The folks at Hitachi America feel their US$1,995 Hitachi DZ-MV100ADO is a “perfect match” for the Mac platform, according to Product Manager Takeshi “Tak” Ogino. The digital camera/camcorder perfectly fits in with Apple’s desire to make the Mac the center of a “digital lifestyle,” he added.
The Hitachi DZ-MV100ADO (usually referred to simply as the DVDCAM) is a tapeless, optical disc-based full-motion video and megapixel still camera. It can record up to two hours of full motion MPEG2 video and nearly 2,000 megapixel still images. Released in the U.S. in late February, it has just become available online at the Hitachi America Web site.
“The beauty of it is that it’s DVD-RAM based and uses a random access optical disk so you can go directly from the disk into computer for editing,” Gerald Corbett, general manager for marketing communication, Hitachi America, told MacCentral. “It really is the optimum video solution. It’s not tape based, so you don’t have to worry about stopping or starting.”
The DZ-MV100ADO is a digital camcorder that records JPEG images and full-motion MPEG2 video onto an 8 cm DVD-RAM disc with nearly 3GB of total capacity (double-sided). Powered by a lithium-ion battery or AC adapter, the DVDCAM can record up to one hour per side of standard video or 30 minutes per side of fine video. To be more precise, it records nearly 1,000 JPEG images (1280×960) per side or up to one hour of standard mode (352×480) MPEG2 video per side or up to 30 minutes of fine mode (704×480) MPEG2 video per side.
The DVDCAM packs a 48x zoom (12x optical), 3.5-inch color LCD monitor, a dual mode switch for videos and stills using the same disc, A/V input/output, S-Video input/output, stereo MIC input, and USB Connection Kit (though, for the Mac platform, it’s easier to simply pop the disc into your Mac’s DVD drive). The camcorder has a digital shutter speed of 1/60-1/4000, an auto/manual mode and a self timer, both for still images. With battery and media, it weighs 2.1 pounds.
The current DVDCAM isn’t compatible with today’s DVD players, but the next generation will be, Corbett said. That’s why it’s the “device of the future,” he added.
“Devices such as this will eventually replace tape,” Corbett said. “That’s why we’re targeting it to consumers, as well as a presentation solution for the prosumer market.”