Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Impressive, 21 Jan 2008
Never thought it would be this versatile! Camera arrived on Thursday and flew out on holiday on Saturday. On Sunday we went snorkelling and took the camera. After a few stills on the beach we entered the water much to everyones amazement and took some underwater shots and some video. We couldn't wait to connect to laptop and take a look.........most impressive, and friends with us were simply blown away. No one took any better pics than us, no one else took any underwater pics and certainly no one else took any underwater video!! It was worth it just to see the look on peoples faces.
Have posted our first underwater pic on this site under helpful images/advice...do take a look.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quality Comes in Waterproof Packages, 23 Mar 2008
Following my experiences with digital zoom and its pixel-expanding 'goodness', I sought to find a digital camcorder that featured optical zoom for better results. The Xacti was a more than pleasant surprise. While its digital zoom FAR outreaches its optical zoom (60x to 5x), the optical zoom is beautifully sharp and gives you that needed edge when wanting closer shots.
Video quality is brilliant in general, with a choice of several resolutions. Still shot quality is also impressive and battery life is very good. Xacti can also read 2GB and 4GB SD cards. The only tiny niggle I had is the slight whirr you can hear when the optical zoom lens is moving and focusing, but you only notice it when filming in silent locations.
It wasn't until I bought this product that I realised how substandard the quality of the sound on my previous digicam had been. The sound is almost as good as professional camcorders, without that tinniness one seems to find on most of the digital variety. Xacti also comes with a (slightly hidden) dictaphone mode - though I haven't yet tried it out, I expect the sound to be as good as on the video record mode.
While the waterproofing option wasn't the main reason for me purchasing this particular camera, it does give an advantage for filming in wetter conditions like mist and rain (and of course underwater, to an extent). One has to remember if they intend to do this, though, waterproof seals need to be changed at least once a year, for the substances in the water eat away at them.
The camera's shape, while bulkier than it looks on the foremost product photo, is not cumbersome - in fact, it proves very comfortable to hold. However, the 'wallet' it comes packaged with is rather an odd design (to match the shape of the camera, naturally). If held wrong, it could be easy for the camcorder to slip out from the inside upon trying to take it out in a hurry. With that in mind, I advise tying the camera strap around your wrist before trying to get the device out of its wallet.
Accessories are plentiful, with bundled software for webcam/screencap support and video conversion (though for the latter I tend to use Bink) a computer USB connector and a cable to plug the Xacti directly into the TV. I was a little disappointed that the battery has to be charged in a separate unit (also included), as it limits your movie watching time through the camera, but since I tend to shift them to computer before watching its a small negative point for such an incredible device.
All in all, for that little bit of investment, this makes a fantastic digicam for fun and serious shots. I thoroughly recommend it!
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33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good, however..., 31 Jul 2007
I've previously had a Xacti-C4, so I knew what I was getting here,however...
...the item is significantly thicker than the picture shows - it's somewhat misleading. What you can't see is that the main section of the camera is actually about 3-4mm thicker than in the photograph. It's actually got a bigger body than the CG model (obviously, I guess, because of the waterproofing). What they've done in the photograph for the item is tilt the camera in such a way that you can't see it. This means the unit is actually bigger than most of it's predecessors. The side you can't see is white.
However, the improvements in image quality, video quality (with small filesize too), features AND the fact that it's waterproof mean that you'd be daft to complain too much. The camera is still a winner. My criticism is not of the camera itself, more how vendors are using a standard "pose" to hide the true dimensions of the item.
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