Blu-Ray Camcorder "Hitachi DZ-BD7HA" - Storage Unlimited

Hitachi DZ-BD7HA

Hitachi is paving its own path. While the camcorder industry has been duking it out with the HDV and AVCHD formats, Hitachi decided to skip that and venture into an even bigger format war, one being waged between hundreds of companies with billions of dollars at stake: Blu-ray versus HD DVD. Hitachi is firmly in the Blu-Ray camp, though few could have anticipated it releasing a camcorder in that format so soon. By and large, the electronics industry agreed that a) it was too early to pick a winner, and b) the challenge of shrinking the technology would be too difficult and expensive right now. Thus they created the AVCHD format. They were correct to do so, because the world’s first Blu-ray camcorder, the Hitachi DZ-BD7HA ($1,600 MSRP), is indeed too difficult and too expensive.

The Front (6.5)

The façade of this Blu-ray beast is dominated by its massive lens, which features a 43mm filter diameter for attachments. The lens is capable of a 5-50mm focal length and an aperture range of f/1.8-f/3.0. A flash is embedded to the left of the lens with a flash light receiving sensor just below. Any use of attachments, such as a fish-eye or telephoto lens, will render the flash entirely useless. The remote/infrared sensor hides beneath the massive lens hood, and is also home to the recording indicator lamp.Hitachi DZ-BD7HA - The Front

The Right Side (4.5)

At first glance, the DZ-BD7HA looks like the Hitachi DZ-HS300A on steroids, but after further investigation you’ll find a mic jack obscured behind the front hand strap grommet. The mic jack is housed by a tiny, thin plastic strip with no label of any sort. It took a fair amount of handling before we stumbled upon this needle in the haystack. In fact, you’ll see most of the ports are so well hidden that the incurious may never find them.

The right side is where you’ll find the Blu-ray disc hatch, which opens remarkably quickly compared to the Panasonic HDC-SX5 and Sony HDR-UX7. Those camcorders often gave a 15 to 30-second delay between pushing the “disc open” button and the resultant action. The DZ-BD7HA’s hand strap is almost identical to the Canon HR10’s — thick, synthetic, and lacking significant padding along the inside. The hand strap is also anchored fairly low to the base of the camcorder, but due to the profound size of the body, there is a lot to grab onto.

Hitachi DZ-BD7HA - The Right Side

The Back (7.0)
The square-shaped caboose of the DZ-BD7HA is home to a rubberized, telescoping viewfinder — an endangered species in the current market. Unfortunately, the viewfinder only shoots out about 3/4-inch from the back, which still places the shooter nose-deep into the camcorder. The battery pack rests beneath the viewfinder within a cavernous battery chamber. Luckily, the Hitachi engineers did not model the DZ-BD7HA’s battery design after the Panasonic HDC-SX5, which juts out like a diving board.

Along the right side of the back you’ll find the Video/Photo mode switch, accompanied by a set of three mode lamps below: HDD, BD/DVD, and SD Card. The mode dial is next down the line, and features a record start/stop button embedded in the middle. Shifting between modes is not a quick task, and can take up to 10 seconds. The Disc Eject switch is located along the bottom and slides downward to activate the disc hatch.

Hitachi DZ-BD7HA - The Back

The Left Side (8.0)
Behold the land of Mystery. Most of the DZ-BD7HA’s ports are hidden more efficiently than Waldo, located behind two covert plastic port covers. Along the bottom left, below the LCD cavity, what appears as part of the DZ-BD7HA’s curvaceous and stylistic body is really … the component-out and AV-out terminal cover! And embedded within the LCD cavity is a plastic fan-shaped outline with a finger groove to its right that, when popped open, reveals … the USB and HDMI terminals! Although Hitachi scores on the runway, it’s a different story in terms of ease of use. Some consumers may never even know the DZ-BD7HA has these ports.

Before flinging open the 2.7-inch LCD screen, you’ll notice a set of three buttons along the outer ridge toward the back: Quick Start, Disc Navigation, and Dubbing. Once inside the LCD cavity, you’ll be greeted by a round playback speaker and a cluster of additional buttons: Guide, Full Auto, BLC, Exposure, Focus, Display, and Finalize. External focus and exposure buttons? Not bad, until you consider that the Sony HDR-UX7 features a Cam Control dial, along with a handful of other camcorders that offer better video at a much cheaper price tag — but we’ll get to that later. The LCD panel features a joystick and three buttons: Menu, Select, and Stop/Exit. Operation is smooth and response time is quick, but the DZ-BD7HA’s joystick is no match for a rear-mounted Panasonic or Canon.

Hitachi DZ-BD7HA - The Left Side

The Top (6.25)

Up top you’ll find the built-in stereo microphone at the head of the ship. Luckily, the bulky HDD/disc hatch side of the DZ-BD7HA provides enough grip to keep the hand out of reach so as not to interfere with recorded audio. Working our way back, you’ll notice a large silver hump with a finger groove at its base. Popping this mammoth port cover open reveals the DZ-BD7HA’s hot accessory shoe. It’s great to have a hot shoe and mic jack, but at $1,600, the DZ-BD7HA should include a headphone jack, as well. The zoom toggle and photo button are located along the back end of the top. Zooming in and out is smooth and effective.

Hitachi DZ-BD7HA - The Top

Source: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Hitachi-DZ-BD7HA-Camcorder-Review-33581.htm