Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 HD

The basics

Sanyo’s VPC-CS1 is the world’s smallest and thinnest Full HD camcorder, measuring just 26.8mm wide. It’s capable of shooting 1920x1080 movies as well as snapping 8MP still images, and it can shoot these videos and photos simultaneously. Despite the small dimensions, the CS1 features a 2.7in LCD screen and has a 9x optical zoom. It stores movies and stills onto SD, SDHC and/or SDXC cards.

The good

Full HD at this size and weight is a feat in its own right but the CS1 also scores well thanks to its optical zoom, which is longer than that on rival cams from Kodak, Flip and JVC.

The camera’s Eye-Fi compatibility is also a selling point, especially if you’re looking to upload content to the web while on the move. Eye-Fi cards (an SD card with Wireless LAN) allow you to upload to a computer or website provided you’re in a Wi-Fi area.

A sound zoom function provides three different audio microphone modes: wide, gun microphone, engage zoom, which you can select to suit the type of scene you’re recording.

The bad

The camera’s super-slim design often makes it difficult to hold steady, and some may feel it’s actually too thin to feel comfortable shooting with. Low-light shooting results aren’t impressive and even on normal daylight footage colours can appear washed-out. Eye-Fi compatibility is a good bonus feature, but it relies on investing in a suitable Eye-Fi card, which will add to your overall cost.

The bottom line

The Sanyo VPC-CS1 swells the ranks of pocket-sized camcorder and provides consumers with a more rounded selection. It has a high feature count, impressive zoom and solid focusing ability. Though, unfortunately, the video performance is often let down by poor colours.