High-definition (HD) compact camcorders have been in fashion ever since the launch of the Flip camcorder. But the category — best defined as pocket-sized gadgets for shooting near HD-quality video — seems to be expanding fast with recent additions. These include the Sony Bloggie and Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1.
By utilising a convenient video format that can be run both on PCs and home TVs, these cameras become more than just hardware for capturing, viewing and saving images. They are best suited to sharing videos online, on blogs or similar multimedia sites. The best part is that they easily export images to portable media devices (eg: External memory cards, etc).
Sanyo Xacti VPS-CSI
Price: Rs 13,300
Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 is a dual-camera, which means that, though it is marketed as a camcorder, it is also a still camera. Users can choose to either record video footage or shoot a still image. The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 has a 3-megapixel sensor but, as a still camera, it records interpolated 8-megapixel digital photographs on the memory card.
The camera also features digital image stabilisation and a “face chase” function for shooting video that helps keep a subject’s faces in focus and well-exposed, though there’s a distinct blurring of still images. The video capture quality is definitely better than still images on Xacti VPC-CS1. Videos look good on the small screen and suffer a lot less blur than images in normal camera mode. The video mode is recorded in HD720p, making the playback an exceptional quality for a small device such as this.
The VPC-CS1 also features a mini-HDMI port for pushing video and images to a big screen. Sound is an important element for increasing the realism of videos and that’s why Sanyo added three microphone modes for recording sounds on VPC-CS1. However, during review, we found the device was too narrow (slim grip) to be able to use it comfortably with one hand. We often struggled to hold the side of the screen when taking pictures and found the experience of reaching around with thumb to hit the power and REC/Play buttons very uncomfortable.
The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 should be available in stores for Rs 13,300 and can be a good summer holiday companion.
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Sony Bloggie HD MHS-CM5
Price: Rs 8,000
Sony Bloggie HD MHS-CM5 is a dual capture camcorder, which means you won’t have to switch back and forth between video and photo capture — you can take photos while you’re recording. This 5-megapixel camcorder also has a 2-5 inch LCD screen that rotates 270 degrees for easy filming at odd angles, such as recording yourself for a video blog. But what’s new to Bloggie is the built-in USB connector for offloading video clips (rather than a separate USB cable) and fewer physical buttons (to make things easier while shooting). There’s another big difference from last year’s Sony Webbie camcorder — Bloggie is compatible with SD/SDHC cards, ending the Memory Stick-only era for Sony. The media card slot can handle both storage formats, and the camcorder saves footage in MPEG-4 video format. Bloggie has just 26MB flash memory built-in.
With its 5x optical zoom lens that allows users to get tight and detailed shots from a distance, Bloggie manages to set itself apart from the competition. Since compact camcorders are expected to be diminutive, these don’t have optical zoom lenses and, instead, rely on digital zooms that actually degrades picture quality. Though Sony is not exactly about the optical zoom, we believe it is Bloggie’s most important USP. The built-in 26MB flash memory records up to one minute of video or 110 still images at the lowest quality setting, but storage can be extended with memory cards.
The Rs 8,000 (approx) Bloggie comes packaged with Picture Motion Browser software (for Windows PCs) that does a nice job overall of importing and organising video footage by date. It’s a great imaging device that can be managed easily by both, kids and technophobes.
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