Tech Stuff 4 You

Cool looking device from Sanyo actually takes good video and stills. It is also compatible with your Ipod so you can download and watch immediately on your Ipods.

From Imaging-Source:

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 features the pistol-grip styling familiar from the company's past Xacti flash camcorders, with with the ability to be used submerged underwater for up to 60 minutes at a depth of five feet. The Sanyo E1 has a resolution of six megapixels, a 5x optical zoom lens, and can capture both still images or MPEG-4 AVC H.264 movies at up to VGA resolution / 30 frames per second. Framing and reviewing is accomplished via a 2.5" LCD display on a tilt / swivel mount, and the results are stored in either 18MB of built-in memory, or on SD / MMC cards (including the newer SDHC types).

The Sanyo Xacti E1 goes on sale from mid-June 2007 with an MSRP price of $499.99. Three body colors will be available - blue, yellow or white - and the folks over at Online Access Networks (who kindly tipped us off to the announcement) have the camera available to pre-order now. Sanyo Fisher's website, meanwhile, has a sample photo from the camera as well as a brief sample video in the gallery section.

From Apple Store:

Have you ever been in a situation where it'd be great to have a camera, but you didn't want to risk the wind, the rain, or the water on your pricey electronic equipment? This camera fills the gap and gives you the opportunity to take good images in places where other cameras would stay covered in the camera bag.
Let's start with the obvious. This camera works great underwater! You can take underwater stills or video, and the camera handles them all with ease. The buttons are big and easy to operate. Taking video in the water opens up a whole new world of fun photo opportunities! But it's more than just snorkeling or swimming in the pool. You can take this camera kayaking, boating, in the rainforest, skiing, you name it, places where you'd probably never dare take a traditional digital camera or video. That's the beauty of this camera. You have no fear taking it virtually anywhere.
I got better photo results from this camera than I did with the Xacti HD700. The video output of the E1 is not HD, but its perfectly fine for everyday family and fun use. If I were making a serious movie with top quality video, I wouldn't be using any of the Xactis. This camera has virtually no startup time. As fast as you can flip open the viewing screen, it's ready to take images.
Another great feature of this camera for traveling is that you only need to bring the camera and a small portable wall charger to pop the battery into. If you upgrade to an HD700 or similar, you will the triple the weight in your charging accessories. Those devices require two long cords (one with a heavy brick) and then an additional charging base station. Those three cords and bases can take up an entire sandwich size ziplock in your suitcase, vs. the E1's wall charger which is the size of a few sticks of gum.
Battery life on this device did seem pretty short. I would highly recommend a few additional batteries if you'll be traveling or using this for extended periods of time. I also wish the device came with a lens cap to protect the lens.
Bottom line, you'll take this camera places you'd never take other cameras. Recently I was on a pontoon boat trip along the Napali Coast in Kauai. It was the most beautiful scenery on earth, and no one else could photograph it because everyone was petrified of getting salt water spray on their camera equipment. Not me! It's not perfect, you might get better pictures with a Canon or Panasonic camera, but if you'd never use those cameras in a wet spot, what's the point! I am very pleased with this camera.