Why a 'quick n dirty review' ? Because I have nothing bad to say (well there is just one bad point). You probably have noticed by now that when I have something bad to say - I tend to babble on and on...
Anyway, I have been using the
Xacti C1
for just over a year to take my movies and when I saw that Sanyo had brought out a 3S (Spanking Super Slick) Xacti DMX-C5, I had that giddy feeling again... 46,000 yen burnt its way through my pocket and 24 hours later it arrived.
The main reason I got the C5 was because it takes photos at a higher resolution (5 mega pixels ) than my C1 (3 mega pixels) and also because of the size - half that of the C1 (nearly) meaning that I can go around with the C5 in my front trouser pocket without being looked at as if I was some sort of pervert. The video quality of the C5 is just about the same as the C1 - I need to use it for a bit longer under different conditions (fog, snow, hail, napalm etc) to see whether there is a big difference or not. The C5 however does have a feature for those of you who do not have a steady hand - it will stabilize any video clips taken when for example you skidded on the brown gooey object on the road outside your house.
Above: C5 and C1 side by side. The C1 looked cool then but looks quite crap when compared to the C5.
Above: And here is a side by side showing the front. The C5 is considerably thinner than the C1 and also manages to deliver the same video quality and improved photo resolution.
One thing that I was disappointed about though is the lens cap - as you can see from the photos - its one of those cheapo sad man cap-tied-to-piece-of-crummy-string jobs. I know that its to reduce cost but they should have got rid of the darn TV output function and the ability to control playback via a remote control that is included and channel the costs to build a decent lens cover instead - who on earth is going to watch MPEG4 movies on their TV through the Xacti?
Above: Another comparison photo. The SD card is now much easier to remove - with the C1, I had to kind of dig open the SD compartment with my finger nail. The C5 case is made from PVC and looks just about as good as a poop scoop. The C1 hard case looks better but is big enough to fit two bricks.
I personally don't use cases for any of my gadgets though - which is why you may have noticed that some of the gadgets on the site look as though they have been to hell and back. I just cant be bothered to spend the extra time opening cases and making an effort to keep these items looking new - gadgets only have a certain life span and I know that for example that the C5 is only going to last me X number of years - I dont want to have to waste time keeping it spanking clean - nobody is going to buy it from me in two or three years time at a decent price.
Besides, when I want to take a snap or video - I want to take it immediately - not ten seconds later. If you purchase Sony then you are buggered because Sony products time out after a certain time, but with normal use, these products should last long - without the need to spend that extra time caring for it too much.
I don't bother trying to sell my second hand stuff anymore and end up giving the stuff away (just like I did with the C1 (lucky brother in law)). The reason why I don't bother selling is that the money I make wont cover the cost of the time I spent trying to sell the stuff - time is precious! Is time a friend or an enemy? (will blogg that subject one day).
Above: Nearly forgot to post this pic - The C5 has a larger screen which seems to update its self quicker than the C1. if you have large hands (...) you may find it a tad figity as the buttons are smaller.
Above: Took a snap just after the C5 arrived - did not play around with the settings. Hmmm....(searches on hard drive for something...)Was going to link this to the original photo but I cant find the file anymore - sorry about that (I cant be bothered to take another pic - its late at night now)
Above: This is another shot where I was going to link to the original. If you want to see what the video and photo quality is like, then you can pop along to
ITMedia.
