Most surveillance cameras have two problems: They only deliver pictures in black and white or/and feature super-low resolution only, sometimes even producing basically useless footage.

But now Sanyo in Japan is selling the VCC-HDN1(S) [JP], a full HD network surveillance camera that’s based on Xacti technology. For example, it’s using the same image processing engine built into the Xacti camcorders that are sold to regular consumers.

Next to full HD power, the surveillance camera features a 10x optical zoom system, a 1/2.5-inch Sony CMOS sensor (4 megapixel resolution), an HDMI port and weighs only 710 grams.

The camera is already on sale in Japan where it costs $3,200. Sanyo says they produce about 500 units a month and expect an expansion of the market for surveillance cameras from 11.4 million units to 15 million units next year. The camera took only one year of development time.

Via Tech-On