Making its debut at the 2006 International CES, the Sanyo Xacti HD1 is pitched as the world’s first high-definition compact digital media camera. Offering advanced, next-generation video performance, the Sanyo Xacti HD1 is the world’s smallest and lightest high-definition digital media camera, ideal for recording today with the future in mind.

Sanyo designed the Xacti HD1 digital media camera to easily record both 720p high-definition video and 5.1-Megapixel digital still images to a standard SD flash memory card. The Xacti HD1 will be available in the US in late March at an MSRP of $799 (£456). Worldwide availability will follow shortly.

Key to the Xacti HD1’s ability to record high-definition video is its LSI (large-scale integration) for image processing. This ‘high-definition engine’ executes a vast number of calculations in a short period of time, claims Sanyo. It also enables the Xacti HD1to realise image processing functions such as high-definition 720p processing, real-time MPEG-4 compression and noise reduction.

The Xacti HD1 features a 2.2-inch Sanyo-developed OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display with 210,000 total pixels. The display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees on axis for taking video or still images in otherwise difficult locations. Trademark features of OLED display technology are expanded viewing angles and up to 5000 times faster response speed when compared with conventional display technologies, enabling smooth playback of rapid movements. When not in use, the display nicely tucks back into the side of the camera.

Displayed prominently in the front of the Xacti HD1 is a 10x optical zoom lens. Built from 12 elements designed in nine groups and with a built-in neutral density filter, the 10x zoom lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 in both wide and telephoto angles, allowing for clear images in lower light situations. Combined with a 10x digital zoom capability, the HD1 is capable of a total 100x zoom.

As with all previous Sanyo Xacti digital media cameras, the Xacti HD1 can record still images in addition to video clips. A newly developed 5.36-Megapixel (total) CCD captures 5.1-Megapixel still images which are recorded directly onto a standard SD memory card. The camera can record both 5.1-Megapixel still images and high-definition (1280x720-pixel) digital video at the same time with a simple press of the shutter button during the shooting of a video clip.

The Xacti HD1 can record over 21 minutes of 720p HD video on a 1GB SD card or over 42 minutes on a 2GB card. Alternatively, you can select to record in Standard Definition mode (640x480 pixels at 30fps progressive) for up to two hours on a 2GB SD card. You can switch between high-definition and standard-definition recording modes by simply pressing the ‘HD/Norm’ button located on display side of the camera body.

More details on the camera can be found here.

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BIOS, Jan 04, 06 | Print | Send | Comments (0) | Posted In Camcorder