Sanyo Xacti Waterproof Camcorder Review

Go wet and wild with the Sanyo Xacti waterproof camcorder that shoots video in full HD, takes 14 megapixel photos, offers face chaser technology and works up to a depth of 10 feet underwater. Kevin Pereira and Alison Haislip review the camera that retails for $350.

What You Need to Know

• The Sanyo Xacti feels pretty sturdy
• It weighs about 8.5 oz.
• It’s shaped like a pistol
• There’s a reversible flip out LCD monitor on the side and a flash in the front
• The  zoom and record thumb buttons are on top and the power and menu buttons, along with a directional pad, are on the side  (although the D-pad requires accurate pressing to navigate, which can get annoying)
• It has a protective locked casing for video out ports, and since Sanyo is owned by Panasonic, it's upgradeable to a 64GB SDXC card, which will give you up to 8 hours of footage
• Besides having a 12x dual range zoom, the Xacti also has image stabilization and face detection
• The image stabilizer works well
• The "Face Chaser" detects faces and auto-focuses on the subject
• The Xacti also takes hi-speed sequential shots, a feature that works okay and is a nice bonus (but you're primarily buying this as a video camera)
• The camera shoots in full HD video and takes 14 megapixel stills; it shoots at 1920 x 1080i, so it's interlaced, but shoots at 60 fps
• The video quality looks good outdoors, but the footage looks a little muted on an overcast day; while indoors and in low light, the footage looks grainy and fuzzy, but remember that this is an outdoors, underwater camera
• Underwater, the footage looks good; you can shoot down to depths of 10’, so you can use this for making your surfing, snorkeling, and bikini bottom  videos
• Pictures look good for a waterproof camera, but then again it depends on the lighting

Price

• $350

Overall Rating

• 3 Seals of Approval Out of 5 (How do we rate gadgets?)

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