Blu-ray means more memory
Hitachi is better known for gadgets other than camcorders. But the company is one of the big names behind the new data storage technology, the Blu-ray Disc.
So it's no surprise that Hitachi has released the DZ-BD70 and the DZ-BD7H camcorders, bringing the Blu-ray Disc technology to camcorders for the first time.
Both models come equipped with a Blu-ray Disc drive capable of supporting the new high-capacity discs, while the BD7H boasts an extra 30GB hard disk drive.
So what's the big deal?
With a Blu-ray Disc, you get nearly 10 times the capacity of a DVD on a disc of the same physical size.
By replacing the 'red' lasers used in conventional DVD and CD players, Blu-ray uses a laser in the 'blue' light spectrum, which has a shorter wavelength, allowing a larger capacity on a single disc surface.
The result is a disc that can hold 25GB of data on a single layer disc and 50GB on a dual layer disc.
The extra memory capabilities should come in handy for High Definition-enabled devices like the two Hitachi camcorders. Both support Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel) video using the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression.
The BD70 and BD7H are equipped with a 5.3 megapixel CMOS sensor, giving you about 2.07 megapixels for video and 4.32 megapixels for stills.
The two models are expected to launch by October, with prices starting at around HK$11,000.
Pros: Blu-ray Disc technology, Full HD video, hard disc on DZ-BD7H
Cons: Need to transfer data off Blu-ray and onto other formats if you don't have a Blu-ray player
