Hitachi DZHS300A DVD Hybrid Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom & 8GB Hard Disc Drive
By: Hitachi Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 35
More Information
 On: 2008-04-29
For the price and for I am am using it for, this camcorder is great. No DVDs, no tapes, just pick it up and start recording. What else can you ask for. I recommend this camcorder to anyone who is looking.
 On: 2008-04-15
Got this two days before trip to Hawaii. Was simple to get started. Only two things could make it perfect: a light for night recording and still pictures with more pixels. All in all, it was everything I expected it to be. Would recommend it to my friends.
 On: 2008-04-10
After reading the reviews on this product, I thought it would be great to have on my trip to Maui. What a disappointment! This camcorder is very hard to use and even harder to play back on anything except on the camcorder. It will not play on my DVD player, nor will it play back on my computer. Instead of .avi movies, it has some sort of weird format and it was a total waste of money. I did take it to Maui and used it twice but lost the ability to view memorable events that I thought would record. I used the mini-disks that came with the product so I know that was not the issue. I do not recommend this item to anyone. The software wont even read the recorded events and if my Canon Powershot S80 didnt have video capabilities, I would not have any videos at all of my trip. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PIECE OF JUNK and go to Best Buy or another name store to buy your next camcorder where they can help you use it. If I wouldnt have bought it online, I would be returning it immediately. So I am just chalking it up to a total loss and sticking it away where I dont even have to look at it again. Once more, do not buy this piece of junk if you want video memories that you actually can play back. And, yes, I did read the manual.... several times as a matter of fact. That was no help either.
On: 2008-04-09
I purchased this to film my godsons wedding and bachelor party and then Im giving the couple the video and the camera as a wedding present. Ive been using it for a month prior to the wedding and find that it suits my needs in just about all respects.
The video quality is what I would expect for a camera in this catagory. Colors are vivid with only a slight pixel edge haze. Low-light images are no worse than any of the other video cameras Ive owned. So glad Ive abandoned my old tape-based cameras that are awkward to find start-stop points. This camera gives such a nice bonus that you can make a DVD copy to give to friends without ever having to plug into anything. I would prefer a format that can be more easily edited however. The zoom is as strong as Id ever need and maintains its focus through the range.
The sound quality is excellent although I wish there was a way to baffle wind noise a bit better, although that is very common with all cameras. Still havent read thru the entire manual. Fortunately 2/3 of it is in a different language.
Im quite pleased with this choice I made for the bride and groom.
 On: 2008-03-29
The picture quality is good, and the camcorder is easy to use. There are challenges, however, when using a DVD-RW in obtaining synched sound/picture and direct capturing audio with picture to a Mac (PC compatibility seems fine). This model also does NOT have an external microphone jack (there is such a jack on the DZ-HS303A model). The internal mic audio quality is good, but not satisfactory for more sophisticated needs.
On: 2008-02-25
I did a little research and decided I would get a hybrid camcorder. I found the camcorder to have great audio and video quality. One drawback is the lack of a built-in light or backlighting. Shooting at night may cause some problems if you dont have a light source. Other than that, its a great camcorder.
On: 2008-02-12
I liked the capacity and ease of zoom control, but was a little disappointed in the video quality.
On: 2008-01-29
At full sun light and highest res. setting, the color is vibrant (red is a bit over saturated); at low light the video quality is horrible. Accept under bright light, it was much worse than my 10+ years old Sony. For some reason, I kept forgeting to turn the dial to off position - drained the battery.
I returned the camera for something better.
On: 2008-01-14
I have had the camcorder for one month and very happy with
the product. I am new to digital videos and in a learning curve
but with a little patience there has been some success. The editing
software seems to be limited, but again, with time it may get better.
I really like the option of Hard Drive / DVD dics / SD card.
Suggestion: Take your time, read the book, practice on short, unimportant, shots. Also practice on editing. When you
feel comfortable, you can delete all the practice sessions and start
having fun. All the buttons can be confusing if you dont practice.
I am a 65 year old male. If I can do this, most of you can also.
On: 2008-01-12
I never used a Mini-DVD Camcorder before I purchased this one. I had all the usual concerns: What is the quality of the video and sound; Would the DVD be compatible with the DVD player I have; and How easy would it be to use. I was very pleasantly surprised with the camcorder. Good quality, Played on my DVD player, and I was ready to use it in a matter of minutes.
I am very happy with my purchase.
Hitachi DZHS300A DVD Hybrid Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom&8GB Hard Disc Drive
On: 2008-01-07
The camcorder itself works very well for my purposes, but it took some work to learn how to edit files on my PC. The software that comes with the camcorder seems to be of very poor quality. The files will not open in Windows Movie Maker, but after some work I was able to open them with Adobe Premiere Elements.
On: 2008-01-07
very good. very easy to use and to transfer to computer and to view on computer or dvd player. recommended.
On: 2008-01-06
The camcorder itself works very well for my purposes, but it took some work to learn how to edit files on my PC. The software that comes with the camcorder seems to be of very poor quality. The files will not open in Windows Movie Maker, but after some work I was able to open them with Adobe Premiere Elements.
On: 2008-01-01
i am a beginner with video cams and i think this one is great for the price. used it on new years party and worked great, especially considering its price.
On: 2007-12-23
The only think I dislike about getting new equipment is the learning curve. But thats my impatience! The kids and I were able to master the basic functions within minutes. The clarity and detail are amazing - too bad it doesnt come with a removable memory card.
On: 2007-12-19
After using this camera a few times it was very user friendly. Had all the features I was looking for in a camcorder in this price range. Only things I needed to purchase after was a case and sd card to take still pictures.
On: 2007-12-18
After using this camera a few times it was very user friendly. Had all the features I was looking for in a camcorder in this price range. Only things I needed to purchase after was a case and sd card to take still pictures.
On: 2007-12-11
This product, Hitachi camcorder, was easy to order on-line and was received relatively quickly after ordering.
On: 2007-12-08
For the price, this camera ROCKS!! The quality is beyond fabulous. The only drawback is taking video indoors with low light, but easily adjusted.
Highly recommended!!
On: 2007-12-07
For the price, this camera ROCKS!! The quality is beyond fabulous. The only drawback is taking video indoors with low light, but easily adjusted.
Highly recommended!!
On: 2007-10-30
Good image quality in bright light, but gets grainy pretty quickly as light decreases. Good sound quality. Good battery life. Easy to record to either DVD or HDD. Would be better if there was a shuttle or slow-mo function to capture stills from video. Doesnt really replace a regular digital still camera since it doesnt have a flash. I like that I could unpack it and be using it in a minute or less (except for initial charging the battery). The eyepiece is pretty useless since its so close to the main body of the camera, but the LCD screen is good. Simple controls (there are only 20 or so buttons on the whole camera) are OK, but some of the functions Id like to have quick and easy access to (like switching from standard screen to wide screen) are buried in menus.
On: 2007-10-29
I bought one for business use (time and movement studies) and liked it so much I bought two more.
On: 2007-10-28
I bought one for business use (time and movement studies) and liked it so much I bought two more.
On: 2007-10-22
Cant transfer from hard drive to mini disk. Cant play any kind of mini disk to any kind of dvd player. bad combination technology. must be too early in the game. better off going with good quality hdd camera only.
 On: 2007-10-12
This camcorder was purchased for a school so the students could learn how to video edit. While the videos taken with the camera play back ok, none of them will import into video editing software. Weve tried Windows Movie Maker, EZ Media Creator 8 and 9, and an open source transcoder called Media Coder. All of these applications either crash, or produce garbled output when using files generated by this camera. This is true of both HD and mini-DVD footage. Hitachis answer? If it plays back in windows media player and on dvd players, their job is done. If you just want to play back your raw footage, this camera might work for you. We are returning the camcorder...
On: 2007-10-05
this camera is great i was impressed with its picture clarity and all the options the hdd feature make recording so easy this should be a definate buy if you are looking for a digital camera.
On: 2007-09-17
Its a nice camcorder. I bought it in Aug, and took it to Japan & China, it was great! Good video quality, most time I used mini-DVD disc, when I playback it has some stops but if use its software to transfer to PC, everything is OK. Im happy with this camcorder. By the way, only one thing is not good. If you use it to take still picture the result will be terrible. But I need digital camcorder, not camera!
On: 2007-09-16
Its a nice camcorder. I bought it in Aug, and took it to Japan & China, it was great! Good video quality, most time I used mini-DVD disc, when I playback it has some stops but if use its software to transfer to PC, everything is OK. Im happy with this camcorder. By the way, only one thing is not good. If you use it to take still picture the result will be terrible. But I need digital camcorder, not camera!
On: 2007-07-06
Nice little camera. Im still trying out all the features and learning how to use it but ive taken it on vacation and filled one dvd that has worked out fine. Even used the zoom to look across the lake for my kids--has quite a distance on it. I also bought the accessory kit with the bag and the larger battery and i was certainly glad i did that as the battery that came with the camera ran out, but the one that comes with the bag kit lasts a long time. I love the dual abilities to do hard drive or dvds. I havent tried the still shots as I have a digital camera and a 35mm to handle those. But overall am very pleased with my purchase.
On: 2007-07-05
Parts fit and finish-very good, solid construction-very good, ease of use-good, picture quality-descent, what I mean buy that is the picture seems no sharper than my previous JVC mini-dv(tape). However, shooting to the hard drive and either burning it right to a mini DVD is great. Not to mention getting the shots from the camera HDD to your computer is easy and nice. Overall its a good camera for the price.
On: 2007-06-27
Used it now for 2+ weeks - first use was low-light stage performance and I used the spotlight setting (one of many Program settings) which worked perfectly - video quality (and sound!) was amazing considering its not HD. Dubbing all or select scenes is easy. Not too concerned over low quality stills since any serious situation I would want a high res dig camera for - one nice thing is ability to easily create photo stills from any video scene. Only gripe is that program titles (which are tedious to key in one letter at a time on the LCD) are not preserved onto finalized DVD-RW disc (so seem only marginally useful when mini-dvd is played back from Camcorder itself). All in all, a great full-featured cam at the right price.
On: 2007-06-26
Used it now for 2+ weeks - first use was low-light stage performance and I used the spotlight setting (one of many Program settings) which worked perfectly - video quality (and sound!) was amazing considering its not HD. Dubbing all or select scenes is easy. Not too concerned over low quality stills since any serious situation I would want a high res dig camera for - one nice thing is ability to easily create photo stills from any video scene. Only gripe is that program titles (which are tedious to key in one letter at a time on the LCD) are not preserved onto finalized DVD-RW disc (so seem only marginally useful when mini-dvd is played back from Camcorder itself). All in all, a great full-featured cam at the right price.
On: 2007-06-25
I took this camera on an extensive European vacation recently. I tryed out the various functions prior to the trip and was ready to return it but it was to complicated to get a fix on a return price. I found during my trip that the discs just dont hold enough when you record in the best quality (22 minutes). A major problem was the camera accidentally turning itself on. I had the camera around my neck and several times, it turned itself on by rubbing against my chest. I found that you have to be very careful to record a steady picture especially if you want to zoom in on a subject, a tripod would be very helpful. The size of the camera is nice but it complicates your life having to use Small discs and HDD and putting them together for one project. The Hybrid is a good idea but not so easy to use unless you are a techi so I only give it a two star rating.
On: 2007-06-24
I took this camera on an extensive European vacation recently. I tryed out the various functions prior to the trip and was ready to return it but it was to complicated to get a fix on a return price. I found during my trip that the discs just dont hold enough when you record in the best quality (22 minutes). A major problem was the camera accidentally turning itself on. I had the camera around my neck and several times, it turned itself on by rubbing against my chest. I found that you have to be very careful to record a steady picture especially if you want to zoom in on a subject, a tripod would be very helpful. The size of the camera is nice but it complicates your life having to use Small discs and HDD and putting them together for one project. The Hybrid is a good idea but not so easy to use unless you are a techi so I only give it a two star rating.
On: 2007-06-09
The Hybrid makes video as simple as possible without sacrificing sharp images and stereo audio. Users can get as sophisticated as they want by studying the 300 page user manual or just plug and play with the one page quick start manual. Save video to hard drive, decide which segments to keep, dub to dvd, finalize, and play on your home dvd player-all within minutes. The unit is high-quality build, images are sharp and audio is outstanding. I would recommend this camcorder to anyone. Probably the best on the market short of a high definition model. The 8gb hard drive is smaller than the basic JVC, but it is enough to hold 3 hours of fine quality video, which is ample because batteries only last about an hour on any camcorder and who wants to watch 8 hours of home movies anyway.
On: 2007-05-24
Received this unit today and compared with Elura 100 on tape, low light seemed poor by comparison. Im sure HD and DVD features good for transfer from camera to PC, but without good picture quality, these features are useless. Overall very disappointed. Returning unit via prescribed return process.
On: 2007-05-14
IT is a great video camera having the 8G on board and the ability to record on the mini discs. The snap shot camera is poor. One must hold the camera extermely still to get clear shots.
On: 2007-04-06
Saw this at Best Buy and was very tempted to buy it on the spot for $569 (on sale). So glad we went home and read reviews and bought from Amazon for much less and free shipping. Camera works great and is very easy to use. I thought it would be a pain when the manual said to take the battery off when not in use, but it is so easy to pop the battery on and off, it is not an issue. The picture quality and sound are great. Weve have had it less than a month, so I havent dubbed onto discs yet, and I havent used it in low light, but am very happy with it so far.
On: 2007-03-31
This camcorder isnt all that bad. Video quality is average. Video looks decent on a regular tv, but not so good on a high-res widescreen, even though the camcorder can be set on 16:9. The only aspect of it that I think is excellent is the audio quality. Im not very experienced with digital camcorders but I think I couldve gotten something better for the money. Some other camcorders, like Panasonic, can double as a web cam also, which would be nice.
On: 2007-03-30
This camcorder isnt all that bad. Video quality is average. Video looks decent on a regular tv, but not so good on a high-res widescreen, even though the camcorder can be set on 16:9. The only aspect of it that I think is excellent is the audio quality. Im not very experienced with digital camcorders but I think I couldve gotten something better for the money. Some other camcorders, like Panasonic, can double as a web cam also, which would be nice.
On: 2007-03-19
Ideal camcorder for first-timers...make sure to carry a seperate digital camera as the still capability is nothing to talk about.
Easy to operate and convenient to make multiple copies on mini dvd. Included software is user friendly and can do all basic editing.
On: 2007-02-27
I dont have it but i think i am going to buy it.
looks pretty cool.
On: 2007-02-16
Ive only been playing with this camera for a week now but so far so good. It takes nice video and is very easy to use. Dubbed video directly from hard drive to disk without a problem. Disk played in my DVD player without a problem.
Love being able to just connect it to my PC with the USB cable and see the camera as a drive. Software that came with it is very basic movie editing, will probably rely on my other software that has more features.
I can see where I will rely primarily on the HDD and just use the DVD to make copies or backups. But its nice to know that there is an option to use the disks if the HDD gets full while on vacation etc...
So far no complaints...
|
|
