Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 camcorder

Sanyo’s gun-shaped Xacti models have always seemed like a fair compromise for those who didn’t want to take both a camcorder and a stills camera on holiday.

Their quality has tended to fall short of what you would get from two dedicated devices, however. The lightweight Sanyo CG10 is part of the rebranded Dual Camera range that promises to be a bit of a shake-up.

First impressions were encouraging. Sitting comfortably in the palm the camera offers high-definition (HD) video in the standard AVC HD format, albeit at the lower HD resolution of 1,280x720 pixels rather than the higher one of the VPC-HD2000 model, plus a bright 3in flip-out screen.

Both movies and 10-megapixel photos can be saved to a removable SD or SDHC memory card. There’s 40MB of internal memory but that won’t last long – an 8GB SDHC card, costing around £15, will store over two hours of HD video from the camcorder.

The 5x optical zoom lens falls short of many dedicated camcorders, but it’s better than the ones on most compacts. A flash nestles beneath the lens, while Sanyo has included its version of face detection in the form of the amusingly named Face Chaser.

Instead of continuing the gun theme by shooting with a trigger at the front, the camera is operated using a thumb-pad on the rear. A slider for controlling the zoom sits between the shutter release and video record buttons. Zoom action was smooth and quiet but the same can’t be said for the camera itself, which emits a transatlantic voice telling you off when you do something ‘wrong’ such as failing to insert a memory card.

Otherwise we had plenty of fun with the device. Keeping things compact, both the memory card and the rechargeable battery slot into the camera’s grip, though the power button is hidden behind the screen when the screen’s not in use.

Most disappointing was an operational whining, barely noticeable at first, that became distracting on quieter video clips.

That was a shame, as the clarity of video impressed us and while stills quality wasn’t quite up to that from a dedicated camera it was certainly very good.