So what does the Blu-ray Disc get you? Time. The capacity of a mini Blu-ray Disc is 7.5 gigabytes, compared to 1.4 gigabytes for a regular mini DVD-R. This allows you to record far more high-definition footage to one disc. It also allows you drop-in support with consumer Blu-ray Disc players that are starting to make inroads into the living rooms of America. So, if you need an easy and portable way to deliver HD video, this is currently the way to go.

Hitachi's DZ-BD7HA Blu-ray Disc/HDD format provides the most flexible shooting and distribution options for the consumer. With the addition of Blu-ray Disc to the lineup, it simply takes this great format and expands on it, to give you more recording time and more disc format options for delivery.

Format: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
Image Sensor: 1/2.8 CMOS
Effective Video Pixels: 2,070,000
HDD Capacity: 30GB
Recording Times: HDD (HX 4 hrs, HF 5.3 hrs, HS 8 hrs), BD (HX 1 hr, HF 1.3 hrs, HS 2 hrs), DVD (SX 20 min, SF 30 min)
Lens: F 1.8-3.0
Focal Length: 47-470mm
Filter Size: 43mm
Focusing System: Auto/manual
Focus Assist: None
Programmed AE: Portrait, spotlight, sand & snow, low light
Manual White Balance: Yes
Image Stabilization: Electronic
Viewfinder: .02-inch color (200,000 pixels)
LCD Screen: 2.7-inch color TFT (211,200 pixels)
Recording Media: Hard disk drive 30GB, 8cm Blu-ray Discs (BD-RE, BD-R), 8cm DVD (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R)
Audio: 2-channel Dolby Digital
Dimensions: (WxHxD) 3-2/5" x 3-1/5" x 6-1/2" (excluding hand strap)
Optical Zoom: 10x
Digital Zoom: 500x
Video Out: HDMI, Component, Composite
Microphone Input: Yes
Manual Audio Levels: No
Headphone Jack: No
External Battery Charger: Yes
Accessory Shoe: Yes, cold

• Blu-ray support
• Impressive internal transfer capabilities
• Decent manual controls

• Poor low-light performance
• No headphone jack
• Hard to edit HD footage

This is a convenient high-definition camcorder with a longevity pending the end of a format war.

John Burkhart is Videomaker's Editor-in-Chief.

Hitachi
1855 Dornoch Court
San Diego, CA 92154
www.hitachi.com

$1,499