Great Video Camera for $249: Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG6 Review

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG6 is a pocket sized, hand held camera that shoots video in MPEG4 format at 640 by 480, it can also take images at 6MP, but its use is better as a cheap beginner handheld camera. The device records video on a SD memory card, meaning you can have cards from 256MB up to 4GB which would translate to roughly 4 hours video. 

Its set up vertically so you can easily record and operate it just one hand, the small size allows for some creative video shooting. It features a large LCD screen and the menu system is very easy to navigate. The zoom is 5x optical and 12x digital, the control for the zoom is a bit here and there, I found it better to zoom before shooting better, but this is what one should be doing anyway as zooming as you are filming is very jarring to the viewer.

Video quality is amazing for its price, coming really close to best miniDV cameras I have used and beats out most of the cheap ones putting it close to the prosumer range. Since video is in MP4 and images are in JPEG there are no problems between running this on a MacOSX or Windows based system. Since the files are MP4, you can directly import the video in all known video editors very easily from MovieMaker right up to Sony Vegas. Files are pulled via the USB connector or straight from the SD memory card. Spare batteries can be purchased but on charge the camera can shoot for roughly 90 minutes on a single charge.

Usually devices in this price range do not include any features, however the Sanyo features good image stabilization, white balance, AF settings, ISO settings, sound and voice recording. There are also settings for shooting under various conditions, such as night and so on. There is a standard AV port, which can also be used as a head phone port so you can hear exactly what you capture. Infact if you got your video content in MP4 you can play it back on this camera as a viewer. 

The only qualms I have is the lack of direct AC connection for power.  The memory cards can set you back some, but its still below the price of any MiniDV camera you might find. Video in very low light conditions will suffer, but this is understandable given its size and price range. Photos on the camera are good quality but not a replactment for a dedicated digital camera, on night shots the camera creates red eye effects.  But at this price range this is more nitpicking then solid criticism.

If you want to give video editing or Youtube video recording a try I can't recommend anything better then this. Its protability and small size also mean it can hardly be noticed when you are recording video at a concert especially appealing to me because I personally hated looking like a tourist with a large hand held camera.

I reccomend it.

Send this Article to a Friend



Separate multiple emails with a comma (,); limit 5 recipients






Your email has been sent successfully!

Manage this Video in Your Playlists

New Blog Posts from All Members