5. 15 HD Camcorders

Sanyo VPC-HD1, 1a (SD/SDHC Memory)

Using SD Flash Memory, the VPC-HD1 is a groundbreaking camcorder. It is the smallest, lightest, and cheapest HD Camcorder and it takes 5.0 megapixel still photos. Despite having a relatively large, dense sensor, video quality is not in the same league as most other HD camcorders offer. This is most likely because the VPC-HD1 uses MPEG-4 compression (non-AVCHD) at a low 9 Mbps bit rate and has 720p resolution. Also, low-light performance is relatively poor. The VPC-HD1a added a photo mode and in-camera editing, but did not improve upon video performance.

Sanyo VPC-HD2* (SD/SDHC Memory)

Introduced at CES 2007 last month, the VPC-HD2 replaces the HD1 and HD1a. The primary upgrade over the HD1 is a higher resolution sensor (7.2 MP instead of 5.3), which Sanyo claims will improve low-light performance. Still image resolution is up to 7.1MP from 5.0MP in the HD1, and the HD2 uses SD and SDHC memory cards. However, there may be a limit on resolution improvement, because MPEG-4 compression at a bit rate of 9Mbps is still being used. The VPC-HD2 should be available in March 2007.