Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 Camcorder Review

Handling & Use Summary
• Easy to use on "cruise control" but the convoluted menu is daunting • Upright form factor may turn away traditionalists, but it's actually quite comfortable, especially for left-handed shooters • Buttons are well-labeled, well-positioned, and responsive—except for the finicky joystick • It's nice to have customizable buttons (i.e. the joystick shortcuts), but some features are completely unavailable unless mapped to a shortcut
	Still Features	(Page 9 of 17)	Playback & Connectivity

Ease of Use (5.5)

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 is an easy camcorder to use... as long as you only want to use the most basic camcorder functions. If you're hoping to access any of the more sophisticated options, you'll have to plumb the depths of the Sanyo's complex menu system. (See Menus, below.) Sure, there is technically an easy mode, but all it does is lock you out of all but three features. There are camcorders out there that are much more beginner-friendly. A true Easy mode offers tool tips, shooting advice, and access to more automatic recording options. The Xacti, unfortunately, offers nothing but a confusing menu structure—or hardly any menu at all.

On the other hand, camcorders that record exclusively to SD/SDHC cards are typically easy for first-time users and the MPEG-4 file format makes post-production a snap.

Handling (5.25)

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 can be an unsettling experience for anyone accustomed to the more traditional horizontal camcorder design. For starters, there's no hand strap, so you'll be grasping the HD2000 the same way you would a pistol—except that a pistol has a more ergonomic grip. Without even a small strap to secure your hand to the body of the camcorder, you have to strain a bit more to keep your hold.

The HD2000 is held a lot like a pistol.

The nice thing about these upright camcorders is that a lot of your shooting can be done with one hand, while more and more of the traditional consumer cams require two hands for most operations. On the HD2000, you have a shutter button, Record button, Play/Record mode switch, Menu button, Photo View button, Zoom toggle, and joystick are all on the back of the camcorder and easily accessible with the thumb of your right hand. Even better news: you can easily shoot video with your left hand if you are so inclined.

The thumb can easily reach all the controls.

Despite the convenient control layout, there are a couple of frustrating aspects. The joystick is somewhat imprecise: we found ourselves accidentally hitting up or down instead of left—perhaps a result of the grip more than the joystick itself. All manual controls and menu navigation comes down to just the four cardinal directions, but the joystick itself moves and responds equally in all directions. It's just not an intuitive control. There's also a good deal of sluggishness in some of the interfaces. In particular, we noticed a full one-second delay each time we tried to switch the aperture or shutter speed.

Traditionalists might be unimpressed by the unconventional upright form factor.

The VPC-HD2000 is neither a dream nor a nightmare in the handling department. We can see ourselves getting used to the easy, upright design... if only Sanyo would improve some of the individual controls.

  Stabilization (0.0)

In brief, the stabilization system on the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 is terrible. In both our low and high-shake testing, the camcorder showed little improvement with its stabilization feature engaged. The HD2000 is equipped with a digital image stabilization system, which is the same IS feature offered on last year's VPC-HD1010. Digital image stabilization systems often result in loss of image quality, as they use extra pixels outside the video frame to smooth out motion during recording. The rest of the camcorders we tested in this set (the Panasonic HDC-SD20, Canon HF20, Canon HF S100) all offer optical image stabilization features.  (More on how we test stabilization.)

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 showed no improvement with its stabilization feature turned on. The camcorder actually produced a shakier image with its stabilization system engaged than it did without the system turned on. Sanyo also includes a photo stabilization feature on the HD2000, which we did not test for effectiveness with stabilizing still photos (the photo stabilizer also uses a digital image stabilization system).

In comparison, the Panasonic HDC-SD20 had very good image stabilization using its optical stabilization feature. The Canon HF S100 showed disappointing results with its OIS systems, although the camcorders was still much better than the Sanyo VPC-HD2000. 

Portability (8.07)

The VPC-HD2000 is a portable camcorder, but don't let the upright design fool you: it's really no more portable than traditional horizontal camcorders. The thick lens barrel means that you can't really squeeze the camcorder into a pocket or purse the way you would an ultra-compact like the Pure Digital Flip Mino or any of its many clones. The Xacti is really just like any other high-end consumer cam, only the barrel has been shortened and a pistol grip has been added to the bottom.

A small camera bag will go a long way towards extending the camcorder's lifespan. Sanyo actually includes a nice carrying pouch, which is better than the ones that usually come with camcorders. This one actually has a little bit of padding to it. Still, there are no extra pockets for carrying spare memory cards or batteries—two items that you'll want to pick up if you plan on shooting for two or more hours.

That's still a nice, small package for toting about, until you consider the added bulk of the docking station. Sadly, there is not a single AV output to be seen on the body of the camcorder itself. In fact, even the USB port is on the docking station. So, if you want to play footage on a TV, you'll need to carry around the docking station and appropriate cables. If you want to transfer footage to a computer, you'll need either a built-in card slot on your PC, a card reader, or the dock and a USB cable. (See Connectivity.) Something else to consider? The VPC-HD2000 doesn't have a built-in lens enclosure, so you'll want to keep that little cap tethered to the camcorder if you want to protect your lens during travel. Keep all of this in mind if you're looking for a camcorder that's easy toted from one place to another.

Battery Life (5.6)

The battery on the VPC-HD2000 lasted a hearty 1hr, 51m, 36s (112 minutes), which is a good result for a high definition camcorder. This isn't much, however, compared to the standard definition competition—even among hard drive camcorders. High performance obviously comes at a price. Keep this in mind if you're accustomed to the 2+ hours that a lot of standard def camcorders last. (More on how we test battery life.)

Battery Life Comparisons

We should also point out that the HD2000 has a fully enclosed battery compartment (located within the "handle" of the camcorder). You can buy all the spare batteries you want, but it's not possible to purchase a larger size.

The battery is fully enclosed, which means you can't upgrade to a larger battery.

LCD & Viewfinder (7.99)

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 does not come equipped with a viewfinder—though we think it would be pretty interesting to hold one of these upright camcorders up to our eye like a magnifying glass. Without a viewfinder, you're left to rely on the Xacti's 2.7-inch LCD. The screen has a resolution of approximately 230,000 pixels and is mounted on a traditional swivel panel that flips out from the body of the camcorder and can be rotated up to 285 degrees. The LCD brightness can be adjusted to one of seven different levels from within the menus, but we recommend that you leave that setting at the default, since changing the brightness of the screen can change your perception of what your final footage will look like.

The 2.7-inch LCD flips out and rotates 285 degrees.

Menus (3.75)

The menu system of the VPC-HD2000 is one of the more complicated systems you'll find on a consumer camcorder. For starters, Sanyo has implemented discrete "Normal" and "Simple" menu structures, which is the HD2000's equivalent of an easy mode. There is no pretending that easy mode offers anything more than the new menu structure. They've gone so far as to implement an entirely different design for the two menu types.

The Simple Recording Menu		The Simple Playback Menu

The problem with the Simple menus is that there just isn't enough there. They've taken away too much, including some options that would be very straightforward for even the greenest videographers. In record mode, the Simple menu consists only of video/photo size, focus method, and flash settings. In playback, it's just slideshow, playback volume, and delete. Focus method seems an especially odd choice, since we'd rather have easy access to the scene modes when we're on cruise control. What's nice about the Simple menus is that they utilize large, friendly icons and have clear descriptions explaining each of the features. It's a shame we only get such treatment on six functions in the whole camcorder. Beginners would love a little extra guidance on using the camcorder's plethora of manual controls.

It's in this respect that the camcorder becomes intimidating for first-time users. If you want to explore any of the large multitudes of additional options available, you'll have to step into the complex menu system that awaits. Though convoluted, there are some design features that help with navigation. For instance, all options are technically tucked into a single menu, rather than spread out across multiple menus. We don't like when manufacturers split options into a main menu (accessed by pressing the menu), a quick menu (access w/ the Q.Menu button or something similar), and a joystick menu or other specialized menu (accessed by pressing the joystick, d-pad, or control dial). This kind of organizational structure leaves you guessing on where to look for certain features. Why not pack them all into one convenient location?

The Normal Recording Menu		The Normal Playback Menu

Well, the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 does just that, but the results are a little clumsy. Camcorder settings are slotted into six different tabs: three for the Recording Menu and three for the Options menu. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what goes in which tab, aside from some minor clustering. And even though it feels like you should be able to scroll through all the options like a great big list, you have to use the unwieldy thumbstick to move left and right, then up and down between tabs. It just doesn't feel smooth or intuitive. On the bright side, you don't have to scroll through a long list of options; everything within a single tab is visible on one screen.

The worst menu folly seems to be the complete inaccessibility of certain options, which are available only through the Shortcuts feature. Sanyo offers the wonderful ability to map certain functions to shortcuts on the joystick (up, down, left, and right), but fails to put these functions anywhere else in the menu. So, if you want to have access to any of these options, you'll first need to map them to your shortcuts (using the Option menu), then exit the menu and activate the shortcut. Options that you can assign to your shortcuts include:

• AF Lock
• AE Lock
• Focus (Standard, Manual, Super Macro)
• Flash (Auto, Forced Flash, Off, Red-Eye Reduction)
• Exposure Compensation
• ISO
• Self-Timer (Off, 2 seconds, 10 seconds)
• Exposure (Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual)
• Display On/Off
• Sequential (Continuous Shot)

Of those features, four are nowhere else to be found: AF Lock, AE Lock, Exposure Compensation, and Sequential. If you assign these functions to the four shortcuts, then you essentially have a camcorder with a convoluted main menu, a separate joystick menu, and no customizable buttons. At least Sanyo is giving a choice; we just wish the main menu was a bit more navigable.

The convoluted Shortcuts process ensures that some features are absurdly buried in the menus.