[jaycee900]

Our mini DV camcorder has all but given up the ghost on us this past few months so we need a new one, obviously to go with our HDTV a HD camcorder is most wanted, I've had a little look around and have found this model from Hitachi,

http://av.hitachi.com/camcorder/blu-ray/index.html

Records to blu-ray and onto 30gb HDD with 2x dubbing.

RRP is £999 but I've found it for £675 which is a great price i think.

So for us its the ease of use, we aren't bothered about editing on the PC, simply recording to disc and playing in a BD player/PS3.

I've not seen any reviews on this yet, anyone heard good things about it, the specs seem pretty good to me.

Also i know the 8cm BD-R/RE are pretty hard to get hold off, the cheapest I've seen is £14/£20 each! Hopefully in a few months the prices should drop.

Edit: also it also records to DVD formats, i know it can record SD to these, does anyone know if its possible to record HD to DVD? I know it would only be low record times of 10 mins or so to DVD-R, but would be interesting anyway, thanks.

[redsox_mark]

I don't know if the Hitachi is any good; I've not seen one in action or any reviews.

I can make a few comments though:

- I have general concerns about camcorders which only record to a optical disc, as with DVD ones sometimes there are issues where discs fail and you lose your footage. Not sure of writing to BD is any more reliable.

- The hybrid model which has an HDD as well is a nice idea; eliminates the risk above, also means you can do simple edits on the HDD then copy to disc.

- 1 hour of video fits on to one of the small (and expensive) little BD discs. The video format is AVCHD. If you bought a HDD (or flash memory) AVCHD cam instead, you could use a PC and fit 40 mins of video on a full size, ordinary DVD disc (in AVCHD format), which will also play on a Bluray or PS3 player. You would not need to edit on the PC, simply burn on the PC. Or if you really don't want to touch a PC at all, get one of the dedicated AVCHD/DVD burners.

I.e. you might want to consider something like a Panasonic SD9 or Canon HG10, and burn AVCHD discs from the footage.

[senu]

I would proceed with caution
Hitachi isnt exactly a"player" in the camcorder market. While this model may be good the implication is.. Will it be a supported model in the long run? This is not about me being brand loyal... just wary from past experience
Like Mark I also have reservations about recording directly to optical disc
In this instance, the discs are scarce and costly
You dont get that much footage on the miniBD rom discs either and the fact of DVD recording doesnt sway me
I would get an AVCHD model (or even HDV) and make Blu Ray Playable discs from them on a PC .AVCHD DVD discs will pla y.
I know there are BD drives for the PC which together with say a Canon HG10 will still work our cheaper and more versatile

If the model proves sucessful, you can always get it or its succesor later but I feel the high costs of being an early adopter ( with no certainly of durability or high quality apart from that intrinsic to the format) may dampen the joy of owning one

[jaycee900]

Hi, thanks for your replys, i will have a look into HDD HD camcorders, esp the ones you mention, i hope they are as easy as pressing a button and recording to a DVD as you say!

I won't rule out the Hitachi yet though, i won't be buying a new camcorder until March anyway but i like to plan ahead.

The HDD on the Hitachi was probably the deciding factor of me wanting one, as you say you can record, do simple edits then burn, if i run out of discs at least i can get 4 hours HD or more SD footage before i get more discs.

Plus the point you make about Hitachi not being a 'player' in the market....true but my Mitsubishi TV wasn't way back when and that lasted me years no problem.!..as i said my last camcorder was a Canon and they are a major player and had countless problems before it conked out, the shortest life span of any camcorder I've owned...so to me its not the name that matters.

Again thanks for the comments, i'll look at the other models before deciding, i might get back to you if i cant choose between a couple, cheers!

[chrishull3]

yes in priciple this looked a good cam to consider but not one i would go for
http://www.gizmag.com/go/7727/ regarding blank discs i pay between 8 and 10£ for my blank bd discs to put my hdv tapes on.http://www.nextag.co.uk/blu-ray-blan...0--search-html

[Mr Lazy]

Originally Posted by chrishull3

regarding blank discs i pay between 8 and 10£ for my blank bd discs to put my hdv tapes on.http://www.nextag.co.uk/blu-ray-blan...0--search-html

Careful buying from w2w and xlshop (which I am 95% sure are the same people) - I have bought Verbatim (DVD) discs from them in the past and several have turned out to be coasters (ie. not usual Verbatim quality, and I always buy the jewel-case versions). May have just been a duff batch but I'm the cynical sort so I suspect they were rejects or some such. I guess the cost savings need to come from somewhere.

Bought the last lot from discountdiscs.co.uk who are cheap but they don't seem to do Blu-Ray/HD.

[jaycee900]

Hi again, I've been looking at the Canon HG-10 and heard good things about it, then I've read a couple of bad reviews the last day or so which put me off alot one mentioning the resolution and the quality isn't as good as a 'camcorder of the year' should be like.

The Hitachi also records in full 1920x1080 res, 1hr on disc, 4 hours on hdd, but also in 1440x1080 2hrs on disc and 8 hours on hdd, while the canon can do 5 1/2 hours in best quality (1440x1080) everyone has said dont go below that as its gets pretty bad, so the stated 15 hours recording isn't as good as it sounds, plus the Canon isn't even 1920x1080....

What about the Sony cams, i know they are expensive, any ideas, or do you recommened the Canon above the others?

Edit: forget the Hitachi I've just read this review! http://stuff.tv/Review/Hitachi-DZ-BD7H/Page2/

[Kieron]

Review here...

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...view-33581.htm

The video performance from the DZ-BD7HA is tremendously disappointing, due largely to abysmal auto controls coupled with the lack of manual controls. Indoor video, even in adequate lighting (80 to 300 lux, which is sufficient for reading fine print), is poorly colored, grainy, and extremely prone to motion blur. Auto focus and exposure are among the worst of year.

(note the reader reviews at the bottom of that page too...)

[jaycee900]

Yeah thanks have been put off the Hitachi altogether!
OK so what camcorder do you recommended that does full 1920x1080, AVC/h.264 recording mode, with great PQ. 5.1, good battery life (100mins+) that can store 4+hrs of full HD recordings with either a hdd or hybrid dvd/hdd for a decent price!?

[senu]

Originally Posted by jaycee900

Hi again, I've been looking at the Canon HG-10 and heard good things about it, then I've read a couple of bad reviews the last day or so which put me off alot one mentioning the resolution and the quality isn't as good as a 'camcorder of the year' should be like.

What have you heard? and where

... while the canon can do 5 1/2 hours in best quality (1440x1080) everyone has said dont go below that as its gets pretty bad, so the stated 15 hours recording isn't as good as it sounds, plus the Canon isn't even 1920x1080....

Why should the resolution of 1920x1080 matter?. Also it is my experience that in practice 5.1 audio doesnt live up to expectations. And is not great for all recording situations.. For instance videoing a school play you would not want the chat of folk behind you to feature prominently in your rear surrounds would you?
The HDV camcorders with sensors which record at that resolution will still move down to 1440x 1080 as that is the HDV standard and apart from use of HDD or flash card compared to tape I cannot see anywhere AVCHD recorder even at 1920 x 1800 be compare as superior. A case in point is A comparison between the HV20 and HG10.

What about the Sony cams, i know they are expensive, any ideas, or do you recommend the Canon above the others?

I think reviews are subjective enough for you to consider them to be close enough as to be near identical in performance.
In fact i would suggest any differences are down to user preference ranther than one beibg better than the other. My longer term hands on experience of the HG 10 is more than any Sony AVCHD although I own 2 Sony HDV camcorders