Hitachi DZ-MV730A DVD camcorder reviewed

DVD
camcorders still seem like an odd gimmick to us. More cumbersome and expensive than comparable MiniDV units, they record to non-standard 3.5-inch DVDs. And,
while we can understand Sony marketing them to the same type of consumer who used to like Mavicas because they recorded to floppies, we can't help but think that as camcorder users get more sophisticated, these will be replaced by hard-drive units like the JVC Everio. In the meantime, companies like Hitachi are continuing to aim for mainstream consumers with models like the
DZ-MV730A, a $400 unit recently reviewed by Camcorderinfo's Matt Culler. While it's not a shock that he found the camera to have a "mediocre imager," we're as surprised as he was that Hitachi skimped on features like a USB port (standard on all of the company's other DVD
models) and also made features like button placement less than user-friendly. As Matt points out, "if you're shopping for a DVD camcorder you're probably looking for something that is easy to use." Let's see, mediocre images, no USB,
3.5-inch DVDs and poor usability. Yeah, this is the one for us.