Hitachi DZ-BD70E > Reviews > First ever Blu-ray camcorder.

Author's product rating:   

Ease of use	Satisfactory
Recording quality	Good
Picture quality	Excellent
Sound quality	Good
Value for money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Record in full HD, very light, 5 . 3 mega - pixel camera, reliable
Disadvantages:	large exterior, small screen, pricey

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Hitachi DZ-BD7OE is the first ever Blu-ray camcorder. It has the ability to record in full High Definition (1080p). You can buy this very camcorder for £569-over £600 if you look hard enough on the internet, which does seem a lot for a camcorder.

Blu-ray technology is fairly new, so it is fair to understand the initial prices of all blu-ray compatible devices will be high. This is the first camcorder which incorporates blu-ray technology. When more and more companies release similar devices, the prices of blu-ray camcorders (including the DZ-BD70E) will drop due to high levels of competition.

Now, leaving the price 'issues' of the camcorder and moving onto other areas of the camcorder. You may be pleased to know that you will be able to buy the DZ-BD70E in only the standard grey and silver colour. It is a fairly large and bulky device, which may make you think that it is also very heavy. But with its large exterior you will be pleased to know that this very camcorder weighs just 575g.

It has a 16:9 screen, which simply means that the horizontal length is greater than the vertical height, or that it has a ratio of 16:9. In inches the screen size is 2.7", which is reasonably small considering the size of the exterior. Although, with the 2.7" screen you will be able to record efficiently without having too much trouble viewing the recording content on the screen. You have an option of using the retractable electronic viewfinder (EVF) instead. However over exposure to the motion blur involved in using the (EVF) will be hard on the eyes.

There is an added bonus of a 5.3 megapixel camera with 10x digital zoom. You will certainly be able to take pictures, but not during a recording session, which really takes the fun out of creating truly enjoyable picture and video experiences.

The downside to all of the fun things about this blu-ray video camera is the time it takes in transferring HD (High definition) content to another source, most likely to a desktop PC. It takes approximately 1 minute to transfer a 5 second piece of HD content. The 7.5 GB blu-ray disk will let you record a maximum of 1 hour in HD. So the transfer of 1 hour of HD content will take up to 12 hours, which is a long wait.

However, there is another factor which determines the time taken to transfer the HD content. That factor is the processing speed of your hard drive. A regular hard drive gives you 7200 rpms of processing power, which will take you the full 12 hours to transfer the content. Although the newer and more advanced hard drives give you up to 15,000 rpms, which ultimately means that it will transfer the data twice as fast.

You will also have an option of connecting the camcorder to an external output device such as a Television. This way you will instantly be able to watch the content without having to wait for it to transfer. The only problem is that you will not be able to make a copy of the content as you would require a HD blu-ray recorder, which I am very sure does not exist. The only possible solution would be to transfer the content to a PC, which like I said before would take the MICK.

When you buy this camcorder you will get in the box a remote control, a single blu-ray disk and essential wires required to connect to TV's and other devices, in order to transfer or view content. Within the blu-ray disk there will be a maximum of 7.5 GB of memory which will essentially let you record up to 1 hour of full HD (high definition) content. You will also be able to change recording modes which will enable you to record in video qualities below HD quality, meaning you will be able to record longer movies. Whoohoo.