Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40 Digital Camcorder - 1.8" LCD - CCD

Jack of all trades, master of none..

Strengths: Extremely small and compact. Very easy to use. Snap photos while taking video. Includes recharge/connect station for PC.

Weakness: Photo and video quality not the greatest. Audio capture is virtually useless. Flash has limited range. Very poor low-light performance. Lack of optical viewfinder impacts battery life.

I purchased the C4 shortly before it was released in the US. Since then Sanyo has updated this camera and so you may want to look into the new model instead. That said the C4 was never a bad camera, but the technology was young and so it lagged behind the quality of stand-alone video and still cameras of the time. To take full advantage of the solid-state media I bought a 40GB stand-alone hard...
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I purchased the C4 shortly before it was released in the US. Since then Sanyo has updated this camera and so you may want to look into the new model instead. That said the C4 was never a bad camera, but the technology was young and so it lagged behind the quality of stand-alone video and still cameras of the time.

To take full advantage of the solid-state media I bought a 40GB stand-alone hard drive to dump photos and video onto while I was on vacation. I have to tell you it worked great! Apart from size and weight, capacity is the greatest advantage of solid-state video recording. I was able to capture tons of video on a 1 week long trip to Germany with just 2 x 1GB SDRAM cards and never run out of space.

Since the video and photo quality are lacking I can only recommend this camera for its size and convenience.. but in that role it shines like no other. All in all I have enjoyed this camera and may upgrade to the latest version in the not-so-distant future.

By Kevin_Stone - Oct 20, 2006

A Sub to Mini DV but not Digital Camera

Strengths: Compact design, Digital Camcorder/Camera Integrated, Sharp Vedio Image. No pause button while recording.

Weakness: Huge Noise Picked Up while recording, photo quality not attractive, short battery life

Ended up having this at $199.95 after doing some research online to replace my old Canon ZR60 digital camcorder. The C40 really feels compact and can be easily fit into pocket. The video quality is above average, and a 2GB SD could provide ample storage. Noise picked up is very obvious, so annoying. Do not expect photo quality matches those DCs in the 4-mp range.

By philtaime - Jul 21, 2007

Extremely Versatile

Strengths: Very compact - fits in my pocket

Weakness: Poor low-light performance, weak flash

This is an extremely convenient, versatile camera. The 4MP stills are of pretty good quality, though it lacks the manual controls of other still cameras (I have a Sony that provides superior control, but it's not as convenient to carry around). The videos are not the highest quality, but the pocket-sized convenience makes up for it. Most of our videos are memory keepsakes, not professional...
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This is an extremely convenient, versatile camera. The 4MP stills are of pretty good quality, though it lacks the manual controls of other still cameras (I have a Sony that provides superior control, but it's not as convenient to carry around). The videos are not the highest quality, but the pocket-sized convenience makes up for it. Most of our videos are memory keepsakes, not professional quality movies, so this camera fits the role nicely.

By anonymous; - Dec 29, 2006

Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40

Sanyo Xacti VPC-C40 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 0.32 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #64 Flash camcorder of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a product's...
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By TopTenREVIEWS.com - Jul 16, 2008