Hitachi DZMV780A

The Hitachi DZMV780A features a number of improvements over previous generations of Hitachi camcorders, including faster start-up, easier disc loading, and one of the smallest DVD camcorder designs we've seen. Unfortunately, its mediocre indoor still and video quality makes it a poor choice. You're better off paying for one of the more expensive alternatives.

The Hitachi DZMV780A is one of the littlest DVD camcorders we've seen. Slightly smaller than Hitachi's midrange DZGX20A, the DZMV780A is extremely compact, weighing just one pound, two ounces. It has a solid, sturdy feel, though its gray-and-silver plastic case looks very ordinary.

The camera rests comfortably in your right hand, providing easy access to the zoom rocker and the power/mode switch. Buttons above and behind the LCD screen offer easy access to the most common functions without making you dive into the menus. The primary controls work well, but the flush touch-sensitive buttons for changing exposure and manual focus can be difficult to use in the field.

As with the other Hitachi models of its generation, the DZMV780A does away with the caddy required by earlier models of Hitachi DVD camcorders. Just snap the 3-inch disc on the spindle to record, then pop it out and place it directly in your DVD player. The DVD hatch sits on the right side of the camera, so a tripod won't interfere with disc swapping.

We found the Hitachi DZMV780A's menus easy to navigate using the left-mounted directional pad, which doubles as a playback control. A Quick Menu button offers an abbreviated list of functions, but the regular menus are relatively sparse, leaving the Quick Menu so basic that it's rarely useful.

The Hitachi DZMV780A's specifications are similar to those of a low-end MiniDV camcorder. It features a 1.1-megapixel CCD, with 690,000 pixels used for video. Among the configurable settings are automatic and manual white balance and exposure as well as five programmed autoexposure modes. The camera features an accessory shoe that can accommodate an external flash; you can also buy wide and telephoto lens adapters.

The MV780A supports two formats of 3-inch DVD discs: write-once DVD-R and rewritable DVD-RAM. You can also use the bundled DVD-MovieAlbumSE software--a simple video editor--to transfer footage and convert it to VOB, the standard format for DVDs. Though the fastest method of transfer is to simply drop your disc into a PC's DVD drive, the DZMV780A also provides a USB 2.0 connection for transferring still images and video. The USB connection mounts the drive as a volume on your system, allowing you to drag and drop files using Windows Explorer. You won't find a FireWire port, nor software or drivers for the Mac.

The camera records using MPEG-2 compression and can hold 18 to 60 minutes per side, depending upon the recording quality selected. It handles both 4:3 and 16:9 wide-screen formats. The DZMV780A stores video in DVD-VR format, which many PC video-editing programs now support--though not as many as support DV.

As for stills, the MV780A records 1,280x960-pixel still images to either DVD-RAM or SD/MultiMediaCard (MMC) media. Unlike the higher-end DZGX20A, the DZMV780A lacks a flash, so you'll probably reserve still shooting for outdoors. The camera offers S-Video and composite inputs and outputs, which are useful for converting your old analog videos to DVD format. You can set the LCD to act as a basic video light when shooting in Low Light mode; the image blanks and displays pure white to light your subject. This is helpful only when shooting very close to the subject.

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