Tested three low cost HD camcorders:

1st: Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD100
2nd: DXG 569V Silver Ultra-Slim HD
3rd: Aiptek Action HD GVS 1080P

To give you some background for reference. My primary objects for video are family and pets. I use iMovie and Studio8 for video editing. I have experience with other consumer HD cams such as the Canon HF100 and Panasonic SD100 both in a higher price class. For Photos I use a Canon G9 and have therefore not evaluated photo ability of those tested. My main reasons for considering the three cams are price, convenience, and most important the ease of the file-format. As for now I say no thanks to the AVCHD video format.

For my review I used the following criteria:

Video clip format
Quality of the videos
Quality of sound
Field of view
Focus speed
Feel and quality of the product
Ease of use
Battery life

First up was the...

Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD100:

Video clip format: - MP4- very convenient- played right away on Mac & PC provided you have QT and a strong graphics card. Also played right away on PS3

Quality of the videos: - good picture clarity but light/dark transitions produced too high contrasts & whites were overblown. Unfortunately the auto-focus was a disaster loosing focus for no apparent reason and without change in the scene. Oftentimes it took several camera swings and zooms to re-gain focus.

Quality of sound: - acceptable with the standard low background hissing.

Field of view: - very narrow (very zoomed in like 40-45mm in the 35mm equiv.)

Focus speed: - a disaster, could not stay focused even when on tripod facing a still scene

Feel and quality of the product: - okay feel, somewhat flimsy as evidenced by the port cover overall the camera is not a stellar design.

Ease of use: - buttons in a very inconvenient layout (without being picky here) I oftentimes found myself in the menu trying to start recording with small hands.

Battery life: - too little time with camera to truly evaluate.

Verdict: camera went back mainly due to focus issue and field of view.

Next in line...

DXG 569V Silver Ultra-Slim HD

Video clip format: - .MOV - played right away on Mac & PC provided you have QT and a strong graphics card. Unfortunately required conversion for PS3 use.

Quality of the videos: - fairly acceptable for this price class, not as crisp as the above Sanyo but better low light characteristics and better transitions between lights and darks over the Sanyo. Overall slightly lower quality then Sanyo.

Quality of sound: - no hissing but to faint and distant. In short, barely acceptable

Field of view: - acceptable estim. Around 35-38mm (35mm equiv.& about even with many digital picture cameras)

Focus speed: - this camera did not have autofocus but the fixed focus was very acceptable as long as objects were at least 3' away. The macro mode worked great and the switch was conveniently placed for a quick switch while panning around a room to move in for a close analysis of an object.

Feel and quality of the product: - I was very drawn to this camera for its form-factor, and overall feel. Ergonomically it felt best of the three cameras, it had a quality feel and finish for its price class and a very nice 3" display that was viewable from most angles. Buttons were very conveniently placed alleviating mishaps. The LED light in the front was amazingly bright; it would have been a great little interviewing camera for dim lighting situations if it were not for the poor sound.

Ease of use: - very easy to use, good menu layout but at times the menu items required a second push to accept a setting.

Battery life: - too little time with camera to truly evaluate but it appeared too short.

Verdict: I would have likely kept this model, however after three days of use the SD card spring mechanism failed rendering the camera useless.
I contemplated to re-order the same model but eventually let it go due to poor sound and weak battery live.

And last...

Aiptek Action HD GVS 1080P:

Video clip format: - .MOV- very convenient- played right away on Mac & PC provided you have QT and a strong graphics card., unfortunately required conversion for PS3 use

Quality of the videos: - best of the three models tested, clear, good contrast, truest colors of the three models, good transitions form light to dark areas when compared to the others.

Quality of sound: good, slightly over-modulated but acceptable.

Field of view: - best of the three, guessing 32mm-35mm (35mm equiv. make sure you are using the 720P mode for widest angle)

Focus speed: - no complaints here, quick and precise for this price class

Feel and quality of the product: - somewhat flimsy feel and finish, the 3" display does not have as nice viewing angle as the DXG camera. Aiptek could also have chosen a nicer plastic for the case giving it a modern feel.

Ease of use: - the menu layout is could use a workover but workable.

Battery life: - too little time with camera to truly evaluate but it appears Okay.

Verdict: - So far so good. Should this one not work out for a valid reason then I will consider stepping up to the Sanyo Xacti HD1010.

It's the end of April 2009 now and I love this little camcorder. The results are fantastic; this has been a great companion for me throughout my daughter's first year. Battery life is great. I charge here and there via USB cable after transferring clips to my Mac. You get a good 1.5hr or longer with a continuous clip. I can manage to charge only once per week while shooting multiple 1-4 min clips and occasional pictures every day. Since my original write-up I have managed to shoot hundreds of still images and am impressed with the quality (make sure the lighting is plentiful and keep a steady hand in dimmer situations). Beware this is not a Canon still camera and is not intended to take its spot but I managed to get good results on a continuous basis.[...]
you might have to copy and paste the links into your browser, I am not sure what youtube does after video is uploaded. Oh, don't forget to click on the HD button when viewing the clips. The videos generally play smooth so if there are hang-ups of jagged lines while panning then it is likely your computer. The clips run smooth on my home Mac but get a little jerky on my work PC which does not have a dedicated video card.

July17th update:
Still love the camera and carry it by my side on daily excursions with my daughter. I would like to request the following from you Aiptek engineers: Please consider a different solution for lens protection then the 1980's lens cover, and please work in variable zoom speed rather then the single speed.