I've just bought a new gadget, it is the Hitachi DZ-HV565E HD digital camcorder which will be replacing my Sanyo Xacti CA6 which I still have, but was a camcorder I didn't like!



The Hitachi camcorder was a birthday present from my wife, and has already been put to use for recording high definition driving lesson videos with very good clarity as shown below (high speed ADSL broadband internet connection required for this video clip).



This gadget reminds me of my first digital camcorder the Sanyo Xacti C40 which I loved so much and was gutted when it got lost or stolen under misterious circumstances.
It has many of the features of the Sanyo C40 that were missing in the CA6.
Rotatable LCD screen, full size tripod mount, can also take photographs as well as record HD video, the only disappointment is that the battery can not be charged while in the camera. The Hitachi records to solid state SD cards, so is tapeless, which means quicker editing times of the quicktime mov files it produces (I use final cut express on a mac for editing, but I'm sure you can use Movie Maker or Adobe Premier Elements on the PC).

So far I've only used the Hitachi DZ-HV565E to record video, and have been happy with it, and I can see that it will get more use than my Sanyo Xacti CA6. One question that a lot of people often ask is what is the low light recording like? Being a semi-professional videographer, I tend not to shoot in low light as even the professionals use lights in daylight, not to talk of indoors, and I will be using it mostly for outdoor activities in the day.

If I do have a genuine reason for shooting in low light, I will let you know how I get on with the inbuilt LED lights on the front of the Hitachi hybrid camera.

I will post more video clips and photos from the DZ-HV565E once I've had more time to evaluate it, and would give a proper review then.

This Hitachi Camcorder Broke in 2012!

More Hitachi Camcorder views
DZ-HV565E Camera auto focus Issues.
Hitachi HD camcorder spare battery

Further to my Sanyo VPC-CA6 Camcorder review, this is another rant about this hybrid recording device.

I hadn't used this Sanyo Camcorder in a longer time, opting to use my Sony instead, but today my son had a little presentation at school, and I wanted to use this smaller camcorder so that I could be a little discreet.

On powering up the Sanyo Xacti VPC-CA6, I got a low battery warning message, and immediately I thought not now, as I can't even power the camcorder from the charger!

I know the Sanyo Xacti CA6 is weatherproof, but I would rather have a camcorder that is more versatile, can be mounted on a tripod, has a viewfinder Lcd monitor that allows me to record myself. None of these features are avaiable on the Sanyo VPC CA6!

I'm not sure if I'd buy another Sanyo hybrid camcorder again, I miss my Sanyo Xacti C40. This gadget has now been replaced by a Hitachi SD card HD pocket camcorder.

Sanyo VPC-CA6 Hyprid Camcorder/Camera

Summary: Don't buy this gadget, very poor design compared to the previous Sanyo Xacti model I used.

My first Sanyo Xacti camcorder was the C40 which I had for about one year, and proved to be a very reliable, versatile and useful little digital camcorder with the added advantage of it taking very good quality photographs. Having used the Sanyo Xacti C40 digital camcorder for over a year filming various movies including my african bicycle adventure, my driving school video podcasts and my hang glider blog photographs, I was very upset when the little silver Sanyo Xacti C40 digital camcorder disappeared into thin air. I don't know if it was stolen, or I just lost it.

A few months latter, and I really needed another small digital camcorder to replace the Sanyo C40, as my Sony Digital 8 TRV camcorder was too big to carry around with me all the time.

I wanted to buy another Sanyo Xacti C40, but it was no longer available to buy, so the next model that came up was the Sanyo Xacti CA6 digital camcorder. I needed a replacement really fast, and having been totally satisfied with my first purchase from the Sanyo stable of Camcorders, I didn't think twice about buying the Sanyo CA6. What a big mistake.

When the Sanyo package arrived, I eagerly opened the box, and as I took the digital camcorder out of the wrapping, the first thing I noticed was the plastic casing of the Sanyo CA6 digital camcorder as opposed to the metallic silver casing of the Xacti C40, that was not the only disappointment.

I opened up the camera lcd view finder to find out that the camcorder viewfinder does not swivel around and therefore I can't record video blogs with it! The other problem is you can't charge the battery while it is in the camera, which rules it out it being used as a webcam. Finally the VPC-CA6 does not have a tripod mounting hole as did the Sanyo Xacti C40, so I can't take professionally stable shots!

On the whole a big disappointment when compared to the excellent Sanyo Xacti C40.

I would have returned the Sanyo Xacti VPC-CA6 back to the place I bought it from, but I was just too lazy packing it up and then arranging a courier to take it back, especially when I would have to pay for delivery charges.

So my advice to you is don't buy the Sanyo Xacti VPC-CA6 Digital Camcorder!

Hitachi HD Digital Video Camera