This 1.3 megapixel camera has the basic features you'd expect from a digital camera, but all the features are basic. For instance, there is a 4x digital zoom, but no optical zoom. However, at AU$449, it will suit the amateur who wants pictures in digital form.
Visually, the VPC-R1 looks like a camera from the 80's, with a sliding cover to protect the lens and viewfinder. There are a couple of design features that seem to be based purely on aesthetics, but mostly the camera is functional. There is a switch on the back to toggle between off, on and playback, along with a number of buttons for menu navigation. The LCD monitor shows fairly good pictures, but we found it a little jerky when the camera was moved fast. Of course, cameras should be held still when taking photos....
We also found we had to look at the LCD display head on to get a good picture, when viewed from an angle the quality was lost pretty quickly. The photos look different when viewed on the computer monitor compared to the LCD, so although the screen is good for a rough guide you can still be surprised, both pleasantly and unpleasantly, by the quality of the final photo.
A really good feature is the macro switch, found under the front lens cover. Flipping this on allows you to take photos up-close-and-personal without worrying about the focus. This comes in useful in a variety of situations, not least of which is holding the camera at arms length pointing back at you. This common scenario with spur-of-the-moment photographs often results in blurry images with optical cameras.
The features are easy to use, but not intuitive- you will need the instruction book to familiarise yourself. The camera has three modes: still; sequential shots; and video clips. With all modes you can adjust the image size and quality, depending on if you want good images or lots of them. The camera offers choice between picture resolution of 1280x960 pixels or 640x480 pixels, while on video mode you can choose between 320x240 pixels and 160x120 pixels.
We found the image quality to be good, but don't expect wonders on the lower quality settings. The camera has the ability to take three sequential shots, either separated by 0.5 seconds or using different exposures. This would be a really great feature, except you cannot use the flash in this mode. It is therefore useful for family picnics when the sun is bright, but renders the feature almost useless at late-night parties.
The video clip feature comes into its own at parties-not for any useful reason but simply for the coolness factor. The main problem with this is the lack of flash, so a strong light source is required. We also found it sometimes took a few seconds to begin recording, missing vital moments.
The camera has a small internal memory allowing you to store a couple of photos, but you'll need to get a flash card to store a significant number of images. The number of images you can store depends on the size and quality of the pictures, and how many video clips you have saved, but a running tally of how many you have left is kept on the screen, and changes with the mode you are in. In video mode it keeps track of the total number of seconds of storage space you have left.
The battery life is horrendous, a common feature of digital cameras. We found the batteries ran out before storage space did, and can easily get chewed up in a couple of hours. The advertising brochure claims 980 shots with the LCD monitor off or 350 with it on. There is no indication of how the video feature affects this, but we managed around 130 photos and about 45 seconds of video footage before the batteries gave up the ghost.
The VPC-R1 comes bundled with a USB port and a software pack, which contains -all the software you need". The software certainly allowed you to view the images, and a quick play-around will show you how to reduce the size, but for any editing past a simple crop head straight for Photoshop.
Sanyo VPC-R1 Digital Camera
Company: Sanyo
Price: AU$449
Distributor: Selected Resellers
Phone: 1300 360 230
hi i would like to purchase new software for this digital camera my software is not working it is a brilliant camera if someone could help me please thanks l.paul