Digital Dive: Sanyo launches Xacti Underwater Camcorder

Sure you love the water. You can’t wait to go diving but sometimes, you wish you could record your every move underwater. You know, for posterity sake and yes, to show your friends how you almost got eaten by a shark.

The Sanyo Xacti could perhaps be a nice companion underwater. Waterproof digicams are okay but a videocam is better. For example, the Xacti underwater camcorder lets you go deep into the sea and take photos of other divers and the life underwater.

The $500 Xacti is ideal for taking close-up pictures, thanks to its 5x optical lens. Its got a spacious 2.5″ LCD screen and can simultaneously shoot 6-megapix still pictures and 640 x 480-pixel video clips.

Here are Xacti’s other specs:

• Product Dimensions: 2.8 x 1.6 x 4.8 inches ; 8 ounces
• Built-in image stabilization
• Up to 80 minutes recording time per 1GB memory card
• MPEG-4 Stereo Audio provides superb 48 kHz, 16-bit, 2-channel sound
• Voice recorder function: up to 16.8 hours recording w/1GB card
• Advanced TTL 5-point autofocus system with manual focus option

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