Before I start, let me mention that I am a professional photographer and I teach photography for our local college. When I look at a new camera, that background plays a role. You may be looking for something completely different in a camera than I am.
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br /My first impression of the Sanyo Xacti VCP E2 was all about its size. It slips right into my shirt pocket. Once I got over the size (and got the battery charged up) I was ready to go. Oh, and install a memory card. The E2 takes the popular SD cards, and it does not come with one. That's probably not a bad thing. Most people who have had a camera or two have a few of these cards lying around. If you don't, get one with the camera. I installed an 8gig card.
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br /I was first trying to hold the camera in one hand. That didn't work very well for me. Your hands may vary. The best hold for me turned out to be with the camera in my right hand, and my left thumb and index finger on the top and bottom of the LCD, which steadies things nicely. The controls, located on the top rear of the camera, are designed to be thumb operated.
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br /The two buttons at the very top take still photos and movies, respectively. They are easy to operate, and the still photo button does the usual "press halfway to lock everything in" function. Below these is the usual four way rocker with the button in the middle. When you are making pictures, this area is used mainly to zoom.
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br /There is also a menu button on the back, and many functions, like turning the flash on and off, can only be accessed through the menus. If you have used digital camera menus before, these will be easy to follow.
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br /So, how well does it work? Pretty well, actually. The macro ability of the lens is outstanding in a camera of this type. It focuses at 1 cm. That's less than a half inch, if you are metric challenged. In addition, it has a full range focus mode that will go from 1 cm to infinity without putting it into a special macro mode. I like to get in close, so that's important to me.
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br /The camera has all the usual settings for ISO, light balance, etc., and will go as high as 3200 ISO. If you get higher than 400, buy a good noise filter plug-in for Photoshop. Once I apply that, even photos shot at 1600 look pretty good. The 8 megapixel stills are 3264 by 2448, and print nice 8x10s. You can grab stills while shooting a movie. If you do that, the stills will be 1600x1200. With 2 megapixels, you could still print an 8x10, but a 5x7 will be better. The 5X zoom works fine. There is also a 12 megapixel setting, but the sensor is 8 MP, so I assume it is simulated. I didn't use it.
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br /Videos are either 640x480, which is plenty for display on a TV, or 320x240, which is perfect for UTube or similar services. You can record at either 30 or 60 frames a second, and I didn't see much difference. At the lower resolution, you can also record at 15 FPS, which makes a small file that's easy to email or upload.
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br /The waterproof feature is interesting. It is supposed to be safe to 5 feet, and it seems to be. I tried it by holding it under water in my backyard pond and bothering my goldfish. Water's a little chilly this time of year!!! Anyway, it worked fine. For many people, the main advantage of this would be that you don't have to worry if you are getting rained on, and you can use it by the pool with no issues.
br /This camera won't replace your DSLR, but it might replace both your point and shoot still camera and your camcorder.
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br /Pros: Size, easy to use, great macro ability, and very acceptable photo and video quality, with the waterproof feature a plus.
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br /Cons: Not many - Uses a non standard USB cable (included) and battery life is around 100 or so stills if you are using the flash - more if the flash is off. Figure an hour of video.
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I love toys, so I was very happy when my new VPC-E2 arrived yesterday. The first thing I noticed when holding the E2, is how well it fits in your hand. It's lightweight, and the simple controls are very well laid out. After skimming through manual, and charging the battery, I loaded it up with an 8GB SD card. I then went out to see what it can do. First off was taking still photos in various lighting conditions. Then I took several different videos. The VPC-E2 is very simple to use, and I didn't need to refer back to the manual for anything. After putting it through various tests, I discovered what is my first minor disappointment. Batterty life isn't great. If you plan on using it for a good part of the day, a second battery is going to be a must. All the pictures and videos looked good on the E2's screen, but the real test was when I got home and downloaded them to my computer. The still photos were very good. I was especially surprised how well the photos taken in low light at ISO 800 and 1600 came out. They were perfectly usable despite the noise level. While it's not ideal shooting at those levels, the results were better than expected. The results under normal lighting conditions were good too, for a hybrid camera. While the results weren't quite up to what a top stand alone digital point and shoot might take, the pictures were perfectly fine for viewing on a screen or printing at 4x6 or 8x10. I shot the test videos at 640x480, 30fps, high bit rate, using all "Auto" settings. Again the results were very good. The videos were clear. The sound was good. The camera focused well under all conditions. All in all, Sanyo has a winner here. You could call the VPC-E2 a "jack of all trades, master of none", but that would be a little harsh. What it does, it does well. It's not really great at anything, but it's very good at most. I look forward to my next vacation when I test it underwater on a snorkling trip. First thing I will do is order an extra battery, and buy a real case for it. The included wrap around velcro case is a joke. Here is a brief list of the pro's and con's.
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br /Pro's:
br / Well designed, versatile, and easy to use.
br / Waterproof.
br / Good pictures and video for a hybrid.
br / Usable pictures at high ISO.
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br /Con's:
br / Battery life is disappointing.
br / No 16:9 video options.
br / Price isn't cheap.
br / Cheesy velcro "case" that is included is terrible.
br / Non-standard USB cable.

Delivery from Amazon: Securely packaged, came early.
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br /Product Packaging:
br /Nice packaging, didn't have to resort to metal cutters to open like some packages these days. When you open the box everything is in proper order.
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br /In the top compartment in the box is all the paperwork: the warranty, next was the "important warning" about the camera's waterproof feature (not deeper than 5', not longer than 60 minutes, not warmer than 104 degrees so no hot tub underwater pics), Instruction Manual, Quick Guide, safety warning about the battery charger for USA users, safety manual, software disk.
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br /Under the paperwork compartment is the hardware: the camera, the battery, camera wrist strap, a micro USB to AV component cable, a micro USB to standard USB cable, a travel battery charger, and a protective case for the camera.
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br /Getting started:
br /First disappointment was the "Quick Guide". It tells you how to take a picture and what all the buttons do. The QG mentions needing to charge the battery and even how to put the battery in the charger but it doesn't tell you how to get the battery in and out. It does tell you that it takes 90 minutes to charge the battery so at least you know when you can play with your new toy. The QG also doesn't mention needing an SD memory card or how to get it in and out. The QG has 50% of the information you would want to carry with you, so it's kind of useless.
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br /Second disappointment was that no SD memory card is included in the box so you have to run down and buy a card before getting started if you got this as a gift. It does have 44MB of built-in memory, but that isn't going to last I have lots of SD memory cards so that isn't a problem.
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br /The "Instruction Manual" is totally in English. The "Instruction Manual" is an improvement in that the inside of the cover has a foldout that shows you where and how to install the battery and the SD card, then how to take your first video clip and first still pictures, and finally how to play them back. The real manual is 197 pages and is really easy to use and shows lots of thought. Wish they had spent just a little time on a real quick start guide you could carry with you. When you flip the manual over, you find the Xacti Software DVD Instruction Manual which is 21 pages long. However, only the last 7 pages are about the software. It starts by telling you how to "mount" the camera on your computer, how to use it as a card reader and a PC camera (nice feature). Again, the arrangement is a little strange as there is information in this sub-manual that should have been in the main manual.
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br /The camera:
br /Definitely not a shirt pocket camera. Although small, at 1.6" it is too thick and at 7 oz. too heavy to go in a shirt pocket. The protective case doesn't have belt loops or any way to clip it to the camera and only wraps around the camera so it's only function is dirt/scratch protection when you throw the camera in a purse or jacket pocket.
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br /I'm left-handed, so I always look for ease of use for either hand. Neither hand works well with this camera, but holding it in the left hand at least gives a little leverage. The placement of the video and photo buttons causes the camera to rock whenever you push on one unless you are holding on with both hands. You just can't keep the camera stable when you are pressing the zoom, the video, or the picture buttons.
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br /I worked my way through the manual and tested each of the features. There are two different setups for the camera to select from as far as operation: SIMPLE and NORMAL. SIMPLE is supposed to be only the minimum functions necessary to operate the camera and it puts 3 menu selections down the edge of the screen: TV which allows you to select 2 different movie and photo sizes; Select Focus Mode that lets you switch between Automatic and Macro; and finally Flash which lets you pick from auto or on or off. That's it. There are several other options that should be on the Simple menu scheme starting with access to the 9 Scene Select modes (Auto, Sports, Portrait . . . Under Water, etc.) If you switch into Normal mode, all of the camera features are available by pushing the "menu" button, but it is small and hard to hit. The menu replaces the picture on the screen, so you have to make your selection and then hit menu to get back out and see what it does. Some features that you would want to be able to access immediately are two levels down in the menus. I am not impressed with the menu system, especially when I compare it to the Canon system on their low end pocket cameras.
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br /Videos and Pictures:
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br /Here's where I really began to lower my opinion of the camera. It's slow to start up, slow to focus, slow to take pictures, slow to start video recording, and the zoom has one speed which is either too fast or too slow. It's 5x zoom lens going from 38mm to 190mm (35mm equivalent). It would have been more useful with a wide angle starting point, especially for underwater photos and videos.
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br /The camera allows you to take 8 megapixel still pictures. The quality of still pictures is good and the ability to rotate the screen allows you to shoot from interesting angles. Unfortunately, it is hard to frame the pictures because what you see on the screen is not exactly what you get. The ISO goes from 50 to 1600, but above 400 the quality really falls off just as it does in most other cameras with this size sensor. The problem is getting action pictures which is why we buy a camera like this. I tried the sequential mode -- after I found it buried in the resolution selection menu. You point the camera at the action and press the button . . . then the screen goes dark until you let up or you fill the camera internal memory. A little hard to tell if you are following the action. It is a little too slow to start up and take the first picture to use for quick candid shots. When I blow the pictures up, there is a lot more noise and color shift than I see with my Canon 6 megapixal camera taking the same shot in the same light.
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br /Video is OK , but other waterproof cameras such as the Pentax W60 offer better quality (740p) and have a more useful lens range. To give you a range, the video is not even close to my canon S3IS, but that's a whole different class of lens. However, it it fine for UTube or home videos. You can take 640x480 video at 60fps or 30fps and 320x240 at 30fps or 15fps. The 320x240 is intended for videos for the web. You can take still pictures while you are taking a video, but the resolution is not 8megapixel and is related to the video frame per second level you select. At 640x480 60fps HQ the stills are .3megapixels, at 30fps 2megapixels. Makes me think that the quality is being comprised when you shoot at 60fps and after looking at some video shot at 60 and some at 30 I determined that quality is really affected by picking 60 fps. I shot a bunch of video of our Thanksgiving dinner in normal room lighting. The camera would make adjustments slowly to the light, but when it finally got it the videos were good . . . lots of noise and artifacts, but good enough for family memory videos. I also took the camera out to our Koi pond and started it shooting above the water and then slowly moved it underwater to get pictures of our big Koi. The videos were very clear and it adjusted readily to the change to underwater light. I also tried some underwater still pictures, but those were not very satisfactory as flash washed out the pictures. When I turned the flash off I got some acceptable underwater pics.
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br /Waterproof? The camera functioned properly underwater and didn't have a problem. After I washed it off and dried it, I open the door over the SD card/battery and found that the hinges retain water. A little blast of air cleared them, but this is a possible problem if you need to change batteries after having it in the wet. You will be changing the battery a lot, as the battery life is fairly short.
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br /Since I am a tennis pro, I decided to test the camera in my classes. Here is where I found a great application for the camera! Took good action pics, the 5x zoom is all you need on the court, and the LCD was very clear in the sunlight. I was able to take a series of each student and then discuss it with them with no problem. I could slip the camera in my pants pocket when I wasn't using it and bring it out when needed. Much easier to use for this purpose than our Sony Handycam. Coaches could really make use of this camera as you wouldn't worry about sweat or rain or dirt. Battery life wouldn't be a problem as you typically take a short clip and then show it to the player(s) and discuss. It would be great for water polo or swimming coaches.
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br /Bottom line on the camera: not equal to it's competitors for most uses and overly expensive. However, in certain situations like sports coaching it really is one of a kind and has great utility. I will be using this camera a lot for that purpose.
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OK, first the important disclaimer: my other two cameras are SLRs. And had you ask me a week ago, I'd say Sanyo makes great batteries. Sanyo camcorders? What camcorders?
br /I have an antique Canon A70 with a waterproof case that is good down to depth of 120 feet. This A70 is used in places where I would not risk using an SLR or where the weight restrictions are too high. So as you may guess VPC-E2 is a replacement for that "adventure" mode camera/camcorder.
br /To be frank, I can give this little Sanyo marvel either four stars or one. You see, when a company enters the market where the smallest gorilla weighs at least eight hundreds pounds, they can only hope to win with a niche product. And this is the one. So the question is - do you belong to this niche?
br /First, the camcorder is waterproof. Well, not exactly in the sense that I used to define this word; it is only rated for five feet. Snorkeling is OK, but not diving. On the other hand, snow, rain, dangerous edges of a pool, and spilled beers do not bother this gadget. Also, it shoots movies in H.264 which means your IPhone plays them and you can post them up on YouTube faster than I can explain what H.264 stands for. It can shoot movies at 640x480 with 60 frames per second - definitely not HD, but much better than your average compact camera in movie mode. Oh, and when somebody asks you how many of those ergh... megapixels this camera has, you can shock him or her with a lazy reply, "Ah, eight...". Yeah, right! We will talk about this a little bit later. It also features 5x optical zoom with fair wide-end (38-190 in 35mm equivalent), electronic image stabilization, EV shift, macro mode, and even manual focus and face-recognition that works when lightning is good. The LCD screen is large and bright, and can swivel in two dimensions. It supports SDHC cards and the 8 GB card can hold up to five hours of video.
br /Controls are minimal, but well designed. There are only ten buttons to choose from: four arrows with a central "set" button, a menu button, two dedicated triggers - one for video and other for pictures, as well as an on/off button and a play/record button behind the screen. A well organized menu almost compensates for the lack of dedicated buttons. Left and right buttons can be assigned shortcuts for recording mode (up and down is always assigned to the zoom function) and many functions are easy to select. The menu can be switched to "easy" mode, which limits choices only to necessary basics.
br /So why I would give it only four stars? First, there is no viewfinder. Second, the flash is extremely underpowered (guide number 3); it is only good at very close ranges. Third, the battery capacity is insufficient; it allows you only about 200 shots or 75 minutes of video (twice as less in real life). Fourth, there is no lens cover, so usage of the included soft case is a good idea. Fifth, this soft case does not have either a handle or a clip, so every time the camcorder is removed, there is a problem - where to put the case?
br /What else? Proprietary USB cable, no AC power in the box (sold separately). I also have problems accessing up/zoom-in button: it is too small.
br /Now we get to "out of the niche" one star rating. Yes, one star and I insist on it.
br /This gadget has a tiny sensor and it is crippled with severe noise. Video is OK, though I can see a lot of noise there as well. However, still image noise is on the brink of disaster. I do not know how many real megapixels this unit has because object contours simply disappear in the ocean of color dots as I try to zoom into the picture. A black line on a white background looks OK, but my attempt to take a picture of Lillet Blank's red-on-yellow label produced huge amount of red specks far away from the edge of red letters. I suspect some sort of processing error here. In terms of resolution it is safe to assume this unit has somewhat around 3 honest megapixels (and your typical cell phone probably has just one half of megapixel being rated on the same scale). Oh, and do not even think of using ISO above 400, unless you want to produce a parody on Claude Monet paintings. Unfortunately in automatic mode unit happily sets ISO above 800 in low light conditions, so I assigned one of the shortcuts to change ISO manually to fight this problem.
br /What it all means? It means this gadget better not be used for any prints bigger than 4x6. Its video played on HDTV does not look too crisp either.
br /Despite of all these drawbacks, I like this little gadget. I will never use it to capture beautiful landscape or even a portrait. This thing is for ski slopes, water motorcycles, snowmobiles, mountain bikes, hikes, pools, beaches, outdoor parties - for all those places where action means more than perfect image quality. Finally, it is interesting to notice I made more movies last week using Xacti than I made with my "big" DV camcorder in the last season.
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I was made a believer when I got my first xacti, the xacti CG65. The video quality on that was very good. I produced a few very good quality DVDs using the CG65 and got quite a few compliments. A lot of my friends were surprised at how clear the videos turned out to be.
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br /But then I have a chance to go to several beaches and took at lot of videos as well. Although I was very happy with the videos I thought about how things would be better if I had a waterproof camcorder.
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br /On black friday this thought was realized. Amazon put this camera on sale for $199. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. I then sold the CG65 to a friend which he gladly took. The E2 came in quickly from Amazon.
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br /Just this past weekend, I had a chance to really test it out at the xmas party. I am tranfering the videos now and sad to say I am disappointed. In videos I took with high ISO settings, there is a lot of vertical/horizontal banding. Even in my 19" monitor its so visible and its definitely annoying. There is also a problem with the image stabilization on this camera. On the top of the screen whenever I would move the video from 1 side to another, there is this flickering. In the CG65, the videos are very good regardless if its low light or good light condition. This one needs a "just right" light condition to work just like the CG65.
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br /The bottomline is I am not impressed and in fact I am returning this camera. Maybe the change from CCD to a CMOS sensor is the culprit? I dunno. But definitely I miss my CG65.
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br /The still shots are a bit better than the CG65 but the red eye problem is worse on this camera. I used to have just the red eye problem with my CG65. In this E2 camera, there is also the red eye + cat eyes problem. Makes my subjects look like a bunch of aliens lol.
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br /So there you go. If you are considering this camera, maybe look at the predecessor E1 instead as it had the CCD sensor. Now I have to find a CG65 on ebay or unless I can find an E1 that I can try out. But definitely, skip the E2. When you look at the E1 and the E2 and ask, how come the E1 is still more expensive that the E2 considering E1 is the older model? You now know the answer. There is something cheap in this E2.

I've used a couple cameras like this now. They were pretty cheap and lightweight to a fault. The weight of the Sanyo makes it feel like it's worth more at least, and by far, the best smaller digital video camera I've tried.
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br /Positives
br /-It can record at various quality levels. I was surprised to see 60 frames per second record rate; 30 is the usual for video.
br /-It can record under water.
br /-It's fairly small and pretty durable
br /-Good for videos you might want to display on the internet
br /-The menus are simple to use
br /-The charger is small
br /-It comes with a case
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br /Negatives
br /-Picture and video quality is okay, but not great. I have an old digital video tape camera, and the detail is much sharper and clear with my old camera. The video with the Sanyo was a little blocky.
br /-The handle seems like it should be more rounded. It's got a harsh edge if you're holding it for a long time.
br /-Interesting that it had voice prompts. Not sure that it was positive or not, but I don't want to be filming something in a crowded location and have my camera make lots of noise.
br /-I use Windows Movie Maker (Vista) for editing. I could drag a movie file copied from the Sanyo into Movie maker, but the file would apear in the Audio section only. I couldn't get the video to load or else I would have uploaded a comparison of my Digital Tape Sony camera versus this one. I also couldn't get a video to upload here to show the quality. The video is recorded in mpg4 format which on my computer is playable by iTunes.

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and 8 MP Digital Camera is sort of a multi-tool approach to still and video cameras. It does a huge number of things that other more expensive cameras do, and does them fairly well. The thick instruction manual reflects the versatility and complexity of the Xacti. There are several good reviews of this camera on Amazon, so I will not repeat the technical details already contained in these reviews.
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br /The Xacti takes one hour of 640x480 movies per gigabyte of SD card. There is no HD mode. Since 8 GB cards are readily available, you can get 8 hours of movies on one card. The small battery will not last that long, and may not last even 1 hour. However, for most things one hour of movies is enough unless you are a pro and plan to do considerable editing. In addition to movies,the Xacti takes 8 MP still images of good quality, and you can take a still while taking movies. Both movies and stills have access to a 5x optical zoom that seems to be fairly accurate over its entire range. Focus is good and quick. Movies are good at fairly low light levels, and stills can use the built-in flash where needed. As with most cameras, brighter lighting produces better pictures. The ISO values increase to compensate for dim light, but the noise level becomes noticeable at ISO levels above 400.
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br /The camera has a very good macro capability that permits good focus down to about 0.5 inches. This feature can be a lot of fun or can be simply useful for recording extreme detail.
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br /The fact that the camera is waterproof to a rated 5 feet means that you can safely use this at the beach or poolside where there is a lot of splashing. Underwater photography seems to be an interesting application, but I have not tried that (it's winter now).
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br /Picture and movie playback are easy using either the included USB cable (non-standard) or by moving the SD card directly to your PC using a card reader (my preferred method). The quality is surprisingly good from such a small camera. Zoomed images were sharply focused. There is some small delay in focusing when tracking objects, but this is not a problem in most situations. The large rotating view screen is a pleasure to use for taking pictures and for playing them back. When taking movies, the sound quality during playback is quite good.
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br /The included case is almost useless. Throw it away and get another small carry case (less than $10).
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br /Overall, I think the user will be pleased with the camera in a wide variety of situations.
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Where has this been all my life???
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br /I think of all the cool trips I've been on and I would've killed to have one of these at that time. I didn't even know such a thing existed until I found this. Who knew that these were being made for average everyday consumers and at an affordable price?
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br /Got water? No problema! This camcorder can handle the water and anything else you can throw at it. In an effort to give the most precise review possible, I did don my wetsuit and dove into my 60 degree pool. Brrrr. I even dropped this camcorder to the bottom of the pool a couple of times and when I played back the recording, no skips or anything and no problems with the camera. This gadget is wicked cool! The battery did poop out on me a little quick, but that could be from the cold water. I recommend getting an additional battery, but I do that will all my gizmos. Nothing more frustrating than having the battery loss at a critical moment in filming.
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br /Did I mention that this takes still shots, too? Pretty good ones, at that. This is the camcorder/camera that I have dreamed about.
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br /I found this device incredibly easy to use, but it will take me a while to become accustomed to all of the features. My teenagers are dying to use it in the pool next summer. I will update this review as I use the camcorder more. I plan on purchasing some accessories (extra battery, new camcorder case) for it and I'll update with what I got and how it worked out.

The Xacti E2 is a good video camera it takes lovely photos (not printed them yet but on the telly or Mac they look good).
br /very EASY to use with a basic menu or the more complex, it is able to play back videos in NTSC PAL.
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br /It would seems that it captured us surfing (in the sea) without damaging the video camera (that was the main application for the purchase)! After getting the camera wet i followed the simple care instructions after i was sure the camera was dry reviewed the video clips on my Plasma telly the picture quality is good fitted the whole screen (not exactly HD) but i am very satisfied am sure when it come time to making an edit with the various clips i am going to be more than stoked!!!
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br /Hit the record button before the subject starts moving and keep it going for a few more once they are done as it seems to cut of a little sooner!
br /I found as a stills camera the it does not shoot exactly when you want it too, so its a bit of hit and miss, I'm sure as i use it more it will improve. shoot with the sun behind you helps with the white balancing remember that the screen is not exactly where the lens is pointing at.
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br /The one down side is the battery life is not the best, so make sure its charged properly before playing.
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br /I did purchase the Water Leash an 8-gig card which is still empty.

This was an upgrade for me from the first model of this camera. One of the reasons I picked this camera is its water capability. I was always worrying about the regular point and shoot getting dirty or splashed and avoided use in inclement weather. Having a camera designed for water use to 1.5 meters gave me a comfort level to get a lot more use out of the camera. It takes decent still pictures for well-lit outdoors shots. This (prior model, now this) is the camera we take on our yearly camping/tubing trip to the clear, spring-fed Frio River. No worries about splashing and the kids had fun capturing underwater video with the fish in the river. This is also the camera I pulled out for some quick outdoors shots during Hurricane Donna. The software bundle included Adobe Premiere 4 for editing and your video. I purchased an 8GB SDHC memory card which allows a good bit of capture time. I did find it necessary to purchase a second battery to have more record time.

I absolutely love my Sanyo Xacti E1 (newest version is the E2). It is small (easily fits in my pocket), lightweight (about 8 oz w/ battery and memory card). The editing softwear that comes with it is easy to use and the overall quality of the video is amazing. Granted the YouTube versions of you video will look like most of the other ones on there (somewhat blury and grainy). On the other hand if you burn your video to DVD, it is amazingly sharp. I've found the audio/mic to be pretty good. There is no way to add an additional wireless mic. It stores video to an SD card. With my 4GB card I can get over 2 hours of video that is recorded at the highest possible quality. I paid about $350 for mine but now they are as low at $219. on-line.
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br /To see some hiking/backpacking type videos shot w/ the camera, go to [...](my website) and go to the video page link. I've got ones on the following there: Glacier National Park, Mt. Hood, Lake Superior Provincial Park (in winter) and Killarney Provincial Park. The "Killarney" video has an underwater shot in it.
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br /If there was anything I would change about the camera it would be to add a night vision mode which it currently does not have.
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br /It is really nice to know that if I want to film in the rain or jump off a cliff into the water while filming (which I've actually done), I don't have to worry about the camera. It is awesome.

I got the Sanyo Xacti with my only recent experiences of shooting movies with a Flip Camcorder. At first, I thought the weight might be an issue (because it was so much bigger and heavier than the Flip). But, now that I have it, and have used it several times in the last month, this Sanyo will now become my only camera. I love the pictures it takes and the stabilization features helps me take pictures without the shaking and movement that I get with my other camera. I haven't used it for underwater use yet, but plan to when I make a trip to the Carribean in the Spring. According the other reviews, the Xacti takes great pictures under water as well. I love the color of the camcorder too (I know that's such a girly thing to say). Anyway, great camera for the price. Don't hesitate to buy it.

I had some very high expectations about the VPC-E2 that were mostly based on the glowing Amazon reviews. Let's start off with the good stuff:
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br /-Well built
br /-Solid door on the card/battery compartment which is very rare
br /-Water resistance makes it easy to use in places you wouldn't use another camera
br /-Switching between photo and video is very easy
br /-Flipout LCD means you can get some angles that are difficult otherwise. Not very many PS cameras (read on to see why I compare it to a PS and not a camcorder) have LCDs that flip out and rotate.
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br /On the downside... let's start with the minor annoyances....
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br /-Custom USB cable
br /-It's water resistant/proof but only at very shallow depths so forget scubadiving or snorkeling
br /-It's a little too short for most hands so it's tough to reach the photo/video buttons when holding it in a grip style
br /-The shutter release button is very hard to depress and often sticks. I don't think that this was unique to my unit since other reviewers also complained.
br /-Zoom buttons are hard to reach and very small
br /-No lens cover
br /-Long shot-to-shot delays and shutter lag. Very, very pronounced in poor lighting
br /-Horrible LCD quality, even outdoors under ideal conditions
br /
br /But what it comes down to is this.... the video quality is absolutely horrible except in ideal outdoor environments. The photo quality is decent but not as good as a PS camera at half the price.
br /
br /So basically what you're paying for, in my opinion, is the water resistant/proof feature and the vertical style/flip out LCD. Apart from that the video quality is not any better than what your average PS can produce and the picture quality is worse.

Note that this records in mp4 format. The video is fairly clear, in normal lighting. It has a macro mode that goes from 1 cm, and ISO up to 3200, with the usual caveats about noise. No 16:9 format, though.
br /
br /Sleek-looking and waterproof to five feet, it's sleekness and waterproofness has probably contributed to its couple of shortcomings, both in the usability department.
br /
br /First, in the name of waterproofing, the battery, memory and AV connection are locked behind a slim door under the control pad. This means when the door is open to accomodate the AV cable, it's hard to use the already mushy control pad - its hinge is just under the pad, so the open door gets in the way of the pad.
br /
br /The pad itself must be made of some rubbery membrane underneath, because, as mentioned, it feels loose and mushy, both the selection button and the directional pad around it.
br /
br /It has 5x optical zoom, and supposedly face detection to boost its anti-shake. However, at zoom, some jitteriness is still noticeable. The sound is pretty good, at least from recording our band practice.
br /
br /Its menus are easy enough to navigate. Battery life is iffy, don't expect more than about an hour's worth for video.
br /
br /The case is a weird, tight-fitting, half-open design, and there is no lens cover. I suppose since it's waterproof, the lens must be ruggedized anyway.

This is a very cute camcorder.My husband bought this for me to take vedio for our son.
br /At first, I found that the noise of the video was very serious.After read the users guide,I noticed that I did not take the correct light sensibility.So I changed the setting,then the noise was gone.Overall I like this camcorder.

The text in the description "Audio Input: Microphone" is misleading. The camcorder has no microphone jack, only the built-in mic.

Before purchasing E2 I was torn between E1 and E2 but decided to go with a new model. There were no reviews on E2 other than a single one for Euro/Japanese/Canadian version of E2 called CA8 and that review blasted the camera's new sensor. Nevertheless, with Amazon's liberal return policy, I decided to take my chance and to get E2 instead of E1. After all, it is a second generation of this waterproof camera, and I thought the second generation is typically better.
br /
br /If you are trying to decide between E1 and E2, here are the major differences:
br /
br /The most obvious is a change of sensor.
br /E1 uses 6MP CCD 1/2.5 sensor
br /E2 uses 8MP CMOS 1/2.5 sensor.
br /
br /E2 adds a 60 frames per second movie option (E1 was limited to 30 frames per second)
br /
br /E2 adds face recognition mode. E1 has no such face detection mode
br /
br /E2 adds a dedicated 'underwater' mode among several others. E1 did not have a specific 'underwater' mode.
br /
br /First, I tried both the new 60 frames per second mode and the old 30 frames per second mode and I decided that I will be using 30 frames per second, I actually like the quality of 30fps mode better.
br /
br /I then tried the photography mode. I took most photographs inside in tricky low-light incandescent and florescent light conditions, because I know these give ANY camera, including DSLRs such as my Canon 40D $1300 camera, the most problems. I upped the ISO to 200 and then to 400. You can see samples I posted here. BTW the macro mode on this baby goes to 1 cm!!!! I don't know if E1 had such super-macro to 1 cm. I found the photo quality acceptable and similar to that of other point-and-shoots using the same 1/2.5 and similar sensors. I felt that ISO400 was acceptable. I have not tried ISO 800 and 1600 yet.
br /
br /E2 has following ISO range: in photo mode 50-1600
br /in video mode: 100-3200 in high sensitivity mode (3200 I don't believe you can select, but it does it).
br /
br /The image stabilization feature is tricky, it is EIS, Electronic Image Stabilization, not Optical Image Stabilization, so when you use it, it crops a little bit on sides of your video and photographs, depending on which mode of EIS you use.
br /
br /The sound is stereo and the quality is acceptable. The camera is tiny btw, I fit mine in case logic case I had from my Canon A75 camera.
br /
br /I tried this camera underwater in my pool, both video and photographs. All worked fine, even shoots photographs with flash underwater, which makes for very freaky results.
br /
br /---
br /Finally, some people complained that Sanyo has their own unique USB cable which is a pain if you lose it or don't have it with you, and cannot read it in ordinary card reader. WRONG. I did not even bother taking the proprietary Sanyo USB cable from camera packaging. The card works easily in my HP (windows vista) desktop's card reader. I downloaded PICASA 3 which I recommend. Picasa 3 will find, download, and play all photos and every video you shoot with this camera easily and quickly, just take the SD card, put it in your card reader and Picasa will do the rest. Very easy, so don't need to bother with this cable that comes with it.
br /
br /Problems: Battery life is not impressive. Battery is tiny. I am used to Fuji F30's 500 shots per charge. This battery sucks. I charged the battery fully. I then took 80 photographs (some with flash), 4 or 5 2-minute videos and my battery showed 70% gone. You need a second battery, and hopefully there are some with more juice in it that the Sanyo one that comes with the camera.
br /
br /I also wish the lens would start at 28mm and not 38mm as it would make easier to take pictures/videos of oneself without need to stretch your body away from the camera. Also my belief is that the flash only operates in photo mode and not in video mode. However, it is much better than its only competitor, Panasonic SW20, which does not have any flash at all
br /
br /I will add more photos later.

I really wanted to like this camera, but found that I couldn't.
br /
br /The first problem that I had with it was the "ergonomic grip" on the camera. It's fine for just holding the camera, and would work well for video shooting. I just found the buttons to be hard to use for still photos when trying to use it with one hand. The camera never felt comfortable in my had when trying to rotate my thumb up to hit the photo or video button. When it comes to using the D-ring and the center button, they felt fine.
br /
br /The next major issue I had was with the image stabilization for photos. According the the manual the image stabilization won't be used under the following conditions.
br /1. Setting the flash mode to forced flash
br /2. Setting the shooting mode to the sequential shots mode
br /3. Setting flicker reduction to "ON"
br /4. Setting the scene select function to the night view portrait, fireworks, or lamp mode.
br /
br /What I found is if you set the flash to any mode other than "OFF" the image stabilization automatically turns off. Then you have to deal with the crazy menu system to turn it back on. There's no easy way that I could find to have it temporarily shut off for the above situations then automatically turn back on. Given that I was concerned about camera movement while rotating my thumb up to the button on one handed use, image stabilization seems really important.
br /
br /I also didn't like the confusing menu system on the camera. By default the menu system is in "normal mode" and then there's a "simple mode" that you can select. That all sounds find in theory. The only thing is I expect every function to be adjustable in the normal mode, and then basic functions to be available in the simple mode. That somewhat seemed to be the case, but it wasn't clear what some of the options really were in simple mode. For example to adjust the video recording in the normal menu it give you a lot of different TV options and a couple of different web options. How do those relate to the selection of recording size in the simple menu? Maybe I just didn't find the answer in the manual, but I don't think that was the case.
br /
br /As far as the water proof, it's really limited to 5 feet of depth. Not something that will be useful if you go scuba diving, but maybe will be ok for light snorkeling. I think for the most part it's just a gimmick to lure people into buying an inferior product.
br /
br /I really can't comment on the actual photo or video quality. Because I got so frustrated with the menu system, the image stabilization, and how awkward it seemed to use; I never bothered transferring the data to my computer to check it out.
br /
br /All in all, I would say avoid this camera and see what else is out there.

I purchased this camcorder / point and shoot camera on a black Friday deal for $199. What a great deal it was. In other words, I may be in love!
br /
br /For starters, let me tell you what I was looking for:
br / - Small camcorder - something that would fit easily in my pocket, ready for the quick opportunity
br / - Easy to use - I'm not a video engineer
br / - Records to TV resolution, as well as an easy upload to youtube
br / - Still camera incorporated, good enough to compare to a dedicated point and shoot so I don't have to carry too much stuff.
br /
br /One of my hobbies is photography, and I have a Canon D20 that I use frequently. But that's bringing out the "big guns" for shooting something that just appeals to me on a whim. I realized that a camcorder / point-n-shoot might not satisfy the photographer in me, so I also got a good deal on a Nikon Coolpix on black Friday. The Coolpix is still in it's box, and will likely be returned.
br /
br /OK, now about the Sanyo E2.
br /
br /This appears to be a relatively new camcorder, as there aren't a whole lot of reviews - or even a group on flickr. So when I purchased the thing, it was an impulse buy... I did a little research, found nothing substantial; but still, $199 for a MSRP $399 camcorder sounded too good to pass up. The boxes showed up on Monday: a Nikon Coolpix and the Sanyo. I was most curious about the Xacti, so I opened it first. I charged the battery, went through the set up, and stuck it in my pocket.
br /
br /After getting used to the idea of a camcorder a bit, and taking numerous pictures of my pets and my husband (my dog runs when I get it out of it's crappy case - more on that later), I am so pleased with my results that I don't feel the need to even open the Coolpix and play with it.
br /
br /The E2 has a nice feel to it, looks good in the blue color I got, and generally, is a pleasing piece of geekery. On top of that, it takes serviceable pictures, decent video, and is fun to use. The interface is really workable, with a simplified menu and a more complex one when you need it. It doesn't seem to like my 8GB Transcend SD card, but the 4GB SanDisk hasn't failed me yet.
br /
br /The battery life is not great on this thing. I was warned by other reviewers to purchase a secondary battery (I did), and I would recommend this to anyone.
br /
br /Although this Xacti is waterproof, be aware that it's not a scuba camera. That doesn't bother me because I can't swim; but to those who think they can go further than 5 feet, be aware that this camcorder won't do better than that. It's more like "waterproof." So if you want, take it in the shower (heh), or by the pool, or in the rain without worries.
br /
br /PROS
br /Satisfies all my requirements for a pocket carry camcorder / camera
br /Better picture quality than I expected
br /Easy to use interface for deleting, changing presets, etc.
br /Waterproof - can take it with me in rain with no worries
br /Fast start up
br /
br /CONS
br /No lens cap
br /Crappy wrap around "case"
br /Doesn't like my 8GB Transcend SD card
br /Battery life is not good
br /
br /This thing has lived in my pocket for a week, and more often than not, it's been my own reluctance to pull out a camera than my confidence in the camera to do its job that prevented me from taking more pictures or videos. I like the idea that I can photo or video anything that suits my fancy at a moments notice.
br /
br /Way good bang for your buck!
br /

Just ordered this from Amazon a few days ago. Camcorder looks good and works well but has a high amount of noise on video screen. At first I thought it was broke but after reading all the reviews on this camera I found out this is normal and you have to set the ISO to 400 or below.
br /
br /Still picture come out decent but I don't think it actually takes them at 8 MP. Video is barely average quality, good for backyard BBQ, pool parties and stuff like that. If great clear HD video is important to you then this is not the camcorder for you. I have a old 5.1 Nikon Coolpix digital camera and the pictures are much better with it. Overall I am satisfy with this camcorder because it feels rugged, sturdy, waterproof and I brought it for pool party, sporting events and just to have in my pocket for those late night embarrassing shots of friends.

Let me start off by saying congrats to Sanyo on this one. I have owned many Sanyo cameras. This one really does perform better than I thought it would. I have had a Sanyo HD700 and was never really happy with the pics or video from it. Also the focus was really slow. I also have a Sanyo HD1000 and no it is not better than that but the focus is much quicker on this Sanyo E2. The Sanyo E2 is also water proof to 5foot and is much smaller than the HD1000. I was very impresseed by the pictures from the E2 they look just as good as my 800.00 Hd1000. The video from the E2 is also very good in low light. I did have to manually set the ISO to 400 to get good video at low light levels without grain showing up. This camera is a very good performer over all and very impressive. I have used it for several days and have not noticed any probelms with the battery life being short at all. My Kodak V1253 has what I would call short battery life.
br / I like how the Sanyo E2 feels in your hand and does not get hot after using for awhile like some cameras do. I would most certainly recommend this one.
br /
br /Pros: Goes in bad whether when other cameras can't
br / The focus speed is very quick. The fastest I have seen yet.
br / The video comes out very good in low light if 400 ISO is used
br / Feels great in the hand and is small in size
br / Takes very good pics with ISO set to 400
br / Nice colors most people would like
br / Quick start up to use times
br /
br /Negs: Really don't have any. It's a huge improvement. And remember you
br / use it at that rainy wet football game and being the only one out
br / taking pictures and video!!!

The quality of the still photos and the video was surprisingly good for this lower end camcorder. The underwater photos that we took snorkeling were very clear and of decent quality. Sometimes it was hard to control movement because the current is moving you, but that may come with more experience snorkeling and using the camera. For underwater you definitely need the waterproof neoprene strap, which I bought with the camera. I had no problem with the battery, and had a spare charged up in case.
br /
br /However, there are some things I did not like about the camera. There was no eyepiece viewer and it was very difficult, sometimes impossible, to see what you were shooting in bright sunlight. I also found it more difficult to find my subject, especially if it was moving. This was it's biggest drawback--finding and staying on a moving subject without an eye viewfinder. There were also times that I did not know the record was still on so I got a number of clips of garbage. The zoom button was also difficult to maneuver, it would be much better to have it going from left to right rather than up and down, and have it as an independent button that could be moved with your thumb. It was in an awkward position for one finger to control it and it was also difficult to zoom a little bit at a time. I found I often over zoomed.
br /
br /All in all, it is a decent camera and I am happy with the purchase.

1) It is very handy for taking quick, easy video. Storage on SD card is very convenient.
br /
br /2) The picture quality is definitely second-rate. I would rank it alongside current generation phone cameras. It will do in a pinch, but that's about it.
br /
br /3) Principal problem is poor quality in low-light conditions.
br /
br /4) The form factor seems kind of snazzy, like it will feel neat in your hand when using. Actually, however, it gets old fast. It's an uncomfortable position to hold your hand in. And taking pictures is actually pretty difficult. If you've used a camera, you're used to holding a camera steady with one hand while you press a button with the other. With this, you're doing both while holding the device pistol-style, which results in movement you'd prefer to avoid when framing your shot.
br /
br /5) As to underwater use: mine's not had problems yet, but I've got to say, looking at the manufacture, it doesn't inspire confidence.

I got this to use with my son. Being watermen, and rough on gear, it is great to get something that could possibly fit the bill for both. I am not sure of its durability, this will be my second one, I bought my first one refurbished, big mistake. Sent it back and got this one. It is not the best quality you can buy for digi, but I have already dropped it, flown with it, and got it wet, and it is still going at the same quality.

I have the first E1 and now the new E2. Both are phenomenal. I just met someone who also had the E1. It is almost cult-like the response you get. The people that have the SANYO Xacti camcorders LOVE them. I shoot a lot of video of my son and I sync it to my TV box and my iPhone with ease. It makes it REALLY easy to share with the SANYO's. Something I found extremely difficult with Sony camcorders.

This is about the shipping and delivery. Great. I purchased 4 different orders that were for the camera and other accessories. All arrived either one day earlier or on day expected. Impressive considering they came from 3 different sellers. Initial look at this little jewel is impressive. I have never used such a small camcorder and was very apprehensive about purchasing it. However, the alternative was to lug my full size (albeit small) camcorder on a trip for New Years. My wife and I enjoy snorkeling and this little jewel should work just nicely. I will write again after the trip with a performance review.

my hand is 6.5 inches from my wrist to the tip of my middle finger, and just about 3.5 from the curve of my thumb across my palm. In the specs it says the height and weight but I really didn't know how that would translate to my grip. It was a bit larger than I imagined, and that means its a little harder for me to get my fingers on the buttons. I will deffinitely have the strap on my wrist to prevent slipping. I also thought it was completely blue, but half is white plastic. its a sturdy little camera though, and the swivel mechanism for the screen is smooth and solid. I've fiddled with the settings a bit and snapped a couple photos, from the looks of it they're really sharp, and the menu is reasonably user friendly. I'm looking forward to putting this through its paces. This camera gets a thumbs up reccomendation from me.

After reading the reviews here, I ordered the camera as a replacement for my Sony DCR PC-100 camcorder. Obviously my expectations were high. These were the few things I was terribly disappointed when I received the camera :
br /
br /1..The camera is just not ergonomically designed. It was just so wierd to hold and operate with one hand. Just didn't feel right.
br /
br /2..The videos I shot were so full of jerks and movements that it was impossible to watch them without feeling dizzy. I tried the special features on the camera that suppesedly help you to minimize the shaking.
br /
br /3..The picture on the video was just OK in natural light but as soon the camera hit the indoors and areas with shade, it just went black - literally.
br /
br /4..Even the still pictures were very average. Nothing to write home about. Same problem with the light issue.
br /
br /5..I didn't buy this camera just because it is water resistant. So, I didn't even try that feature. It's cold and I had no intention of jumping into the pool to just try the water-tighness of the camera. For me, the camera was a failure in its basic function of taking clean, non-shaky, crisp pictures. It is small but not small enough to keep in a pocket. Doesn't have a cover for the lense and the cover it comes with is very tacky...

This is a good looking digital video camera with a nice compact design. It appears to be very durable, and worked well right out of the box. It comes with Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0, which is a great product, and perfect for this camera; but be aware that it is woefully out of date and not upgradeable at a discount. The current version is 7.0. This will not affect you significantly if you run Windows XP. Just be aware that most software written for XP does not run well [or at all] on Vista.
br /
br /Sanyo touts the camera's underwater shooting ability. Be warned: Maximum depth is 5 feet. You can't even take this to the bottom of most swimming pools. If you can limit yourself to snorkeling along the surface and shooting what's beneath [or if all your underwater video is shot in your bath tub] you'll be fine.
br /
br /On the subject of waterproof: Because of this feature there are some compromises. The battery, connector and card are all inside a waterproof slot with a secure cover. You will have to open the cover to hook up the usb cable and you will have to remove the battery from the camera and use the separate charger [included] to re-charge the battery. The USB cable has a custom mini connector, so if you lose or damage the cable you will have to get another from Sanyo. Nothing else will work.
br /
br /Also be aware that the camera will not stand up on it's own, so you will need a tri-pod for any un-attended shooting. The sound is adequate, but audiophiles will cringe.
br /
br /I notice when I use video, the resolution for still photos drops to 2 megapixels. So if you are in the middle of shooting video you cannot snap off a high resolution photo. The Sanyo only has a 5x optical zoom. As with all digital cameras, Once you move into digital zoom video quality drops very quickly. There is a built-in flash for still pictures which works very well within the distance limits.
br /
br /The camera also features image stabilization. It works pretty well and is essential for indoor or action shooting. Stabilization and flash are off by default and have to be turned on through the menu. Also, be aware that stabilization has to be turned on separately for still photos and video. While you are in menu mode you might also want to turn off digital zoom. This will prevent you from accidentally zooming into digital and blurring an otherwise good shot.
br /
br /The camera records in mpeg 4 [divx] format, which is a compressed format. The image is not as sharp as the un-compressed AVI format my digital camera uses, but allows you to record a lot more video on a given memory card. At a full 30 frames per second and 640x480 resolution you get about 18 minutes on a one gig SD card. The Sanyo supports SDHC so you can use cards up to 32 Gig. My Canon S5IS digital camera produces exquisite video, but one gig is only good for a bit over 7 minutes.
br /
br /Bottom Line:
br /The underwater feature is a bit of a gimmick. The quality of the video, particularly indoors is about the same as VHS--maybe. It has a nice screen and a compact form. But for essentially the same money, I am starting to see 720p hi def cameras out there. And, if you can live without the underwater feature, for about 125 more, you can get a first rate digital camera like the new version of my Canon [SW10IS] that shoots very good video and has greater [12X] optical zoom.

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder is ideal for all kinds of environmets. It handled the desert without a hitch. It captured great photos and video during our trip to India. I suggest getting the wrist strap as it keeps the camera from falling when riding a camel and navigating through the crowded markets. I have recommended this model to family and friends.

Love it. Easy to use. great pics.
br /Only con is that in order to take a picture, you have to push relatively hard on the button.