Hitachi DZHS500A DVD Hybrid Camcorder with 30x Optical Zoom & 30GB Hard Disc Drive
By: Hitachi Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 16
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 On: 2008-06-29
Ive had this cam for about 2 weeks and love it. Its beautiful-looking and has lots of nice features for a decent price. So far, Ive found the picture quality to be great, not grainy like some others have said. My vids always came out very clean and clear. Overall, Im extremely happy with this hybrid thus far.
 On: 2008-05-22
We owned this camcorder for a few months and it quit working. This is the 2nd Hitachi we have bought that has quit for no reason. DO NOT BUY Hitachi ever!!
On: 2008-02-10
I got this camera because of the features and because of how well the DZHS300A version did in Consumer Reports. I thought, well, this is one nice camera. Well, when I got it, it must have ben broke. I used it for ten minutes inside, and there were all these grainy red pixels floating around the LCD. To make things worse, they also transferred to the video, so nothing you filmed could be watched. It was absolutely horrible. I returned it, and right now am waiting to see how helpful Amazon is at refunding my money. Lets hope that they are more helpful than this camera.
On: 2008-01-11
I received this camcorder as a gift and the picture was very grainy I did read all the instructions and troubleshooting charts, called customer support and was unable to rectify the problem, the problem was there if I was recording or not it showed up on the display in the viewfinder and the television, customer support answered quickly gave me nine settings to adjust and try but no matter what it wasnt going to clear up the grainy picture I spent three or four hours troubleshooting this problem so I returned it to Amazon for a refund
On: 2008-01-01
This camcorder does it all! You no longer have to carry mini-DVD discs. Record everything to the built-in hard drive (upto 11 hours on the 30 GB version). Dubbing to a mini-DVD disc is then a cinch. Or, you can connect and record it to your DVD recorder. Even with the hard drive, the camcorder is very light and easy to handle. Be sure to buy the 3-hr long-life battery to go with the recording capacity on the hard drive.
On: 2007-12-31
I actually tried twice to like this camcorder, both times after only a weekends worth of use, it would not power on. Thankfully Amazon accepts replacement/returns...glad I bought it here. Anyway, the first one I ran by the Hitachi repair shop, and they told me I was blowing fuses. I thought it a fluke, perhaps not, as the replacement did the identical thing. Hitachi would not work with me, so I am shopping for something different, probably Sony.
On: 2007-12-31
This camcorder does it all! You no longer have to carry mini-DVD discs. Record everything to the built-in hard drive (upto 11 hours on the 30 GB version). Dubbing to a mini-DVD disc is then a cinch. Or, you can connect and record it to your DVD recorder. Even with the hard drive, the camcorder is very light and easy to handle. Be sure to buy the 3-hr long-life battery to go with the recording capacity on the hard drive.
 On: 2007-12-25
Hitachi hybrid cam coder is good. only thing that it does not give good
pictures in house with less light. Else its ok. easy to use. had 30G hard disk and DVDs so you can store video on both.
On: 2007-11-16
This is the best camcorder I ever used. Having used JVC, Sanyo, Canon and Panasonic. This DZ-HS500A hybrid is terrific. I just finished recording 1 hours, inside of a Karate Promotion event. Currently I am editing it (free software included is OK, but need to improve on this) and producing DVDs. Clarity in XTRA fine mode is first rate. I have tested in very low light and it can be a little grainy, but tolerable. Outside it is terrific as well. The only thing a recommend with this or any other Camcorder is READ THE MANUAL! It will help you be successful in your work.
Pros: 11 hours of recording time on harddrive, excellent LCD panel, Light weight, burning DVDs is a snape from its harddrive, sound is accpetable, menus easy to use and intuative, formating DVDs is a snap, selecting and using manual controls is excellent, and positioning of controls is very good.
Cons: No built in light, and mini-DVD is only 30 mins. Not a problem though I have a DVD burner and can burn on standard DVDs.
Dont over look this wonderful camcorder. It is worth the money.
On: 2007-08-21
Every single camcorder out there has its Pros and Cons. There is not 1 perfect one out there. The HD cams have a crappy 10X zoom and you cant edit it on your PC. Generally speaking, I love this camera.
Pros:
- Photo Grab feature is awesome. Grab a photo from any frame in your videos.
- Hybrid functionally is awesome
- 30X zoom is incredible
- Sound is now Dolby Digital - very nice (On the 300A its not good)
- Video quality for the most part is excellent. (Except night)
- You can attach different lenses or filters. Nice!
- Price is right. Buy online! No need to buy a DVD burner with this model!
- Fast Sleep button works well. Disc naviagtion is easy.
Cons:
- 640K stills is below average. (Most camcorders out there also all stink in this category.)
- Sucks at night or low light - Forget it - (However I think most camcorders also stink in this category.
- Editing In-Camcorder fairly basic (I understand why though, most camcorders dont have the processing power)
- Buttons can take a little longer to get used to. Not bad though.
Its better than most of the camcorders out there. Its also the only Hybrid. Buy it.
PS - Pay attention people - Only 1/3 of the manual is in English, its not that big!
On: 2007-08-20
Every single camcorder out there has its Pros and Cons. There is not 1 perfect one out there. The HD cams have a crappy 10X zoom and you cant edit it on your PC. Generally speaking, I love this camera.
Pros:
- Photo Grab feature is awesome. Grab a photo from any frame in your videos.
- Hybrid functionally is awesome
- 30X zoom is incredible
- Sound is now Dolby Digital - very nice (On the 300A its not good)
- Video quality for the most part is excellent. (Except night)
- You can attach different lenses or filters. Nice!
- Price is right. Buy online! No need to buy a DVD burner with this model!
- Fast Sleep button works well. Disc naviagtion is easy.
Cons:
- 640K stills is below average. (Most camcorders out there also all stink in this category.)
- Sucks at night or low light - Forget it - (However I think most camcorders also stink in this category.
- Editing In-Camcorder fairly basic (I understand why though, most camcorders dont have the processing power)
- Buttons can take a little longer to get used to. Not bad though.
Its better than most of the camcorders out there. Its also the only Hybrid. Buy it.
PS - Pay attention people - Only 1/3 of the manual is in English, its not that big!
On: 2007-08-04
This camcorder is the best of both worlds. It has a 30GB hard drive and burns mini-DVD, and SanDisk for still pictures. Its small and light.
The users manual is confusing and needs a Getting-Started cheatsheet.
On: 2007-06-27
This is my first camcorder since the big old VHS one I bought in 1989. Its easy to use, although Im still figuring out the buttons, and I love that I dont have to worry about running our of tape. 30G is a lot of hard drive!
On: 2007-06-26
This is my first camcorder since the big old VHS one I bought in 1989. Its easy to use, although Im still figuring out the buttons, and I love that I dont have to worry about running our of tape. 30G is a lot of hard drive!
On: 2007-06-11
I had been shopping for camcorders for about 6 months now and finally I happened to buy Hitachi. The Features that had temped me to by are 1) 30GB Harddisk 2) Dubbing into DVD without a computer Pros ---- I have this Camcorder for about 4 weeks now and I did test most of the features except the Photo shots and direct recording to DVD, but I do not recommend this since I am not sure if you can dub the pictures on the Dvd, Since some DVD are not rewriteable and I have been using only non-rewritable DVD. The camcorder has functioned very good and I am very much satisfied with the quality and purchase of the camcorder. You do not need any tapes or dvds, its very easy to carry. Caution -------- But yes before writing the images to DVD from the HDD read the manually carefully, since there are variety of ways to dub the pictures into DVD. The best feature here is the Dubbing from HDD to DVD does not need a computer. Cons ---- 1) Dubbing into DVD possible only when the camera is connected to AC not possbile with battery.( I do think this a big "Cons"). But if you happen to travel to places where there is constant Power cut you might want to be cautious.) 2) Night time pictures are so great. 3) Dubbing speed of pictures from HDD to DVD is done at an averate speed. Overall I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend this product if anyone is looking for these features.
On: 2007-06-08
This camera had my eye for a while and the price for it was very good coming from amazon and comparing it to others. well this camera has no incompatibilities with my computer which is a windows O.S. everything was transferable and no crashes, i had no problems. all my data had no problems its great. in a well lit room or outside the footage looks very good but when its dark or a room isnt so well lit things dont look as good. and the low light shot looks like crap it looked like my old camcorder from 1993. but everything else looks good, if i go out in the dark i just get a really bright flashlight like l.e.d. flashlights or a strong bulb flashlight. i like this camcorder a lot too because it isnt bulky like other dvd and hdd camcorders. everything in this is so organized id recommend buying it if the low light is a problem i would just recommend using a flashlight or something it still works great.
On: 2007-06-07
This camera had my eye for a while and the price for it was very good coming from amazon and comparing it to others. well this camera has no incompatibilities with my computer which is a windows O.S. everything was transferable and no crashes, i had no problems. all my data had no problems its great. in a well lit room or outside the footage looks very good but when its dark or a room isnt so well lit things dont look as good. and the low light shot looks like crap it looked like my old camcorder from 1993. but everything else looks good, if i go out in the dark i just get a really bright flashlight like l.e.d. flashlights or a strong bulb flashlight. i like this camcorder a lot too because it isnt bulky like other dvd and hdd camcorders. everything in this is so organized id recommend buying it if the low light is a problem i would just recommend using a flashlight or something it still works great.
On: 2007-05-30
I bought and returned this product within a week. I was excited to have the hard drive/DVD combo capability, but I guess the technology was too good to be true. The features were easy to use, but the video and sound quality was just awful. You absolutely cannot film indoors in ANY lighting. I tried full and dim light, and the picture was too grainy to even make out a face. Outdoors it performed better, but who takes all their video outdoors? Also, with active kids, it didnt catch a good stable image of them in either natural or indoor lighting. I was really disappointed as I wanted this type of video camera for a long time. Im hoping they can improve the technology in the future. I had read other reviews about the poor performance of this camera after I returned it... I guess I should have read up a little better before purchase!
On: 2007-05-29
I bought and returned this product within a week. I was excited to have the hard drive/DVD combo capability, but I guess the technology was too good to be true. The features were easy to use, but the video and sound quality was just awful. You absolutely cannot film indoors in ANY lighting. I tried full and dim light, and the picture was too grainy to even make out a face. Outdoors it performed better, but who takes all their video outdoors? Also, with active kids, it didnt catch a good stable image of them in either natural or indoor lighting. I was really disappointed as I wanted this type of video camera for a long time. Im hoping they can improve the technology in the future. I had read other reviews about the poor performance of this camera after I returned it... I guess I should have read up a little better before purchase!
On: 2007-05-14
I love the convenience of this camera and how easy it is to use, especially when organizing video clips. It is awesome how you can select the clips that you want placed on a dvd and then burn all selected onto a disk. The only complaint I have is that there is no flash on the camera. The still photos are very clear during the day, but at night there is no light. I have not checked to see if there is flash that we can get to put on it.
On: 2007-05-09
I own a previous model Hitachi DVDCam. I have had several of my DVDs become corrupt and unreadable. I called Hitachi and after a LONG phone call was basically told that I had bad luck and they were sorry. They do not stand behind the DVDs (because they are from a different manufacturer). My only option is to contact a data recovery service to get back my hours of lost video. Looks like that will cost me about $200-400 for two discs.
I understand that they do not make the DVDs, but their cameras use them. If I can recored my videos on to them, I should be able to see those videos again. Save your money and frustration and dont risk losing your precious family memories!
On: 2007-04-11
OK. Look, I wanted to go out and use this Hitachi DZHS500A camcorder right away. But the book is so thick! And that seemed daunting of itself. So, I thought to myself, theres no getting around it, take the time to read.
AND then, the very first time I used it, nothing seemed to work. I knew I had done something wrong, I just didnt know what. Charged the battery; I bought 2 extra. Ran through the menu choices, for the 5th time. In truth everything WAS working just fine, but you couldnt convince me of that.
Alright, everyone of you have done this, so dont feel so smug when I tell you what was wrong with the camera, operator error.
Take the lens cap off and dont put it back on until youve put an orange dayglo sticker on the lens cap that says, "TELL ME ITS ON"
Other than that, this camcorder was designed for me. Im a retard with electronic things (not to make fun of retards). So, when even I can make high quality 16:9 videos, its a major miracle. And, as promised, I took the Mini-DVD out of the Camcorder and into my portable DVD player, it played straight up. I mean, Ive been told that so many thing could go wrong here, but thanks to reading the BOOK (imagine that)they didnt. That has given me the confidence to push my boundry.
I might even take pictures of something besides the cat and the birds at the bird feeder, now that Ive finished the book. The camera? Ive used all the features that make it a good first pick camcorder. But what makes this camera Great? That first Mini-DVD went into the DVD player and worked! And I composed all the scenes I saved to the Hard Disk and when ready, sent them to the DVD and finalized them. It was too easy. I guess Im getting cocky with this Camcorder.
And, the zoom. I did tell you I took video of the bird feeder, from 20 yards away. I was able to zoom into the sparrows eye. A whole eye filling up a 16:9 screen. And quickly, zoom out to catch 30 or more birds mobbing the feeder. I was in Zoom heaven. You dont even know when the 1:30 ends and the digital zoom starts. Smooth.
Gawd, I love this camera. Ive got one gripe. Miniscule, but its there.
Where is the still shot memory stick? Even a 16Mb one would have been nice to have, just for learning purposes. I got a lot for what I paid. Still, a small thing like that magnifies itself in its abscense.
On my scale of 1 to 100, it gets a 89. Adding the memory stick for still photos would have pushed it over the top.
On: 2007-04-10
OK. Look, I wanted to go out and use this Hitachi DZHS500A camcorder right away. But the book is so thick! And that seemed daunting of itself. So, I thought to myself, theres no getting around it, take the time to read.
AND then, the very first time I used it, nothing seemed to work. I knew I had done something wrong, I just didnt know what. Charged the battery; I bought 2 extra. Ran through the menu choices, for the 5th time. In truth everything WAS working just fine, but you couldnt convince me of that.
Alright, everyone of you have done this, so dont feel so smug when I tell you what was wrong with the camera, operator error.
Take the lens cap off and dont put it back on until youve put an orange dayglo sticker on the lens cap that says, "TELL ME ITS ON"
Other than that, this camcorder was designed for me. Im a retard with electronic things (not to make fun of retards). So, when even I can make high quality 16:9 videos, its a major miracle. And, as promised, I took the Mini-DVD out of the Camcorder and into my portable DVD player, it played straight up. I mean, Ive been told that so many thing could go wrong here, but thanks to reading the BOOK (imagine that)they didnt. That has given me the confidence to push my boundry.
I might even take pictures of something besides the cat and the birds at the bird feeder, now that Ive finished the book. The camera? Ive used all the features that make it a good first pick camcorder. But what makes this camera Great? That first Mini-DVD went into the DVD player and worked! And I composed all the scenes I saved to the Hard Disk and when ready, sent them to the DVD and finalized them. It was too easy. I guess Im getting cocky with this Camcorder.
And, the zoom. I did tell you I took video of the bird feeder, from 20 yards away. I was able to zoom into the sparrows eye. A whole eye filling up a 16:9 screen. And quickly, zoom out to catch 30 or more birds mobbing the feeder. I was in Zoom heaven. You dont even know when the 1:30 ends and the digital zoom starts. Smooth.
Gawd, I love this camera. Ive got one gripe. Miniscule, but its there.
Where is the still shot memory stick? Even a 16Mb one would have been nice to have, just for learning purposes. I got a lot for what I paid. Still, a small thing like that magnifies itself in its abscense.
On my scale of 1 to 100, it gets a 89. Adding the memory stick for still photos would have pushed it over the top.
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