Sanyo Upgrades Compact HD Camcorder Line with DMX-HD800

by Kaitlyn Chantry
Published on Jul 30, 2008 9:07 AM



July 30, 2008 – Sanyo is continuing to advance their line of inexpensive solid state HD camcorders with today's unveiling of the Xacti DMX-HD800, a replacement for last year's HD700. Sanyo's announcement marks the continued expansion of the low-end high definition market, following up on Kodak's recent entry with their upcoming Zi6. The new HD800 has the same compact size as its predecessor, but Sanyo expects improved image quality due to the new three-dimensional digital noise reduction filter and a switch from a 7.38-megapixel CCD sensor to the 8-megapixel CMOS.

Like Sanyo's previous model, the HD800 shoots 720p video at 30fps and is compressed in the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format. Sanyo continues to push the Xacti line for both video and still images, but has downgraded their still features slightly, providing would-be photographers with an ISO up to only 1600 and a narrower range of shutter speeds. The HD800 does come equipped with the same built-in flash and supposedly improved face detection. Video and stills are recorded to a removable SD/SDHC memory card.

This year's model comes in gold, pink, or black and AV Watch is reporting an expected retail price of ¥50,000 (approximately US$468.55). Sanyo has confirmed neither price nor availability in the United States, but has announced a Japanese ship date of August 22, 2008.