Hitachi DZ-BX35A DVD Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

Product Description

Only proprietary 6th Generation Hitachi technology delivers unmatched performance and convenience to the home movie experience. The four formats of DVD recording and playback offers greater format flexibility than ever before. A 25x optical and 1200x digital zoom provide exceptional clarity while the Photo Frame Grab technology gives you the power to select individual video frames from your movie to capture and export as still images. The cinematic 16: 9 recording matches the widescreen format of HDTV's to deliver the most detailed cinematic performance and realistic picture. The ultimate home theater experience is achieved through the most refined and advanced DVD technology ever created.

Customer Reviews:

The little Hitachi digital video camera.......2007-08-10

During the summer of 2007 I checked with a good consumer magazine and saw this camera fairly well recommended. Then I visited this site and read more reviews. After purchasing the camera I have found the reviews I read were very accurate. It is easy to use, a nice size, has great zoom capability and I feel it is worth the price.

One observation I made was the same as what I remember from the review - that is that the microphone is very sensitive. I plan to keep that in mind and use it to our advantage when I video my son playing piano.

Another note is that the still pictures are not that good but since that is not what we bought the camera for that is of little importance.

It has an amazing zoom lens! The down side of that is when zoomed in on a subject it is very difficult to hold the camera steady.
I've noted that the auto-focus is quite sensitive as well and changes the focus if any little thing comes into the picture.
To that end I highly recommend using a tripod while videoing important things. If you don't have a tripod available then try to find a fence post, bench back, car hood, anything that is stable to rest the camera on.

I am looking forward to using the camera for videos for years to come!

Great video quality - a few important design flaws........2007-07-02

We're very happy with the video quality of this camcorder. However, there are a couple of rather large design flaws:
1. There is no auto shut off when the camera is powered on but not in use. To make matters worse, the power button is easily turned on accidentally. Consequently, we very often excitedly reach for our recorder only to find that the battery is dead. This happens so much that we've taken to removing the battery when the camera isn't in use.
2. Ok - I can't be the only person who forgets to remove the lens cap. How hard would it be to prevent recording until the lens cap is removed? As it is, I've got quite a few minutes of "black cats at midnight" footage.
3. Power is required to eject the DVD. So, when your battery is dead because the poorly designed power button turned on an drained it, not only can you no longer record video, you can't even watch what you have already recorded!

Trouble, Trouble, Trouble..........2007-06-06

I bought this camera after doing some online research. The price was attractive for the features offered, and online reviews consistently mentioned the camcorder's superior picture quality. The first DV-R I recorded looked great, but a distracting hum became apparent halfway through the disc. I called Hitachi's customer service line, and they asked which brand of disc I used. When I mentioned Sony, I was told to try Maxell, the brand Hitachi recommends. I was also told the Sony disc might have been defective. I bought Maxell discs and went back to record again. This time, the hum was worse. It wasn't consistent, but intermittent. A second call to Hitachi was made. I was now told to bring it in for servicing, even though the camera was brand new. I complied. You guessed it. After getting the camera back from the authorized repair shop, the hum was still there. A third call to Hitachi was made. I was told to return the camera to the repair shop so they could correct the problem. The repair shop isn't exactly down the block, so bringing the camera back, and then picking it up again would have consumed time, expense, and aggravation. At this point, I had lost complete faith in both the camcorder, Hitachi's customer service, and their authorized repair shop. Please.... STEER CLEAR OF THIS CAMCORDER. Though picture quality is fine, you will be driven crazy by horrible noise on your recordings. Based on my experience with this awful camera and Hitachi's customer service, I will NEVER purchase one of their produicts again.

Please (I am asking nicely) Do not buy! Do not buy! Do not buy!.......2007-05-05

Do not buy unless you want to waste time recording and then lose everything you record.
I have lost my daughters birthday party, a trip to a fair and some other priceless moments, because of disc errors. Halfway through recording I get messages saying the disc is corrupt and needs to format. Meaning 'erase everything that I have filmed up to that point". This has happened multiple times. In fact i have yet to make it through the finalizing process on a single CD. The last straw was a trip to Thailand and cambodia. I carried the camera with me everywhere and filmed everything, again getting multiple error messages. When I did finally get through 1 entire CD of filming without getting an error, only to get home and lose everything. I tried to finalize the CD. It got to a minute left of finalizing and came up with a different error message but of course it wanted to format to solve the problem. The whole solution to any problem on this camera is to format. Again, this erases everything. I have wasted 30-40 hours of taping without a single bit of footage. I am back to mini dv. dont buy! Trust me the first time you lose a priceless moments you will be sick to your stomach.

garbage.......2007-04-11

i should have listened to the other reviewers and not cared for the really low price. now i lost my son's first birthday party what a POS.
stay far far away don't take it for FREE

Average customer rating:

Barska X-Trail 15x70 Binoculars

Great for headaches and frustration.

good optics & solid construction, but...

Barska X-trail 15x70 Binocularw/Tripod Adapter & Tripod

Manufacturer: Barska
ProductGroup: Photography
Binding: Electronics

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Product Features:

High power 15x magnification built in a large sturdy constructed porro binocular

Fully coated optics with BAK-4 prisms for crisp and clear images

Large objective lens maximizes light transmission for superior brightness and vivid images even in low-light conditions

Ergonomic design with shock-absorbing rubber armor and non-slip grip

Bonus pan-head tripod, tripod adapter and carrying case

ASIN: B000A7B9RQ

Product Description

The X-trail series is made for the great outdoors! They are not only top-performance and extremely rugged, but offer an amazing value for quality optics and durability. From a wide selection of binoculars featuring wide-angled full size to high-powered large porros and different magnifications, you will find an X-trail to fit your style. Whether you are out in the forest or inside an arena, have them trail along with you.

Customer Reviews:

Barska X-Trail 15x70 Binoculars.......2007-03-21

I was pleased with the performance, the field of vision, and the light weight. Carrying case leaves a lot to be desired, as does the shoulder strap.

Great for headaches and frustration........2006-05-03

I ordered these binoculars to learn more about the sky. Sure these binoculars are big and impressive looking but that is about the extent of their worth. I ordered the first pair and they provided me with the biggest non-alcohol induced headache I've ever experienced. The images were miles off and when my brain tried to merge them I felt like I just rode space mountain 7 times. I boxed them up and due to Amazon's convenient return policy, I sent them back for a refund.
The next day, against better judgement, I thought that maybe I just had gotten a bad pair and again decided to order this same model. Out of the box, I didn't even have to look through them to see a defect as the part of the plastic body surrounding the eyepiece was cracked. I still gave it the benefit of the doubt and waited until the stars came out only to learn that Jupiter apparently has a twin as does its moons. I had my wife verify this as I thought I was crazy. These were boxed up and sent back for a refund with no intention to order again.
I think part of the reason for the horrible shape of this model is Barska's packaging. The binoculars are in plastic in a soft case in plastic then placed in a flimsy cereal box - no joke! The aluminum tripod is wrapped in bubble wrap and is jammed between the already too tight box and the binoculars. Then the over-stuffed box has plastic on the outside of it. Basically it is 3 plastic bags and a cereal box that house the fragile optics and this makes no sense to me. I wrap my garbage up better than this. Don't risk the frustration - the bargain price just isn't worth it.

good optics & solid construction, but..........2006-04-15

The thread pitch on the focuser is to high so even very light pressure on the eye pieces causes them to rack back in; thus if you let your eyes or glasses touch the eyepieces you need to hold onto the focusing knob. Other than this the closest I could get them to focus was about 3X the specified close fucos distance. Otherwise very little color fringing and good sharpness all the way to the edge of field. Eye relief is nice I can get almost the whole FOV while wearing glasses. and when locked the tabletop tripod is acually quite solid
VERY disappointing to see such an easily corrected mistake in the focuser of a nice pair of binoculars with incredible "bang for the buck"

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