Review of the Waterproof Sanyo Xacti E1 on Freevlog.com
I just came across a video review of the new Sanyo Xacti E1 waterproof SD card camcorder (VPC-E1) on the website freevlog.com. I found the video to be entertaining, well produced, and the host was very honest with her criticisms and praise compared with other Xacti models and other camcorders in general. I learned about the review from one of my favorite newsgroups that focuses on online video production, blogging and the business side of online video: Videoblogging on Yahoo!Groups.
It is the world’s first waterproof camcorder, and by looking at a few sample videos, still images and reviews, the most impressive features in my opinion are the quality of the movies it can produce, which look very good, the weight (approx. 8.3 oz with battery and SD card), ability to fully submerse it, ability to directly import MPEG-4 files into Apple iTunes and the fact that you can get up to 5 hours of video with a 4GB SDHC memory card.
The still image quality of the sample photos posted on Sanyo’s site are also very impressive, however, I wonder how good the 10 megapixel captures look, if that’s not a typo. According to the info on this page, it produces “6-megapixel digital still images,” but on the full specs page, it lists 10 megapixel stills as one of the options. I like the colors as well (blue, yellow and white). It seems to me like yellow would be easiest to see at the bottom of a pool if it fell out of your hand (hopefully in the shallow end!). About a week ago, Dick DeBartolo, on the very entertaining and informative podcast, Daily GizWiz (co-hosted with Leo Laporte), also reviewed the camera. That specific episode can be found here.
The main negatives I see with the camera are the fact that the manufacturer recommends the camera not be used more than five feet under the surface of the water. That rules out snorkeling at depths that would be considered very common (10-15 feet). I actually wonder what happens to the camera at 6-15 feet below water, and I look forward to seeing some tests that show the power of the built-in light. I also read here that the Sanyo Xacti E1 does not float, which could make it $500 fish food if you’re not careful!
Related Links:
Sanyo’s main page for the Xacti line
Sanyo’s product page for the Xacti E1
Sanyo’s detailed spec page for the Xacti E1
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Find prices for popular Xacti cameras on Amazon.com:
(The Xacti E1 is $466.94
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Walt Mossberg To Review Apple iPhone on CNBC 1:30pm EST Wed 6/27
I just saw the announcement that Walt Mossberg, technology writer for the Wall Street Journal will review the Apple iPhone on CNBC 1:30pm EST Wed 6/27/2007. I’m primarily interested in the quality of the phone connection, audio quality when using Bluetooth devices, battery life when using Bluetooth, WiFi, etc., digital camera image quality, PDF viewing, and how well it can function as an “on-the-go” photo and video portfolio for photographers and other creative professionals.
I just came across this video on The Apple Phone Show, posted today. It’s difficult to say whether Mr. Mossberg will add any additional info. I assume his appearance on CNBC will be live. The Apple Phone Show site also has links to online reviews by Walt Mossberg and David Pogue, Technology Columnist from The New York Times.
iPhone related resources and news links from CNBC.com’s home page (www.cnbc.com)
My guess is that the video review will probably be posted here sometime today. (No, that’s not a YouTube link, but it’s always possible it will end up there too).
Related Links
Good Q&A between Walt Mossberg and Apple, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs.
Very well-produced guided tour of the iPhone on Apple Inc.’s site.
The Apple Phone Show: An excellent blog and podcast that covers the Apple iPhone.
UPDATE Wed 5:30PM : This was a pretty good interview, though I found the written review by Walt Mossberg on the Wall St. Journal’s website to be far more comprehensive. I did learn from the review that Walt will probably be purchasing one (he has to return the one he tested), which is a good endorsement for Apple. I would like to know what the screen looked like after a few weeks of finger tapping and sliding.
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Great Article Links: A Video Guide to RSS, Screencasting and All About Web Color
On a visit to Robin Good’s masternewmedia.org website this morning, (as usual) I came across many interesting original articles and highlighted articles from other sites. Here are three of my favorites that I thought you might enjoy:
1. RSS VIDEO: This three minute video describes RSS (Real Simple Syndication) with step-by-step advice for getting started as a reader or publisher. It was created by Lee and Satchi LeFever of the Commoncraft.com show and I highly recommend it if you are unsure exactly what RSS is. It’s also nicely presented in a low-tech, but effective way.
2. COLOR THEORY & COLOR GUIDANCE: Within this article by Robin Good about Blog Design I came across a link to a previous article by Good entitled: “How to Select Perfectly Matching Color Combinations.”
In the article, I found a fascinating link from tigercolor.com, filled with a lot of info about color theory, and learned that Sir Isaac Newton designed the first circular color diagram in 1666. You never know when that piece of trivia will come in handy!
3. SCREENCASTING: Also on the masternewmedia.org home page this morning was an excellent article on screencasting by techsoup.org, including how to prepare and what software programs will do the job, whether you use Windows or Mac. Screencasting is the recording of the video and/or audio of what’s on your monitor(s).
One excellent application for Mac OSX not mentioned in the article is iShowU from shinywhitebox.com.
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