It was only January when Sanyo introduced the VPC-HD1, billed as the world's smallest HD camcorder. Now, the company has followed up with the VPC-HD1a, an upgraded 720p model that offers several changes.
The new model replaces the original OLED display with a new 2.2-inch LCD display with 210,000 total pixels. The display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees on axis for taking video or still images in difficult positions.
For better display of MPEG-4 video clips on iPods and other mobile devices, the camera's "Web-SHQ" mode enables a 320 x 240 resolution size, which has been doubled in frame rate from 15 to 30fps.
A new 16:9 shooting mode allows users to capture 3.8-megapixel stills in the same widescreen format as their high-definition videos on a 16:9 television screen.
The "a" model also features enhanced video-editing functions, such as in-camera editing that allows the removal of unwanted material and helps conserve memory card space.
Weighing 8.3 ounces (including battery and a standard SD memory card), the HD1a measures 3.1 inches wide x 4.7 inches high x 1.4 inches deep, keeping it the world's smallest HD camcorder, Sanyo said.
Featuring one-handed operation, the camcorder can record both 720p HD video and 5.1-megapixel digital still images to a standard SD flash memory card. CD-quality AAC-LC (MPEG-4) stereo audio recording is also featured.
Each gigabyte of memory holds 21 minutes of HD video. A new generation of high capacity 4 GB SD cards will hold 84 minutes of HD.
The camcorder has a 10x optical zoom lens with a maximum aperture of f/3.5 in both wide and telephoto angles.
The VPC-HD1a will be available in September for $699.99.