Sanyo announces Xacti DMX-C4 By
Michael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource (Monday, August 23, 2004 - 23:37 EDT)Sanyo Japan has today announced the new Sanyo Xacti DMX-C4 "cameracorder", an update to the DMX-C1 model that is sold in the USA as the Fisher FVD-C1.
The DMX-C1 was described by the company as the smallest and lightest digital video camera with movie recording at VGA resolution or above when it was announced last year, and the new model retains the exact same dimensions with just a few grams more weight. Also retained is the same 38 - 220mm-equivalent, F3.5 - 3.7, 5.8x optical zoom lens, Secure Digital card storage, and 30 fps VGA MPEG-4 movie mode with a bit-rate of 3Mbps. Changes include a new four megapixel (effective) CCD image sensor, slightly larger and higher resolution 1.8" LCD display, The maximum sync speed for the onboard flash has been boosted to 1/2000 second, the longest bulb mode shutter speed is now twice as long at four seconds, and a Fireworks scene mode has been added, but power consumption has increased just slightly, with an attendant decrease in battery life. Sanyo has also added a 2:1 interpolated maximum resolution of eight megapixels, although realistically you could probably attain equal or better results performing the interpolation on a computer.
Sanyo Xacti DMX-C4
Effective Pixels
Approx. 4,000,000 pixels
Image Sensor
1/2.7"-type primary color CCD with approx. 4,230,000 pixels (total)
Recording Media
SD Memory card
File Format
Still Image: JPEG type (DCF, DPOF, Exif ver 2.2 compliant)
Still Image: 8.0M (3264 x 2448), 4.0M (2288 x 1712), 2.0M (1600 x 1200), 0.3M (640 x 480)
Movie: TV-SHQ (640 x 480, 30fps, 3Mbps), TV-HQ (640 x 480, 30fps, 2Mbps), TV-S (320 x 240, 30fps), Web-HQ (320 x 240, 15fps), Web-S (176 x 144, 15fps)
Lens
F = 5.8 - 33.8 mm (35mm film equivalent: 38mm - 220mm) 5.8x optical time zoom F3.5 (W) - F3.7 (T), automatic focusing, 11 elements in 8 groups (3 aspheric surfaces on 2 elements), built-in ND filter
1.8"-type low temperature polysilicon TFT color liquid crystal display (semi-transmissive type), approx. 130,000 pixels (Accuracy: Approx. 100% when proprietary S-AV cable not connected, 7-step brightness adjustment, 293° swivel)
Connectivity
AV output (Image: Composite video / S Video, NTSC / PAL compliant, Sound: Stereo, docking station or by way of the adapter) USB 2.0 full speed mode compliant (docking station or by way of the adapter)
Power Source
Lithium Ion rechargeable battery x 1 (DB-L20 included), AC adapter / charger (VAR-AL20 included)
Power Consumption
3.1W (when using included rechargeable battery for movie capture)
Battery Life
Still Image capture: Approx. 130 frames (using CIPA standard) / Movie capture: Approx. 60 minutes / Playback: Approx. 170 minutes
Dimensions
69 (W) x 108 (H) x 34 (D) mm (max. measurement), volume: 152cc
Weight
Approx. 159g (body only), approx. 178g (with included rechargeable battery and SD memory card)
Accessories
CD-ROM (Sanyo Software Pack 7.1), docking station, adapter, proprietary USB connector cable, proprietary S-AV connector cable, Lithium Ion rechargeable battery, AC adapter / charger (100-240 V) with power cord, camera case, neck strap and lens cap, remote control