New Low Cost Hitachi DVD Camcorder

Hitachi announced a new low cost DVD camcorder that offers widescreen 16×9 video recording. The UltraVision DZMV730A DVD Camcorder will feature the new Hitachi Image Engine that they claim will provide a 20 percent improvement in video noise reduction and 20 percent longer battery life.

The camcorder will sell for a low price of $499 which puts it in the budget category. What do you get for such little money? Well, alot. In the core of the device is a 680k 1/6-inch CCD, that will record 40 minutes of video on a DVD-RAM disc in extra-fine mode at 640×480, 3-6Mbps VBR(variable bit rate). Other quality modes include fine mode (640×480, 6Mbps CBR) which will last for 60 minutes, and 120 minutes in standard mode (352×480, 3Mbps CBR).

The DZMV730A will also take digital stills recorded at 640×480 resolution on either a DVD-R or whatever size SD or MMC card you insert. Other features include an Electronic Image Stabilizer, 2.5-inch 200K pixel color LCD monitor, six-mode auto exposure, auto and manual white balance, and full auto and manual focus, 16x optical zoom and 240x digital zoom.