Friday, June 25, 2010

Hail and Wail to Sanyo

I was hoping that in 2010, Sanyo will release an improved version of the HD2000/FH1 with the long awaited optical image stabilization (OIS) which will make this series a top buy. Anyway, it did not happen and looks like it never will. The new models released do not have OIS and in fact the resolution has dropped to just 1920x1080i and they are aimed at a different market. This is understandable since Sanyo has been acquired by Panasonic and they do not want to compete in the same market segment. The latest Panasonic 700 series has now the 1920x1080p (60p) resolution, presumable using the Sanyo technology and they are getting rave reviews for the video quality.

We owners of the HD2000/FH1 have been enjoying the 60p resolution much earlier and looks like this series will not be continued. It is not perfect but it has many innovative features. Only now the latest Sony series can copy to an external HDD without using a PC calling it Direct Copy; Sanyo already have it earlier as part of the Xacti Library.

I recently got myself the Sony XR350E camcorder since I needed one with a HDD for my travels. It definitely beats the Sanyo HD2000 with its rock steady image stabilization and solid auto-focus and after using it, only then I realized there are plenty of neat features in the Sanyo that are not available in the Sony though it costs substantially more.

So hang-on to your Sanyo camcorders if you have one and those without should get yourself a HD2000/FH1 while it is still available as this will reach cult status or become a collector’s item soon. Happy shooting!


Ronald Kwok

8 comments:

  1. Hello,

    Everything was right, I was able to switch from REC to PLAY.
    But now... it does not work...
    The REC position is ok and I can take pictures or video.
    But when I switch from REC to PLAY, nothing happens...?
    Any idea?
    I was working fine before, did I do something wrong?
    Do I need to upgrade firware?
    Please....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello,

    Sanyo Xacti HD2000
    Everything was right, I was able to switch from REC to PLAY.
    But now... it does not work...
    The REC position is ok and I can take pictures or video.
    But when I switch from REC to PLAY, nothing happens...?
    Any idea?
    Thank you

    It was working fine before, did I do something wrong?
    Do I need to upgrade firware?
    Please....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hai Ronald
    I have some problem with the fh1 order so I must decide to purchase the hd2000 or something else. Please tell me about usb connecttion with pc. I have a kodak digital camera and a pc with analog tvcard to watch tv from cable. This card also is able to record or handle incomming semnals from my kodak, but this take off after one minute of no using. Skype recognize this incomming semnals and can use as a webcamera but just for 1minutes. I see in the owners manual about stand by mode of the camera but it is not clear for me if the camera (sanyo) send semnal without recording. Can you tell me when you connect the camera to the hdtv (if you didn't have a digitalizer card in the pc) can you see on the tv what the camcorder see without recording, and this is for 5 or 12 minutes. When it's work I'll use this as a webcamera too.
    Sorry for central european english
    László

    ReplyDelete
  4. For the first anonymous reader, I believe there is something wrong with your camcorder; have it checked by the local Sanyo service centre. But try to remove the battery and put it back to see if it works first.

    For Laszlo,
    The HD2000 can definitely be used as a webcam as
    this is stated in the manual (not the main user manual but in the Xacti Software manual). When you connect the camcorder to the PC, the USB Connection menu will come on and you can select PC Camera as one of the options. I think the FH1 should be the same. But it is much cheaper to get a normal webcam.
    Also if you connect the camcorder to a HDTV via HDMI, the screen will show what the camcorder sees but not when you start recording. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My Sanyo HD connects to my iMac as a webcam, but when I connect it to Skype it comes up briefly then shuts down to a message saying the Camera is being used by another application. How do you get around this problem, the camera far exceeds the quality of the built iSight camera.

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi! i cannot use my sanyo like webcam. I have an iMac and a Windows. My pc watch only iSight camera. Help!
    antonio
    www.salutedomani.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Ronald

    I really like the blogs. I have a question that I hope you can answer.

    Did you ever find a media player at a reasonable price, that plays 1080p 60fps files from your Sanyo HD2000? I have a Sanyo FH1 and I'm still unsure what media player to buy so I don't have to just rely on the video camera itself for playback...

    What would you recommend?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Rob, you can refer to my earlier post on this subject and an updated one in my latest post today. Just pick the player that you fancy!

    ReplyDelete