Amazing video and sound quality. Great zoom capability Extensive facilities Near professional results

Manual supplied (in UK at least) is 50/50% Russian/English and some of the translation is poor. This might make learning about this camera''s extensive facilities a bit more difficult for the less technically minded, but you get there in the end. This applies to every Japanese appliance I have ever bought, so why don''t they employ an English-speaking schoolchild to proof read?! Overlap (fade) function fades the sound as well as the image which is not what I would expect. A little heavy maybe (but not too much). I use a waist bag for convenience. UK/EU models have the analogue i/p disabled for tax reasons (because it would be classed as a VCR). However a gizmo is available from magazine ads and web sites to re-enable.

I needed a replacement for my aged (and broken) Hitachi analogue 8mm camera. I have many old 8mm tapes that I might wish to re-edit in the future, therefore Digital 8 fitted the bill. I was also concerned that many of the digital machines were actually TOO small with lots of tiny buttons difficult to see or handle. I chose this model on the strength of reviews on this site and from magazines (choice of D8 machines is limited anyway). Video quality is such that when replaying to TV, when you switch to a TV channel you cannot tell the difference from professional images. Zoom capability is great (disregarding the rather gimmicky top end of digital zoom) however I will be buying the wide-angle lens accessory for even greater flexibility - sometimes you just can''t get far enough away. Advantages over analogue are amazing, like getting perfect still images on pause when downloading and accurate time/date info, not to mention the picture quality. The date/time stamp is permanent but is a switchable option on screen, as are all displays. Transition fades and overlaps make for professional results although I wish the sound during the overlap function did not fade in and out concurrently. You need to dub sound to disguise this. The 4 mb memory stick for digital camera still shot mode is a bonus. The shots when printed are not top quality but you wouldn''t expect it. I have a great shot of an Italian lake as wallpaper on my PC desktop. It is easy and very useful to produce stills from the video footage. Additional, higher capacity sticks are easily available. The menu-driven options are easy to use but a fair bit of familiarisation is necessary, especially for the less technically minded. The fold-out and swivel LCD screen offers several shooting or viewing position options, although I personally cannot understand why anybody would actually shoot that way, I much prefer the viewfinder for steadier shots. I have bought a higher capacity battery, however you need to, literally, weigh up the actual size and weight against the additional time you need. LCD not visible in bright conditions - but it wouldn''t be would it? I read that a lens cap is not supplied but my UK model was. This is a great camera which has loads of modes/options/facilities, many of which you probably won''t even use.

Customer Service

Not used and I hope I don''t have to.

Similar Products Used:

Hitachi 8mm analogue