Digital Trends

Hitachi DZ-HS300A April 16th, 2007 | by David Elrich

Conclusion

Even with all the flaws, I have to give Hitachi some praise for designing this hybrid. The idea of burning DVDs in the camcorder really enhances the idea of a HDD-based home video maker. There are definitely issues with the DZ-HS300A, including the documentation and the fact that colors didn’t really shine, but that’s pretty much the case with all single-chip SD DVD camcorders. Having used high-def camcorders, it’s hard to get really excited about SD any longer (no matter if it’s tape or disk). Still, this hybrid got my heart fluttering a little bit. What I really want to see is Hitachi engineers introducing a combo HDD/Blu-ray Disc camcorder (a project on the company’s front burner). I’ll be very happy to take that one out to the old ball game — even to a freezing Shea Stadium in April.


Pros:

• Plenty of storage
• Good video in bright light
• Nice heft and ergonomics

Cons:

• Poor video in dim light
• Low quality stills
• Challenged Owner’s Manual
• Lens cap on a string