Hitachi DZ-MV730

The DZ-MV730 is Hitachi’s entry level DVD camcorder this year. It is armed with a mediocre imager, standard among lower-end DVD machines, and performs accordingly. While it also lacks a USB port, a big detriment to convenience-hungry consumers, the camcorder might be a nice, cheaper option to the DZ-MV780 or Sony's DCR-DVD7.

Video Performance(6.5)
The DZ-MV730 is Hitachi’s least advanced camcorder, CCD-wise. And it shows. The DZ-MV730 ships with a 1/6" CCD with 680K pixels (340K effective for both stills and video). The DZ-MV730 certainly performs worse than the other Hitachi we’ve tested, the DZ-MV780. This makes sense, as the DZ-MV780 has a bigger CCD with more pixels.

At 3000 lux, a testing environment equivalent to a bright sunny day, the DZ-MV730 produced noisier video that lacked the crispness of the DZ-MV780. Also, the DZ-MV780 shows a better grayscale, especially in the whites. The colors between these two camcorders are, surprisingly, of equal quality.

Compared to last year’s Hitachis, the DZ-MV730 performs differently than the DZ-MV550, but not necessarily better. Colors are crisper, but the DZ-MV550 shows better colors overall. The DZ-MV550 also has some blue noise which has been corrected on this year’s model.

Video Resolution(11.4)
The Hitachi DZ-MV730 captured video footage of a standard resolution chart in its standard 4:3 aspect. The stills were exported to Imatest Imaging software to determine the camcorder’s true video resolution. In 4:3 mode, the camcorder gave us approximately 261.1 lines of vertical resolution at its best, with approximately 436 line of horizontal resolution, producing a true resolution of 113839.6(0.1MP). In 16:9 mode the Hitachi gave us approximately 258 lines of vertical resolution, at its best, and approximately 331.7 lines of horizontal resolution, yielding a true resolution of 85578.6 (0.08 MP).

The Front(6.0)
The front of the DZ-MV730 is very similar to both the DZ-MV780 and the DZ-MV750, its partners in crime in this year’s Hitachi DVD camcorder racket. As mentioned, the DZ-MV730 is the least advanced of Hitachi’s line this year. But you wouldn’t really be able to tell this at first glance. It features the same lens barrel, stereo microphone, and port cover on its front that the other two camcorders do, but after further inspection (lifting up the cover) one finds that the DZ-MV730 lacks a USB port, an amenity included on all of its brethren. This can lead to some cumbersome steps when trying to shuffle around data. We’ll talk about that later.

The Right Side(7.5)
The DZ-MV730, like its siblings, is smaller that last year’s Hitachis. While this is definitely a good thing, it forces sacrifice in other areas. In this case, the DZ-MV730 has sacrificed some style. With the DZ-MV730’s repositioning of the SD card slot from last year’s placement (on the side of the DVD mechanism) to a more traditional spot (under the LCD screen), the camcorder loses some of its individuality, and thus some of its flair. This leaves the right side of the camcorder free of everything, which is okay, as this is the side gripped by the user.

The Left Side(8.0)
The left side features the same buttons as last year’s models; they’ve just been mixed around a bit. The Disc Navigation, Stop/Exit, Menu, and Select buttons are now on the panel directly above the LCD screen. The navigational joystick also has been moved, and is no longer a joystick. This control has morphed into more of a button, which is a shame as it is now harder to use. Buttons under the LCD screen include: Quick Menu, Focus, Exposure, BLC, Display, and Volume controls (+/-).

The Back(5.5)
The back of the DZ-MV730 hasn’t really changed since last year. It still features the camcorder’s battery slot, DVD mechanism open switch, and viewfinder. The mode dial has become a tad smaller than last year’s model, but it still features the same options (Digital Camera mode (disc), Camcorder mode (disc), OFF, and Card mode (MM/SD card).

The Top(7.75)
The top of the GZ-MV730 includes an intelligent accessory shoe, a photo button, and the zoom toggle. The photo button and zoom toggle are well placed under the user’s index finger.

Picture and Manual Control
Automatic Control (5.0)
Automatic controls on the DZ-MV730 exist, but they are only okay. This is doubly a shame as the camcorders manual controls are minimal and relatively hard to get to.

As far as performance goes, adjustments to exposure, shutter speed, and focus are quick and accurate, but not the best. In addition to the fully automatic functions offered on the DZ-MV780, a number of Program AE functions are available. These put certain predetermined limits on the automatic exposure and shutter speed of the camcorder, and include: Sports, Portrait, Spotlight, Sand&Snow, and Low Light. There are also three white balance presets available: Outdoor, Indoor 1 (Incandescent), and Indoor 2 (Fluorescent).

Overall Manual Control (3.0)
The DZ-MV730 offers manual control options for focus, exposure, and white balance. No manual shutter speed adjustments exist.

To our dismay, manual control on the DZ-MV730 has remained the same since last year’s models. The same button cluster found under last year’s LCD screen is found under this year’s. Manual focus and exposure are both controlled using this cluster, specifically by two volume buttons located underneath the LCD. As there is no independent iris or shutter speed adjustment, these controls are mediocre to begin with. The faulty navigation does not help.

We’ve seen this trend before, sadly, and across the board this year with DVD camcorders. Manufacturers would rather fill them with gimmicks than manual control. Just look at the best DVD camcorder this year, the DCR-DVD403. While its video and low light performance is undoubtedly stellar, it has the same low amount of manual control as other Sony's at a heavy price tag of $1,000.

Zoom Control (6.0)
The zoom control on the Hitachi DZ-MV730 is okay. It is perfectly placed, but suffers from being hard to control. While a bit easier than some Panasonic zoom toggles, to which it is similar in shape, it still suffers from the lack of grip that many of Panasonic’s MiniDV camcorders have. It’s right under the index finger though.

Focus (6.0)
The manual focus control on the DZ-MV730 is its worst manual control and is practically unusable. Adjusted using small, hard to press buttons under the LCD screen, focus provides no indication of whether or not it is "in" or "out" aside from the LCD screen’s image.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.0)
The Exposure control on the DZ-MV730 is almost as bad as the focus, and is virtually unusable. Controlled with the same buttons, this control is visualized along a long +/- meter on the LCD screen. No indication of F-stops or shutter speed settings are given.

Shutter Speed (0.0)
There are no shutter speed controls on the DZ-MV730, just a selection of Program AE presets.

White Balance (6.0)
Perhaps the most useful manual control on a camcorder severely lacking in the manual control department, white balance can be accessed in the DZ-MV730’s menu system, which is navigated by use of the navigational four-way button located above the LCD screen. Settings include Auto, Set (manual), Outdoor, Indoor 1, Indoor 2. Outdoor and both Indoors are presets, which hone the camcorder’s automatic adjustments to particular environments. Indoor 1 should be used when viewing incandescent bulbs, Indoor 2 for fluorescents.

Gain (0.0)
There are no manual gain controls on the Hitachi DZ-MV730.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
There are no other manual controls on the DZ-MV730.

Ease of Use(5.0)
While the DZ-MV730, as well as other Hitachi DVD camcorders this year, presents some improvements in the ease of use category, it should be noted that this camcorder is not easy to use when in manual mode, nor can it hold a candle to Sony’s DVD camcorder line this year.

Hitachi has, like Panasonic, eliminated the need to use cartridges on the DVD-RAMs used in the camcorder now, which makes things a bit easier, but now you have to take the discs out of the cartridge in the first place. This at least allows the camcorder to be a lot smaller than last year’s, which is a plus.

Still Features (4.0)
The DZ-MV730 has little in the way of still features. The Still Camera mode can be selected using the camcorder’s mode dial; just move to the camera icon. Menu options in still mode are very similar to those in camcorder mode. All the manual controls that exist in camcorder mode are available here, including focus, exposure, and white balance. Stills can only be captured at a resolution of 640 x 480, but they can be stored on either SD/MM card or DVD disc. The option of capturing stills on DVD disc alone is enticing, as the discs can hold so many pictures. The only bad thing is that these pictures will be of mediocre quality and small.

Still Performance (6.5)
The DZ-MV730 produces stills of lesser quality than the DZ-MV780. They have a lot more noise and really lack the crispness of the more advanced camcorder’s stills. The DZ-MV730 also can only capture stills at 640 x 480 which speaks against its versatility. The DZ-MV730 can capture stills to card media, which is something that the Sony DVD line cannot do.

Still Resolution (6.18)
Stills of a standard resolution chart from the Hitachi DZ-MV730 were exported to Imatest Imaging Software in order to calibrate it’s still resolution. The camcorder can only capture stills in the standard 4:3 mode at 640 x 480. This model produced best possible resolution of 82468.92 (0.08 MP).

Low Light Performance (2.25)
The DZ-MV730 was probably the worst performer of any Hitachi this year. Its low light results were marred with imperfections, and some blue noise that usually only occurs with such frequency on Sony camcorders.

The DZ-MV730 performed worse than the DZ-MV780 at 60 lux; we expected this. The DZ-MV780 showed better colors, brightness, crispness, grayscale, and less noise. Compared to Sony’s gimmicky DCR-DVD7, the DZ-MV730 showed equal noise and crispness, but with slightly better colors. The DCR-DVD203 shows a much brighter image, but one that’s marred by blue noise, even more so than the Hitachi or the DVD7.

At 15 lux, the DZ-MV730 produced images with better colors than the DZ-MV780, but they had much more noise, more mud, and less crispness, rendering them inferior. The color quality of the DZ-MV730 falls somewhere in between the Sony DCR-DVD203 (better) and the Sony DCR-DVD7 (worse).

Zoom Power Ratio (10.0)
The DZ-MV730 has an optical zoom of 16x. This is higher than some of the more expensive, and better performing, Hitachi DVD camcorders which downgrade to 10x. This is consistent with zoom trends of last year’s Panasonic and Hitachi DVD camcorders.

Wide Angle (8.4)
Wide angle measurements were taken of the Hitachi DZ-MV730 at both its standard 4:3 and widescreen mode. In standard aspect ratio the camcorder had a wide angle measurement of 38 degrees, while the 16:9, widescreen aspect measured 43 degrees.

4:3 Standard Aspect LCD View

Widescreen Aspect LCD View

VCR Mode (8.0)
Hitachi and Panasonic DVD camcorders record on DVD-RAM/R discs, while Sony DVD camcorders record on DVD-/+RW/R. While it is debatable as to which format is better, certain advantages are clear. DVD-RW recording allows immediate playback on nearly all conventional DVD players, while DVD-RAM discs can only be played back on DVD players compatible with DVD-RAM. On the other hand, DVD-RAM discs function much like hard discs and are therefore a bit easier and faster to access, organize, etc. Also, as pointed out last year on our message boards, the DVD-RAM format allows for a way to transfer footage from 3.5" DVDs to full format DVDs if you’ve got a Panasonic DVD recorder--even if you don’t have a computer, which is necessary for converting DVD-RWs from 3.5" to full size. That said, any given person is more likely to own a computer than a DVD recorder. The odds may be against DVD-RAM. All DVD camcorders can record on DVD-R discs which can be played back on conventional players, though they can only be recorded once.

The DZ-MV730 includes an A/V Output, so you can view captured footage on your television. The included cable includes both RCA inputs as well as an S-Video plug to accommodate your needs.

The most unfortunate aspect of the DZ-MV730, and one that is remedied on all other Hitachi DVD camcorders, is its absent USB port. This lack prevents users from connecting the camcorder to a computer for easy viewing and saving of footage. Unless you are recording to DVD-R disc or your computer accommodates DVD-RAM discs, this could be a big problem, as you’re left with virtually no way to access your footage aside from on-camcorder or television playback.

LCD/Viewfinder (6.0)
The DZ-MV730 includes a 2.5" LCD screen and a 0.2" color viewfinder. The LCD screen is of a 4:3 aspect and suffers from solarization when viewed from an angle. This is not a problem on Sony DVD camcorders.

Audio (6.5)
The DZ-MV730 captures 12 and 16 bit audio. This option can be toggled in the camcorder’s menu system. It also includes a microphone input port, located on its front, which is nice considering the lack of microphone inputs on camcorders this year. There is no headphone jack on the DZ-MV730 though. Also there is an A/V input/output which allows for transfer of footage, even from analog sources.

Handling (6.25)
The handling on the DZ-MV730 is basically the same as last year, but with a few minor changes. One: the camcorder is smaller than last year and supports DVD-RAM discs without cartridges. This is a small convenience but one that allows the camcorder to be a bit smaller which is nice. Two: the placement of the zoom toggle and photo button on the camcorder are great. Both are located immediately below the user’s index finger, providing very smooth access which is easier on the hand than camcorders which require the user to stretch around and bend their fingers to get to the zoom.

On the down side, the manual control on the DZ-MV730 is really hard to get to, requires two hands, and may involve some undesired tapping on the LCD screen.

Portability (7.0)
The DZ-MV730 is pretty small for a DVD camcorder. This is where the cartridge-less DVD-RAM disc comes into play. These new Hitachis also feature shorter lens barrels, which helps with portability to a certain extent.

Battery Life (7.2)
The included battery (DZ-BPS7) for the Hitachi DZ-MV730 captured for 1 hrs 12 min and 36 seconds. The battery was tested through continuous recording with the LCD open, and without engaging any other record functions.

Compression (5.0)
Video is record to DVD-RAM and conforms to the DVD-VR standard, with stills conforming to both the DVD-VR standard and JPEG. Audio uses MPEG2.

Media (5.0)
The DZ-MV730 records to DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs. Unlike Sony camcorders, it cannot record to DVD-RW, DVD+R, or DVD+RW discs. It can capture still images to SD or MM card.

Editing (3.0)
Editing footage captured to DVD disc is tricky. There are rudimentary editing options available both on the camcorder and in the included software. DVD camcorders and DVD media are not meant for editing. These days, the DVD camcorder in general is made for gimmicky convenience, to allow users a quick method to record onto media which can be immediately played on devices that most consumers have, DVD players. Where editing really lacks is once you get the video into your computer. It is very hard, nearly impossible to turn DVD video into something that a standard video editor like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas Video can handle.

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (7.5)
There is a widescreen function on the DZ-MV730 which is definitely one of the improvements over last year’s Hitachi DVD camcorders. The DZ-MV730’s LCD screen letterboxes its 4:3 image while expanding its horizontal angle of vision. Widescreen images recorded to disc do not need to be stretched to their widescreen aspect later as they do not need to squeeze into a 4:3 aspect to begin with, as on MiniDV tape. The convenience-hungry user can now view their footage on widescreen televisions, which certainly into the rising "for convenience" marketing strategy usually used to promote DVD camcorders. But users beware: this camcorder’s lack of USB port means lack of convenience as well.

4:3 Standard Aspect Mode

16:9 Widescreen Aspect Mode

Scan Rates/24P (0.0)
The DZ-MV730 does not offer any alternate Scan Rates or 24P, or 30P, digital effects.

Jacks, Ports, and Plugs (8.0)
One of the main downgrades in the Hitachi DVD lineup occurs here. The DZ-MV730 lacks a USB port and an intelligent accessory shoe. Luckily it has a microphone input, an A/V input/output that can also function as a S-Video port, and a DC input as well (though that is located on the charger pack). it does include am SD card port.

Other Features (3.5)
Electronic Image Stabilization The DZ-MV730 ships with electronic image stabilization, which can be selected and deselected in the camcorder’s menu system. It isn’t as good as optical image stabilization, but this is a DVD camcorder: get used to it.

Digital Zoom-- The camcorder offers digital zoom options of 240x and 40x.

Mic. Filter-- Often called the wind cut function or windscreen or low cut, this function cuts the low frequencies of the audio signal in order to block out wind noise.

Disc. Navigation-- One of the coolest functions of DVD camcorders, especially those which record onto DVD-RAM discs, is the Disc navigation function, seen on Hitachi and Panasonic DVD camcorders. This feature, basically an on-camcorder playback system, allows the user to basically edit footage (divide, delete, combine), add effects (fade, skip, thumbnail), copy data, and edit and create playlists. Footage—stills and video—can be navigated in a thumbnail grid, quickly and conveniently.

Comparisons
Hitachi DZ-MV780
The Hitachi DZ-MV780 exists two steps up on the list from the DZ-MV730. It includes a larger CCD with more pixels. This affords the camcorder better video and low light performance. Also, one of the main differences between these two camcorders is the DZ-MV730’s lack of a USB port. This makes hooking the DZ-MV730 up to a computer a boatload of trouble.

DCR-DVD203
Also available is Sony’s DCR-DVD92. This camcorder has a similar imager to the DZ-MV730, and should probably perform similarly as well. Like the DZ-MV730, the DCR-DVD92 lacks a USB port, which would make computer access as hard as it is on the DZ-MV730, except for the fact than the DCR-DVD92 records to DVD-R,RW and DVD+R,RW discs, which makes it more user-friendly.

Panasonic VDR-M53
The VDR-M53 is available from Panasonic with the same imager as featured on this Hitachi. The Panasonic has better bright light video performance and performance at 60 lux. Unfortunately, it can’t keep this up in a 15 lux environment, and the Hitachi gains the slight edge. The camcorder features a similar control scheme and body shape to the Hitachi. It also supports cartridge-less DVD-RAM discs and DVD-Rs.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters (8.0)
The camcorder, like all DVD camcorders, is designed for point-and-shooters. However, its lack of USB port may throw some for a loop.

Budget Consumer (7.5)
This is the cheapest Hitachi DVD camcorder on the market, so if you’re in the mood for DVD, but don’t have tons of money to spend, it might be for you.

Still Photo/Video Camera Hybrid (5.0)
This is one of the worst of the DVD camcorders for hybrid technology. With mediocre still performance, the only redeeming factor on the camcorder is the sheer amount of stills the thing can hold.

Gadget Freak (4.0)
The DVD novelty has long worn out its welcome among gadget freaks, and certainly a camcorder like the DZ-MV730 has little offer here.

Manual Control Freaks (2.0)
Manual control freaks shouldn’t look at DVD camcorders in the first place.

Pro/Serious Hobbyists (1.0)
See Manual Control Freaks comment.

Conclusion
As Hitachi’s entry-level camcorder this year, the DZ-MV730 performed as expected. Especially after seeing the DZ-MV780’s performance, the new Hitachis’ performances, so surprisingly good across the board last year, could be mulled over. The DZ-MV730 performed worse in low light, video performance, and still performance than the DZ-MV780, which was expected. All in all, the camcorder’s performance in relation to other manufacturers (considering its CCD size) was expected also. It's really too bad, because the camcorder's horrific low light performance really ruins some of it's potential.

The main problem with this camcorder, aside from its disc compatibility—a problem of all Hitachis and Panasonics—is its lack of a USB port. This can’t be emphasized enough. It is the only Hitachi to have such a problem, and only Sony’s DCR-DVD92 suffers the same fate in the larger DVD world. This problem detracts from the camcorder’s ability to connect to a computer, which is practically a necessity now. Of course we really like the inclusion of a microphone jack, but all around the DZ-MV730 isn't a very easy to use camcorder, and if you're shopping for a DVD camcorder you're probably looking for something that is easy to use.