whats the difference between the Sanyo xacti hd1a and the hd1e

Duncan,

The major difference is the OLED display on the HD1E. Details below. The OLED take less power and therefore battaries last longer. I appears to be over $100 more and currently available in the UK. Does not appear to be offered by US retailers at this time. so if you had a warranty issue, you may have a problem getting it serviced.

The HD1a is the next series after the HD1.

The a has 16:9 widescreen and new features. See specs below.

The HD1E or EX as best as I can determine are the same camera/camcorder.

Sanyo HD1 EX - OLED display
The OLED display is also impressive, the 2.2 inch monitor (diagonal measurement) can be folded out and swiveled up to 293 degrees. The innovative display serves as a viewfinder, control monitor, user interface and power switch.
One of the great benefits of an OLED display over the traditional LCD displays is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. This means that they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge. However, degradation of OLED materials (see drawbacks) have limited the use of this material in the past.

Sanyo VPC HD1EX features
- Resolution: 5.08 Megapixels (effective)
- Image sensor: 1/2.5 inch CCD
- Display: 2.2 inch OLED display - 210,000 pixels
- Image resolution: 3680 x 2760 pixels (interpolated)
- Video resolution: 1270 x 760 pixels
- Optical zoom: 10x
- Digital zoom: 10x
- Focal length: 38 - 380mm (equiv. 35mm camera)
- Interface: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
- Dimensions: 80 x 119 x 36 mm
- Weight: 205 g

Sanyo Xacti HD1A :

the high-definition Sanyo HD1a introduced in Sep 06 adds such compelling features as a selectable 16:9 widescreen still picture mode and convenient in-camera video editing.

An all-new 16:9 shooting mode allows users to capture 3.8 Megapixel stills in the same widescreen format as their high-definition videos for eye-catching viewing on a 16:9 television screen.

Our inclusion of a 30 frames-per-second 320 x 240 pixel video recording mode, optimized for viewing MPEG-4 video clips on a video iPod or other portable video player, reflects a shift by consumers towards on-the-go viewing."

The Sanyo Xacti HD1a features a large Sanyo-developed 2.2 inch LCD display with 210,000 total pixels for exceptional viewability. The display flips out from the camera and rotates up to 285 degrees on axis for taking great video or still images even in difficult locations.

Utilizing the 5.36 Mp CCD to captures 5.1 Mp still images. The camera can record both 5.1 Megapixel still images and high-definition (1280 x 720-pixel) digital video at the same time with a simple press of the shutter button during the shooting of a video clip.

Sanyo Xacti HD1A features
• 320 x 240 Web-SHQ video mode; for playback on personal media players
• 16:9 widescreen MPEG-4 video (HD-SHQ / HD-HQ modes)
• 16:9 widescreen digital still mode for stunning widescreen TV playback
• Highly efficient 10x optical zoom
• 2.2 inch rotating LCD display
• CD-quality AAC-LC (MPEG-4 Audio) stereo recording
• Enhanced video editing functions for quick A>B deletions
• Easy combining of clips
• 60 fps Fluid Motion Recording (640 x 480 TV-HR Mode)
• Rapid 5.1 Megapixel sequential still shooting
• Pop-up flash with double the brightness of conventional models
• Anti-shake digital image stabilizer
• Talking navigation guide for first-time users
• Super-fast 1.7-second camera start-up
• Versatile manual mode enables advanced-control shooting
• Super Macro shooting down to 1 cm (W) / 1 m (T)
• Self timer (2 seconds / 10 seconds)
• Voice recorder function: over 33 hours recording time with optional 2GB
• SD Memory Card
• Red-eye reduction mode
• Multifunction docking station
• High-capacity Sanyo rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
• Remote control included
• Exif Print and Print Image Matching III
• PictBridge-capable for PC-Free printing with PictBridge-compatible printers