot-proof. It takes still photos at up to 8MP, the specs say 4MP but you can set it to 8MP in the menus and the actual output files are 3264x2448 resolution. The 10x optical zoom is great though image stablization for video is mediocre (seems to work better for still shots). The F1.8 lens does a very respectible job capturing in low light situations. But optically the camera has a pretty narrow field of view even on the base zoom (1.0x) setting. I'd recommend the wide-angle adapter lens Sanyo sells if you plan to shoot a lot close up, though this makes the camera a bit more bulky.
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br /So overall I'm very happy with the Xacti HD1000. Bottom line... if you want the absolute best video or feature set in the $1000 class and you don't mind lugging your camera around in a case, check out the Canon and other models. If you want a very good camera, that's easy for the average consumer to use and you can actually fit in a pocket, I highly recommend the HD1000.

This camera has a lot of great qualities such as video quality, ease-of-use, and the Xacti library function is outstanding.
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br /But... all that does not matter to me if the video is just too jumpy. I know how to hold a camcorder steady and even though I can, if I try really hard, it takes WAY too much effort to make steady videos with this camcorder.
br /
br /So pluses are:
br /- Video clarity is excellent
br /- Color reproduction is excellent
br /- Xacti Library function is outstanding
br /
br /The negatives are:
br /- Quality and durability are so-so. Canon is much better.
br /
br /But the deal breakers for me is the poor (almost non-existent) image stabilazation.

I have owned the Sanyo Xacti HD1000 for almost 1 year and I have a lot to say about it. What I really wanted was a small camera that would be great for backpacking trips and traveling abroad. My previous video camera used a built in hard disk drive which I later found out couldn't be used over 10,000 feet. Not a good feature for me when summiting 13,000+ foot mountains in the Sierras. The HD1000 with its SD/SDHC flash memory recording technology is the answer for me!
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br /My wish: a small, light video camera costing well under $1000 that takes great videos and great still images. Must record to SD memory cards, have image stabilization, be easy to use, have good battery life and a mircophone jack.
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br /The reality: The HD1000 is so great in many ways-- good battery life, easy to use, etc. But...here are three reasons why this camera is not perfect:
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br /1) image quality for videos is good, but not amazing. You won't be competing with the Discovery Channel, but the videos that you shoot in bright light will be a lot of fun to watch. I would give the grade of B+ for video quality. Still photo image quality is another story. I am very picky about the quality of images and this camera sucks at taking still photos. I would give the grade of C- for still image quality. This will be less of an issue for people who are not picky.
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br /2) No optical image stabilization. The digital image stabilization that Sanyo uses on the HD1000 and even the newer HD1010 just plain doesn't compensate for people's shaky hands. You must hold the camera very steady, especially when zooming, or your videos will be a headache to watch. I demand optical image stabilization on future models Sanyo!
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br /3) Lens crop factor/ lens angle. The Sanyo HD1000 has a lens that can zoom up to 10x which is great. Using no zoom at all, the lens is equivalent to about 35-36 mm on a 35mm camera. Translation: you need to stand at least 10-15 away from a group of people to get them all in the video (unless they are huddling). My primary use of the camera is for backpacking and traveling, so I want something for people and landscapes. The lens on this camera is too narrow. The only solution is to buy a wide angle lens which screws on to the front of the camera and gives a viewing angle that is fantastic. But the wide angle lens is big and heavy, and ruins this camera's sleek, lightweight design. Nevertheless, 90% of the video I take with the HD1000 is with the wide angle lens screwed onto this camera. I just can't tolerate the video any other way. It is unfortunate that my camera is now so bulky.
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br /CONCLUSION: So far technology has not provided the average consumer with a cost effective all-in-one video camera/still camera that will knock your socks off. The HD1000 is a good device and I am glad to own it, but it has some flaws that really bug me. I guess the best way I can balance the pros and cons is this: if you wait for the perfect device to come around, you will miss out on taking videos until then. In the meantime consider picking up the HD1000 and having fun with it while finding out what you like and don't like about a camera so that you can define for yourself what your next perfect camera will be like.

I did some testing with this camcorder the day I recieved it just to verify or deny some of the complaints I had read.
br /Low light does produce a lot of noise...the same as most digital camcorders. The auto focus does seem a bit challenged, especially when recording a moving object. I focused on my cieling fan...the autofocus would zoom in and out repeatedly, being in focus about a third of time.
br /I can't think of too many things to complain about this camcorder other than the focus issue, which hasn't affected any of my videos...other than the video of the cieling fan. The video it produces is amazing and it fits in my pocket. Definately worth the purchase.

I love this camera. This is my fourth Xacti (C40-C6-HD700) and now HD1000. I've had it for about three months.
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br /Night and day comparison to the older models. I only shoot in 1080x720 60fps and I'm extremely pleased. I upload all footage to Sony Vegas and render a new mp4 file for online places like Motionbox and Viemo.
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br /Does okay at night as well. This shouldn't be compared to some JVC high end professional camera.
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br /If you get a good price on this unit I'd go for it. I purchased mine new from Amazon @ $450
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br /Good luck,
br /b

I want to be very clear when I say that this is my favorite camera I've ever used. With that being said, this camera is not as sharp as other more expensive models on the market. That aside, this camera takes great video.
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br /The reason I love this camera so much comes right down to a few little details.
br /1: It has a flash card (I bought a 8gb SDHC Class 6 transcend card on ebay for ~$30) and it is so easy to take it out and play it on my computer or PS3. (The PS3 will play it natively. You don't need to change directory names or anything. Shoot a video, pop it in your PS3 - that is, if you have one of the earlier ones that has the built-in flash card slots, which I do and watch it on your HDTV) It is also very easy to watch on your computer (although I did have some difficulties watching the 1080i videos until I installed the K-lite codec pack with Mplayer, then it worked just fine)
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br /One of the biggest turn-offs for me is having something with a cassette camcorder that you have to rip onto your computer first. I hate having to decide which quality I want, because the best quality videos are always HUMONGOUS, and they don't necessarily need to be. Yes, cassette recorders usually have better video quality, but I hate using them and I rarely make projects with them because it's such a pain.
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br /2. It is so easy to use. You honestly just lift the screen on the side and it's ready to record in less than 3 seconds. The battery life seems to last a while too - no need for a 2nd battery yet. It's also small enough to fit in your pocket (not as small as the HD700, but the quality difference makes it worth it.) Also this camera has the screw lens on the front (an odd size, 40.5mm) so you can get a UV, CPL, and other filters for it to improve the quality of your videos outside. I really just love it. It has plenty of features that allow you to change all sorts of contrast and brightness settings, but not so many that it becomes cumbersome.
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br /Honestly, I've taken at least 10 times the amount of video with this camera than I did with my previous camera because it is simply so easy to use. If you are a camera snob and have to have every feature, you will probably not like this. But if you are someone who wants decent HD quality home videos without paying close to 1000$ and like a simple interface, then this is for you. I highly recommend this camera - I simply love it.

I"ve had this camera for a few weeks now, and so far I really love it. It does exactly what I wanted a camera to do: it takes very very nice video AND still photos (in other words, it's a true "hybrid" camera).
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br /It has a great 10X optical zoom (I turned off the digital zoom immediately).
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br /I love the shape -- it's much easier for me to hold than my old mini-DV camera.
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br /It is amazingly easy to use. The display is nice and big, which means obviously it's easy to see what you're shooting, and, also, that the menus are nice and large (good for my presbyopia). The menus themselves are startlingly easy, and I say this as somebody who's gone through video cameras starting in, hm, around 1990). I LOVE the dual-button, that is, the round "record" button is divided in half: push the left side, with a still camera icon, you take a still photo; push the right side, with a movie camera icon, you take a video. SO SO SO much easier than my digital still cameras, where, if you want to make a video you have to go into the menu to switch it to video (as I said, this is a TRUE hybrid camera).
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br /And the still photos are just as good as those I've taken with any of my still photo digital cameras (I've had a Panasonic with 10x optical, the Kodak with the two lenses, and several others). Oh yes, I LOVE that in this tiny camera you get a 10X optical lens.
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br /AND as for editing: there is a very nice, easy-to-use, basic editing function within the camera. With a little learning you can crop your videos inside the camera, without mucking around with a video editor.
br /
br /OKAY now here are some negatives:
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br /Editing with a video editor is very difficult, and there are a whole bunch of forums that I'm on now that are discussing this. Most people have trouble with this, because the format that this camera generates does not edit easily. So people are experimenting with various video editors, and if you're on a PC, Sony Vegas seems to be (I think) the only true video editing software than easily edits these files. BUT I still can't see the videos well in my preview window in Sony Vegas, because it seems that this type of mp4 file takes up a tremendous amount of space and processor power.
br /
br /However (1) with some tinkering, people seem to be able to do some editing, and (2) you might not care about this, because you CAN do basic editing inside the camera. However, if you buy this camera, don't expect to be able to put your video into your computer very easily and start editing, as you might be used to with DV tape.
br /
br /Now another negative might be that the image stabilization function isn't that great. However, I've only read that in other reviews. The truth is that I don't have a great basis for comparison, because (1) I'm just not as attuned as I might be to what is possible re: image stabilization in a camera like that, vs. what this camera offers. What I mean is: are there cameras that do what the HD1000 does with better image stabilization? and are they really as small, as compact, and as easy to use? I just don't know, and (2) I am not great at holding the camera steady (or any camera, not just this one), so maybe I would be needing more image stabilization than any little consumer camera like this would reasonably provide (?).
br /
br /THEREFORE I haven't let these issues compromise my 5-star rating of this camera. One thing I find, reading reviews of cameras like this, is that people seem to expect almost professional-level equipment for their money, but I don't. For a camera I paid six hundred something dollars for, I am very very satisfied; more than satisfied. I've had a lot of cameras, and this is the first video camera that's light enough to throw in my bag and take with me EVERYWHERE (my JVC is small enough but is heavier), and I get FANTASTIC (consumer-level) videos and stills from one camera, and then I go home and stick the memory card in my laptop and voila, there are my pictures. And it's great!
br /
br /(Oh I forgot to say -- about that --- if you select a format to shoot in that is SMALL, for example, forget about HD, forget about big files, and just, say set it on the tiniest, "web" resolution, you can shoot video and put it, for example, on You Tube or a blog or e-mail it or whatever immediately without any fuss whatsoever -- so that speaks to the flexibility of this camera -- there's a whole list (maybe 8, I can't remember) resolutions/formats that you can choose, for your purposes)
br /
br /So -- highly recommended

Regardless of the low (2 of 5 stars), I very much like a) the portability of this device, b) well-built c) feature-set is superb d) excellent still-photos, and and e) I have owned and thought highly of several of the Sanyo (Fischer) models prior to this one, which all led me to buy this SD1000.
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br /Unfortunately, the h.264 codec and whatever other issues Sanyo has w/their format makes mpeg files generated by this camcorder literally UNREADABLE on all Macs I have tried (current Intel-based Powerbook, MacPro, etc). I have called Sanyo tech support twice in recent months (and that isn't easy to do either - be prepared for long hold times and very convoluted phone tag and "try that extenion" hassles), and they advise to "go back two revisions of Quicktime" (QT7.1) to be able to read the mpeg files.
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br /Sorry Sanyo - UNACCEPTABLE ADVICE and, quite frankly, Sanyo ought to be embarrassed this is the best advice they can muster to "fix" their compatibility issues with current-day video management software. Like telling me I ought to go back to "WIN 2000" to open a word document.
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br /So, I have about 9months worth of mpeg files that are unreadable...almost a years' worth of memories and irreplaceable video files...waiting for the software to catch up to the hardware. For that matter, I handed a friend an SD card of some video files thinking he could review them and save them on his WINTEL computer in a format I could open w/ a Powerbook. Nope - he could not even get the video files to open either.
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br /Bottom line - Sanyo has a great piece of hardware...that no software apparently supports for the Mac platoform except for a 2-version old of Quicktime.. WORSE, they seem to think it NOT THEIR PROBLEM that their video files can't be opened by current-day software and seem completely non-chalant about the problem when I speak with them.
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br /MY BEST ADVICE: AVOID THIS MODEL and, I am guessing the newly-released HD1010 (VCP-HD1010) until Sanyo gets their act together and coordinates w/ various software companies to support their camcorder and video file format. I won't spend another dime w/ Sanyo until they show some basic responsibility to buyers of their hardware.

Pre-ordered this one for for Halloween and the holidays and initially I was disappointed in its clarity in low light conditions. Nothing I've tried will greatly improve filming in low light conditions. Filming in normal to sunny light does produce amazing video. Which brings me another downside, the video files are currently a hassle to work with. Unless you have a top end PC with the appropriate software these files wont play. Play back from the camcorder itself is flawless. Despite the downsides I would still purchase it again, its very small and easy to use.

I love this handsome toy to dead! Here are my reviews:
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br /VIDEO:
br /Mac does not fully support 1080i, so I had to download a codec to views my videos (ghost effect, but clear) otherwise it won't play. However 720 is perfectly fine.
br /
br /My experiences of using P, A, S: P comes out everything shaky; A is digitally clear (each frame is still and vivid); S is analog effect (see continuous motion when view frame by frame).
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br /PHOTO:
br /Use P to get the most saturated results, A, S are always overexposed. The night scene selection is cool, I get both background and my models clear, flashlight must be turned on.
br /
br /Drawback: At a low light situation, videos come out with significant digital noise. To take pictures, It's noway to find where the models are, I end up taking a few shots then choose the best from them. Also this is not a wide angle kinda camera, but the zoom is amazing if you don't have shaky hand.
br /
br /Conclusion: It is still worth the $. Eventually everything goes HD, why stay with old technology?

The HD image is excellent, controls are intuitive, starts up fast, and is really portable (though doesn't really fit in your pocket).
br /
br /An 8G card gets you an hour on the lowest HD setting so I would recommend getting a 16G.
br /
br /The zoom is great and overall it's a pleasure to use. If you ar ea Mac user iPhoto will start up and import the videos/photos without any configuration. Easy.

I purchased this to take on a vacation to the Ukraine with me. I really loved having this camcorder with me. It takes great pictures and video so you don't have to carry around a camcorder and a camera. It is very to use and easy to carry around.
br /
br /I wish it came with a lanyard for the lens cap.
br /
br /I did not do any low light shooting but I do wish it had the night vision feature.
br /
br /My Gateway laptop has Vista and I still have not been able to make a DVD from my videos yet so that really stinks. I like the DVD maker software that came with it but if it would have made a DVD it was going to take about 24 hours. I don't know if I need a new DVD maker program or if there is a problem with my laptop. Even when I used Windows to create the DVD is had encoding problems.
br /
br /The camera is great, just get a good DVD creator software.

The only issue I have with this camcorder is that it is extremely volatile when you zoom close with 10x for either photo or videos. It was really bad. Has anyone else had this problem??

This is our first video camera. The following gives a view of our impressions after a couple of weeks:
br /
br /The good:
br /-Small
br /-Easy to operate even for a neophite
br /-Turns on quickly
br /-You can take still pictures while you take video
br /-Image quality is beyond our expectations, good amount of detail
br /-Powerfull zoom lets you follow the subject quite far (100 ft and still quite sharp)
br /-Small (I know I already said that but we drag it along everywhere we go and leave the still camera behind)
br /-Integrated flash is convenient
br /-Still picture are very good
br /
br /The bad:
br /-Zoom/stabilisation (not very effective) when zooming you need to be careful that you stay very still as any slight movement of the hand or the support you are using will be visible on the video.
br /-Color saturation - the greens are a little too green and reds a little too red to my taste, but it didn't bother anyone else so I might be overdue for a visit to the eye doctor.
br /
br /All in all, its a fantastic camera and we ejoy it very much. A purchase I am not regretting so far and has delivered all and more than I expected. I'll keep you posted as we grow more familiar with the more intricate options and proficient with its use.

I purchased this Sanyo HD100 about 3 weeks ago and my wife I love it. We bought it to get videos of our son playing sports and it works great. Playing the videos on our 60" plasma HDTV is almost like watching an MLB broadcast. Aside from the good quality videos, the best things about it are 1)The compact size allows you to carry it in your jacket pocket, 2)The instant on feature (2 sec.) allows you to point and soot as soon as the action starts, 3)The easy in camera editing alows you to easily delete uneventful clips.
br /I find that with this camcorder, I don't take as much video because it's so easy to delete and join clips. With my old tape camcorder this would have been impossible. Then I can back up the video to a hard drive hooked up to my HDTV, and remove the card and easily transfer the files to my computer. I have an 8 gig. card that holds almost 1-1/2 hrs of video @720P 60 FPS. I bought a spare battery but I have never had to use it. The anti-shake feature works well also.
br /The only real negative with this unit is trying to burn a DVD with the included Ulead software. I have a dual core processor with 2 gigs of RAM and I would have to do this overnight so as not to tie up the computer all day, although it does allow you to use the computer while processing. Of course that was for video taken in high definition @ 60 FPS. I am going to try burning a DVD taken in a lower resolution to see if it works any better. I am also investigating other programs that may be more efficient than the Ulead.
br /All in all I am very happy with this camcorder for what I am using it for. Its small compact size and features still yield a very good picture.

I wanted a HD camera that was small enough to take with me. I know if a camera is too big and bulky I just won't use it. The Sanyo HD1000 fit the bill very nicely So far (2 weeks) it's been easy to figure out and operate. I haven't hardly looked at the manual. I for the most part have gotten some great pictures. I have played with some recommendation on forums about changing setting for lower light conditions and for manual zoom and they seem to work good.
br /I'm very happy with my purchase.

This is my 3rd Sanyo solid state camcorder, and the first one that has really satisfied me.
br /
br /If you are buying this camcorder, you are willing to trade a bit of performance for a sexier form factor, and with this caveat I think you will find this to be an excellent camera.
br /
br /I was particularly disappointed by the low light and even the daylight performance of the Sanyo HD-1a. The HD1000 is much, much better in all situations.
br /
br /It is capable of taking video that I cannot work with on my Mac, but most of the video resolutions do work with it, even if my Macbook isn't fast enough to play them without dropped frames. Can't blame the camcorder for that.
br /
br /The stills look very good, even though limited to 4 megapixels. I like the wide stills especially.
br /
br /It's definitely too large for a pant pocket. It's like a roll and a half of silver dollars with a handle on it. However, it fits in a jacket pocket just fine, starts quickly, and has a nice, big, bright screen.
br /
br /In conclusion, I like it a lot, and if you have been disappointed by previous Xactis you owe it to yourself to check this one out, it really does the job.

I bought this to replace a 5-year-old Panasonic miniDV camcorder whose tape drive died. As a result, I was very interested in the idea of either a hard drive or flash media camcorder. I use Mac computers and saw an ad for a different Xacti model, but it wasn't HD capable. All of my TVs are HD, so I wanted to be able to maximize their functionality. When I found the HD1000 I was ecstatic and especially at the Amazon price (about $700) which was significantly better than any other HD camera out there.
br /
br /Set up was simple -- pulled it out of the box, put in the battery and an SDHC card, pushed the power button and then pushed record. Fantastic video was the result! I could zoom in on my wife from across the room and pick out individual hairs when I played it back on my Mac. Battery life has never been an issue and I get 115 minutes of HD video on my 8GB SDHC card. Still pictures don't compare to my Nikon SLR camera but I didn't expect that. They are still more than good enough to get great prints when I don't want to take both a still camera and a camcorder to an event!
br /
br /Transferring video and pictures to my iMac is simple -- just place the camera in the dock and push the button. My Mac immediately recognized it and imports the video into iMovie and pictures into iPhoto. After doing some quick editing I was then able to easily load video onto my .Mac gallery so my Dad who lives across the country could see his grandson make his first basket in his first basketball game!
br /
br /This is so easy, even my technologically-challenged wife can do it and actually enjoys taking video on the fly. The camera is so small I can easily fit it into my pocket in a jacket (or even jeans!).
br /
br /The comments about dark video in low light are true, but this happens with any camcorder. I wouldn't let this effect your decision at all. Fortunately there is a hot shoe for an accessory light which makes this a moot point.
br /
br /In summary, good price, great product, easy to use. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to save money, get great results and not have to spend a decade reading manuals.

easy to used , clear picture on my sony xbr , this is my first hd camera so to me its very good im happy with it , would buy it again and really good price in amazon

This a great portable hd camera. Easy to use, good functionality. I can run videos easy and take pictures on the fly. Great product, easy transition of downloading your data to pc or connect thru HDMI stream your videos pics on an HD TV. Great for capturing the moments in life.

Took longer than expected for shipping, but a great price and equipment quality was worth the wait.

This is the most handy, easiest to use, and clearest pictured camera I have ever seen. Well worth the money and it works seamlessly with my Macbook.

This is my first review, but I figured that I better spare some of my co-Amazon shopping mates the misfortunate and trouble I had to endure by purchasing this camera.
br /
br /I purchased a brand new VPC HD 1000 camera over 3 months ago from Amazon. I was quite happy with my previous Sanyo VPC 5 camera, and I figured that this purchase would be a successful one as well... However, the camera I received did not function well from the very beginning. From a time to time, some of the images and videos were corrupted by parallel lines that obscured up to half of the image. Although this phenomena appeared already from the very beginning, I decided to contact Sanyo first rather than replace it through Amazon (and maybe this is a good point to give Amazon the credit for its superb costumer care!)
br /
br /So, I filed a service request in Sanyo's Fisher costumer relations (less than a month after purchasing the camera). Their replies were very slow and rather unhelpful. Eventually, after sending multiple reminders, they replied saying that there is a problem in the circuit board or the cable that connects the circuit boards to each other inside the camera, and this should be serviced by a Factory Authorized Service Center.
br /
br /To my astonishment, although this is evidently a manufacturing problem, I was asked to ship the camera to their service center on my own expenses. I did so, and expected to see my camera back, or at least a replacement within few days... however, after calling the service center couple of times, I understood that they are waiting for some part to arrive so they can fix the camera...
br /
br /To summarize, today, more than 3 months after I purchased the camera, after paying about 70$ more than the current price, and spending additional money and time for insured shipping of the camera to the service center, I still haven't received a working camera...
br /
br /I have already given my father may old camera, so for the last 3 months, while traveling, I didn't have any camera. Bottom line, although feature-wise this camera may potentially look appealing, if you will be unlucky like me and get a lemon, or if anything ever goes wrong (which is not unlikely for a device that combines mechanics, optics and electronics), you will be terribly disappointed. So do yourself a big favour and reconsider cameras from different brands.

We've returned this item within three weeks. The picture quality is very poor and unstable. It definately has a big problem with stability. The HD picture is clear but it changes the color all the time while watching the video, it is very disturbing. I do not recommend this product to anyone. We bought another HD camcorder and it is great! Good luck.

I like this camcorder(or camera) very much. It's easy to use and convenient to carry everyday.
br /It is my first camcorder while I have spent big money on various digital camera including SLR.
br /It was because I hate to carry the bulky camcorder during the travel and have believed that one well-taken picture would be much better than a lengthy movie.
br /And I knew that transferring the movie from DV tape to the computer is a very time-consuming work, which kept me away from buy a camcorder.
br /
br /However, when I fisrt see Xacti HD1000, I immediately thought that this is the very one I've been waiting for over decades. It's small and very convenient to use because it uses SD memory card instead of tape, hard disk or DVD etc.
br /The qualith of the movie is just fantastic, and the still image quality is also beyond my expectation, and I don't need to carry additional camera in hand.
br /
br /The only problem I got is that docking station, I'm not sure if the docking station is defective or the HDMI cable is problematic, but when I connect the station to my LCD TV through HDMI cable, the picture did not show on the TV. So I left a message on Sanyo's homepage several weeks ago, but no reply yet. I'm not sure they have any service center in U.S. at all.
br /
br /Some people says that the film editing is somewhat troublesome.
br /However I have no problem in rendering the file through Nero Ver.8 edition which can convert MP4 files to various kind of formats.
br /
br /If you have been searching for a handy and easy-to-use camcorder, Xacti should be one of your candidates.
br /

For the price and size of this camera, it is PHENOMENAL! Quality is EXCELLENT! But if you're looking at this camera, take a look at the HD1010 (I think it is) coming out in July; it offers slow motion @ 300fps.
br /

I'll try to add some details to this review later, but I wanted to provide everyone with my evaluation after agonizing over these 2 cameras (and others).
br /
br /Now remember, I've been a Sony video enthusiast since the mid-80's, but nothing compares to these 2 Sanyo cameras in the consumer video category in my opinion.
br /
br /The main reason is that you have to be crazy to record anything but MP4 directly to flash memory / media cards today. It's just TOO easy to download and play your video on your computer or Youtube, etc. (as easy as downloading and using photos from your digital camera). This is NOT the case with other video cameras and their recording formats.
br /
br /I originally purchased the CG9 because it was so small I knew I would carry it everywhere. After some questionable indoor videos with the CG9 I purchased the HD1000 - even though I didn't really need high definition.
br /
br /Before the pros jump all over me, I will admit that both of these cameras have shortcomings. For example, there's no question that Sanyo's image stabilization can't compare to the optical stabilization of the Sony. And yes, when the HD1000 records at true HD (1920) you need to get a special version of Quicktime (v7.16, H.264 component only) and you need a kick-a__ computer if you want to edit those big files. Get over it. So for most home videos record at 720 HD, or even at 640 the quality from this camera is outstanding.
br /
br /Also, it should be obvious that the HD1000 ($650) will come with features that are superior to the CG9 ($250), including a better lense, higher resolution, etc.. These differences should be expected when you pay an extra $400.
br /
br /Here's what you really need to consider when deciding between these 2 cameras (and any other video camera on the market right now):
br /
br /MP4 file format straight from the camera is a must. If you agree, then read on:
br /
br /CG9:
br /
br /The CG9 takes GREAT video, and is DECIDEDLY more "pocketable". I mean this baby will fit in your pocket just like a cell phone, and you'll carry it wherever you go. The HD1000 is still small, but the extra 3/4" thickness and bigger lense makes it surprisingly less "pocketable".
br /
br /The quality of low light indoor video, as well as image stabilization is questionable.
br /
br /HD1000:
br /
br /The HD1000 takes GREATER video, and is MUCH easier to operate and hold steady - that extra size fits in your hand better and the controls are much easier to use without jerking the camera. Don't underestimate this just because you think maybe you have a bigger or smaller hand. I was as surprised as anyone how much easier it was to hold steady.
br /
br /The HD1000 takes much better video in low light (e.g. birthday party with indoor lighting at night), and the image stabilization is surprisingly better than the CG9.
br /
br /The bottom line is they're both great - but even though I really hate to give up the small pocket format I'll be returning my CG9 on Monday morning and looking forward to hundreds of instant shoot and play MP4 videos from my HD1000!

This is a good camera. It looks good on HD tv, colors are good too. I think that if you had good video production skills (audio, lighting and editing skills), you could definitely make a professional looking video production with this camera. The built-in sound is good, but whats even better is that it has a mic input and a cold shoe if you wanted to use a shotgun mic.
br /
br /The only problem that I have with this camera is the poor image stabilization. Sure you could use a tripod or a steady cam, but I got this thing for portability. I don't want to have to lug around any accessories.
br /
br /I like to shoot video while I'm walking. And this camera is quite shaky. I guess that I was expecting the image stabilization to function like my sony dcr-pc101 that I bought in 2003. Although my sony wasn't an HD camcorder, the non-jerky smoothness of the video is what I expected with the sanyo HD1000.
br /
br /I suppose that because the sanyo is so small with a high center of gravity at the top, it makes ut difficult to keep the camera steady when walking. My sony had somewhat the same form-factor - in that you held it like a gun, but it was also bigger and heavier.
br /
br /I gave this camera 3 stars because I got nauseous after watching a video that my wife made of the dog. She was following the dog though the house with the camera. I watched it on my HD tv and the video was so jerky that it made me sick and I wanted to hurl. It also game me a headache that lasted 2 hours later.
br /
br /So that's why I'm giving it 3 stars, because anything that makes me sick gets bumped down a notch.
br /
br /But as far as sound, video quality, color, features, size and overall look, I'd give it 4.5 stars.
br /
br /If I could change things, I'd want better image stabilization and a built in lens cap. The lens cap it really small and a real pain[...] to deal with. They should have either attached a string to the lens cap or do what panasonic does and put in a built-in lens cap.
br /
br /

I just purchased this unit knowing it was becoming obsolete as far as the model for Sanyo. I would have to say if you consider the price, functionality, options, quality and size, this is a great deal!
br /
br /My observations:
br /
br /1. It is Mac compatible, expect in the "highest" HD movie recording setting. There are plug-ins that allow you to playback the video on your Mac, but for iMovie you will still have issues importing. The next lower quality (resolution) setting for me is still better than my mini-dv tape unit, and works fine with iMovie. I suggest MPEG Streamclip, a free utility to help you out.
br /
br /2. The still camera function is better than I anticipated.
br /
br /3. Get at least a 8gig SD card. Look for sales.
br /
br /4. I would search the web for advice on how best to set the camera settings, as well as if you are a Mac user for optimal results
br /
br /Enjoy!!!

Fast, light sensitive, great stills and perfekt connections to LCDTV and to USB harddrive without computer present.

My 5th camera, 3 sony DVs and one sanyo SD before

Recommended !!!

/John

Well, I have had my Xacti HD camera for a day now, and so far I am in love with it. Although not a huge movie camera expert, I do have an appreciation for all things electronic, and this camera is very satisfying for the amateur to the professional. The quality of the video images is astonishing, even in the lowest HD setting (which is the only way I can record if I want to view the video on my computer - otherwise the file is SO big it locks things up - not the camera's fault) it is amazing. My parents have HD TVs, so I am looking forward to viewing the full potential. The charging/file transfer dock is very cool and easy to use, and I am going to try and get another one. Overall I am very happy with this product. A good first HD camera experience!

Loved the Xacti HD1000 form factor -- could squeeze it into my pants pocket with just a bit hanging out. Unfortunately, the image stabilization is poor (way too much jitter) for indoor shooting. Focus hunting was another problem. I returned it. While I was at PMA 2008 in Vegas, I had a chance to try out the new Canon Vixia HF100 - while it's not as small as the HD1000, it took much much better video. I'll probably get the Vixia when it's available.

The good :
br /
br /There was a lot to like about this camera. The video was stunning when played back from the docked unit over an hdmi cable to my 37" LCD - In fact unbelievable a full 16:9 crystal clear picture. It was very easy to use, as soon as you flipped open the screen it was ready to record. I wasn't even that disappointed in the low light recording .. did some recording at the park as the sun was going down at dusk and it still looked great.
br /
br /The bad :
br /
br /What in the world is in those MP4 that it produces on full HD ???? I couldn't even play them much less edit them on my computer ( Intel core duo with 3GB Ram and a Radeon X1950 Pro video card - not a shabby system ) anyways .. quicktime couldn't handle them, Pinnacle studio 10 couldn't handle them, Ulead ( which comes with the camcorder ) couldn't handle them - basically the videos were worthless on my computer unless I dropped the quality way down.
br /
br /The ugly :
br /
br /Why bother even putting a camera on this camcorder. The pictures are absolutely horrible at the 4MP's. I have a casio exilim that is about 4 years old that takes 200% better pictures.
br /
br /Conclusion :
br /
br /Well I was very excited to get this camera - it feels great in your hand however good luck ever getting your videos to dvd. Since I must shoot in lower quality anyway and I wasn't happy with the still shots - I'm going to try the Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG9 9MP Flash Memory Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Black) which isn't HD but has a 9MP camera on board. I still like the HD1000 overall - I just wish the files would have been more manageable. I will be shipping it back to Amazon tomorrow.

love this product, very small and handy we take it everywhere we go esp now that we have a newborn. not bad at all for the price

Excellent Design and Performance. The memory is a flash card NOT a tape or a hard disk. And yes, it is NOT a 4MP camera but IT HAS 8MPixels!!! Simply the best worth for the money.

we took the camera to south africa and recorded some amazing videos. Resolution as good as i had imagined. very easy to use and beautiful pictures.I am glad i bought it, since i also had the canon D40 and a HD video camera with me on the tour. It came in handy for quick HD shots.

Summary
br /- Great camera if you keep your expectations low - you get what you pay for. The video is OK - nowhere near broadcast HD, but better than Standard Definition. Think "point-n-shoot HD camera".
br /- Image stabilization is very poor. This is why I am returning it to Amazon. Even if the video quality was bearable, the jerkiness is not.
br /- Difficult to view AVCHD on a PC, but the Xacti Library feature is very cool.
br /
br /Informational
br /- This is an AVCHD Camcorder so if you want to edit the footage on your PC, currently there are very few SW packages onb the market (that are cheap) that can do this. This is true for all AVCHD camcorders.
br /- At 1080i AVCHD, unless you have a SW package that can decode this codec, you will not be able to view the video on your PC. ULead DVD Movie Factory 5, that comes with the camera will let you burn a Standard Definition DVD, but you can not use this SW to view the AVCHD Hi-Def video on your PC.
br /- This specific camera formats the memory cards in FAT32. This causes the largest contiguous file to be 4GB. So if you plan on buying an SDHC card larger than 4GB and planning to shoot contiguous video for say an hour, it will not work. Accordingly, I bought 4GB cards to "share the risk" over more cards than dump all my eggs into one 8GB or even one 16GB card. Of course you have to switch cards more often, as opposed to just starting a new recording on a larger card, but the memory access is very easy on this camera. It is right on the handle and not burried behind the battery or something like that.
br /- Like many "digital" camcorders, everytime you pause and start a new video clip, it chreates a new file. So unless you edit them together, what you end up with are several (depending how much you start and stop the video recording) individual files. This makes it somewhat cumbersom to watch them using the Xacti Library.
br /
br /Pro's
br /- The Xacti Library is an amazing feature. I bought a $99 500GB USB Hard drive and transferred video directly to the HDD. Using the HD1000 you can then view all the video right from the HD to an HDTV in High Definition AVCHD. So if you get out of the, "I need a PC to view HD video", the Xacti Library feature is pretty cool. NOTE: For this configuration to work, the camera needs to be in the dock and the dock needs to be hooked up to your TV via HDMI (cable supplied) or Component (cable supplied) and to the external USB HDD at the same time. Essentially the camcorder can use an external HDD for storage without the need for a PC.
br /- The 4MP stills are very good. I have a Canon 30D, and I would not say this is comparable, but it is comparable to any 4MP point and shoot camera.
br /
br /Con's
br /- AVCHD quality should be considered "point and shoot" class. This is no where near what you see for example when you watch PBS HD or other broadcast quality HD video when shot in HD. In my humble opinion, even though it is better than SD, it is not significantly better.
br /- The Image Stabilization on this camera is very poor. Much of the video shot on this camera (even when not zoomed out at all), is very shakey. You need a very steady hand to shoot even a still subject. I tried shooting a game of kickball in the street, and it was almost impossible to watch. BTW - this is when the artifacting shows up. For this reason alone, I am returning this camera back to Amazon.
br /- The video in low light is extremely grainy and the colors are off. I vbelieve this is true for mosyt AVCHD camcorders, but I understand that camera's like the Canon HF10 and HF100 do slightly better in low light. BTW - Low light to me is anywhere indoors. I shot video at a bowling alley, and in a mall, and in a house, and it was pretty bad. This is the second reason I am returning this camera to Amazon.

My husband bought me this camera for Christmas. I love how handy it is and the feature to take stills while video taping is awesome. However, I have not been able to copy the video images on a hard drive. Upon hooking everything up, the xacti library is supposed to come on. I get the "usb connected" message and no library opens. I called the support line and they hang up right after picking up.I thought all I needed to do is plug the card into a card reader and voila... but that is not the case. My high tech pc can not open the images with any program.

This cam has no firewire, NO point can't do a uncomprssed video capturing!!!!! STAY AWAY!!!!!! This is a toy.

I wish the ratings went all the way to negative 5 for this one. The darn thing takes poor images in low light situations.

Let me preface this review with the following statement: I teach a Digital Video Production course at the college level, and I have worked with many of the leading MiniDV, HDV, and HDD-based cameras. To make a long story short... the Sanyo HD1000 is basically a toy.

Problems: seriously rampant focus hunting issues, you cannot really use the highest resolution setting on an Apple computer (does not suppor Quicktime), the "full auto" button overrides the resolution setting specified in the menu (see previous point), the exposure lock button actually only recalls the exposure setting in the manual section of the menu system (i.e. it's basically useless), the hot key buttons lose their presets at random forcing you to reprogram them over and over again, and most annoyingly there is no live update of manual exposure changes through the LCD (you have to record in order to see how your exposure is looking, but you can't change ANY settings while in recording mode)! I evaluated the camera for one hour before deciding to send it back.

Redeeming qualities: it looks great, it is very small (fits in a jacket pocket), could be passable for people who only shoot in Auto mode and use Windows, shoots to an SD card.

This camera has definite focusing issues and produces poor results in low lighting conditions. It doesn't play well with any of my Macintosh computers. I've had the camcorder 7 months. A week ago, the camcorder stopped accepting SD cards (they no longer lock into place). Also, the camcorder won't recharge. Since the labor warranty is 3 months, it's going to cost me $125 in labor and one-way shipping from Washington DC to California to get it repaired. I'm still debating as to whether or not its worth getting fixed. I will never buy another Sanyo product.

Don't be fooled by the claims of this product. The camera itself is of decent quality from the mechanical perspective. But the image quality is mediocore at best. Sure its HD "resolution", but the image "quality" is no where near even the worst HD televisions. I would put the quality on par with that of a camera phone. It does have boatloads of features, but that doesn't make up for image quality. With so many features packed into such a small camera, something had to be sacrificed. One of its biggest features, its size and weight, actually can be a liability. Being so small, I found it hard to eliminate camera shake, even with digital camera shake reduction enabled.
But, by far the biggest problem with this device, is not the camera. Its the software. For me, I needed a way to get the videos offloaded to dvds. Which I would think would be a common desire. The package included a Ulead DVD creator software package. Everything installed easily enough. But the execution was absurd. I had a simple 10 minute video that I used as a test case. It took 5 hours to build the dvd image!!! Keep in mind that didn't include burning the actual disk. At the end of the 5 hour period it then attempted to burn the image to DVD, and crashed. I tried this numerous times with the smae result. I even downloaded a different application from teh same vendor with similar results. I also tried other video durations. It appaered that the time was linear. In other words, if I actually had a 100 minute video, it would have taken 50 Hours to created the image. IMPORTANT NOTE- Sanyo doesn't support the software they provide. They direct you to Corel who makes the ulead software. They in turn won't support you directly. You are forced to go through free email support, since Sanyo, buys the pacakages in bulk, and corel doesn't make enough money to pay for premium support. Had I purchased directly through them, they would have let me talk to someone directly. Either way, the problem was not resolved. The bottom line is that if you plan to burn to dvd via a pc, you will need a screaming machine, top of the line, desktop, with gigs of ram, and a fast hard drive. I was using a top of the line ibm laptop, and it bearly crawled. This technology is not ready for primetime. If DVDs aren't a need for you, and true HD image quality isn't an issue, then this camera may be suitable. Just think through your real world video processing needs prior to buying the camera.

To wit, though this camcorder may "spec out" as full-bore 1080i/60fps, in reality it doesn't come anywhere close to the quality you get from any decent HD source. The compression artifacts made me double-check to make certain I hadn't incorrectly set the camera's resolution.

[UPDATE] The above reference to quality refers to real-world situations, with less-than-perfect lighting and motion in the subject. This camera might do true HD when shooting a stationary scene in broad daylight, but the more I research AVCHD cameras the more I find that the artifact issue is a real problem. Canon seems to be ahead of the game on their HG10; it seems to be testing better in more situations than other AVCHD camcorders.

So, one VERY important issue is the resolution of your playback system. In my case I use two sets for viewing; one is a 65-inch 1080P plasma display, the other is a 70-inch LCOS set. On displays of this quality most people will be very unhappy with the quality of the image you get from this camcorder (and most of it's competitors). The resolution looks more like upscaled 480P, except that a good scaler does a better job with fewer artifacts. If you have a Hi-Def television for playback, you may be unhappy with the results this camcorder offers. On a standard definition set the artifacts may be less visible.

I'm not sure what to buy now, since I really need a camcorder to film an oral family history project with my 100 year-old grandmother. On one hand, this type of camcorder is very light, non-intimidating to your subject, and offers both very good record times (with 8 or 16GB SD cards) and good battery life. On the other, the compression techniques used to obtain these "tricks" -- liking fitting 3+ hours of 1080i material on a chip the size of my thumbnail -- have a very real trade-off in quality.

Manufacturers can't be expected to be 100% honest on this count, but someone needs to start pointing out the compromises in image quality that are inherent in the design of these camcorders. I'd talked myself out of owning a tape-based product, but it would appear that HDV offers much higher image quality...

[UPDATE] I've just returned the Sanyo HD1000 because of product defects. There were 5 dead pixels on the LCD viewfinder screen, which were very noticeable. I couldn't edit on my computer at the higher resolutions of the camcorder and couldn't get audio on playback over HDMI from the dock. I really wanted to like this little camera, but buyer beware -- in some cases you get exactly what you pay for.

I've waited months for the camera to arrive and was thrilled to use it for the first time.. until I took the SD card and loaded it up on my MacPro... only to find out that although Sanyo uses MPEG4 AVC/H.264 as the basis for this camera, it doesn't work with the currently shipping version of Quicktime! Ug.. So I have a black brick that's useless. And I really dont want to wait for Apple to rev Quicktime. I think Amazon's getting a return.

Perfect product up to 1080 px, once above no software will allow you to play the videos smoothly on a PC.
br /h264 codec is convenient but quicktime for PC is not able to play HD quality movies taken with this camera. Maybe with a MAC...?
br /Media player classic or VLC might play them for a few seconds but will freeze after a few seconds...
br /I have 3.8 processor and 2g RAM, but it's not enough to review your HD Movies on a PC...too bad

br /Created a few movies and was able to play them back through the dock station. Quality when paused was poor but the quality when playing was decent. The contrast and clarity appeared to greatly depend on lighting.
br /
br /A huge complaint is that the 1080i format is not supported by the software provided; Nor is it supported by any freeware (Quicktime, MovieMaker, Nero, etc...).. After speaking with a tech specialist, it was clear I would have to buy a high-end video edition software for video editing. This wasn't in my budget...

On paper it looks like a great hybred cam and camcorder. It takes very good stills but it has a problem with video. The video is not as good as other HD camcorders. A main problem is the MP-4 recording system. It is not compatable with many editing programs. The bundled software requires a serial number that is difficult to find. I have not found it yet. Advise to wait for a improved model.

I know it is a good DV. From some Chinese and Japanese review (The product launch 2 months earlier there), I know for 1080i it is a joke, but for 720P, it is a serious product. I have not bought it yet, but I like the design and the idea combine DC DV 2 in 1. My question: is it a good enought DC? Is the flash powerful enough? Is the photo quality good enough compare to e.g. Panasonic or Canon similar product with 10X zoom, and 1/2.5" sensor?