When Hitachi decided to mix DVD and HDD recording capabilities, the result were the underperforming and impossibly priced DZ-HS300E and DZ-HS500E. At $599 and $799 respectively, the two camcorders have crossed into HD territory, but their tiny sensors still produce low-grade standard definition video. Hard-drive space is the main difference between the two – 8 GB for the less ridiculously expensive model, and 30 GB for the 500E. Other differences will be noted throughout the article as needed.



The native widescreen 1/6-inch CCD has 680,000 pixels, of which 340,000 are active. At a mediocre 3 to 10 Mbps, the best available video quality allows for at least 18 minutes to be recorded to four DVD formats: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, +RW. The on-board HDDs hold 110 minutes in the case of the HS300E, and 7 hours for the beefier HS500E. Video frames can be saved as stills to either DVDs or an SD card, requiring an in-camera deinterlacing process.



The 25x optical zoom lens of the HS300E opens up to F1.8 at wide-angle and F3.2 on the telephoto end; the 30x zoom range of the HS500E holds a minimum aperture of F2.0 to F4.1. Both camcorders have digitally stabilized lenses, which reduces their already minimal resolution. Their 2.7-inch widescreen LCD havs a disappointing resolution of just 120,000 pixels, while the small 0.2” color viewfinder has 200,000 pixels.



Both models are menu-operated, but while a joystick is located on the back of the camcorders, most manual controls have to be adjusted with the fast forward and rewind buttons. A fully automatic mode can take care of exposure, white balance and focus, and given the general lack of manual controls, this is what most users will be stuck with. Dedicated buttons allow semi-quick control - they can only be used in conjunction with the menu system - over focus, exposure shift and backlight adjustment.



No real photo capabilities are available, and apart from the on-camera stereo microphone, neither are audio functions.