Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2000

Low Light Sensitivity (7.7)

Here's a surprise: the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 recorded the best low light sensitivity on any consumer camcorder we've tested so far this year. By a fair margin, it beat out each of the three competitors we're using as comparisons throughout this review. For those curious about the hard numbers, the HD2000 needed only 9 lux of light to peak at 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. The Canon HF20 and Panasonic HDC-HS20 required 22 lux and 23 lux respectively, while the high-end Canon HF S100 called for 12 lux of light to produce the same results. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

It seems that with the rapid increase of effective pixel counts, many camcorders are actually showing weaker low light sensitivities when compared to models from previous years—the case for both Panasonic and Canon. This is not true for Sanyo, however, as last year's VPC-HD1010 required 13 lux to reach 50 IRE, which means Sanyo improved the sensitivity by a 4 lux on the new model. This is an impressive performance by Sanyo and the VPC-HD2000 is the clear winner in this round of testing. The camcorder also proved to have killer low light colour accuracy... Continue on to the next section to see the results.

Low Light Colour (9.79)

Proving the VPC-HD2000's sensitivity score was no fluke, the camcorder also put up very accurate colour scores in our low light colour test. The HD2000 measured a colour error of 2.84 and a saturation level of 104.9%. The most interesting part about this score is that it's actually better than the camcorder's bright light colour test. This is simply more evidence of the VPC-HD2000's elite low light capabilities. (More on how we test low light colour.)

Auto Low Light Colour Performance
Colour Chart with Error Chart to the right
The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 produced a colour error of 2.84 and a saturation level of 104.9% in our low light colour testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the colour error and the direction the camcorder skewed each colour for each patch on the chart.)

In bright light, the VPC-HD2000 appeared to have a slightly darker-than-average image. When the lights go down, however, the camcorder outshines the competition. The Sanyo produced more accurate colours than both Canon models (each measuring average results) as well as the Panasonic HDC-HS20 (measuring the worst of the set with 7.61 colour error).

Low Light Comparison
Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Canon HF20
Panasonic HDC-HS20	Canon HF S100

Compared to the other camcorders, the VPC-HD2000 showed a bit of a warm tone in our low light testing. It also didn't have as much detail or sharpness as seen on the Canon HF20 and HF S100. You can get a better idea of this in the 100% crop images that follow in the low light noise section.

Low Light Colour Score Comparison

Low Light Noise (9.83)

The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 was in the middle of the pack for our bright light noise testing and things were generally the same here in low light. The camcorder produced very little noticeable noise and we measured the levels at 1.15%. This is nearly identical to the numbers put up by last year's VPC-HD1010. The Panasonic HDC-HS20 was the winner in this category as the camcorder measured 0.72% noise. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop	Canon HF20 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-HS20 100% Crop	Canon HF S100 100% Crop

In the crops above you can see how much detail each camcorder is capable of capturing in low light situations and how this relates to noise. The Panasonic HDC-HS20 has the blurriest overall image, yet it measured a minuscule amount of noise. This means the camcorder sacrificed detail and resolution to provide a less noisy picture. Since we score this section entirely based on measured noise levels, the HDC-HS20 earned the best low light noise score of the set. The Canon HF20 shows lots of noise— it measured 1.71%—but its picture is rather sharp and detailed. In the crops above, you may prefer the image produced by the Canon HF S100, despite the fact that it has higher noise levels and a darker image than the Sanyo VPC-HD2000. The HF S100 shows more detail thanks to its higher video resolution, and it has a crisp, sharp image in low light. All things considered, however, the VPC-HD2000 is the best low light performer of the bunch.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons