Sanyo Xacti HD1010 4MP MPEG4 High Definition 1080i/1080p Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I've had the HD1010 for 2 weeks now, I have fiddled with most of the features and used it mainly for filming my kids. I am a Mac user so I can't tell you about the windows software that comes bundled with it.This is a very good little camera, its small enough to carry in your pocket (I wear cargo shorts a lot) and it has great start up and ready to shoot times (the time it takes you flip open the screen when in sleep mode, a few seconds more when complete off.First the bad.To date (Aug 7, 2008) 1920 x 1080 /60 fps does not work with any software I have on my mac (imovie 08, VLC player, Visualhub video converter). Nothing, it shows a green screen or a static partial video fields with audio. I think this is a codec issue that will work it self out in later releases of the software. I emailed Sanyo tech support 2 days ago and still no reply. I am not impressed with them at all.All other formats 1920x1080 /30, 1280x720 /60, 1280x720/30, 1280x720 /60, 640 x480 /60, 640x480 / 30, 448x336 /300 <-- yeah thats right 300 FPS!, and 320 x 240 /30 work perfectly on the mac, in quicktime and imovie.One caveat to iMovie imports, if you use a /60 or the /300 fps resolution it will only import half the clip when importing via the camera option in imovie. A simple work around is to simply copy the movies folder from the camera to my desktop when imovie is not active, then start iMovie and choose file, import movies, and browse to that directory. It works flawlessly.The LCD screen (maybe its just mine) does seems to favor showing a little more red than what is on your actual video.Finally I wish Sanyo would put Optical image stabilization rather than the software voodoo they do now. The EIS can make you feel slightly sea sick at times, but is still acceptable if you have a steady hand. I am sure the Sony and Canon image stabilization are superior. Other than that, I have very few complaints about this camera.Now what's great!#1. MPEG4, that's it no AVCHD to deal with, I can shoot, attach USB, drag to my desktop and go, no waiting for transfers and decompression to intermediate codecs to create huge new files. Literally just shoot n edit (on a mac anyway, I have not tried on a PC, though it does come with windows vista software). If you are a big editor then this camera is perfect, in fact you don't even need to edit, you can upload the mp4s directly to whatever site you use, vimeo, youtube etc. To me simplicity is worth its weight in gold.#2. Very good video, I am loving the video off this camera, as with any small digicamcorder it works best outside, but even inside with a bit of light its still acceptable. Outside though it likes watching the discovery channel. I personally shoot everything 1280x720/60 and I am very happy with the resulting quality. go to vimeo.com and search for HD1010 tagged movies to see what this thing can do, also download the originals from each movie using a link on the bottom right side of the page, bang for the buck this thing does some powerful things.#2. External Mic and headphones jacks. Yes yes it not XLR but they are there and they work.#3. Full Cold shoe, pop on a Rode Videomic boom mic and you are ready to shoot decent interviews. The Canons HF10 and 100s have a mini cold shoe, I don't think the Sony HG 1 has any external support.#4. Very good build quality, it looks small n cheap but it feels good in your hand. I could do without the 1980s gold trim or the sparkly stuff in the plastic though,#5. 300 /fps, it shoots 10 second blasts at 300 fps, then converts it into a 50 second slow-mo video, very cool for slowing down stuff. Its not HD resolution but still pretty neat to watch.#6. Nice accessories, a decent Dock and small remote come with this, keep the doc by your computer and / or your TV for easy hookups, just drop in the camera and press the button. it also comes with a soft case. No HDMI cable though, they do have an HDMI output on the dock.To me this camera is everything I need to shoot great video of my kids and share with my family. Its small, its HD, its easy to edit on my Mac, its got a few `pro' features and its reasonably priced. If you have these requirements this camera is perfect.

This camcorder exceeded even my highest expectations. I have only had it a little over 24 hours but so far it has been incredible. the interface is very intuitive, the movie quality is, as far as I have seen, unsurpassed in a camcorder this size and price, and is everything its advertised to be (and then some).Pros:light weightintuitive menu systemREALLY good screen4MP digital camerafull HD camcordercan take still pictures while making a movie (I love this feature!!!)the WOW factor, because every-time I pull it out to use everyone around me goes WOW, what kind of camera is that. no one believes me its a HD camcorder!so light and small it can fit in your car/purse/back-pocket/pez dispenser.cons:price - for me this wasnt a issue. I was able to replace my camera and add a HD camcorder for a reasonable amount.grip - I would like to have seen the grip area be a bit larger. I have found a way to make it ft nicely in my hand, but if the grip was either larger or came with, say, a plastic extender maybe that you could put on the bottom it would be great. I have put the camera in 6 different peoples hands and they all said it felt nice after holding it for a few minutes. You just have to find a way that it is comfy for your hand size.screen rotation - the one and only thing , if I were the designers of the HD1010 that I would change (and now you'll see how nitpicky I am being). If the viewing screen would rotate to the front I could hold the camera in front of me, look at the screen and know I'm in focus / in the shot, and make a quickie recording. Sort of a looking at the camera, blair witch kinda shot. It only rotates to the top and bottom, not to the front. just a wishlist thing. thats the absolute worst thing about the camera so far.Comparing it to all of the complaints of the HD1000, I can say everything that was complained about in the HD1000 has been fixed. Sanyo even admitted that this is not supposed to be a whole new model, only a upgrade to the HD1000. By that I mean all of the autofocus issues I read about with the HD1000 have been resolved. as a matter of fact I couldnt MAKE it have a focusing problem. I've tried low light, bright light, moving subjects, even the fan in my living room. everything focused perfectly.The camera takes great pictures also. They turned out better than any digital camera I have ever used, albeit I have always used more of the personal point and shoot olympus / nikon type. Dark rooms, outdoors, inside with fluorescent bulbs, you name it the pictures have been better than what I expected.Like I said, I have had 6 other people try using it, from my girlfriend with really small hands to a guy I work with who is 6'7" and has Andre the giant hands and they have all loved it. I have not told anyone how to use it. Just handed it to them and said 'I just got a new camera, try it out and see what you think.' With no instructions everyone has taken both movies, pictures, and had smiles while doing it. Its rare to find something electronic that anyone can use with no instructions given and the HD1010 is something you can use straight out of the box. It really is fun to use.bottom line, if you are looking at getting a camcorder, this one deserves a close look. I am very picky when it comes to electronics, and I am amazed at what they have done with this camcorder/camera. Everything I expected when I ordered it has been greatly exceeded. Great camera, ease of use, quality of the product overall, and in the end quality of the movies it makes... you cant go wrong.UPDATE-------thanks to everyone who mentioned you can rotate the lens to the front. I was wrong about that, you can! well, that pretty much zero's out the thing I wanted them to change so, my new complaint is that it doesnt come with Kevin Smith to make better movies with it :)