:Xacti C6, Mini review (Part I)

The Xacti C6, a hybrid digital video/photo camera, has come on stage to replace the C1, C4 and C5! Sanyo has really reaped the benefits of the first Xacti, and despite the fact that they were not the first on the market with such a device (that honour goes to Panasonic's D-Snap), the company is proud to announce that they are the market leader in this domain, way ahead of Sony's DSC-M1 and its successor the M2.

To get a C6 outside of Japan, keep in mind that you can purchase it online now atGeekStuff4U.com! Just click here!!




For every new version of the Xacti, we get an additional megapixel but also some improvements that are awaited eagerly by the customers. This is the technical file of this C6.




When it comes to looks, the C6 is no different from the C5, with the exact same casing and the same accessories. Only on the inside some changes have been made.

Here's a small video of the C6 from every angle. But watch it, there is some music, so if you're in the office, better mute the sound















Yes, the C6 is a 6MP camera, and it can shoot pictures at a 3680x2760 resolution and capture TV-SHQ quality video at 640x480, 30fps and 3Mbps wich will allow you to shoot 41 minutes and 23 seconds of footage on a 1GB SD card.

The Xacti C6 also allows you to use a 2GB SD card, which was impossible on the C4 and C5

Some software improvements were made, and we'll gladly explain them in detail in another review, but know in any case that Sanyo managed to improve the quality of the video shot inside of a building when the lighting conditions are not at their best.

The "Red Eyes Correction" function is finally available on the C6 and it's activated automatically so you don't have to worry about it.

The macro function has also been improved, and you can stick your C6 to 1cm of the object if you want.

No more blurry pictures and videos according to Sanyo, and we'll put that statement to the test in another review. This C6 has a new algorhythm that enables you to avoid blurry images even if the optical image stabilizer is activated.

Finally, and we'll talk more about it in Part II of the review, this C6 has a cheating function that allows you to play video back on a TV at 60fps even if it has been shot at 30fps... and we'll give you a comparison between the C4 and a C6 to show the difference.


Well, as the C5, this C6 has everything it needs to startdoing whatever you want, except for an SD card (the Japanese box does not include one).




Below you will find pictures and a 2-minute video (watch it though, 50MB) taken with this C6 in Tokyo this morning. Overall I must say that I wasn't too impressed by the C5 and I didn't deem it necessary to upgrade my C4, but this C6 is a completely different device: the new sensor and the software evolutions make the C6 much more powerful, and that's clear when looking at the pictures and videos.

I'll let you judge for yourself now...

Photo 1 (without zoom), click here for the original picture



Photo 2 (maximum optical zoom), click here for the original picture



Photo 3 (maximum optical and maximum digital zoom), click here for the original picture


For a test video of the Xacti (no zoom, maximum optical zoom and maximum optical and digital zoom click here

Thanks again to GeekStuff4U.com for providing us with this test device.