Sanyo Xacti VPC-WH1 HD

Sanyo VPC-WH1 HD Waterproof Flash Memory Camcorder

For many users, this camcorder's waterproof housing and low price will compensate for its average image quality. There are only two reasons to buy the Sanyo Xacti VPC-WH1, but they're good reasons: It's inexpensive ($400 as of 9/25/09), and it's waterproof. For some people, those two factors will offset the camera's mediocre image quality. Compared with footage from the best 1080p HD camcorders, the VPC-WH1's 720p HD video (at 30 frames per second) exhibits noticeably--but not disastrously--reduced resolution, sharpness, color accuracy, and motion. The VPC-WH1's overall video image quality is middling. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the camera's 1.1-megapixel still images, which suffer from low resolution, inaccurate exposure, and noticeable image distortion. Results from the PC World Test Center's jury evaluations confirmed the VPC-WH1's video and still-image shortcomings in comparison with more-expensive, higher-resolution camcorders. Among our test group of six camcorder models, its video quality under both bright light and low light trailed the rest of pack, earning an overall video-quality score of Fair.