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Sanyo Xacti VPC-E7
Price: £199 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Jamie Harrison

This review updated: 27/01/2007
Featured in magazine:
Issue 150
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Sanyo
Tel: 01923 246363
Web Address: www.sanyo.co.uk


Digital cameras have improved massively in the last couple of years, with better features, resolution and image quality. To stand out from the crowd, manufacturers need to find a new angle – and Sanyo has taken the speed approach. How many times have you gone to take a picture only for the action to have passed in the time the camera has focused, worked out the exposure and white balance, and finally tripped the shutter (several seconds later with older cameras)? Things have improved but Sanyo has attempted to take things a step further with its new Touch Sensor technology.

Features
Sanyo's Touch Sensor isn't about getting your mitts on the imaging sensor, rather it activates the shutter release button to respond much faster. Even slightly depressing the button activates the lightning fast autofocus and takes a picture. Sanyo claims a shutter delay of just 0.05 seconds in this mode.

Other features are fairly average, the camera has 7 million pixels and a 3x zoom combined with a 2.5 inch LCD screen and shiny silver shell. There's a built-in flash, but for more natural low-light photography you can adjust the ISO setting to a top speed of 800. It also offers 30fps video recording in VGA quality and can double up as a webcam.

Performance
Thankfully the Sensor Touch mode can be switched off in the menu during regular photo sessions – you really don't want it on all the time – it's a hair trigger. During more considered shots, rather than fast grabs, half-pressing the shutter to focus causes a picture to be taken. When it's needed though, this speed is a godsend.

As an image taker, it reflects the rest of the cameras spec – it's average. There's a 10 megapixel mode, which makes little difference, other than using more memory. Colour and exposure is good, though the camera struggles in high contrast to retain highlight detail, and is prone to some fringing where blue lines appear against sharp edges. Noise is generally well controlled, but images look awfully grainy at ISO 800.

Ease of use
This is a simple point-and-shoot model, with little in the way of manual control to confuse the novice. The menu system is straightforward, and there's a selection of common scene modes for easy image taking. The screen is okay for composing images, but suffers in bright sunlight, making it hard to see the subject clearly.

Value for money
Speed aside there's little that's sufficiently different in this camera to warrant the £200 price tag, and there are plenty of alternatives available for similar, or lower prices.

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