73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
Pretty good
I got this camera yesterday and after shooting for a bit I'd have to say it's better than I expected, but you really have to know what you want it for.
Unlike another reviewer I would not go by the camera's LCD to adjust the image, since it's probably the weakest part of the camera, not very high resolution. The auto functions of exposure and white balance do...
171 of 173 people found the following review helpful:
If something is too good to be true...
At first sight, this little machine looks almost perfect: an up to 10 feet waterproof, compact, dual camera/camcorder.
Unfortunately, there is grain of salt in almost every aspect.
First, I need to mention that I am a happy owner of an older Sanyo EX2 camcorder and, despite minor drawbacks, I really like it.
This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
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At first sight, this little machine looks almost perfect: an up to 10 feet waterproof, compact, dual camera/camcorder.
Unfortunately, there is grain of salt in almost every aspect.
First, I need to mention that I am a happy owner of an older Sanyo EX2 camcorder and, despite minor drawbacks, I really like it.
I can understand the good intention of Sanyo engineers when they ventured to create a new camcorder that would outdo the previous model in every way possible. The original EX2 was only waterproof up to 3 feet, not HD, and had mediocre battery.
In VPC-WH1, Sanyo engineers fixed and improved everything, but in the process they made several dangerous compromises.
Let's start with new ten feet waterproof rating. I would really adore this new feature if not for one small problem - all the o-rings are not user-replaceable and the manual specifically tells you that they are only good for one year. Well, if you are buying this camera to go underwater (snorkeling, of course), you know what an o-ring is and what happens when it leaks.
Another problem - the camera body has three(!) covers: one for the battery, another for the SD-card, and the third for the power port. I cannot say I am a designer of underwater equipment, but so far all underwater housings I ever used had only ONE cover... with user-replaceable o-ring.
So the camera seems to be waterproof for one year, but what about next year's vacation?
Despite these drawbacks, I was ready to forgive Sanyo because of the promised HD. Unfortunately, whatever it was they decided to call HD was not really "High Definition". The image is terribly over-compressed and has lot of artifacts. Yes, technically, if you look at the file properties, it is 720p, but only technically. I would not rate it above 300 lines of real resolution. It is hard to believe, but my old EX2 makes much better videos. I have compared the two side by side on a 52 inch TV and the difference is obvious. Even in standard resolution the old EX2 beats the new camcorder, which is slightly embarrassing...
Finally, this is supposed to be a dual camera. Well, almost a camera, because in WPC-VH1 pictures are limited to two megapixels. My old EX2 has an 8 megapixel sensor and it makes pictures as good as a standard 3 megapixel camera. The overall level of degradation from the old camcorder has not changed for this feature, so you can imagine how a two megapixel images from the new camera looks. Let's just say my cell phone does a much better job.
The only good thing is battery performance; it is actually decent now. I just do not know what to do with all this battery performance. My new stylish yellow WPC-VH1 is collecting dust now, while the old EX2 faithfully sits in a side pocket of my photo bag.
***
Frankly, I hate writing negative reviews. For a month I played around with the camcorder parameters and lighting conditions, shot underwater (and, I should mention, underwater footage is generally okay, just not HD), tried different video codecs, but nothing helped. Did I get a defective unit?
It should not be difficult for Sanyo to fix almost all the drawbacks. I would guess the video over compression problem may be fixed with a software upgrade. And a mail-in o-ring replacement service can solve the one year problem (the current manual tells you to go to your "dealer"; with all due respect, I am not sure Amazon would provide such a service). The remaining two megapixels still image camera seems hopeless, but this would not be a big loss after all...
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This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
I got this camera yesterday and after shooting for a bit I'd have to say it's better than I expected, but you really have to know what you want it for.
Unlike another reviewer I would not go by the camera's LCD to adjust the image, since it's probably the weakest part of the camera, not very high resolution. The auto functions of exposure and white balance do a pretty good job. The colors are a little saturated and in some situations it does crush the blacks creating a high contrast look, but overall it works well.
The controls are simple and I was up and running in no time. I am used to shooting with manual controls, especially for exposure and focus. I was leery of what I could get with this camera but it handles well using the auto functions which can easily be locked off when need be. You can also assign four functions to the back arrow keys as shortcuts which makes it a snap to adjust the various focus modes, and lock the exposure, etc.
The macro is excellent and the zoom is great in a pinch but the image can become distorted on 30x. I did a long shot along a sidewalk and the image really broke up with the haze. When I was completely zoomed in on branches there was a great deal of purple fringing as well.
It worked perfectly underwater where I was in macro mode and the detail was excellent.
Getting the clips onto the computer is easy. I connected to the USB port and dragged them onto the desktop and from there directly into FCP. The only problem for me is my Mac is a G5 (relatively old) and there was a noticeable jerkiness in the video when played back on the computer. So the power of your computer has a definite impact on playback. Also, when editing this footage in with other HDV footage in FCP it took a looong time to render, i.e. two hours for about 12 minutes. But if you're editing it by itself, aside from making my system a bit sluggish, there were no other problems.
I was disappointed with the stills. You have to have them quite small to be decent, so I won't be using the camera much for that. Not sure why the CA9 is 8mb stills and the WH1 only 2mb!
The size of the camera is nice, it can definitely fit in a jacket pocket (not a shirt pocket) and the battery lasts a couple of hours which is great. Wasn't impressed with the stabilization and I'll definitely be using it on a tripod or braced against something solid.
My main camera is a Sony HDR-HC9 and there is a noticeable difference in quality. The WH1 image is more pixelated. But the underwater aspect is great and for that reason I'm glad I have it. So it really comes down to what you want the camera for. If you want it as your main camera and are seeking a good HD quality image, I probably wouldn't recommend this due to the pixelation and the shakiness. But if you want something for You Tube, want the underwater feature, or a very portable camera, this one is great.
I put up some sample footage and a still here: http://www.robertjohnthompson.com/page1/page1.html
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This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
This camera was purchased for a very specific purpose. To use in the water. I can forgive the image quality and user controls (or virtual lack thereof) because this was a purpose built camera. Well, the first time we got it wet, it died. we were able to pull off about 2 minutes of footage shot in a swimming pool before it died. Luckily, the pool was a test before using on our vacation. So, anyway... that's $[...] bucks down the drain. Ha, ha... get it?? "drain".
Update: According to Sanyo, any water damage is "Customer Neglect".
Update # 2: Sanyo will repair my camera for $[...]
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This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
Sanyo VPC-WH1: Sanyo has low quality and does not stand behind product. Bought for a beach vacation and to record kids' baseball games (husband works out of state). No longer have vacation video and can't record games. First time used in water (snorkeling) camera leaked, ruined memory card (images lost) and camera no longer functions. We had made sure all covers were completely closed, wore a wrist strap and did not "jerk." 30 minutes later bubbles escaped from camera. Followed "wash" instructions per manual. No luck. Contacted customer support and supervisor. 90 day warranty on labor no exceptions. Emailed sanyoservice@custhelp.com and mailed corporate headquarters further clarifying our position - no response. The fact that Sanyo only warranties for 90 days says they know their product is low quality and they have to set a very short warranty period or lose money. They also obviously don't care about customer satisfaction.
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This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
I have been using waterproof digital cameras for the last 4 years in very adverse conditions. I wanted to upgrade from the relatively lesser video quality of the point and shoot, and this unit seemed ideal.
I read all the many reviews on it and bought it a few weeks ago.
It's a beauty to look at, tiny and well laid out. I did think - as did others - that the seals/waterproofing looked a bit 'weak'. I tried it a few times at home and was not overly impressed with the performance. Then on the third day, on the ocean, we decided to show the group that it was waterproof. We lowered it about 6 inches underwater for less than 5 seconds. I resumed filming right after, and within 20 seconds the screen started to freak out. I turned it off immediately and waited a while. It did turn on again, but no picture on screen and by the time we got home, it was dead.
Major bummer.
I was very disappointed and quite pissed off. I've been using the Olympus waterproof/shockproof point and shoot for several years and they WORK DAMN WELL. I'd never owned Olympus before, but they make a great product there. I was willing to give the sanyo a try, but it didn't work so well.
When I went online to amazon, they asked if I wanted a refund or a replacement. I chose to give it another try, as obviously something was wrong with my unit.
They gave me 30 days to return my unit, and my replacement arrived within 5 days.
Absolutey no complaints about the vendor or amazon.
New unit not yet in my possession (couple more weeks) but I will post how the test goes with the replacement.
Hope I'm not disappointed again.
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If you read other reviews i have submitted you will see that i am not a product basher. I will state the facts as I know them and let you decide as to the suitablity of the camera for your application.
I had very high hopes for this camera but it was a total and complete dissapointment. The camera was a gift to my son who fishes constantly and a waterproof camera made a lot of sense. The camera was submerged to take video of fish since it is advertised as a waterproof camera. After three months of use (only a few times underwater) the lens began to have condensation appear behind the lens so we sent the unit to a Sanyo authorized repair center. The first surprise was that the warranty begins the day you buy the camera from Amazon (not the ship date or receipt date) so the repair center wanted to charge $40 just to evaluate the camera.
I contacted Sanyo directly and must say that their customer service was top notch and authorized the repair within the 90 day aspect of the warranty.
I received a call today from the repair center and the unit passed all of their tests for waterproof and still had water inside. Their statement was that someone must have submerged the camera without closing it properly (absolutely untrue). We strongly disagree with this but there is no way to argue the point so essentially you are at their mercy. My son has used a waterproof Olympus digital camera for thousands of pictures he has taken and published on his website and understands fully the requirements when using this type of device on the water.
A real unfortunate situation that leaves me with a $400 problem and no recourse.
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This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
Summary:
* A toy, but a usable one.
* If you want a waterproof camcorder, there aren't too many choices. And this happens to be a decent one at that. If you're on the CHEAP side and/or want to go into deeper waters, look at the other "toy" camera from GoPro. I also have that, by the way. GoPro takes (slightly) better photos than this, but this takes much better videos. Note GoPro has no LCD screen, so you're shooting almost blind.
* Get a tripod, or at least a monopod, especially if you're going to zoom in a lot.
* I'm not unhappy with it.
The good:
* Waterproof!
* Excellent battery life (almost enough to fill 16GB card with 720p video).
* I guess the face chaser thingy kind of works.
* Umm, it's... small? Oh oh, it turns on relatively quickly. It's no DSLR, but it's not bad.
The not-so-good:
* No image stabilization. You say it's got the "digital" image stabilization? Whatever! It's useless. Hope you have steady hands or at least a monopod.
* Horrible still pictures. Its ISO50 pictures look worse than (Canon) 40D's ISO3200 pictures. ISO1600 with this? Is that a photo or some kind of an artistic painting?
* Not so great image quality. But then, who's expecting great HD image from a 1/6" 1280x888 (guessed) bayer-patterned sensor? I'd actually prefer better quality 854x480 over 1280x720. Of course, I can always scale it down after I take the video, but that takes up more room in the card. I'd also have liked it to take 720x480 (native standard definition NTSC resolution) instead of 640x480.
* Low light performance is, well, not very good. Again, we're talking about a tiny 1/6" sensor. The high-sensitivity mode helps a little since what it's doing is slowing the shutter down and basically giving you 15 frames per second video (or rather 30 frames where every other frame is repeated).
* 30x zoom is nice, but I'd rather have wider lens. 28mm equivalent would be really nice, but that's probably asking for too much. At minimum, 35mm equivalent would've been nice. 43mm equivalent is too, umm, normal.
Other:
* No comments on the software compatibility. I mostly just use open-source stuff to play them. Check out avidemux (http://avidemux.sourceforge.net/) for simple editing job.
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My husband and I were so excited for our new WATERPROOF camcorder! That is, until we watched the video for the first time. The file size was big, and the quality was HORRIBLE! It was pixelated, dark, extremely low quality, and blurry. What's the point in a waterproof camera if the image quality is awful? We returned it the day after we bought it. Give me my money back, Sanyo!
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This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
Like most people I bought this camcorder/camera to film my vacation where I would be snorkeling and hanging around the pool or beach. Within the 3rd day of filming, it crapped out. Water got into the LCD screen and I could no longer see what I'm recording.
The pictures and videos that I did take was very poor quality. If you plan on using the zoom, you're going to get jumpy pictures because there is no auto stabilizer. Don't get me wrong, you can zoom in really far, but it's crappy video and it's all over the place.
The picture quality is really poor, as in my dad's cell phone had more megapixels then this thing. Most cellphones these days has at least 5 megapixels, this thing only has close to 2 megapixels.
Once I got back home, I called their customer support and it was a nightmare. They only have two support centers in United States, that's it. One of them has really poor reviews. It will take you over $50 to send the camcorder to them and then they will either fix it or tell you that it was user error. When I sent mine in, they said that it was user error and that I had to pay close to $250 for the repair and $50 for them to send it back to me. I could not see how floating in the ocean and filming fishes is user error. I cleaned the camcorder as the instruction said, NEVER dropped it and carried it with me everywhere. At the end, I just told the guy to keep it because I could buy a new camcorder for that price.
So at the end of about two weeks of using the camcorder, I am out over $400 dollars with no camcorder and a very important lesson learned. NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM SANYO.
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This review is from: Sanyo VPC-WH1 High Definition Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Yellow) (Electronics)
After reading some of the negative reviews I was hesitant to purchase this camera. I am really glad that I didn't let them sway me away. I have had no issues with contrast or black areas as other reviewers have had. The video, while not as good as a $1000 camera, is excellent. I have taken videos in a variety of lighting conditions and have been happy with them all.
If you need a good general purpose HD camera then this is a good choice in my opinion. It also has the added benefit of being able to go into the pool with you!
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