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Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black)
 
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Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black)

by Sanyo
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)

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Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
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11 new from $316.00 7 used from $248.99 1 refurbished from $202.99

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Frequently Bought Together

Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black) + Transcend 16 GB Class 6 SDHC Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6 + Transcend 8 GB Class 6 SDHC Flash Memory Card TS8GSDHC6
Price For All Three: $376.94

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black)
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Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black) 3.7 out of 5 stars (53)
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Technical Details

  • Capture Full 1080p HD video (60fps) and up to 8-megapixel still photos
  • 16x advanced zoom for video; 10x optical zoom for photos
  • Face Chaser technology (can detect up to 12 faces for photos and videos)
  • Built-in still photo flash; High-Speed Sequential Shooting (12fps)
  • Compatible with iFrame video format
  See more technical details

Product Details

  • Product Dimensions: 2.1 x 2.3 x 4.1 inches ; 11.2 ounces
  • Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
  • ASIN: B002Q4VC9G
  • Item model number: VPC-FH1aBK
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #67 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
    #10 in  Camera & Photo > Camcorders > High Definition
  • Date first available at Amazon.com: February 16, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

VPC-FH1ABK Full 1080P HD Video and 8MP Digital PhotosTake stunning Full 1080p High Definition video at 60fps and amazing 8 megapixel digital photos! The Sanyo FH1A Dual Camera is also the world’s first camcorder that is compatible with iFrame. The new iFrame video format can dramatically speed the process of importing, editing, and sharing your videos. The FH1A delivers high performance results with multiple features normally found on much higher priced video and photo cameras. The FH1A packs tons of features which are sure to please the most discerning user; including 600fps slow motion mode, face chasing technology which automatically reads and corrects focus and lighting for up to 12 different subjects, and 16x optical zoom for video. Its compact design makes the FH1A extremely portable and easy to use. Videos, still photos and the various settings and menus can be easily accessed with the user’s thumb. The FH1A’s convenient design makes sharing videos and photos via social networking web sites, portable video devices like IPod’s, TV’s and computers, a breeze.

World’s First Camcorder to Provide Compatibility with iFrame
Shooting, editing and sharing high quality video has never been easier. SANYO’s new FH1A is the world’s first camera to adopt the new iFrame video format. This computer-friendly video format is designed to dramatically simplify the process of working with video with your camera. With iFrame, the video in your camera is the same format you’ll edit, so importing video is fast and file sizes are small. You’ll be able to start editing and sharing your movies right away across multiple platforms and devices. Because it’s based on standard technologies such as H.264, AAC, MP4 and QuickTime, iFrame can be used with Mac and PC applications.
World’s First Camcorder to Provide Compatibility with iFrame


Sanyo Xacti FH1a Highlights 

High Performance and Stylish Design Made Simple
The Dual Camera FH1A packs high performance, cutting edge technology into a small, stylish, easy to use camera. Designed to fit perfectly in the palm of your hand, the Dual Camera FH1A features an easy to navigate menu which make it a great choice for the beginner and the more advanced user. It is the perfect blend of style, performance, and ease of use.
Large, 3.0 -inch Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
The display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees on an axis that allows you to take great video or still images from otherwise-difficult-to-view positions, proving to be especially useful when shooting in confined spaces.
8 Megapixel Still Image Quality
In addition to Full 1080P HD Video the FH1A takes amazing 8 megapixel still photos. With an 8 megapixel (effective) CMOS image sensor the still images can be interpolated to reach 12 megapixel quality.
16x Optical Zoom (video) & 10x Optical Zoom (photos)
The FH1A features an amazing 16x Advanced Optical Zoom for video. With Sanyo’s 16x Advanced Optical Zoom Technology the field of view is increased to approximately 44 millimeters (vs. 77mm for more conventional zoom). The overall zooming range is F=41.7-666.9mm (35mm equivalent). The photo zoom capability is 10x Optical Zoom with an F=35.7-357mm range (35mm equivalent).
12 Subject Face Chaser Technology
The FH1A recognizes up to 12 faces for videos, still pictures and optimizes focus / aperture settings to ensure all subjects are in focus.
Up to 600 fps Slow Motion
Sanyo’s FH1A features increased slow motion capability. Shooting in SHR mode (448x336) the FH1A can reach an amazing 240 frames per second. In UHR mode (192x108) it can reach an astounding 600fps slow motion capability.
Three-Dimensional Noise Reduction (3D-DNR)Three-Dimensional Noise Reduction (3D-DNR)
SANYO’s 3D-DNR technology offers a significant improvement in video clarity by reducing random signal noise. This improvement in bit rate allocation will result in a highly accurate video image.

Sophisticated image stabilizer Sophisticated image stabilizer
Using a proprietary Sanyo algorithm, the FH1A automatically compensates for distracting up-and-down or side-to-side camera movement, keeping your subject steady and easy to follow. It accurately distinguishes between unintentional camera shake and deliberate camera movement. This handy feature operates in both wide-angle and telephoto modes.

Sequential photo mode shoots up to 12 frames per secondSequential photo mode shoots up to 12 frames per second
Take pictures like the pros with sequential shooting up to 12 frames per second. The perfect solution for action photography!

Highly advanced MPEG4 AVC/H.264 video compression
This feature optimizes the file size and makes sharing movies on social networking sites, or emailing them to friends and family, even easier. In fact, the file size can be up to 25 percent smaller than that of typical MPEG-4 cameras.

To accomplish the complexity of encoding AVC/H.264 in real-time on the FH1A, a dedicated H.264 video compression IC was incorporated into the camera that was designed specifically for portable consumer devices. This achieves high video quality while simultaneously reducing the system power consumption.
Easily transfer video and still images to your video capable iPodEasily transfer video and still images to your video capable iPod
Import video and still image files directly into iTunes software and then port them to your video-capable iPod. Share your latest masterpiece with friends and family.

Record over 5 hours of full motion video
Using a 16GB SDHC memory card users can capture over 11 hours and 6 minutes worth of video in standard definition or approximately 1 hour and 28 minutes in full HD video mode.
Capture still images while you’re shooting video
The FH1A enables simultaneous shooting of video clips and still images with a simple press of the shutter button during the shooting of a movie clip. You will never need to miss another precious photo opportunity. (Depending on the mode used to take still images, simultaneous video clip shooting may be interrupted. While shooting video clips, using the digital image stabilizer may change the angle of view for still images.)
Super-fast start-up
Reduce your chance of missing the perfect shot. The Dual Camera FH1A is designed for super fast start-up and shooting. With its tapeless design, the FH1A eliminates the need to queue up a video tape, allowing it to begin shooting in as little as 1.7 seconds! When the FH1A is powered on, closing the LCD display puts it in standby mode. Simply open the display and the FH1A automatically powers up and can begin immediately recording in as little as 1.7 seconds.
Includes a high-capacity Sanyo brand lithium-ion battery
The DB-L50 is a high capacity battery designed to work with the Sanyo Xacti FH1A camera and delivers approximately 135 minutes of video record time. High-energy density design minimizes the battery size and weight, making it perfect for use in the Sanyo Dual Camera FH1A. The DB-L50 is designed to resist memory accumulation so it provides a full charge every time.
Easy playback of recorded video directly on a TV
The FH1A camera features a HDMI output which makes connecting it to a Digital TV or DVD Recorder a breeze. The FH1A can also easily be connected to a computer to back-up copies of recorded content. Still images and video clips are played back continuously and in chronological order. When connected to a PC, simple drag-and-drop operation makes it easy to save recorded video clips and still images onto a computer's hard disk for emailing, editing or archiving. Easy playback of recorded video directly on a TV

Galvanometer method structure, Auto focus: 9 groups, 12 elements (4 aspheric elements, 8 aspheric surfaces), Built-in neutral density filter, Photos: f=35.7-357mm(=35mm), Optical 10x zoom, Videos: f=41.7-666.9mm(=35mm) 16x Advanced zoom, Low-light sensitivity - 6 lux (AUTO mode, 1/30 seconds) 2 lux (Lamp mode 1/15) Sensitivity - Auto (ISO 50-200), Manual (ISO 50/100/200/400/800/1600/3200) AV output (HDMI / S-video / Composite video, NTSC/PAL, Audio - Stereo sound) USB 2.0 (high-speed mode) Dimensions - Width 2.1” x Depth 4.13” x Height 2.25” Weight, approximately 12.1 ounces including battery and SD card

Product Description

The Sanyo Xacti FH1 is truly the benchmark in high definition, offering 1920 x 1080 pixels, and 60 fields per second to record crystal clear and smooth motion for videos. This highly advanced dual camera not only offers the regular 1080i format, recording at 60 frames per second, but with the Sanyo proprietary CMOS engine, recording is possible in 1080p format - this means recording at a full 60 frames per second. With this higher frame rate capturing ability, videos look more professional, and offer smoother, higher quality images.

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Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black)
$316.00
In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

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Customer Reviews

Average Customer Rating
3.7 out of 5 stars (53 customer reviews)
5 star:
 (20)
4 star:
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3 star:
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
90 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not perfect, November 18, 2009
By David R. Courtney (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black) (Electronics)
Pros
Superb low light response.
Excellent Mac compatibility
Reasonable price
Generally good set of options in the menu.
37mm threaded front lens so it it is compatible with a large assortment of attachments
Reasonable HD performance
Also functions as a pretty good and easy still camera


Cons
Zoom speed cannot be slowed or controlled in any way. (I stand corrected on this point - read below)
No mic or audio line input.


General Discussion
All things considered, this is a fine product. If you are a Mac person this will save you many hours of work. The MPEG4 file format is very mac friendly. But there are a few things to keep in mind.

This camera has an unusually large sensor; as such this has some interesting consequences. On the positive side, this produces stunning low light capabilities. Furthermore, one can isolate the subject from the background very easily by carefully controlling ones exposure and focus; few other consumer camcorders have this ability. However this places great strain on the auto focus. If one is simply wishing to place it in an auto mode and leave it there, it tends to have a lot of focus problems.

The zoom speed is too fast. Aside from the fact that I feel, that it is aesthetically unpleasing, in every case except bright sunlight, the zoom is faster than the auto focus. Therefore almost any attempt to zoom in while shooting will yield out-of-focus pictures. Consequently you must consider the zoom on this camera to be essentially useless.

For some inexplicable reason, they chose not to include an external mic/ audio in jack. This severely limits its usability.

David Courtney
Houston, TX
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46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best HD camcorder for the money, April 8, 2010
This review is from: Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black) (Electronics)
* Questions from the comments (I can't reply the post for some reason so I have to update the review here): No. An adaptor cable comes with the camcorder (one end goes to the camcorder, the other end connect the USB cable of your external drive). The drive has to be in FAT32 format (not NTFS, which is the current format standard for vista and win7 system). FAT32 is format for older windows. The limitation is file on it can not be larger than 4GB (this is why the sanyo camcorder can not record file larger than 4GB, though I don't know why you would have one file that large, not reliable at the first place). Also a note by a comment that the harddrive may have to be self-powered, according to the manual.

I have not actually used the Xacti library feature myself so please refer to the manual (a pdf file you can google) before you make up your mind.

===========================
I believe the FH1A is just the FH1 with the additional Apple iFrame video format (an odd format, smaller then 720p, so I doubt anyone would use it). So my review applies to the FH1 model as well. Btw, most of the camcorderinfo review on the VPC-HD2000 model applies to this one as well.

When this camcorder is on sale for $400 or below, it is certainly the best HD camcorder for the money.

Pros: -Many video resolution options, covering 1080p, 1080i, 720p, vga, and ultra-slow motion video. The 1080p (60fps progressive) is really detailed and smooth. I have read that someone may have problem playing back the 1080p video smoothly on an even quad-core windows (can be solved by choosing the right software). But video play back is quite good on my quad-core Mac (well it's an HP hackintosh).

-H.264 mp4 video format makes it very easy to work with, especially on Mac platform. Just copy the video onto the computer and you can start editing it in iMovie natively without converting, transcoding, etc. Saves tons of time. I have worked with 720p Motion Jpeg (MJPG) videos. Their quality is good but they waste too much disk space. The mp4 video from the sanyo has good compression without visible quality loss. Therefore, this camcorder should be at the top of one's shopping list if you are a Mac user.

-Excellent low light performance. Many camcorders/cameras suffer big time when shooting video at low light (such as in door at night with usual lighting). I have compared to 720p video my other camera, the video from the Sanyo is much cleaner.

-Comes with a lot of accessories (but as the video can be easily copied onto computer, one don't really need the video cables). Good build quality. Small but with large screen. Can be operated with just the thumb. Great battery life.

-Comes with remote controller, which is hard to find on even much more expensive camcorders.

-Great stereo sound quality.

-Can store video onto portable hard disk without using computers (Xacti library). This is a great feature as you can just bring a portable hard drive and the camcorder when traveling, off-load the videos when the card is full, and continue shooting. Portable HDD is cheap and can hold hours of videos. Without this feature, you either have to prepare multiple SD cards for the trip, or you have to pull out laptop from time to time.

-Ultra slow motion video, though at low resolution. It may be a gimmick for many but can be very useful and fun if you want to capture a special action.
-8M still photo. The quality is on par with most consumer level digital cameras (but a little over sharpened, nothing close to prosumer or DSLR quality).

Cons:-The only real complain I have is the lack of Optical Image Stabilization. It only has Electronic IS, which works a little when you are not moving the camera (the natural shaking of the hand can be countered). But as soon as you start walking, panning, anything involve intentional camera movement, the EIS has no use. For Optical IS, even some of those movement can be countered to certain degree so the end results are not as shaky. Anyway, good shooting techniques are always useful, and iMovie has a image stabilization function that can be applied on shaky video, and the results are pretty good (but time-consuming). I wish Sanyo could bring OIS to their next generation camcorders.

-The menu is just OK. Not really up to current standard. I've seen much better executed animated menus on other cameras. Well they all do the similar thing but make you feel better. I don't think processing power of this camcorder is the problem, it's a lack of development in this regard. Due to a lock of buttons, one has to remember lots of settings if you want to make quick change. Good thing is that some frequently used function can be set as shortcut to the joystick.

-Only provided software for windows, not for Mac; However I doubt there are good alternative to iMovie on Mac (at this price point) so it's OK forgivable.

-Lack of parameter adjustments for video and photo quality. Just three options (normal, vivid, soft) and don't really make a difference. On my computer when playing back, just a tiny bit of increase in saturation brings the video to a better level. I wish I can shoot the video like that at the first place.

-I find it too dark to my taste when left as automatic exposure, especially indoor night shot. Therefore I customized the exposure compensation on the 4-way toggle, and raise the exposure by 0.3 or 0.6 before shooting.
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34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not very happy with it... autofocus problems ruins lot of footage, February 27, 2010
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black) (Electronics)
Pros:
- Size and weight
- Handy controls
- Nice zoom
- Battery life
- iFrame makes it Mac compatible and friendly (it was my main reason to buy it)
Cons:
- Autofocus problems means lots of ruined footage (this happened during a ski trip)
- Microphone sensitivity is less than adequate
- Photos are so-so
You simply can't compare the results with what I used to get from my old Canon mini DV
Conclusion: I'm not really happy with it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Cheap, But Overheats
In theory this camcorder seems like a dream come true. Unfortunately in practice, it has one major fatal flaw - it overheats often and automatically shuts off. Read more
Published 2 days ago by M. Younger

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent camcorder
I have used this camcorder for several weeks and it has performed very well.
I am very satisfied with it. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Jeffrey Corcoran

4.0 out of 5 stars Great value for true HD
My experience with this camera is in sync with Mr. Courtney's--"tends to have a lot of focus problems" is true, but so is "All things considered, this is a fine product. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Alastair Dallas

5.0 out of 5 stars This Camcorder Rocks
WE purchased the Sanyo VPC-FH1A. We originally purchased it so we could connect the camera to our Apple computers at home. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Jeff Zusman

5.0 out of 5 stars Great camera/videocam
So far we have loved this video camera. My son is very into making videos and broke the sony minidv camera we had. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Joe Hardin

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad Amazon Customer Service.
I just want to say that I am unhappy with Amazon.com's service regarding this purchase.
It is better to buy from stores/vendors with 90-day return policies.
Published 17 days ago by Narendra Sharma

5.0 out of 5 stars Muy buena
La compre a través de Amazon y me llegó antes de lo previsto, la cámara es muy facil de usar y con muy buena claidad
Published 26 days ago by fnieto

4.0 out of 5 stars Probably Better as a Second Camera
If you need a second camera to capture another angle of the same scene, this should suffice. But as a primary camera, it's a little too unreliable. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Kenneth Chen

4.0 out of 5 stars I have done great things with this cam
Here is the real deal about this camera. It has a few quirks that may require some manual work arounds by you to get a perfect video. Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Britt

4.0 out of 5 stars Great HD cam for $300
I shoot daily on a Panasonic P2 HD cam. I know how to use a camera...
Ive had this Sanyo for about 10 days now. Here is the breakdown.

Before i start.. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Youngman

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