Hello
Anyone bought the new Hitachi yet ,if so,whats it like,I'm thinking of buying it,also which are the better internet sites to purchase it from
Thanks

[Hambone]

Hi Jay651
I bought the DZ-MV230E about this time last year from unbeatable.co.uk who were very helpful and the cheapest i could findat the time.
The new one is a lot smaller than mine.
For joe public i think this is the best format on the market.
I have had camcorders since the 80's (full size vhs 1982 which you could rent from radio rentals)to a couple of sony video8 cams.
Some people will tell you DV is the best way to go but unless you are some kind of video enthusiast making movies you will love the DVDCAM.
You have no rewinding of tapes you cannot tape over recorded footage by mistake,you get a thumbnail pic everytime you pause so it is easy to find the bit you want to watch.Just click on pic and hit play.
You cannot stick the DVD-Ram disc in your dvd player but then again you cannot stick a dv tape in it ethier.
If you use the DVD-R to record and want to play it dvd player you have to finalise it first which means you can't record on it again,
or you just play it thru the camcorder until the disc is full,as you would with a dv tape camcorder.
Picture quality is superb even on my tosh 36" pf2.
Disc last for about 20 mins per side or longer if you reduce qualiy
You get the software with the camera to edit on you pc which is very easy and to copy to the pc takes about 30 mins for 20 mins footage.No 4 hours rendering as it is already mpeg2. and the 1.4gb disc is 1.4 when transferred to the pc.You can then edit and burn back to the dvd cam.
IMHO i think DVD-CAM is the best format for day to day filming.
Discs cost a wee bit more but once sony start rolling out there DVDCAMS this year the prices might fall.
Hope this helps.

Hambone

Thanks for that information I think my mind is now made up and will probably go and buy the 350 in a few weeks when the dust settles. I was beginning to think nobody wanted to talk to me after I posed the question

[MarkE19]

Disc last for about 20 mins per side or longer if you reduce quality

IMHO i think DVD-CAM is the best format for day to day filming.

I would disagree that DVD cams are the best because of the reduced recording time. For short shots of the children playing, birthday parties etc they are ok, but if you want to record say a school play then 20minutes is not long enough. DV gives 60 minutes per tape at SP & 90 minutes LP. Some companies are now making 70 minute tapes. DV tape are from around £4 each and can be reused.

I'm not saying don't get a DVD cam, but just putting across the other side of the argument to try and give a balance.

Mark.