Steve Ingraham’s Point and Shoot Landscape

Sanyo VPC TH1 above, Sony Webbie HD below

There have always been what amount to Point and Shoot video cameras, but only recently have the files they produce become as easy to deal with as jpeg image files. During the last year, and especially the last month or so, the number of HD  flash based digital cameras has grown dramatically. These cameras are HD, high definition to match today’s HD TVs, and feature either 720p or 1080p resolution (compact or full HD) and often both. Generally less expensive cameras offer 30 frames per second equivalent. Some offer 60 frames. And they record in ACHD format (MPEG-4, or .MP4) directly to a high-capacity, high speed flash card, just like the ones used in digital still cameras. These files can be imported directly and played on almost any computer: just pop the Flash Card (SD, XD, Memory Stick, etc.)  into a card reader attached to your computer…or the cameras will output directly to HD TV in either Composite HD or, on some, HMDI (if you have an HD TV you know what I am talking about. If not, try Google).

side by side and open for business

ACHD (or any MPEG format for that matter) used to be hard to edit, but would-be epic makers now have a number of options, some quite inexpensive, for creating their masterpiece. These programs import ACHD and .MP4 files directly, and offer a full range of transitions, effects, and text features, as well, often, as the ability to add music and a voice over. (See, Video Editing on a N’tbook for a review of one such system.)

Of course, one of the things that makes the .MP4 format so attractive is that it can be uploaded directly to sites like YouTube and Vimeo. With a little persistence, your home brew HD masterpiece can appear on thousands of computers around the world, with the kind of quality we only associated with move theaters and Blueray DVD in the recent past. 

The business end of the Webbie HD

And, what is more, the prices for all this goodness are falling rapidly. This year we see the first under $200 full scale HD video cameras. I am not talking pocket wonders like the Flip. These are real cameras  with real zoom lenses and all the usual video amenities (or most of them at any rate). Some even offer respectable still image capture (2-5 mega-pixels) as a side-line.

This piece started out to be a review of the tiny Sony Webbie HD, a $200, 5 MP, 5x zoom camera in a conventional horizontal format that records to Memory Stick Duo Pro in both ACHD (720p and 1080p) and 5 MP JPEG stills.  Along the way it turned into a comparison of the Webbie and another, also brand new, and almost equally as compact, flash-based HD camcorder from Sanyo: the VPC TH1, which records 720p .MP4 and 2 MP digital stills to SDHC cards, and features (deep breath) a 30x zoom, digital image stabilization, something called face chaser, and a pallet of exposure and focus options that should satisfy the creative urge in almost any aspiring film maker. The Sanyo also includes in camera video editing (trimming and joining clips, etc) and, if that is not enough, comes with a full featured suite of video editing software for your Windows computer (supplied OEM for Sanyo by Arcsoft). All this for just $100 more than the Webbie.

Business end of Sanyo: controls much easier to reach

I bought the Webbie because I need to make a series of short instructional videos for our website at work, and the video from my Sony DSC H50 just was not getting the job done. After two weeks of trying to get the job done with the Webbie, I ordered the Sanyo. I have spent the past day or so comparing the two (anything to keep from actually doing what I bought them for). 

My conclusions: While the Webbie wins nicely in tricky indoor lighting situations (as long as the lighting is constant…see white-balance issues below), and provides both higher resolution video (1080p) and stills (5 MP), it simply has too many weaknesses for me to recommend it to anyone.

Somewhat uncomfortable Sony grip

1) the color overall lacks saturation. The Sony captures a muted world. It is okay inside, with people moving and talking, but outside it just looks dull, as though something vital has drained out of the world.
2) the auto color balance (or white-balance) can not hold a blue shirt to the same blue two clips in a row. This immediately disqualifies the Webbie for instructional video (admittedly a reach for a $200 camera anyway) since you have to be able to string clips together seamlessly.
3) the camera is awkward to hold and operate, with the record button located so that it continuously strains my thumb and the zoom rocker where it just does not feel secure. The camera is just slightly too tall to rest comfortably in the palm, and lacks the conventional hand strap that keeps most video cameras stuck to your hand. Plus the Still shutter release is so badly positioned and so hard to push that it makes the feature all but useless. You have to stretch a finger back to reach it, and, with my hands, it hurts. Because it is awkward, it is next to impossible to get a still, stable, sharp shot.

Sanyo fits the palm better.

4) All controls are automatic, with the exception of 4 scene modes (Sports, Landscape, Low Light, and Backlight). You have no control over even the basics of exposure or focus. It makes for simple shooting, but it also makes for a lot of less than optimum footage.
5) The LCD, while adequate  inside (though on the smallish side), is totally worthless outside. With any sun you can not see what you are shooting. Period. 
6) Sound recording is disappointing. Audio seems to jump in and out unpredictably, soft and loud, and the recording quality is somewhat thin (probably due to inadequate mics). There is no wind filter, so recording in a breeze is not a breeze.  
7) The Webbie has only Composite HD output, no HDMI. 

1-5x Zoom on the Sony Webbie HD

Then too, the software included with the Webbie is pretty nearly useless. It is essentially a browser for your video clips, with no editing capacity. It will help you to upload your vids to YouTube, etc., if and when you get any worth the bandwidth. If you want to edit video, you will need to purchase one of the few apps that handles the ACHD format. Do your homework before you buy.

While $200 is not a lot to pay for an HD camcorder, in my opinion, the Sony Webbie HD is not even worth that. It is on its way back to Amazon.

By the way, you do not have to take my word for any of this. I have included a set of comparison videos with this review. Take a look for yourself.

So, does the Sanyo, for $100 more do any better? $300 is still not a lot to pay for a HD camcorder, especially one with the features outlined above. Does it do the job? Short and sweet: mostly yes. Mostly. 

1-30x Zoom on the Sanyo

1) The colors recorded by the Sanyo VCP TH1 are vibrant and well saturated, and white-balance seems much more stable, but
2) it does not handle inside light, at least in full auto, as well as the Sony. That added contrast and vibrance does not necessarily work indoors, where the Sony excels. The Sanyo does have a Soft setting, buried way deep in the Settings Menu, which helps considerably, yielding a video of people inside which very like the Sony Webbie HD in its normal Auto setting. Soft apparently applies to the contrast, not to the sharpness of the image.
3) The camera fits my hands just about perfectly. It sits in my palm and my fingers fall naturally on the controls. The hand strap is very secure and comfortable. The only strain is reaching the 5 way rocker switch which, in shooting mode, controls a set of user specified shortcuts to frequently needed menu items, but you do not have to reach it while the camera is recording, and it can be done without hurting yourself. Not bad really. And having those menu shortcuts right there under your thumb instead of somewhere under a button on the face of the camera and buried three layers deep in a menu system is nothing short of brilliant.

Uncomfortable Still button on the Webbie

4) As mentioned previously, the TH1 offers a full range of controls…amazing in a camera at this price point. It has the usual scene selections: Full Auto, Sports, Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait, Snow and Beach, Fireworks, and Lamp.  It has Multi zone exposure metering, Center weighted, and spot metering. It has Programed Exposure, Shutter preferred, Aperture preferred, and Manual. It has Auto White-balance, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, and One Push manual setting. It has Auto ISO, and manual settings 50-1600 (in Video mode). Are you getting the picture here? This is a highly sophisticated camera. It even has the above mentioned face chaser mode  which optimizes focus for people in the video, and digital image stabilization (not as good as mechanical or optical stabilization, but better than nothing). Then there is something called 3D Noise Reduction, for image noise in low light, and Wind Noise Reduction for shooting in the wind. Honestly, I would have been surprised to find this level of control and automation on a camera costing several times as much.
5) Sound recording, with the above mentioned built in wind noise reduction is superior outdoors, and is richer and more balanced for both voice and music indoors. 
6) The built in image stabilization is useful up to about 5x zoom, maybe 10 if you are really steady. However, do not expect it to handle 30x. For longer zoom work you will need a tripod.

Card slot, on/off, USB/Composite Video and HDMI ports on the Sanyo

7) The LCD on the Sanyo is considerably larger and it is visible even in full sun. 
The Sanyo has HDMI output as well as HD composite video.  

So, yes, as far as video goes, the Sanyo VPC TH1 gets the job done, and done nicely. 

The 2 MP (interpolated) stills are nothing special, but nice to have in a pinch. (For comparison stills, see below, under the videos.)

Add the full suite of Arcsoft video software: image and video management, video editing, DVD authoring and burning, and a bonus Panorama maker, and you have a one stop solution for your home video needs. While less powerful than the AVS4You products reviewed on Cloudy Days and N’tbook Nights, the included editing software will make a decent little video and do it quickly and easily. I have not yet experimented with the built in, in camera, editing functions, but they also look promising for those times when you just can not get to your computer, and you need to hack together a little video of the party, while the party is still on.

LCD comparison. Sony on left.

And, of course, I have not highlighted the zoom on the Sanyo. 30x. From approximately 43mm to 1290mm in 35mm equivalents. That is a lot of reach. It makes, for instance, field recordings of small birds at reasonable distances possible. Of course, as mentioned previously, the digital image stabilization is not much help at extreme magnifications, but tripod mounted, the long zoom can produce impressive results. See the Song Sparrow clip below.

If some of the features of the Sony Webbie are really necessary for your happiness, you might want to wait a month for the arrival of the Sanyo VPC CG10, a similar camera by the specs, but in the pistol grip configeration, and with Sanyo’s image stabilization and more comprehensive controls. It is scheduled for introduction at the same price as the Sony Webbie HD.

(Addition: since writing this I have experimented with the in-camera video editing features of the Sanyo. IMHO, these features, limited though they are to basic cut and join, enhanse the value of the camera considerably. For one thing, it allows editing of video clips without a decompress/compress cycle, maintaining higher quality in the final edited clip. For another, it is considerably faster than importing the video, editing it, and saving it…in fact, it is very fast compared to any computer based editing system I have used.  Finally, it makes it possible to shoot and edit small clips and upload them directly from the camera (connected to the computer in Card Reader Mode) to YouTube, Flickr, SmugMug, Vimeo, etc. I am impressed once more with the overally quality, and depth of features in the Sanyo…in what is defiitely an entry level HD camera.)

The one exception to the above is that if the majority of your shooting will be people, inside, doing things, and you do not want to dig into menu settings to find the appropriate mode, you might take a more serious look at the Webbie. In normal shooting mode, the Webbie has a clear edge in well lit (inside, daylight, with lights on) party situations. To equal it, you have to do some menu browsing (it is, believe me, way deep) on the Sanyo.

The conclusion here for me is that whether you go for the Sony Webbie HD or spend a bit more on the more full featured  Sanyo VPC TH1, good quality HD video, in a P&S format, is now readily available for the home film maker. Go do it.

Comparison Videos:

Scenic… (notice also the effects of the Sanyo wind filter in the wide scene, and image stabilization in the 5x view.)

Indoor Color… 

People Inside…

Music (for sound)… (shot before I discovered the Soft setting on the Sanyo)

Action…

Song Sparrow (30x zoom)…

Comparison stills… click image to open flickr page…then choose All Sizes to see the image at up to full resolution.

Sony at 5mp

Sanyo at 2mp