The VPC-C5 is designed to fit into and be operated by one hand.

The camera features a built-in 5x optical zoom lens. Since even the smallest movements and vibrations are magnified in telephoto photography, the camera's built-in image stabilization will help you get sharp, clear photos even when your subject is far away. The camera's optical zoom is complemented with a 12x digital zoom.

Seven scene-select modes will help you optimize your camera for common shooting conditions: auto, sports, portrait, landscape, night view, fireworks, and lamp. The camera even has a Super Macro mode, which will allow you to focus and frame on tiny subjects, such as a flower or sea shell, that are only one centimeter away from the front of the camera lens. The camera also boasts a 3-mode flash (Auto/Forced/Off with slow synchro possible in Night View mode) and a selectable two-second/10-second self-timer.

MPEG-4 video compression allows the VPC-C5 to capture and store more video than other video formats.

The VPC-C5 built-in image stabilization minimizes the subtle hand movements and vibrations that make for blurry shots during telephoto shooting.

Easy to Use
Tiny cameras--especially those packed with a lot of features--can be difficult to figure out. Fisher has gotten around this problem by creating an on-board talking navigation guide that explains the camera's features and settings in plain English audio. It comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and it supports the camera-to-printer functionality of PictBridge. The camera even comes with a dedicated docking station to make image uploads and battery recharging a one-touch procedure.

What's in the Box
VPC-C5 multifunction digital camera, Sanyo Software Pack 7.2 CD-ROM, docking station, cable adaptor, USB interface cable, S-AV interface cable, SD memory card, lithium-ion battery, AC adaptor charger (100 - 240 V) and power cord, soft case, neckstrap, lens cap, remote controller, quick guide.

Customer Reviews Average rating - 3.5

Rating - 4 Date: 2006-02-08
Content: I've had this unit for about 3 months and have to say I'm very impressed. The main benefit of this camera is that it is both a 5mp camera and a camcorder (and a webcam and a voice recorder, havent tried those functions yet) even though I use this "toy" primarily for the still images. Photos are what you would expect from a high end 5mp camera (10mp interpolated), and the video is pretty decent for a camera of its size, but when there is poor lighting watch out - your videos may turn out completely black. As well, even though you can record up to 50 or so minutes on a standard 1gb SD card, you'll need about 3 batteries to do so since they last roughly 20 minutes each. The only other downside I've seen with the camera is the weird autofocus at closer ranges since it sometimes picks out images about 3 to 5 meters behind what your trying to shoot, and the lens noise is somewhat annoying. I would recommend this camera to just about anyone looking to get into the digital scene (unless you have big hands since this unit is small), but not by paying retail price for it - deals are out there, and the prices are lower due to the C6 coming out. Bracketman@gmail.com
Summary: A great multipurpose camera/camcorder

Rating - 4 Date: 2006-01-18
Content: I've had my C5 for about 2 weeks and so far I love it - it has only a few minor drawbacks.

Pros:
* MPEG4 and SD Card storage (primary reasons I got this camera)
* Size - it easily fits in my front jean-pocket
* Ease of use - it's exceedingly simple to offload images and videos from the camera to your PC - I just put it in the USB docking and charging station and then use a mixture of Picasa (for the pictures) and manual cut and paste for the videos (Picasa doesn't recognize the MP4 extension, unfortunately)
* Image quality is good, at least when the lighting is adequate

Cons:
* Since the field of view is different between stills and video, taking pictures at the same time as the video is confusing to some - I'd reccommend using the B mode which displays a smaller video frame inside the still picture frame, rather than the A mode which "zooms out" when you take the still photo.
* The zoom/focus makes an audibly discernable noice (left speaker only) when zooming in/out
* Haven't found any support information at Sanyo's site - luckily so far I haven't needed it
* Using it as a PC/Web camera is more difficult than it ought to be
* Internal battery - no possibility of getting a larger battery

To be determined:
* How much exactly can I fit on a 1GB SD card? So far it's looking like it takes about 20MB per minute (in High Quality VGA, 30 fps), so I should have about 50 minutes or so, but I haven't tested this yet.
* How long does the battery last?
Summary: Mostly Excellent

Rating - 1 Date: 2006-01-08
Content: Having done some research I purchased this to replace my 3Mega Pix canon that works fine but doesn't allow quality video. I couldn't wait until it arrived. I am one of those "read through the manual first" kind of people and once I did I proceed to use the camera. I took my first picture in the late evening with normal room light. The picture was aweful... even my 6 yr old said so. There was red halo around my wife and son in the picture, and there were red and green grainy pixals throughout the picture. Understand I am no photo expert, the poor quality was clearly seen by anyone. I thought maybe it was just the image on the LCD screen, but when I printed it on our photo printer it was terrible. I remembered reading about the short flash distance so I moved in closer and moved my subjects to a better lit room... still aweful... changed filters nothing better. I was at the highest picture quality seting, so I selected a lower setting.... still no improvement. I was more bummed than anything else. As I thought this was the gizmo I was always looking for. I cannot believe anyone said this had good picture quality unless mine was defective.... At this price I am not willing to give it a second shot. I will go with the larger but better featured cannon for less money. I will say it did a fine job with the video... but picture quality, on mine, wasn't up to a 1 mega pixal toy... I sent it back this morning.
Summary: Maybe I got a defective unit...

Rating - 5 Date: 2005-12-28
Content: i perform dance. since i don't have my official photographer/videotographer, i have to carry both my still camera and a video camera in addition to costume and more, locally and internationally. it had been pain in my neck. however, this device is sooo light and sharp ! my problem is gone. thanx God ! excellent quality as a still camera & a camcorder as well. if you read the instruction book well before use, you can mute the operation sound. Perfect !
Summary: This is exactly what i had dreamed !

Rating - 5 Date: 2005-12-20
Content: Camera is great for shooting both live action video (Up to 1 hours) as well as still images (5 MegaPixel) with a 1GB card SD card. You can actually shoot a still image while you are shooting video - Yes, both at the same time!!! Camera is ultra compact and ultra cool in looks and style. MPEG-4 recordings playback flawlessly on either my Mac at home or my Windows at work. MPEG-4 movies also e-mail quite easily. It is so light and convenient that I shoot more with it since it is always with me.

Great camera!
Summary: Digital Marvel