Hitachi DZHS500A DVD Hybrid Camcorder with 30x Optical Zoom & 30GB Hard Disc Drive

Other products by Hitachi

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 6 inches ; 7.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000LWWFSC
• Item model number: HS500A UltraVision
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,706 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 8, 2007

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

Hitachi's innovative D7HS500A DVD Hybrid Camcorder lets you shoot and capture many hours of home movie memories directly to the built-in 30 GB hard drive without changing discs or tapes or running out of space. The critical last step to enjoying and sharing these memories is to transfer those movies from the Hard Drive to DVDs, and the Hitachi Hybrid products are the only camcorders in the world that allow consumers to record to Hard Drive then transfer to DVD right in the camcorder with the push of a button.

Hybrid models offer the flexible capacity of an internal hard drive ideal for vacations when you want to grab a lot of footage but not to carry DVD discs, or for recording long events where you plan to produce highlight reels from the footage. The internal hard drive also makes downloading footage to a computer for editing a snap as well as performing basic in-camera editing when no computer is available. The 1-Touch Easy Dubbing feature lets users quickly burn footage stored on the hard disk drive to DVD for playback on most home DVD players. Built to withstand the rigors of family outings, the Hitachi hybrid camcorders offer a unique drop-proofing system that automatically detect falls, suspends read/write activity and cushions the hard drive for impact.

D7HS500A Highlights

30 GB HDD and DVD hybrid Combining the convenience of the DVD format -- for easy sharing and archiving -- with the flexible capacity of a 30 GB internal Hard Disk Drive (HDD), the revolutionary design simplifies and speeds up the home-moviemaking process.

Easy dubbing Hybrid camcorders make creating the DVDs you want simple. Our 1-touch easy dubbing feature mean you can quickly burn entire movies saved on the HDD to DVD. Just press the button and the camcorder will do the rest. Alternatively, you can create your own director’s cut by selecting on the highlight scenes. It’s as easy as that.

Advanced drop-proofing Accidents happen. That’s why our Hybrid camcorders have their own (ESP) extra sensory protection drop-proofing system to protect the HDD. Their Zero G sensors automatically detect falls, suspending read/write activity and cushioning the hard drive for impact.

USB 2.0 connectivity USB 2.0 connection enables you to connect to your computer with high-speed data transfer and produce professional movies at home with supplied editing software.

Multiformat+ compatibility The Multiformat+ drive will burn DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD+RW. So not only will DVDs play on your home DVD player, but they are also compatible with your friends’ and family’s players, too. In addition to DVD, SD cards can be used to store digital still photos.

True 16:9 widescreen Not only can Hitachi camcorders record in true 16:9 widescreen, but the on-board 2.7-inch widescreen LCD screen is true 16:9, too. It means that what you see is exactly what you’ll get -- no cropping, no compromise.

Cinema Res Cinema Res image processing ensures video and pictures always appear detailed and accurate. By reducing "noise" and increasing sharpness, your home movies will look better than ever.

Photo capture from DVD Why do people always blink in photographs? Fortunately, that’s now history with Hitachi camcorders. You can now select any frame from your movies and turn it into a digital still photograph. Simply save the photo to an SD card and then print or share by e-mail.

1-second quick start Life doesn’t wait to be filmed. That’s why Hitachi camcorders feature 1-second quick start from standby -- the fastest start-up time on the market. It means you need never worry about missing the moment again.

Included Accessories

• Battery
• AC adaptor/charger, DC power cord
• USB cable
• PC and Mac video editing software
• Special S-video and composite A/V cable
• Shoulder strap
• Lens cap

Product Description

The DZHS500A hybrid model offers the flexible capacity of an internal hard drive ideal for vacations when you want to grab a lot of footage but not to carry DVD discs, or for recording long events where you plan to produce highlight reels from the footage. The internal hard drive also makes downloading footage to a computer for editing a snap as well as performing basic in-camera editing when no computer is available. The 1-Touch Easy Dubbing feature lets users quickly burn footage stored on the hard disk drive to DVD for playback on most home DVD players. Built to withstand the rigors of family outings, the Hitachi hybrid camcorders offer a unique drop-proofing system that automatically detect falls, suspends read/write activity and cushions the hard drive for impact.Hitachi's top-of-the-line UltraVision DZHS500A DVD Hybrid Camcorder features a polished smoked-chrome finish and aerodynamic design for a dramatically contemporary styling. This model also includes Composite inputs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hybird DV, April 10, 2007

By	William M. Klepper "BK" (Brunswick, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

OK. Look, I wanted to go out and use this Hitachi DZHS500A camcorder right away. But the book is so thick! And that seemed daunting of itself. So, I thought to myself, there's no getting around it, take the time to read.

AND then, the very first time I used it, nothing seemed to work. I knew I had done something wrong, I just didn't know what. Charged the battery; I bought 2 extra. Ran through the menu choices, for the 5th time. In truth everything WAS working just fine, but you couldn't convince me of that.

Alright, everyone of you have done this, so don't feel so smug when I tell you what was wrong with the camera, operator error.

Take the lens cap off and don't put it back on until you've put an orange dayglo sticker on the lens cap that says, "TELL ME ITS ON"

Other than that, this camcorder was designed for me. I'm a retard with electronic things (not to make fun of retards). So, when even I can make high quality 16:9 videos, its a major miracle. And, as promised, I took the Mini-DVD out of the Camcorder and into my portable DVD player, it played straight up. I mean, I've been told that so many thing could go wrong here, but thanks to reading the BOOK (imagine that)they didn't. That has given me the confidence to push my boundry.

I might even take pictures of something besides the cat and the birds at the bird feeder, now that I've finished the book. The camera? I've used all the features that make it a good first pick camcorder. But what makes this camera Great? That first Mini-DVD went into the DVD player and worked! And I composed all the scenes I saved to the Hard Disk and when ready, sent them to the DVD and finalized them. It was too easy. I guess I'm getting cocky with this Camcorder.

And, the zoom. I did tell you I took video of the bird feeder, from 20 yards away. I was able to zoom into the sparrow's eye. A whole eye filling up a 16:9 screen. And quickly, zoom out to catch 30 or more birds mobbing the feeder. I was in Zoom heaven. You don't even know when the 1:30 ends and the digital zoom starts. Smooth.

Gawd, I love this camera. I've got one gripe. Miniscule, but its there.

Where is the still shot memory stick? Even a 16Mb one would have been nice to have, just for learning purposes. I got a lot for what I paid. Still, a small thing like that magnifies itself in its abscense.

On my scale of 1 to 100, it gets a 89. Adding the memory stick for still photos would have pushed it over the top.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great camera....sooo versatile, but no flash, May 14, 2007

By	L. Davis - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love the convenience of this camera and how easy it is to use, especially when organizing video clips. It is awesome how you can select the clips that you want placed on a dvd and then burn all selected onto a disk. The only complaint I have is that there is no flash on the camera. The still photos are very clear during the day, but at night there is no light. I have not checked to see if there is flash that we can get to put on it.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Camcorder, August 20, 2007

By	Electronics Geek "BP" (NC) - See all my reviews

Every single camcorder out there has its Pros and Cons. There is not 1 perfect one out there. The HD cams have a crappy 10X zoom and you can't edit it on your PC. Generally speaking, I love this camera.
Pros:
- Photo Grab feature is awesome. Grab a photo from any frame in your videos.
- Hybrid functionally is awesome
- 30X zoom is incredible
- Sound is now Dolby Digital - very nice (On the 300A its not good)
- Video quality for the most part is excellent. (Except night)
- You can attach different lenses or filters. Nice!
- Price is right. Buy online! No need to buy a DVD burner with this model!
- Fast Sleep button works well. Disc naviagtion is easy.
Cons:
- 640K stills is below average. (Most camcorders out there also all stink in this category.)
- Sucks at night or low light - Forget it - (However I think most camcorders also stink in this category.
- Editing In-Camcorder fairly basic (I understand why though, most camcorders don't have the processing power)
- Buttons can take a little longer to get used to. Not bad though.

Its better than most of the camcorders out there. Its also the only Hybrid. Buy it.

PS - Pay attention people - Only 1/3 of the manual is in English, its not that big!