Sanyo Releases Standard Def H.264 Camcorder

by David Kender
Published on Mar 22, 2007 8:27 AM

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March 22, 2007 – This week, Sanyo made a worldwide announcement of the VPC-CG65 ($399 MSRP) camcorder. Virtually identical to the DMX-CG6, which was released in Europe in 2006, the CG65 distinguishes itself as the first Sanyo camcorder to record in the standard definition H.264 AVC (Advanced Video Codec) format. Up to this point, all Sanyo camcorders have recorded in MPEG-4. AVC’s advantages include longer recording time per gigabyte and, at least theoretically, better quality video.

When asked if Sanyo was considering a future product that could record video in the high definition format AVCHD, John Lamb, Senior Marketing Manager, Sanyo Fisher Company, stated, “Sanyo is strongly committed to AVC and H.264, and you will continue to see us launch new products that will include H.264 in both standard definition and high definition.” Sanyo is not listed as an official supporter of the AVCHD format, according to the consortium’s web site.

Because the VPC-CG65 is so similar to camcorders they already have on the market, Sanyo is not planning on producing this model in large quantities. The body is, in fact, identical to the DMX-CG6, except for a small chip on the circuit board used to make the MPEG-2 to AVC conversion.

The Sanyo VPC-CG65 records standard definition 640 x 480 AVC video with a 1/2.5” CCD (gross pixel count: 6.35MP, effective pixel count: 6MP). Approximately 90 minutes of the highest quality video can be saved per gigabyte. The MPEG-4 equivalent camcorders can only hold about 60 minutes in the same amount of space. The VPC-CG65 uses SD and SDHC cards.

Retaining the same compact, upright form factor as other Sanyo camcorders, the VPC-CG65 is extremely light and portable. It remains large enough, though, to grasp firmly in the hand and operate the rear-mounted zoom toggle with adequate comfort. Lacking a viewfinder, the camcorder offers a 2.5” LCD (110K pixels). Key additional features include a headphone jack, 12x optical zoom, and electronic image stabilization.

Like most Sanyo “digital media cameras,” the VPC-CG65 is equal parts camcorder and still camera. It records stills natively 2816 x 2112 (6MP), and uses interpolation for stills up to 3680 x 2760 (10MP). Other still resolution sizes include 2816 x 1584, 1536 x 2048, 1600 x 1200, and 640 x 480.

The manual control set is actually impressive for a camcorder of this size, though it can be difficult to tell when a feature is relating to video, stills, or both. Manual controls include several white balance modes, and ISO range from 50 – 400 in still mode and 50 – 800 in video (Sanyo chose to measure the video gain in ISO rather than dB). There are three auto focus methods, 9-point, Spot AF, and continuous AF, as well as manual focus. Photometry can be set to multi, center-weighted, or spot. Scene modes include Sports, Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait, Snow & Beach, Fireworks, and Lamp. There are also the standard set of special effects, including sepia, monochrome, and others.

The VPC-CG65 retails for US$399 and will hit shelves in April.