Sony TG3(TG1) or Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000

[Eohon]

Hey all, im in the market for a small portable hd camcorder (not overly concerned with still photography) for an upcoming road trip to CA.

I'm torn between the Sony TG3 and the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000. For the most part the Sony seems to be coming out on top, reviews saying that the build and video quality is superb. I'm concerned it can only capture interlaced and not progressive though. I read a review where one guy said panning from left to right showed jittering on playback.

The Xacti on the other hand captures in progressive but I have read that the OIS is terrible.

I'm happy enough with the sizes/prices of both cams. I have been planning this trip for a few years with friends so I just want something small which can capture great footage :o)

Can anyone offer any advice on these two cams or is there an alternative camera im not mentioning?

Thanks a mill, Tony

[eyedoubleyou]

I am also in the same situation and decision.

Could anyone advise or suggest something else similar.

Thanks

[eyedoubleyou]

Why not the Panasonic HDC-SD10?
Isn't this in the same type of camcorder?

[Goldiethedog]

I chose the TM10 (SD10) because of the OIS. It arrives tomorrow but i'm worried about quality in anything near low light after the SD20 thread.
Thinking I should have gone for the SD200 now.

[JonStatt]

Originally Posted by Eohon

Hey all, im in the market for a small portable hd camcorder (not overly concerned with still photography) for an upcoming road trip to CA.

I'm torn between the Sony TG3 and the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000. For the most part the Sony seems to be coming out on top, reviews saying that the build and video quality is superb. I'm concerned it can only capture interlaced and not progressive though. I read a review where one guy said panning from left to right showed jittering on playback.

The Xacti on the other hand captures in progressive but I have read that the OIS is terrible.

I'm happy enough with the sizes/prices of both cams. I have been planning this trip for a few years with friends so I just want something small which can capture great footage :o)

Can anyone offer any advice on these two cams or is there an alternative camera im not mentioning?

Thanks a mill, Tony

The IS (EIS) of the SD2000 is terrible once you zoom in. I tried one and really wanted to love this little beauty, but my hand is just not steady enough to make-up for the poor stablisation. I tried the various techniques mentioned on the web, and I would like to think I have a fairly steady hand...

I find this area of the market very difficult to evaluate. The Panasonics like the 10 series are very compact and light...but their sensors are actually below HD...it must be interpolating.

The 200 series looks a better proposition..but if you have gone that far..then maybe you should do the job properly and go for the excellent 300 series!

[MorningGlory90]

Thanks for this as I'm also in the same situation. I was considering the Sanyo quite a lot until I read this, mainly the electrical image stabiliser that if it really is bad when zoomed in (which is what'll I'll be doing a lot), is an absolute no no for me, it'll make my concert videos not as good as they should be.

Now I'm back to deciding whether I should get the Sony TG3 or Panasonic TM10, which is a rather hard choice for me at present, given I've had cameras from both brands before which were good, and also owning my current camera the Panasonic TZ7. I am however leaning towards the SONY, as for the price what the Panasonic does have over the Sony to me just isn't worth the difference, and I should be able to live with 10x optical zoom as its still a hell of a lot.

[Eohon]

thanks for all the feedback guys, i went ahead and bought the TG3. i decided that good optical stabilization was a must and more important than capturing in progressive mode.

altho i have only performed a couple of initial tests re saving down footage and compression etc... im very impressed with it so far.

i'll post back with a full review when i get to know it better but think i made the right choice.

basically at the end of the day if you want something that's portable and delivers great quality hd footage the TG3 seems to fit the bill. I would recommend getting an extra battery and a 15GB extra storage card though. a 4 GB card will only hold 25 mins of top quality hd footage and the battery only lasts about an hour or so.

oh yeah, the reviews on the still image quality were all correct. the still images are pretty crap! :o)

[BingoBongo275]

I've got the TG3. I dont use it for still images but the full HD Video is absolutely amazing on my Samsung 46" screen

When most people see the quality the response is OMG!

Cheers

Jez

[coolblu]

I bought the TG3 back in Sep 08, so I didn't get the choice of chosing between the two.....

But having read some reviews (professional and consumer), some of which went totally over my head I must admit. Also I've only seen one 3min footage from the HD2000, as compared to my hours of home footage on the TG3.

Apologies if this is not technical enough.....

TG3:
Pros

• Looks nice...nice shape/titanium finish. Looks and feels like a quality machine
• Automatic lens cap (which the Sanyo hasn't got) - I'm lazy and hate the idea of having to remember to pop the lens cap on whenever I've finished shooting...
• The 5.1 digital sound is crystal clear
• Plug & play straight into my PS3 without any jiggery pokery

Cons

• It's NOT 1080P - buggs me everytime
• AVCHD uploaded onto my PC are m2ts files - I hate them!!! Bloody billions of little file things instead of one MPEG4 or AVI file
• For some strange reason you can't stream AVCHD files straight from the PC to the PS3 - you have to convert/change file name or something like that. If, like me you have loads of footage, its a REAL pain
• The Sony software sucks and you may have to look at buying decent editing programme (can be expensive)
• memory cards are EXPENSIVE
• oh and have said it's 1080i

HD2000:
Pros

• It's 1080p 60p (top spec apparently)
• From the 3min footage I've seen - pq looks gooood
• It uses MPEG3 - one file, easy to manage/archive
• Uses SDHD cards - cheap and you can get 64Gb cards now (I think)

Cons

• It has a manual lens cap
• Controls are bit fiddly
• I think MPEG4 files can't be read from the card on the PS3
• Can't hook the camera direct to your TV, needs the docking station (which you don't need to do for the TG3)
• Although it's got a funky design - not to sure about its ergonomics

So by the looks of it the Sanyo may be a better option....but I still very happy with my TG3.

Just wished it was 1080p and didn't use damn AVCHD/m2ts file thingys

Also, have a read of these

HD camcorder tests and comparison of Sony HDR-TG7 (HDR-TG7E/ HDR-TG5),Sanyo Xacti HD2000 (Xacti VPC-HD2000) and Sanyo Xacti HD1010 (Xacti VPC-H

Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000 - DigitalVersus


That's all I got for now...if I think of anymore I'll let you know. Hope that helps.

[Hangerhead]

reviews I'd seen of the Sanyo show that the low-light capability is pretty poor, otherwise, it would have been my choice for a first digicam (still looking).

[inertia]

"Bloody billions of little file things instead of one MPEG4 or AVI file"

an mt2s file is just a standalone file like any other ?????

[Erlang168]

Originally Posted by coolblu

• For some strange reason you can't stream AVCHD files straight from the PC to the PS3 - you have to convert/change file name or something like that. If, like me you have loads of footage, its a REAL pain

That is strange?

I have a pile of m2ts files on a network hard drive and stream them direct to the PS3.

Could it be a windows thing?

Sorry for drift OT

[elliots]

I have the hd 2000, the camera is really good, small compact, long battery, sdhc cards.....

the 1080p60 quiality is excellent, but nothing will play it properly apart from the camera or a decent PC.

I usually record in 1080i 60 which give a very smooth playback and when I use my wd hdtv it looks awesome on a 50" pioneer 508...

There are issues how ever when on full zoom the eis does not work that well, it take a little while to stabilise, the still looks amazing in bright light for a camcorder, it low light with flash they look very good.

Its not a dedicated still camera though but its if you print them or view at 75% they look great, if your the type of person who zoome in 300% then look elswhere as you will start to see jpg artifacts.

The low light performance is excellent, it cam out top on camcorder info, it has a cmos sensor which is much better then a ccd chip for noise reduction, coupled with the f1.8 aperture you get really good low light performace for a camcorder.

Maybe some testers had it on high sensitivity as this does make the low light videos look really noisy.

overall if you realise that the eis is not the best then you can get around this, it has not put me off using it at all.

most of the other camcorders cannot do 1080p60 only p24 so you get a choppy look to movement etc, The pistol grip works well for me.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good camera and a great HD camcorder as long as you remember the eis is not the best.

I had tested a samsung h104 and the sanyo looks better on the plasma, the ois on the samsung was better at full zoom.

camcorder info review paragraph on low light performance.

"Here's a surprise: the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 recorded the best low light sensitivity on any consumer camcorder we've tested so far this year. By a wide margin, it beat out each of the three competitors we're using as comparisons throughout this review. For those curious about the hard numbers, the HD2000 needed only 9 lux of light to peak at 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. The Canon HF20 and Panasonic HDC-SD20 required 22 lux and 23 lux respectively, while the high-end Canon HF S100 called for 16 lux of light to produce the same results. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)"

so some reviews could be using the wrong settings....

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...erformance.htm

[elliots]

Originally Posted by [/LIST

HD2000:
Pros

• It's 1080p 60p (top spec apparently)
• From the 3min footage I've seen - pq looks gooood
• It uses MPEG3 - one file, easy to manage/archive
• Uses SDHD cards - cheap and you can get 64Gb cards now (I think)

Cons

• It has a manual lens cap
• Controls are bit fiddly
• I think MPEG4 files can't be read from the card on the PS3
• Can't hook the camera direct to your TV, needs the docking station (which you don't need to do for the TG3)
• Although it's got a funky design - not to sure about its ergonomics

Manual lens cap does initially feel like a pain but it will not go wrong, you can replace it if you loose it and it fits in your pocket.

controls work well, the shortcuts are great and can be customised.

Mp4 files will run on the 360 and the ps3 but only 1080i 60 or 1080p30 the 360 or ps3 are designed for BRay so 1080p24 is the best it will do unless they can release a driver for them.

The Wd hdtv and the popcorn Hour a-110 cannot handle the 1080p60, but will do the 1080i60 and 1080p30, a PC running the Splash video player works a treat and also out of the camera on the hdmi.

The Shape works well for my extra large spanners, with the screen out you can use this to steady your pictures / videos.

I have uploaded a video in really low light to me it looks fine, way better then my samsung h104 and kodak zx1.



quite quick to respond to the monitor as well... ignore the jerkyness it plays perfect on the PC.

[ronaldkwok]

Agrees with what elliots said in his posts. Here's the link to my latest HD2000 upload in Vimeo, a typical home video in indoor lighting and hand-held. The built-in mic is pretty good too.

Birthday - Sanyo HD2000 Indoor home video on Vimeo