KamenSam

The Hitachi DZ-HV575E is one of the cheapest full HD camcorders that you can buy in the UK. When I bought mine, it was around £129.99, which isn’t bad. Being that budget price however, there are always going to be compromises.

So first, what do you get for your £129.99? Well in the box, you get:

-Hitachi DZ-HV575E camcorder

-MiniUSB to USB cable

-MiniUSB charger

-MiniHDMI to HDMI cable

-Composite cable

-Lanyard (wrist strap)

-Camcorder pouch

-Driver CD and manuals

So, with the items in the box out of the way, let’s talk about the specs:

It can record 1080p & 720p HD video at 30fps, Widescreen at 60fps, and VGA & QVGA & 30fps. A wide range of sizes, huh? But I only recommend you record in 1080p or Widescreen, since anything lower than 1080p at 30fps, the frame rate drops, and it makes videos look really choppy and pixelated. It is also capable of taking 3mp, 5mp or 12mp* stills. *the 12mp stills are interpolated, so it’s best just to keep it to 5mp.

This camera has a mono microphone. Not a stereo mic, a mono mic. Having a mono mic is a pain as it is old technology. Also this mic is really quiet. So quiet that I have to increase the volume at least 6 times in my video editor to make it possible to hear. Doing this increases the sound of the background noise and also makes my voice sound very surreal.

In the options menu you can change a lot of options, using the 3 inch resistive touchscreen.  You can change the recording size, enable image stabilisation, enable motion detecting, enable macro mode, change light settings, and add video effects.It’s a very simple interface that works well, you tap an item to change it, and select OK to save the settings.

Using the cables provided, you can connect the HDMI cable to your HDTV, or connect the composite cables to your standard definition TV. It’s useful for playing back recorded videos, but it’s a shame you can’t record while you’re connected to a TV, if you for instance wanted to see the preview on a much bigger screen.

This is definitely great value, but there are some downsides. The main one is build quality. The other is quality in low light. As for build quality, this is actually my second of this camera. The first one broke when it was in my bag, it was in its protective pouch and it broke. If you get this I recommend you also invest in getting a proper camcorder case to keep this in. otherwise you’ll have to wait a month to get a replacement, like I did.

So, low light. This is a problem for many entry level cameras, and this is no exception. But the thing with this is that it doesn’t work very well in artificial light areas either. So to use this, you either need to use it outside, or at daytime when there is a lot of light to get good quality. So if you want to record at night you will need to buy some very bright studio lights to keep near the subject of the recording.

So, to conclude, the Hitachi DZ-HV575E is an entry level HD camera, with many features for only £129.99, and if you can pay out for a camcorder case to keep it protected and a studio light to use your camera indoors, it becomes a worthwhile investment.