Sanyo @ CES - VPC-C4, NV-E7500, and more…
posted January 5th 2005 10:00AM
So you know that Sanyo VPC-C4 we just told you about? Yeah, so it definitely is the exact same thing as the DMC-C4 (no surprise there) and it definitely is really tiny. Not so chic, but very, very small. Click on for some more shots and the deets on their new DVD navigation/player handheld, and some other expected prods.
We likey, we likey. Not in love, but definitely in like.
So this little baby (well, maybe not so little) has got the goods in a major way: 7-inch touchscreen TFT
(about VGA quality resolution), built in stereo speakers, video/audio in/out (via 1/8th-inch minijack),
CD/CD-R/CD-RW/DVD playback, and GPS features, including POI search, guidance, auto re-routing, and user-switchable
2D/3D display. Gonna set you back about 1.5K though, friend, and should be released in the second quarter. Well let
you know how it is when we jack it though (it doesnt have a GPS transmitter, does it?).
Also to be expected from Sanyo is a Sirius satellite receiver (what, no XM?), the CRSR-10, which will have dual
antennas and should retail at $150. Also expect Sanyo to release a new projector aimed at the home market, the PLV-Z3.
It will have a 2000:1 contrast ratio, 10 bit image processing (which they claim can display over a billion colorswell
believe it when we see it), 3 component, S-Video, composite, VGA (D-Sub 15), HDMI connection, and even an HDTV tuner.
Dizamn. We dont know its operating resolution, but its going to go for $2,500, so we hope theyre gunnin for at
least 768 hi-def.
I don't really see the purpose to that many colors, can't your eye only see a few hundred thousand anyway?
The Sanyo CSR-10 has been out for a few months.
(http://www.crutchfield.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/cgi-bin/prodview.asp?I=140CRSR10&s=41)
You sure it isn't a different one?
The Z3 projector has been out for a few months now. It does not have an ATSC tuner (unless Sanyo is releasing an updated version at CES), but it does have a 1280x720 resolution (so that it can do 720p HD natively). Street price for it has been hovering around $2k..
There are some sample images and video on the web of the new xacti from sanyo/fisher. While the video and zoom was nice, the stills leaft something to be desired. (could have been the photograhpers fault) Anyway, I really like the form factor, but I think it needs more digi-cam features. If possible, anyway. :)
I've got the 3.2 Mpx version of the Xacti - in a sexy two-tone Ferrari red! It's a great camera to use, however, the quality of the shots leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, the focussing mechanism on the camera really struggles to focus on the right object (I won't even start on low-light situations - grain anyone?). And what APPEARS to be in focus through the LCD, is in fact not - as you'll painfully discover when you finally download the pics on your desktop, far too late for any corrections.
It's also a little slow on focussing on the subject. The zoom is pretty powerful, although the steps in getting from A to B are too rough. It's not very smooth and zooms at a constant rate, none of that variable zoom speeds unfortunately.
I'd like to see quite a few improvements with this device.
First, I'd prefer 5mp resolution with the camera, 10x optical zoom for both camera AND video, and the ability to use it as a digital voice recorder as well as a webcam.
I'd also like to see this device with the ability to choose between MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 when shooting video, so there was a choice in quality.
And I'd like to see 16:9 capability with this camera as well.
Then add in a CF Type II slot in addition to the SD slot. This would be beneficial as CF II cards offer much higher capacities than SD cards right now. And this would be even more of a consideration if MPEG-2 capability was offered with this camera as I mentioned above.
They should increase the power of the flash by increasing its size a bit and using high powered white LEDs. (Maybe a hot shoe on top for adding additional flashes, lights, and microphones, might prove to be useful).
And they definitely need to increase the screen size from its current 1.8" - which is a complete joke - to a 2.5" hybrid touchscreen like what's found on Sony's DSC-M1.
Then integrate Firewire, USB 2.0, AC/DC, and video/S-video/audio out ports on the device so that a dock wouldn't be required to upload video and charge the device. I can't stand having to drag around docks. I'd also like to see an integrated headphone jack so that when playing back video, you can also listen with some privacy.
And add in integrated G-WiFi for wireless transfer. Hey, if Kodak can allow for this via an SD card in their Easyshare One camera, then a device like this could integrate it internally.
Now this is what I'd like to see in a flash video device. All of this would mean increasing the size some, but I say, who cares when you could have all of the added functionality I mentioned above in a package that would still be small, wireless, and work with flash memory?
One other thing - they really need to increase the speed and quality of the optics and make sure it doesn't record the noise that the zoom and focus motors produce, which has been suggested it does.