Sanyo announces 3mpix digital camcorder By
Mike Tomkins
(Thursday, October 2, 2003 - 12:41 EDT)
Sanyo Japan has announced a new and rather interesting-looking digital video camera, the Sanyo Xacti (pronounced Zack-Tee) DMX-C1.
Coupling a 3.2 megapixel CCD image sensor with a 5.8x optical zoom lens, the DMX-C1 has a few features worthy of comment. For one, this is an extremely small device, apparently about the size of a cellphone (Sanyo says it is the smallest and lightest digital video camera with movie recording at VGA resolution or above). Sanyo also says it is the first Secure Digital-based digital video camera to feature MPEG-4 recording, with a maximum video length of 1 hour on a 1GB SD card. Perhaps one of the most unique and interesting features is the ability to capture both video and still images simultaneously using the same image sensor. This is really quite a clever idea, allowing the photographer not only to record an event as VGA video, but by pressing a separate shutter button, to capture 3 megapixel still images without having to stop recording video. (If our translation is correct, there will be a brief pause in the video if the still image resolution is not the same as the video resolution, but this still beats having to actually stop and restart recording manually). The Xacti DMX-C1 is designed to be held single-handed, watching the tilt/swivel LCD display and controlling the camera with your thumb. It will ship in Japan from November 7th, with pricing set at ¥75,000 (roughly equivalent to US$678 / €579 / CAD$908 / £405 ignoring exchange rate fluctuations, taxes and duties) and a monthly production of 10,000 units. Sanyo Xacti DMX-C1 | | Effective Resolution | Approx. 3,200,000 pixels | Image Sensor | 1/2.7"-type RGBG CCD sensor with approx. 3,340,000 total pixels | Recording Media | SD Memory card | File Format | Still Image | JPEG (DCF compliant); DPOF; Exif ver2.2 compliant | Movie | ISO standard MPEG-4 compliant (.MP4), MPEG-4 audio (AAC compression, 48KHz sample rate, 16-bit, 2 channel) | | Image Size | Still Image | [3.2M]: 2048 x 1536 pixel | [2.0M]: 1600 x 1200 pixel | [0.3M]: 640 x 480 pixel | Video | [TV-SHQ]: 640 x 480 pixel, 30fps, 3MB/sec | [TV-HQ]: 640 x 480 pixel, 30fps, 2MB/sec | [TV-S]: 320 x 240 pixel, 30fps | [Web-HQ]: 320 x 240 pixel, 15 fps | [Web-S]: 176 x 144 pixel, 15 fps | | Lens | f = 5.8 - 33.8mm (35mm equivalent: 38 - 280mm) 5.8x optical zoom lens | F3.5 (W) - F3.7 (T), autofocus | 11 elements in 8 groups (2 aspheric elements, one double-sided); built-in neutral density filter | | Focus Range | Normal: | 10cm (W) / 80cm (T) - infinity | Super Macro: | 2cm (W) - 60cm (W) | | Shutter Speed | Still Image | 1/2 - 1/2000 second (1/30 - 1/60 second with flash on; up to 2 seconds in night scene mode) | Movie | 1/30 - 1/10000 second | | Digital Zoom | Record | 10x max. | Playback | Depends on resolution (32x max. in 3.2M mode) | | Autofocus System | Still Image | 5-point AF | Movie | Area AF | | Scene Mode | Auto / Sport / Portrait / Night / Landscape / Lamp | Digital Effects | 6 settings including Normal / Slim / Monochrome / Sepia | Exposure Compensation | + / - 1.8EV in 0.3EV steps | Flicker Reduction | Yes | Sensitivity | Still Image | Auto (ISO 50 - 200), Manual (ISO 50, 100, 200 or 400 selectable) | Movie | Auto (ISO 200 - 800), Manual (ISO 200, 400, 800 or 1600 selectable) | | Self-timer | 2 or 10 seconds | White Balance | Auto | Full auto TTL | Manual | Fine / Cloudy / Fluorescent / Incandescent | | Flash | Automatic / Forced / Off (slow synchro capable in Night Scene mode) | Sound | Microphone | Built-in stereo | Speaker | Built-in monaural (mixed left + right channel output) | | LCD Display | 1.5" low-temperature polysilicon TFT color liquid crystal display with approx. 110,000 pixels (partial transmissive type) | 100% field of view, 7-step brightness adjustment, 293° rotation | Functions when proprietary AV cable is not connected | | Interface | Video output (NTSC / PAL compatible compostive video with stereo sound, via docking station or cable) | USB 2.0 full-speed mode compliant (via docking station or cable) | | Power Source | 1 x Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (DB-L20 included); AC adapter / charger (VAR-AL20 included) | Power Consumption | 2.9 watts (using included battery in movie mode) | Battery Life | Still Image | Approx. 160 images | Movie | Approx. 60 minutes | Playback | Approx. 130 minutes | | Dimensions | 69 (W) x 108 (H) x 34 (D) mm (max. dimension); Volume: Approx. 149 cc. | Weight | Approx. 155 grams (body only); Approx. 174 grams (including battery and memory card) | Accessories | CD-ROM (Sanyo Software Pack 7.0), docking station, adapter, proprietary USB cable and proprietary AV cable, SD memory card (16MB), lithium ion battery, AC adapter / charger (100-240V) with power cord, camera case, hand strap and lens cap, remote control | . |
Thanks to
Jerry Sehl / OANI.net
for this item!
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