Camcorder Reviews

Hitachi DZ-HS300E Camcorder has already touched the pinnacle of success for it’s achievement to be one amongst the “10 best buy camcorders” recommended by Which? Online Magazine. It has been short listed for its Hybrid Storage model, ability to record in various DVD formats, quick start, bright and colourful LCD screen. Whilst the few cons in this product can be overlooked as we could get a decent picture quality.

In the fast digitizing era, the magic phrase that any product should posses is “accomplish the task with just a press of a button“. Targeting to achieve the same, the Hitachi  DZ-HS300E HDD camcorder can complete a huge process with just a press of a button. Start the camcorder and begin the videoing process. Once it is done it can be burned to a DVD or SD. “Dubbing” is yet another terminology used by Hitachi to refer the DVD burning process. The process is carried by the camcorder without any PC or a DVD burning hardware.

The striking feature of the camcorder is huge storage capacity with three storage medias. Secondly the CCD image sensor that assures crisp picture clarity.

Highlights in Nutshell

Storage options
The optical storage capacity of Hitachi DZ-HS300E is 8GB Hard Disk Drive with the handiness to transfer to various DVD formats. The camcorder is compatible with the four formats of DVD recordable DVD-RAM/-RW/-R/+RW. Depending on the users requirements they could select any DVD format. DVD + RW could be selected if the user is interested in rewriting data without erasing from the whole disc and like wise. It is feasible to store the video directly to DVD. SD card option is also available. The maximum recording time in HDD for superfine and standard quality is 110 minutes to 360 minutes respectively.

CCD image sensor
The shutter opens to capture light from any scene; the captured light is admitted to the image sensor. Inside the image sensor the captured light pattern gets converted to the electronic image which we see as picture. There are two types of image sensor viz CCD and CMOS. The image sensor used in this product is 1/6 inch CCD sensor (charge coupled device). The image quality depends on the image sensor. CCD image sensor creates output with high quality and is strongly recommended for professional photographers also. The total pixel for the image sensor is 0.8 M, and for movie and still it is 410K respectively. The electrical noise which occurs as grains in the footages is highly minimized while CCD is employed.
The lens used is High quality multicoated video lens. The multicoated lens performs notably better than the single coated lens with respect to complex wide angles and zooms

Optical zoom focal length
The optical zoom Focal length is the distance from the middle of the lens to its focal point located in the sensor. The range mentioned for the focal length is wide-angle and super tele. An additional focal length for movie in 4:3 aspect ratio is mentioned. It is possible to carry out optical zoom and view 4:3 in 16:9 screen option. When the 4:3 option is activated, it just fills the16:9 electronic view finder screen with minimum amount of distortion. The actual aspect ratio of a 4:3 picture is retained in the centre portion and the remaining stretches to the side portions of 16:9 frame.

Zoom
The most attractive feature is 25x optical zoom. The digital zoom value is 1500x. The 25x optical zoom is good for zooming above average distances. When compared against the 10x zoom it can zoom a little wider and also little closer to the subject. It is also better than 40x zoom because, when the optical zoom is too high the image quality would be affected. This camcorder can be used for wild life photography also.

F number F1.8 – 3.2
The F ratio (Focal length / aperture dia) for the multi-coated lens is 1.8 (Wide) -3.2 (Tele). F 1.8 and 3.0 values is based on the focal length and the aperture opening.  This is the optimum F range to get a quality output. The lens speed depends on this F ratio. Lens speed here refers to how quick a lens can capture the image with the given amount of light. If the lens speed is fast, then the shutter need not be exposed for a prolonged time (the image will be blown-out in highlight areas). If the f-number is too high the image may be under-exposed, resulting in image noise and loss of shadow detail.

LCD and EVF screen
The image can be viewed through LCD or EVF (electronic view finder). The LCD screen can be tilted from 90 degree to 180 degree. The EVF is dioptre control enabled. It means it adjusts the focus in the viewfinder, by adapting the viewfinder to one’s own vision. This facility is advantageous for users who wear glasses, because this provision will eliminate the need of wearing glass.

Other significant Features where the Camcorder has scored

Rechargeable Lithium Ion 680mAh – the battery is employed is the newest battery types available. This battery has an upper hand without any ‘Memory Effect’ issue; hence the battery would not lose their maximum energy capacity on continuous recharge

Audio quality -The audio quality is crystal clear due to the 2-channel stereo (Left + Right), carrying matrixed Dolby Surround. The camcorder has in built “MIC Filter”. The low frequency components in the sound such as wind noise picked up by the mike will be cut off during recording.

ESP –The hard disc drive of this camcorder is made drop proofing by a technology known as ESP (Extra sensory protection). This assures that the HDD is safe during shipment as it can withstand the shock.

Conversion to Jpeg -The DVD footages captured can be converted in to Jpeg image with minimum picture degradation.

The Hitachi DZ-HS300E Hard Disk Drive Camcorder function is too excellent and can be used for professional use. Another great advantage of the camcorder is it is short listed by Which? as one amongst the best ten, hence we can directly buy the product with no ambiguity.

Hitachi DZ-HS300E HDD DVD Camcorder – Technical Specifications, Features

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