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7 out of 10
By: Ron Braxley
September 17, 2007 @ 11:08 PM
I’m a university-based media producer (of strictly no-budget jobs), so I have a lot experience with prosumer miniDV. I’ve recently upgraded to HDV.
Is the Sanyo HD2 a great camcorder? No, but I have to say that I’m well pleased with what it offers. It’s small, feels solid, mounts to a tripod and has a mic input. I think the 720p footage looks pretty darn good under standard lighting conditions (available light). I’ve also successfully imported it into FCP for editing.
Is the footage equal to HDV? No, it’s not, and I wouldn’t use the HD2 when that might be an issue. I did recently shoot a dance performance and set the HD2 next to my HDV camcorder and let it run on auto. Under the theatrical lighting, the camera did a great job with detail and color, except when a spot light was used. (Remember, I was shooting on auto.) The spot-lighted footage was overexposed. Even had I been manning the camera it would have been difficult to manually adjust the image because of the joy stick controller, but I could have still managed a better picture.
I also used it (again on auto) on a recent trip to the Georgia Aquarium, and was generally pleased. I posted this footage to YouTube, and it looks pretty good in that context. And frankly, this is a more realistic model for its use; not professional (or prosumer), but mom and pop cam. YouTube and podcasting are increasingly the distro channels for user-generated material, so this camera suits.
Finally, I’m excited by the quality of footage which can now be captured on SD cards (or SDHC in this case). I run a media center where our students can borrow AV equipment for projects, etc. and miniDV has been our standard for many years. Lately, however, they want/need to get their videos online (student teaching sample, for instance) with minimal editing, but tape-based cameras add many steps (which they don’t like). A couple of years ago I tried out one of the early Pana D-Snap card-based cameras, but it just didn’t cut it, quality wise.
Well, the Sanyo does indeed cut it, so we’re going to introduce it into our checkout inventory. We’ve only ever bought camcorders with a mic input, and the HD2 even meets that need.
To summarize: a solid “7″ consumer HD camcorder with lots of advantages. No, not a pro machine, but not too shabby. Is it worth what you’ll spend? Yes, if you want consumer HD. If you need higher quality you’ll need to move up to HDV (or maybe AVCHD, which I’ve not used) or higher. You will, however, be digging a deeper hole with that little plastic shovel in your wallet. You’ll also be happy to leave tapes in your past. About time. Finally, let me add that I like it enough to dig my own little hole. I bought my own HD2, and I’m glad I did.
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Good camera poor sound
By: Hartmut
August 25, 2007 @ 3:53 PM
I have no problem with the quality of the video as long as you do not move the camera. The sound is not very good and you may need to invest into better audio to enjoy the final result.
Rating: 6 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Nothing Short of Amazing
By: Pat Hyman
August 21, 2007 @ 4:39 PM
I bought this camera in spite of some so-so reviews, because I really liked the size and the fact that it combined video and still photography. The first photos I took literally blew my socks off! The resolution is amazing and the color is dazzling. The zoom is acceptable because I can always crop and enlarge a small part of the photo wihtout losing resolution. The video is as good as the Panasonic DV camcorder that I own. I used it to shoot a dog agility event that was held inside a small facility. The lighting was not great, but the Sanyo performed as well as any DV camcorder and the resulting video is very good. I do not have an HD television so I cannot judge whether it delivers true HD, but that is not something that I absolutely need in this camera. It is certainly good enough for anything but a professional application. This is the one camera that I will take with me from now on. It is easy to use and easy to carry and the results are stunning. It is an amazing little camera and I love using it, hence the score of 10.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Help
By: Brian
July 8, 2007 @ 1:17 PM
I just bought this camera, and I’m confused. I shot some video in what it says is the HD mode. I then connected it to my HDTV set, and it looks like crap. It basically looks about as good as a video I’d shoot with my regular digital camera.
Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
It's ok-but keep shopping
By: Mark
June 18, 2007 @ 10:07 PM
I bought this and liked the overall size, and the picture is decent, but when you get to a higer resolution, the picture doesn’t look right. The best description I can give it is a "photoshopped" look. I would turn the zoom off as its uselss, and it’s not very good in low light settings. Overall its an ok camera, but if I were to do it again, I would get something different.
Rating: 6 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No