Sanyo wants people to go to the beach this summer—or at least the lake, pool, old quarry, or local swimming hole—and take their new Xacti E1 camcorder along for all the fun. The pocket-sized camcorder can capture 640 by 480 MPEG-4 video at 30 frames per second (or shoot six megapixel still images) from both traditional vantage points and from as much as five feet underwater. The camera is waterproof at depths up to five feet for 60 minutes at a time, and requires no separate waterproof case or housing—users can literally jump in and start shooting.
“More than just the world’s first waterproof camcorder, the Sanyo Xacti E1 is really four cameras in one,” said Sanyo senior marketing manage John Lamb, in a release. “It’s both a video and still camera above water and a video and still camera below water. Sanyo has created a stunning, exceptionally versatile camcorder that can be used virtually everywhere—including at the beach, in the pool and in rain or snow—while providing the high level of video and still image performance that today’s consumers demand.”
The camera stores video to standard SD or SDHC media using a Qpixel H.264 chipset which enables a 25 percent smaller file size and proved quality over non-H.264 recordings. An 8 GB SDHC memory card can contain up to 10 hours of full motion 640 by 480 video. Sanyo says the E1 can record in settings as dim as 7 lux, and a Lamp Mode will automatically adjust the frame rate to record video in environments as low as 2 lux. The unit sports a 2.5-inch LCD flip-out display, 5× topical zoom, digital image stabilization, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and USB 2.0 connectivity for moving video to a PC, Mac, iPod, or other device. The camera whips with Adobe Premiere Elements for Windows, along with Adobe Photoshop Album and Xacti Screen Capture software for Windows. Sanyo just recommends Mac users opt for iMovie and iPhoto, which have shipped as default software on Macs for many years. Sanyo is also offering an option “surf-style” leash that lashes the E1 to a user’s wrist.
The Sanyo Xacti E1 should appear (in three colors: blue, yellow, and white!) at retailers in mid-June, with a suggested retail price of $499.99
