Two more Hitachi hybrid DVD / HDD camcorders: DZ-HS301, DZ-HS303

Looks like Hitachi's DZ-HS500A isn't the only hybrid DVD / hard drive camcorder they've got planned (although these do look very similar, and are likely just different model numbers). After we previously heard about this Wooo, it looks like Hitachi's gone final on the DZ-HS301 and DZ-HS303. Both feature a 2.7-inch widescreen display, 8GB internal drive, DVD-RAM, DVD±RW, and DVD-R support, and the "One Touch Dubbing" system that masters video DVDs without a host PC. The differences, however, seem to be entirely optical: the DZ-HS301 features a 1.3 megapixel sensor with 15x optical and 800x digital zoom, while the DZ-HS303 features a 3.3 megapixel sensor with 10x optical and 500x digital zoom. They'll run for $1449 and $1649 Australian (about $1,150, and $1,300), respectively. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Gizmag]

[Nogami Posted Dec 4th 2006 10:06AM]

The biggest problem for these formats is that they usually don't output a DV25 stream that's usable on any desktop editing equipment (Avid, Final Cut, Premiere, etc). So you're basically stuck with using the editing software that comes with the camera (usually sufficient for beginners, but that's about it), or having to spend time transcoding it into a usable format.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 4th 2006 3:56PM]

One of these has been out in the UK for about 6 weeks now..

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 31st 2007 6:22AM]

I bought the HS300a camera a week ago. What a mistake. This camera records .vob files, which are TOTALLY UNEDITABLE. The included software doesn't work either.

The video quality of this unit is unexpectedly low - a little better than your computer's camera. You should rather go with an old Hi8 camera from the 90s. The quality will be better, and the capturing process will be about the same: analog to digital conversion.
In order to edit with this camera, you will need an outboard analog input card for your computer, which costs about the same as the camera.

I am extremely dissapointed with this hoax by Hitachi. I advise anyone looking for a camcorder to AVOID THIS PRODUCT AT ALL COSTS.