October 5, 2007

2008 Hitachi Wooo Blu-ray and Hybrid HD Camcorder Series

TOKYO (Oct. 5, 2007) - Hitachi announced the release of their latest line of Blu-ray and HDD based video cameras.
Improving on the DZ-BD7 and 7H which were released in japan last year, the new DZ-BD9H features a 60Gb HDD which can store up to 9 hours of full 1920 x 1080 HD footage and can also store 1 hour of footage on 8cm, 7.5Gb Blu-ray discs.

The DZ-BD9H features an improved image processing system consisting of a new lens which allows for higher frequencies of light to be passed to the CMOS sensor, a 5.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor with a redesigned primary color filter for a higher signal to noise ratio in low light situations, reducing the minimum light requirements from 24 to 15 lux, and the optimized Picture Master Full HD image processing engine for more detailed crisper images, more vivid colors and less noise in low light situations. These features combined allow for an improved auto focus and image stabilizing system and makes video shot in low light situations 1.5 times clearer, also improving overall image resolution by 10% when compared to the previous model.
Hitachi will also release a HDD-only version, with a 60Gb HDD, which can store up to 9 hours of Full High Definition and 18 hours of High Definition footage, and its dimensions are only 7cm by 9cm by 12 cm.
The included on-camera software allows for frames to be exported as images onto an SD card, can rearrange the order of footage and save up to 99 different sequences for viewing on a TV straight from the camera, it can also display and delete scenes on the camera before exporting the footage to a Blu-ray Disc.
The DZ-BD9H will go on sale in Japan in early February for approximately ?180,000 or US$1,700.