Price and availability
I bought this a while before Christmas right now this is £169 from Argos but I got a refurbished version of this for just £79 from the argos outlet on Ebay. Refurbished means that someone has bought the item and sent it back for no reason it is then wiped, put back to original settings and then put in fresh packaging, as a result as you can see you can save yourself almost £100 by buying a refurbished item.
Design
The design of the Hitachi HD camcorder is very professional just from the first glance which makes it very appealing to anyone and of course for the price this is great. On the side it has a strap which is adjustable with velcro with a cushioned piece around it this you put your hand in and the cushion fits comfortably the cushioned part allows you to hold and this is great for if you are filming for long periods of time. This has a lens cap and if you take this off it stats underneath the lens that it has 23xoptical zoom. The speakers are located on the top of the camcorder and the zoom button is located at the back of the camcorder along with the shutter button. At the end of the camcorder is two USB slots of for the tv and on for the computer along with the record button. The edge of this fold out screen is shiny and black, this is very easy to fold out and the screen is almost the full same size measuring approximately 3 inches long. The screen is touch screen.
Controls.
To zoom you flick the zoom button right for in and left for out, the shutter button takes a picture and the record button starts the camcorder recording. On the inside of the screen there is a play back button, a light button a pause button and an off button. To turn this on you simply open the screen and it will automatically turn on. This is a touch screen camcorder you can playback images by pressing on the screen with video or photo and flicking through your cheeky videos or snappy shots. The screen itself can also swivel around to face the other way so if your taking a picture of yourself you can see yourself.
Recording
In the video option you can change the resolution fast or slow motion, time-lapse and pre record. I didn't get this for anything fancy so I don't use any of the options. pressing record looking through the screen is like looking with your eyes the picture is that crisp and sharp also moving this really fast or slow the picture will always keep up with itself without lagging which makes it ideal for recording fast motion pictures.
Taking Pictures
In the picture option you can change the resolution, have a timer or change the flash to auto, forced or off. I do use the flash on this and it is quite bright without it being forced. To take a picture you simple press the shutter button and it will take a picture almost straight away so be prepared. The photo's are very clear and undistorted unless you wobbly with the camera but in that case this camcorder might catch you by surprise as it can take pictures while fast moving so your picture might not be blurred.
The experience
I only bought this because it was cheap, not because of it's high quality standards but it does help being both. I bought this because over 10 of my friends are in bands and is my dad and it's nice to be able to go out and record some of their show and then use it on their fan sites or in music videos, it makes me very proud because it's my work. Also I want to have little videos and snippets of my life to look back on, this camcorder is very high quality which means you can use it to record animals, car races, or sports and still catch it all without it being a blur.
This is quite small considering what they used to be like and will come in a velvet fleece like packet to keep it safe, because of it's smallness I can put it in an average bag and not have to worry about it being in the way and me not fitting all my other rubbish in with it. I love love love the cushioned part on the strap this might seem weird but I record for a long time and this really helps because without it the strap rubs against my skin and often I end up with scraps on my hands so I love the cushioning. This is very particularly lightweight but it is light enough to hold for long periods of time so of course is fine for short times.
When going out I don't have a camera if I have the camcorder with me because I can take pictures with this and I have to say this makes my skin look smooth and great even though it isn't, the picture is clear and crisp which shows obvious high quality. It's very easy to whip this out and click the record button and begin straight away so I don't miss anything, however this definitely works better in the daylight, at gigs sometimes the lights on the stage proves to be too bright for the camcorder and the lights seem like big coloured blurs on the screen, however the band themselves are perfectly visible so I don't mind.
Overall I love my camcorder and I would recommend buying a refurbished one, these are still for sale from the official argos outlet on ebay for £79.99. It's a great piece of technology, it looks great, easy to carry around, great to take pictures and ace for filming funny unexpected moments, I hardly go anywhere without this baby.
Features
- Barrel camcorder.
- Black.
- 23 x optical zoom.
- 120 x digital zoom.
- 3in screen.
- 1080p.
- Memory card compatibility: SD, SDHC SDXC.
- 110 minutes.
- AVI file format.
- 5MP digital stills.
- Stereo sound
- Auto focus.
- Digital image stabilisation.
- HDMI connection.
- Battery level indicator.
- Rechargeable Li-ion battery supplied.
- Accessories included: USB cable, HDMI cable AV cable.
- Weight 340g.
- Size H5.7, W6, D12.6cm.
- EAN/MPN/UPC/ISBN: 5014024000163.
hitachi DZHV595E HD camcorder
Great thorough review.