Sanyo Announces Xacti E1 - First Waterproof Consumer Camcorderby John NeelyPublished on May 20, 2007 10:14 AM 
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May 22, 2007 - Today, Sanyo announced the Xacti E1 – the world's “first waterproof camcorder,” according to the company. Several companies may have a loose hold on the same claim, including waterproof still cameras that shoot video. Sanyo refines the claim by defining the E1 as the first waterproof “on-board equipped optical zoom lens type video camera (as of May 22, 2007).” Sanyo’s announcement comes just in time for vacationers seeking new ways to record family trips to the beach. While the technical specs for this camcorder show no significant departure from the company’s other standard definition MPEG-4 devices, it is the only camcorder available that is waterproof out of the box “to a depth of five feet for up to one hour at a time,” meeting the JIS IPX8 specification.
That does not qualify the Xacti E1 as an underwater camcorder for anything other than near-surface use, though it should suffice for snorkeling, surfing, or capturing a child’s first swimming strokes. This camcorder may also appeal to swimming coaches looking for a cheap and easy way of shooting swimmers from below the water line without investing in an expensive waterproof enclosure.
The E1 records standard definition AVC/H.264 MPEG-4 footage to standard SD flash memory cards or high-capacity SDHC cards. With a 4GB card, the camcorder can record about 2 hours and 45 minutes of highest-quality TV-SHQ (640 x 480, 30 frames per second, 3Mbps) video. Recording times for other quality settings are 5hrs 13min for TV-HQ (640 x 480, 30 frames per second 1.5Mbps), 10hrs 35min for Web-SHQ (320 x 240, 30 frames per second), 15hrs 18min for Web-HQ (320 x 240, 15 frames per second), and 64hrs of audio only.
The Xacti E1 also records stills photos at six quality settings ranging from 2816 x 2112 with low compression to VGA-quality 640 x 480. In a statement, John Lamb, Senior Marketing Manager in Sanyo’s Audio Video Division said, "It's both a video and still camera above water and a video and still camera below water. Sanyo has created a stunning, exceptionally versatile camcorder that can be used virtually everywhere -- including at the beach, in the pool and in rain or snow….”
Adding significantly to the appeal of the Xacti E1 is a software bundle that includes Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 for Windows XP and Vista, Adobe Photoshop Album starter edition, QuickTime 7.1, iTunes 7.1, and Xacti Screen Capture for Windows. Premiere Elements is among the most robust consumer NLEs (non linear editors) available, making the E1’s software package the best on the consumer market. Mac OS X users will need to find their own editing solution, however, as no Mac software ships with the camcorder.
The Sanyo Xacti E1 is scheduled to hit US storeshelves in mid-June at $499.99 MSRP, and is available in blue, yellow, or white. The E1 shoots TV-quality MPEG-4 video and utilizes the state-of-the-art Advanced Video Codec AVC/H.264.