Sanyo preps HD800 pocket 720p camera

Sanyo held an event Wednesday for the Japanese launch of the Xacti HD800, a major upgrade to last year's HD700. It still shoots 720p widescreen video in H.264 but has a much improved eight-megapixel CMOS sensor that picks up 70 percent more visual data, improving the perceived sharpness at the same resolution. Color accuracy has also been stepped up, while the HD800 is the first Xacti camera of any kind to have 3D noise reduction that cleans the image in real time.

The new 5X zoom Xacti also has face detection with live tracking and shoots video in scenes as dark as three lux. Still photos are shot at full sensor resolution. Regardless of the mode, Sanyo promises an improved method for offloading and publishing video taken from the Xacti either through USB or the SDHC card and gives users a direct full-resolution preview through an HDMI video output.

An initial launch will see black, gold, and pink versions of the camera ship on August 22nd for the equivalent of $463. Sanyo hasn't announced release dates outside of Japan but has published its news in English and typically sells Americanized versions of its Xacti cameras. [via Impress]