Product Review: Sanyo Xacti VPC-CA65 6 Megapixel Standard Definition Underwater Digital Camera

At one time, underwater filming was only an option for professionals who could afford to invest in an expensive camcorder. With technology changing as fast as it is, underwater filming is now accessible to anyone. Sanyo's Xacti VPC-CA65 underwater standard definition digital camera is lightweight, compact, and relatively inexpensive. With a suggested retail price of $300, this camera is much cheaper than most other options on the market.

Features

The VPC-CA65 is a dual-camera, meaning it is a camera that takes both still images and videos. The videos are standard definition (640x480), which isn't ideal for quality documentaries or films, but is fine for most televisions, as well as YouTube. Still images are higher in quality at a resolution of up to 3680x2760 (10 megapixels upsized from 6MP).

All still images are compressed as JPEGs, while videos are recorded as H.264 videos using an MP4 container. Audio is HQ at 48kHz with AAC compression.

Optical zoom is limited at 5x zoom, which is adequate for most people, while the digital zoom goes up to an outstanding 12x zoom, which is combined for a total of 60x total zoom. A macro-mode is also available for a distance up to 1 centimeter.

There is red-eye correction for images of people, and the EV can be adjust in increments of 0.3. Available modes include: Night, Fireworks, Landscape, Sports, Lamp, Beach, and Snow. You can set the images to Black and White or Sepia modes, but only before you snap the images.

Image Quality

With the ability to go to a high ISO of 1600, you can take still images in near complete darkness, though there will be a fair amount of grain. Still images are decent quality for taking underwater shots that you otherwise wouldn't get, but they aren't going to be adequate for competitions.

The underwater video quality isn't very spectacular - it looks very much like an iPhone video, and is a bit fuzzy. The video quality doesn't compare with most modern cameras, given the low resolution and limited frame rate.

Conclusion

This camera is adequate if you're in need of underwater filming and images, but isn't very high-quality. If you're in need of high-definition grade filming, it would be worthwhile to purchase an underwater container for your current camera.