[GiganticDays]

Been looking for a budget Hi-Def camcorder for a few days and have found this forum a great help as usual. Had almost settled on the Panny SD9 but caught sight of the Hitachi DZ-HV654 @ only £169.99 from Dixons (less than half the price of the SD9).
Does anyone have one of these - I can't seem to find a single review online? It doesn't even appear on Hitachi's site!
I notice that it only has 5x optical and 4x digital zoom but don't think that will be an issue - it's mainly for shooting the kids (perhaps an AK47 might be more suitable for that )

[senu]

I wouldnt but it , If its not on Hitachi website. How can you be sure it is a real Hitachi model
It may well be real but a one off and long discontinued
Due to
Lacklustre sales
Im not surprised you can get any review, Even if it is good but lacks adequate exposure , that it is so cheap and not known of would make me suspicious of durability ( if not ability) and any after sales support
Hitachis forte has never been camcorders ( Ive had an old 8mm in the past ( huge ..)
Surely getting a known name must have its advantages
Risky buy IMHO..Dixons is no charity and the low cost must reflect little or no interest

[siimo]

Hi,

I just recently bought one for £127 from currys, for what i use it for im pretty happy the quality is better than my old sdr-s10 imo, it can be slow to focus sometimes..

HD v SD on Vimeo - Comparison of the sdr-10 against the hitachi the sdr video has some odd lines where its in pal and the hitachi is ntsc
PowerKite in HD on Vimeo - Off the hitachi

[GiganticDays]

Thanks for that siimo. Looks pretty good for the price. If they're still available I think I'll get one.
Cheers

[siimo]

No worries for the price the image looks very sharp, you do have to keep this camera quite steady when filiming due to the lack of IS, would deff say give it a try can always take it back if not quite what your after as long as you keep the packing nice and new looking

Using a monopod and converted down to 720p
Watch HD Videos Online - Pansh Ace 2m Power Kite

Looking on the currys site, reserve it online and you get a 4gb sd card with it too for £127 is the first bundle on the list.

[maddiebun]

I've bought the Hitachi DZ-HV564 (which also looks identical to the Sanyo HD100 - even the manual matches page for page!).

In summary I have listed the camcorder's strengths and weaknesses based on my experience over the last week...

STRENGTHS:
Good build quality
Easy to hold (and easy to hold steady)
Good battery life (90 minutes in sub-zero temperatures this week)
Fast focussing when panning (I had expected it to be much slower)
Good range of settings
Can adjust video sharpness, contrast and saturation (my other camcorders don't offer this!)
Lightweight
Tripod socket
3.5mm headphone socket
3 LED light for filming in dark conditions (can also be used for still pics as a fill-in light, not a flash)
LCD monitor is easy to see even in bright conditions (and brightness can be adjusted)
Writes to SDHC memory card very quickly (I use 16GB Toshiba SDHC although spec states it supports only up to 8GB)
Supplied with soft case

WEAKNESSES:
The photos from the still camera are poor
Start-up is slow - it has to be switched on (opening the flip monitor doesn't switch it on unlike Sanyo models)
It doesn't retain its settings when switched off but defaults to auto-white balance, pic size, subject mode etc on switch-on
Sound quality could be better (it's very low)
No image stabiliser
No mic input
LCD monitor doesn't have a toughened screen

On balance, I am VERY pleased with the camcorder and its performance - and I would buy it again. I was dubious in view of its price and lack of reviews available but have been very pleasantly surprised, particularly with the video quality which is, of course, what I bought it for. For £130 from Comet I think it's a very good purchase.

(Mine was supplied with a 2-pin European plug although on contacting Comet I was assured that this was not possible - and that they only supply items with a 3-pin UK plug. If you buy online and yours is the same then telephone customer services and arrange to have an adapter sent to you or to arrange to collect one FOC from your nearest store!)

Here's a link to a sample video: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nKlSMGtAxk0