The DSC-J4 bears little resemblance to its predecessor externally, having been redesigned with noteably smaller body that is 3 millimeters wider, but 9mm shorter and 5mm thinner. Inside, many of the features are the same as before though - including the same unusual lens featuring a prism that folds the optical path to allow a slim design that keeps all the optics out of harm's way inside the camera body. This was pioneered by Minolta with their DiMAGE X-series cameras, but where the Minolta design mounts the lens vertically, Sanyo mounts the lens horizontally with the prism centrally mounted in the camera - giving it a more traditional "film camera" look. As with past DSC-J* cameras, the DSC-J4 also features movie performance normally featured only on top-of-the-line cameras - 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second using PhotoJPEG compression (better quality than the common MotionJPEG), which Sanyo claims is suitable for authoring DVD video content.

As well as the external body changes, the most noteable improvements are a 4 megapixel image sensor, a larger 1.8" LCD display in place of the past 1.5" model, and high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity. Likely due to a change to a smaller battery to fit in the new body, battery life is actually reduced significantly in record mode (from 1150 to 550 images max.), although playback time remains identical. Unfortunately, we note that Sanyo still remains one of the few name-brand companies using interpolation to boost the maximum resolution listed in its specifications. Interpolating images in-camera wastes valuable flash-card space for little (if any) gain over what could be achieved interpolating images on a personal computer. The maximum interpolated image size on the DSC-J4 is 3264 x 2448 pixels, but the real image size is 2288 x 1712 pixels.

In Japan, the Sanyo Xacti DSC-J4 will ship from April 9th at a price of ¥60,000 (approximately equivalent to US$562 / €456 / CAD$748 / £304 ignoring exchange rate fluctuations, taxes and duties). Monthly output is set at 20,000 units, with three body colors (silver, midnight black and misty pink) to be available. Plans for sales outside of Japan haven't been announced at this time.

Sanyo Xacti DSC-J4
Model Number	DSC-J4
Effective Pixels	4 megapixels
Image Sensor	1/2.7 type 4.23 megapixel primary color CCD (total number of pixels)
Recording Media	SD memory card, MultiMediaCard
File Format	Still image: JPEG (DCF, DPOF, Exif Ver2.2 compliant) Movie clip: QuickTime Movie (Photo-JPEG), Audio: WAVE (monaural)
Total Pixels	Still Image [8M]: 3264x2448 pixels [6M]: 2880x2160 pixel [4M]: 2288x1712 pixels [2M]: 1600x1200 pixel [Web]: 640x480 pixel Burst Mode [4M]: 2288x1712 pixels [2M]: 1600x1200 pixel [Web]: 640x480 pixel Movie Clip [640]: 640x480 pixel [320]: 320x240 pixel [160]: 160x120 pixels
Lens	F = 5.7 - 16.0mm (35mm film equivalent 37mm - 104mm) Prism type 2.8x optical zoom F2.8 (W) - F3.9 (T) autofocus
Focusing Range	Standard: 20cm (W) / 30cm (T) - infinity; Super macro: 2cm (W) / 30cm (T) - 50cm
Shutter Speed	Still Image: 1/2 - 1/2000 second (1/30 - 1/2000 seconds when flash is in use, 4 seconds max. in bulb mode) Movie clip: 1/30 - 1/10000 second
Digital Zoom	Record mode: Maximum of 4x (except when using the 30 frames per second movie mode) Playback mode : Maximum magnification ratio varies up to a maximum of 51x (when using the interpolated 8 megapixel mode) depending upon resolution
Exposure Control	Program AE; exposure compensation: ±1.8EV (0.3EV steps)
Metering System	Average, center-weighted average, spot
Sensitivity	Still Image: Automatic (ISO 50 - 200), manual (ISO 50 / 100 / 200 / 400 possible) Movie clip: Automatic (ISO 200 - 800), manual (ISO 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 possible)
White Balance	Auto: Fully automatic TTL Manual: Fine / Cloudy / Fluorescent / Incandescent / Custom
Flash	Automatic / Forced / Off / Red-eye Reduction (slow sync when set to Night scene mode)
Sound	Microphone: Built-in monaural; Speaker: Built-in monaural
Liquid Crystal Display	1.8" a-Si TFT color liquid crystal; approx. 85,000 pixels (field of view approx. 100%, 7-step brightness adjustment)
Viewfinder	Optical real-image zoom viewfinder
Interface	AV output (Video: NTSC-compatible composite video / Audio: Monaural, proprietary jack) USB 2.0 high-speed compliant (compatible with USB 1.1, proprietary jack)
Power Source	Lithium Ion battery (DB-L20, included); AC adapter (DSAC47, optional)
Battery Life	LCD disabled, record mode: Approx. 550 shots / LCD enabled, record mode: Approx. 240 shots / Playback mode: Approx. 200 minutes
Dimensions	101 (W) x46 (H) x26 (D) mm (excluding projections)
Weight	Approx. 128g (body only); Approx. 147g (including lithium ion battery, SD memory card)
Accessories	16MB SD memory card, proprietary AV cable, proprietary USB cable, CD-ROM, lithium ion battery, lithium ion battery charger & power cord, hand strap
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