The pistol grip camcorder has gone from Sanyo’s trump card to a ubiquitous imaging gadget in just a few short years. So how does the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 compare to its cheaper, Full HD packing rivals? Will it win the £250 You’ve Bee Framed prize? Or just end up churning out unwatched YouTube clips? Find out in our Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 review now.
Using a pistol grip cammie is something you can either take or leave. Some gadget fanatics swear by it, while others can’t do with anything other than the old-school barrel body. The Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 is most definitely an acquired taste, but it does come with some stonking features.
Slow motion is the biggest deal here, with 600fps and 240fps shooting. That’s slower than a Sunday train trip on the west coast mainline. Sadly though, there are some pretty major caveats. The Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 takes an age to get started when using these slow-mo modes, so chances are you’ll miss the pick ups you want while you wait for it to whir into action.
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Likewise, you can only record 10 seconds worth of shots in both 600fps and 240fps modes, so you’ll need to ensure your shot is set up perfectly first time otherwise you’ll be retreading old ground over and over. And, of course, these aren’t recorded in lush HD, meaning editing them together with regular pics looks less than professional.
That’s not to suggest the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 doesn’t have its good points. It sits easily in the hand and working your way through the menu system couldn’t be easier. Regular 1080p clips look nothing short of blisteringly good and the fact there’s HDMI out means you can get unedited clips straight onto your HDTV in a matter of seconds.
And then there’s the price. At well under 500 notes, the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 is a great compromise for those who don’t want to spend a grand on an HD camcorder, but equally don’t want the rough and ready delights of a basic shooter. Proceed, but with caution.
