Photo samples: Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1

We're used to seeing a bit of distortion at the widest end of zoom lenses, but the E1's widest 38mm-equivalent is a bit on the narrow side to see this kind of barreling. (Gridlines overlaid in Photoshop.)

Clearly the E1 dropped to a slow shutter speed for this photo, but the lag and temporary screen blackout were such that I had no idea anyone else had entered the frame until I reviewed the photo. A combination of a hard-to-press shutter button and focus lag make taking stills with the E1 frequently frustrating.

The frustrations of shooting with the E1 are offset by the occasional good shot. The inset shows that the photos look pretty sharp; you can see the hairs on the butterfly's legs.

At ISO 50 the E1 retains a decent amount of detail, but once you jump up to ISO 100, the camera's noise-suppression algorithms begin to blur the photo; by ISO 400, there's relatively little detail retained.

The E1's maximum video resolution of 640x480 means you won't capture a lot of detail; like all video, the E1's is sharpest when zoomed in, and this frame shows you the best it gets.