Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 Camcorder Review

Low Light Performance Summary
• An elite low light performer overall • Excellent low light sensitivity and color accuracy—a notch above most consumer camcorders • Low noise levels compared to the competition
	Motion & Resolution Performance	(Page 5 of 17)	Compression & Media

Low Light Sensitivity (7.7)

Here's a surprise: the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 recorded the best low light sensitivity on any consumer camcorder we've tested so far this year. By a wide margin, it beat out each of the three competitors we're using as comparisons throughout this review. For those curious about the hard numbers, the HD2000 needed only 9 lux of light to peak at 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. The Canon HF20 and Panasonic HDC-SD20 required 22 lux and 23 lux respectively, while the high-end Canon HF S100 called for 16 lux of light to produce the same results. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

11 lux Low Light Comparison
Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Canon HF20

Above are two frames grabbed from our low light sensitivity test. Notice the drastic difference between the VPC-HD2000 and the Canon HF20 at 11 lux. It seems that with the rapid increase of effective pixel counts, many camcorders are actually showing weaker low light sensitivities when compared to models from previous years—the case for both Panasonic and Canon. This is not true for Sanyo, however, as last year's VPC-HD1010 required 13 lux to reach 50 IRE, which means Sanyo improved the sensitivity by a 4 lux on the new model. This is an impressive performance by Sanyo and the VPC-HD2000 is the clear winner in this round of testing. The camcorder also proved to have killer low light color accuracy... Continue on to the next section to see the results.

Editor's note: Double-checking our results with the Sanyo VPC-HD2000, we noticed an error had been made in our low light sensitivity test. Previously, the camcorder's sensitivity had been tested using a slow shutter—a feature that is not supposed to be engaged during our low light testing. This resulted in the camcorder posting a better sensitivity score than we should have reported. We sincerely apologize for the error and have updated the article to reflect the new, correct test results.

Low Light Color (9.79)

Proving the VPC-HD2000's sensitivity score was no fluke, the camcorder also put up very accurate color scores in our low light color test. The HD2000 measured a color error of 2.84 and a saturation level of 104.9%. The most interesting part about this score is that it's actually better than the camcorder's bright light color test. This is simply more evidence of the VPC-HD2000's elite low light capabilities. (More on how we test low light color.)

Auto Low Light Color Performance
Color Chart with Error Chart to the right
The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 produced a color error of 2.84 and a saturation level of 104.9% in our low light color testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.)

In bright light, the VPC-HD2000 appeared to have a slightly darker-than-average image. When the lights go down, however, the camcorder outshines the competition. The Sanyo produced more accurate colors than both Canon models (each measuring average results) as well as the Panasonic HDC-SD20 (measuring the worst of the set with 7.91 color error).

Low Light Comparison
Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Canon HF20
Panasonic HDC-SD20	Canon HF S100

Compared to the other camcorders, the VPC-HD2000 showed a bit of a warm tone in our low light testing. It also didn't have as much detail or sharpness as seen on the Canon HF20 and HF S100. You can get a better idea of this in the 100% crop images that follow in the low light noise section.

Low Light Color Score Comparison

Low Light Noise (9.83)

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 was in the middle of the pack for our bright light noise testing and things were generally the same here in low light. The camcorder produced very little noticeable noise and we measured the levels at 1.15%. This is nearly identical to the numbers put up by last year's VPC-HD1010. The Panasonic HDC-SD20 was the winner in this category as the camcorder measured a very low 0.455% noise. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop	Canon HF20 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-SD20 100% Crop	Canon HF S100 100% Crop

In the crops above you can see how much detail each camcorder is capable of capturing in low light situations and how this relates to noise. The Panasonic HDC-SD20 has the blurriest overall image, yet it measured a minuscule amount of noise. This means the camcorder sacrificed detail and resolution to provide a less noisy picture. Since we score this section entirely based on measured noise levels, the HDC-SD20 earned the best low light noise score of the set. The Canon HF20 shows lots of noise— it measured 2.53%—but its picture is rather sharp and detailed. In the crops above, you may prefer the image produced by the Canon HF S100, despite the fact that it has higher noise levels and a darker image than the Sanyo VPC-HD2000. The HF S100 shows more detail thanks to its higher video resolution, and it has a crisp, sharp image in low light. All things considered, however, the VPC-HD2000 is the best low light performer of the bunch.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons