Hitachi DZ-HS300A
Manufacturer: Hitachi America Ltd. Part number: DZHS300A
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Hitachi had a good idea--put both a hard disk drive and a DVD in a camcorder--but implements it poorly in the DZ-HS300A.
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Where to buy
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CNET editors' review
Hitachi DZ-HS300A price range: $299.95
- Reviewed by: Lori Grunin
- Reviewed on: 03/16/2007
- Released on: 01/08/2007
The good: One-touch dubbing from hard drive to DVD; supports a wide variety of DVD formats.
The bad: Poor video and photo quality; easy to accidentally turn power off and switch modes.
The bottom line: Hitachi had a good idea--put both a hard disk drive and a DVD in a camcorder--but implements it poorly in the DZ-HS300A.
I'll start with the good news. Hitachi's goal of an inexpensive camcorder, combining the long recording times and stability of a hard disk drive with the easy playback and distribution of a DVD, merits attention. Furthermore, from that limited perspective, the hybrid DZ-HS300A succeeds. Its one-touch dubbing from the 8GB hard disk to the internal miniDVD is definitely more convenient and less expensive than the docking solutions from companies such as Sony and JVC.
Though 8GB doesn't seem like much, it's enough to hold about 110 minutes of highest-quality video, which should suffice for most purposes. If not, Hitachi offers a 30GB model, the DZ-HS500A. Aside from capacity, the only difference between the two is the HS500A's 30X lens, which outzooms the HS300A's 25X version. Since even 8GB is far more than you can fit on a 3-inch DVD--a disc can only hold about 18 minutes per side of best-quality video--the camcorder includes some limited editing capabilities, allowing you to select, combine, and add effects to clips, as well as create and edit playlists. It's kind of hard to see what you're doing on the small 2.7-inch LCD, though. You can choose from among a broad selection of 3-inch optical media for recording or distribution as well; the HS300A supports DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM.
In most other respects, the HS300A is your typical budget camcorder, and that's bad news for a hard drive/DVD-based model. Its 1/6-inch 680,000-pixel sensor records 340,000-pixel video, which simply isn't enough for the MPEG-2 compression algorithm to encode without significant degradation. Severe edge crawl and jaggies, fringing, and a variety of false-color artifacts--especially around light sources--render the video close to unusable. Even for YouTube.
On the off chance that you don't care about the mediocre video, perhaps you'll find its design problems a bit more off-putting. At 1 pound, 1 ounce, the HS300A is relatively light, but it's large and bulky and won't quite fit into a jacket pocket. The four-way switch that you use to navigate the menus--necessary if you want to choose from among the handful of scene modes and white-balance presets--feels stiff and is frequently nonresponsive if you move too quickly. It forces you to slowly and deliberately cursor through the menu choices. But the design of the Power/Mode switch ranks as the HS300A's biggest flaw. It slides far too easily to the Off position from HDD and SD modes. There's a tiny lock switch to prevent it from accidentally moving from the HDD to the DVD position, but not the reverse.
It's too bad about the slippery power switch and poor video quality, because the idea of the Hitachi DZ-HS300A has great mass appeal. I suggest you look at other budget models instead.
User reviews
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easy to use hdd/camcorder hybrid
by djps55 on March 28, 2007
Pros: ease of use/lightweight/good video/photos
Cons: have to learn as you go,book too much to read.
Summary: i have been using this product for about three months,i have been recording videos and taking pictures with the hs300a and my kodak easyshare,i thought i was getting ...
Summary: i have been using this product for about three months,i have been recording videos and taking pictures with the hs300a and my kodak easyshare,i thought i was getting good and clear videos and pictures until i started using the hatachi,you can zoom in and out while you record or take pictures no need to stop while zooming,i don't know how they gave this product low points,i use my roxio media9 suite to edit and make my dvd projects,i do not use software they supplied does not work well on vista,they offer poor support,sent three repair tics. no response(image mixer3)i never realized spending $550.00 on this product is considered cheap.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Very poor product
by clanmogur on July 3, 2008
Pros: Love the video discs so I can go on long vacations!
Cons: Hmmm, let me list under details - too many problems.
Summary: 1. There is no way to "light" a subject under dark light conditions. OK, you can turn around the viewing screen during video, but this does not cast nearly enough ...
Summary: 1. There is no way to "light" a subject under dark light conditions. OK, you can turn around the viewing screen during video, but this does not cast nearly enough light to be useful. My old Sony, 10 years ago, did a better job of lighting than this.
2. Since there is no light source under low light conditions, the Hitachi cannot focus on the subject.
3. The software provided to unload videos clips from the camera fails about 15% of the time. This is really not acceptable if 15% means you lost all of your pictures of Cyprus. I've taken about 150 hours of video over the last year, and I throw out about 1 video disc out of every 6 because the Hitachi cannot recover the contents (see below).
4. The camera HATES humidity and temperature (see their manual). You can take the video, but when you get home you can't recover the video on the discs. My estimate is that the recording range goes only to about 90 degrees F before intermitant failures take over.
5. If there is ANY failure on a disc, you can't recover anything from that side of the disc. That's why I keep throwing away the discs. There is no ability to say, "OK, I know you had trouble reading that clip I took when it was rainy, but please recover the rest for me." If ONE clip on disc is bad, you can't recover anything else from that side of the disc (about 30 minutes worth, in my case).
If you are shooting video in real life (on vacation, around a barbeque, in the South Pacific), Don't Buy This VideoCamera!!!
Editors: before you delete my comments, I suggest you try using this camera in the conditions I have suggested. Oh, by the way, shooting 10 hours of video is not enough to uncover these problems. Do take a vacation with your children and record 20 hours of video before you delete my comments. I'd show you my vacation in Italy with my children, but I'm missing about 4 hours of the 15 hours I shot because the software could not recover if there was one bad file on a disc.
This camera performs at about the 20% level compared with my old Sony.
Regards, John Brabson -
it's cool to have a combo camcorder like this one!
by zizouchannelis on February 14, 2008
Pros: excelent day shooting video quality
Cons: night shooting...that's the main problem of this cam!
Summary: despite of its average quality, average features, and its poor night shooting quality (unfortunately) to complete darkness, its combination at least between Hard Drive and DVD Recorder and its easy ...
Summary: despite of its average quality, average features, and its poor night shooting quality (unfortunately) to complete darkness, its combination at least between Hard Drive and DVD Recorder and its easy dubbing between them both, make from this camcorder interesting to try it out, but i'm not agree with CNet Editors about its mediocre picture on day time because i give it easily 5 stars for video quality (daytime).
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Good value, versitile for family gatherings and multiple in camera copiing!
by rosco2007 on December 9, 2007
Pros: Simple menus, 8 gig is plenty for casual use, easy to use, good basic home movie camera.
Cons: Some quirks in recording on different media (mainly a user (me) problem), slowish downloading to computer, software nothing special on OS X.
Summary: I found this camera to be a great value if you can find it for under $300! The DZ-HS500a (the 30 gig model) does not have a good enough camera ...
Summary: I found this camera to be a great value if you can find it for under $300! The DZ-HS500a (the 30 gig model) does not have a good enough camera or video rez to justify the extra 50% in cost, but this DZ-HS300a is a great value. Sure its not pro quality, but you can go to visit grandma, edit and dub multiple copies of a video of different combinations of video clips for different people, burn them to DVD right in the camera while talking with fiends and DO NOT HAVE TO USE A COMPUTER! I love it, and would have rated it a 9 except the digital camera is a little low rez and their is no flash on this model. the 303A was available overseas with a 3 meg camera and AV/s-video in but they did not bring that one here sadly.!!! Anyway, i would buy this unit again until the panasonic comes down in price or someone else makes a true competitor! The dual DVD and Hard Disk IS THE ONLY way to go as far as im concerned!
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Hitachi America Ltd.
- Part number: DZHS300A
- Description: Hitachi has combined the convenience of the DVD camcorder and the capacity of a hard disk drive. The result is the DZ-HS300, the very first camcorder that delivers the best of both worlds in a hybrid design that will make shooting, editing and sharing a whole new experience.
General
- Product Type Camcorder
- Digital Zoom 1200 x
- Optical Sensor Size 1/6"
- Optical Sensor Type CCD
- Min Illumination 0.3 lux
- Digital Video Format MPEG-2
- Image Stabilizer Electronic
- Min Shutter Speed 1/4 sec
- Max Shutter Speed 1/4000 sec
- Shooting Modes Digital photo mode
- Shooting Programs Low light, Spotlight, Sand & snow, Sports mode, Portrait mode
- White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
- White Balance Presets Indoor, Outdoor
- Exposure Modes Program, Automatic
- Widescreen Video Capture Yes
Main Features
- Camcorder Effective Still Resolution 0.3 megapixels
- Color Support Color
- Still Image Format JPEG
- TV Tuner None
Memory / Storage
- Supported Flash Memory MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card
- Floppy Drive None
- Digital Storage Media Hard disk drive - Built-in - 8 GB
- Image Storage JPEG 640 x 480
- Media Type DVD-R (8cm), DVD+RW (8cm), DVD-RW (8 cm), DVD-RAM (8 cm)
Lens System
- Type Zoom lens - 2.2 mm - 55 mm - F/1.8-3.2
- Focal Length 2.2 mm - 55 mm
- Lens Aperture F/1.8-3.2
- Optical Zoom 25 x
- Lens system type Zoom lens
- Min focal length 2.2 mm
- Max focal length 55 mm
- Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
- Filter Size 34 mm
- Focus Adjustment Manual, Automatic
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
Additional Features
- Self Timer Yes
- Low Lux / Night Mode Yes
- Digital Still Camera Function Yes
- Additional Features USB 2.0 compatibility
- Software Drivers & Utilities
- Included Accessories Lens cap, Cleaning cloth, Camcorder shoulder strap
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type LCD
- Viewfinder Diagonal Size 0.2 in
- Viewfinder Resolution 200,000 pixels
Display
- Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.7 in - Color
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
Microphone
- Type Microphone - Built-in
Connections
- Connector Type USB, Composite video/audio output, S-Video output
- Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Audio Input
- Audio input type Microphone
- Microphone type Built-in
- Microphone Operation Mode Stereo
Miscellaneous
- Carrying Case None
- Cables Included 1 x A/V cable, 1 x S-Video cable, 1 x USB cable
Power
- Power Device Power adapter - External
Battery
- Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included )
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Labor - 90 days, Limited warranty - Parts - 1 year
Viewfinder / Display
- Display Form Factor Rotating
- Display Format 120,000 pixels
- Viewfinder Color Support Color
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 32 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 104 °F
Physical Characteristics
- Width 2.4 in
- Depth 5.3 in
- Height 3.5 in
- Weight 15.3 oz
Manufacturer info
- Hitachi America Ltd.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Hitachi America Ltd. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.hitachi.com
- Address:
2001 Ruppman Plaza, Peoria, IL 61614 - Phone: 1-800-Hitachi
