The Hitachi Camcorder DZ-BD7H is a technical breakthrough for its time but has a number of issues that will need to be rectified before consumers will go anywhere near this camera.
With the number of different camcorder formats expanding on what seems like a daily basis – Video 8, Digital 8, MiniDV, SD, DVD – you’d have thought there was a limit. There isn't. With the recent widespread embrace of high definition TV, high definition moviemaking with the Blu-Ray disc format is a stones throw away.
The Hitachi Camcorder DZ-BD7H is one of the world’s first Blu-Ray camcorders, and what’s more is that it has a hard drive attached. Hitachi camcorders have made a breakthrough and we are no longer confined to the capacity of a single storage format. The Hitachi Camcorder DZ-BD7H has both an internal drive and a drive for 8cm Blu-Ray discs that can record high definition in one-hour chunks.
Unfortunately, the Hitachi Camcorder DZ-BD7H is not that easy to operate and has some tell tale creeks. Outside in good light and on a tripod, the Hitachi Camcorder DZ-BD7H does its job nicely. Unfortunately, any extra camera movement and the electronic image stabilisation makes straight lines appear wavy and the overall picture turn to fuzz. In theory the Hitachi Camcorder DZ-BD7H is an impressive piece of equipment, but wait for Hitachi to iron out the kinks before spending big bucks on this one.