Sanyo is First with 1080P Camcorder: The VPC-FH1 and VPC-HD2000

Sanyo announced today two new camcorders, the VPC-FH1 and the VPC-HD2000, the first consumer camcorders to record natively in 1080P (1920 x 1080 at 60 progressive frames/sec). Nearly identical camcorders in two different body shapes, they bring a number of new features to the Sanyo line, including high-speed recording, face detection, and HDMI output. (View Photo Gallery)

Though a number of professional camcorders offer 1080P, until now, high definition consumer video has typically been limited to either 720P (1280 x 720 at 30 progressive frames/sec) or 1080i (1920 x 1080 at 60 interlaced fields/sec). Rather than using the popular AVCHD codec, Sanyo will continue to use MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoding, which has the added benefit of better compatibility with QuickTime for playback.

The VPC-HD2000 is an upright, "pistol-grip" design, replacing the VPC-HD1010. By contrast, the VPC-FH1 has a traditional, horizontal design. In interview, Sanyo stated that this was an attempt to increase its popularity in the U.S, where upright camcorders have had a hard time finding acceptance in the higher-end range.

Both camcorders feature an 8-megapixel CMOS sensor, recording 1080P/60fps, 1080i/60fps, and 1080P/30fps. Still photos can be recorded in native 8-megapixel or interpolated 12-megapixel.





The HD2000 and the FH1 also feature a new high-speed recording mode. Shooting at frame rates of either 240fps or 600fps, video is then played back at 1/4 or 1/10 its normal speed (resolutions of 448 x 336 or 192 x 108, respectively).

The optical zoom on both new models is 10x, and both include an Enhanced Zoom feature, versions of which have appeared on nearly half of all new camcorders this year. The Enhanced Zoom takes advantage of the large CMOS sensor, choosing certain areas of the chip in order to boost the zoom power to 16x without loss of quality.

Other features include a 3.0-inch LCD on the FH1 and a 2.7-inch LCD on the smaller HD2000. Both include an HDMI output and Face Detection for up to 12 faces.

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 is expected to ship in January 2009, available in either black or gold. The VPC-FH1 follows in March, also in black or gold.

Sanyo VPC-FH1

(View Photo Gallery)