Sanyo's Xacti E1 waterproof camcorder: good to a depth of 5 feet

Take a Sanyo Xacti CG65, add some waterproofing, and what do you get? Why the Xacti E1 of course. While Sanyo had the "water resistant" CA6 last year, they're calling this the world's first "waterproof" camcorder. Like the landlubbin' version, the E1 is a digital camera / H.264 recorder which writes both 6 megapixel stills and 640 x 480 pixels/30fps videos direct to SD/SDHC cards. Only now, it does so when submerged at depths up to 5 feet for no more than an hour at a time. Available mid-June in choice of Blue, yellow, or white for $500.

[Jagannath A @ May 22nd 2007 12:05PM]

olympus does it better.

[Agaas @ May 22nd 2007 12:26PM]

Looks sleek

[Robbzilla @ May 22nd 2007 12:49PM]

5 feet? Worthless. Get it to 33 feet or so and it might be useable.

[rcappo @ May 22nd 2007 2:09PM]

They should have an waterproof clear case that goes around it when you want to take it down past 5 feet. I could see how this would be pretty cool if you were a scuba diver then, but what are you going to see less than 5 feet under water besides people in a pool?

[Mike @ May 22nd 2007 2:17PM]

Looks like an electric shaver, IMHO.

[Ratteler @ May 22nd 2007 4:33PM]

What Robbzilla, plus... make it an Waterproof HD2.

[Math-Sux @ May 22nd 2007 8:12PM]

I'd like to see a copy of the warranty. I almost bought a waterproof Pentax camera a couple of years ago until I learned that if water got inside (as in it failed) the warranty was void!

[BayTaper.com @ May 22nd 2007 8:43PM]

Well, you guys are missing some of the value here, which is that you can use this cam iery bad weather without fear of breaking the cam. So, rain, sleet, snow, etc. For example, how about taking this thing skiing? Now you can drop it in the snow, be out there in a total snow storm, etc., without issue. Anyway, I wouldn't completely discount the value of this b/c of the 5' thing.

[Mark @ May 22nd 2007 9:01PM]

I agree that the value is more in being weatherproof than waterproof. I'd imagine any pics or video taken underwater wouldn't look very good anyway.

What I'd really like to see is a camera/camcorder with a "transformer" form factor that would look like a camera in photo mode and a camcorder in video mode. People make assumptions about what you are doing based on what the device looks like. Whenever I take photos with my camcorder I have to tell my subjects to "hold still I'm taking a photo." When I record a movie with my camera I have to say "you can move around, it's a video!"

[Kadoo @ May 23rd 2007 12:15PM]

This thing would be solid for whitewater rafting or whitewater kayaking. I could flip upside down and not worry about the camera.

[Mark @ May 23rd 2007 1:01PM]

@ Kadoo

Good point. Make sure to use the wrist strap!

[alphaman @ May 23rd 2007 12:02PM]

There are plenty of people who snorkel and never go below 5' -- this may be a big part of their target market. There is a lot of life in that first 5'! And when you go much deeper, you've got to start thinking about lighting, too, and these cameras have never been terribly great at low light video.

[Chris Baggott @ Jun 13th 2007 3:12PM]

And don't forget whitewater! This thing looks perfect for paddlers.

[Joe Lucky @ Sep 12th 2008 9:59PM]

Great Idea. Great Camera. I shot with one yesterday at the swimming pool. When it started raining, I shot the dash to the car. Last week I ruined my Kodak digital video cam when I got caught on my motorcyle in a typhoon in the mountains of the Philippines. Not again!

[gerard @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:09PM]

Unfortunately there is a weak link in this camera. Mine lasted 15 months of very normal use, a few shots taken in the rain and such. The ribbon connector which allows the preview screen to work started coming apart, cutting the colour output to 256 colours... then later the same day the screen failed altogether. After much email exchange and frustration, Sanyo Canada allowed that they had a replacement cable I can order, which I'll do today. I'll replace it myself. An initial foray into the body makes it seem not impossible... complicated for an amateur DIY sort of guy, but possible.