Sanyo HD700 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: The combination digital camera/camcorder shoots 7.1-megapixel stills and HD video.

Review summary: Now that the high-definition format war is finally coming to an end, with Blu-ray appearing to have beaten HD DVD into submission, high-def movies are far more likely to grow in popularity

Pros: Head-turning price, Plenty of features, Great image quality

Cons: Fiddly controls, Sluggish autofocus

Verdict: Cheap it may be, but the VPC-HD700 is far from the performer we'd hope it would be. Low light and movement cause all manner of problems. Even for the less demanding audience it's aimed at, this is likely to still be not quite good enough

Review summary: This Sanyo models is designed to be a pocket-sized solution to high-definition moviemaking

Pros: Head-turning price ; Plenty of features ; Great image quality

Cons: Sluggish autofocus ; Fiddly controls

Verdict: The joystick is miniscule, but is used more for finding features and controlling playback than shooting and isn't as awkward to use as it first appears

Review summary: The pistol-like Sanyo Xacti HD700's blurb boasts of High Definition images, yet in truth its 30-frames-per-second (fps), 720p video resolution is more HD-ready than full HD (look to the more expensive HD1000 for that).

Verdict: Lightweight and easy to use, the Sanyo Xacti HD700 looks impressive but with plastic buttons and controls its pricing feels high. Especially when you can get a good quality camcorder for around £300, and a 7Mp stills camera for £100. Ultimately, it's ...

Review summary: The distinctive pistol-grip Xacti camcorders have been around since 2003, when we reviewed the Sanyo VPC-C1. The video quality of the original model wasn't quite good enough to justify its high price, but things have since changed dramatically.

Verdict: Image quality doesn't come close to an SLR, but the inclusion of HD video recording makes it a great point-and-shoot option.