Hitachi DZ-MV100A

Hitachi pioneered the idea of consumer cameras capable of recording video direct to DVD. The early models were large and relatively expensive but high quality. It has taken a while for the idea to take off but it is certainly gaining momentum with a number of competitors now coming into the market. Hitachi has responded by progressively making its cameras more compact and adding extra features such as a SD memory card for storing still images or compressed video clips.

Hitachi VM-D965LE Video

Hitachi’s ingeniously hinged screwdriver is your flexible friend when it comes to awkward screws and looks remarkably like a Halo 3 gun

Good colour reproduction at a bargain price.

HITACHI DZ-MV208E

Hitachi DZ-MV100E

One of the most barren models feature-wise that we looked at (and only dubiously beating the Sony VPL-ES1 and the Sanyo PLC-SW30 which took the bottom honours), the Hitachi CPS210 certainly made up for it when it came time to undergo our strenuous testing regime.

Hitachi’s PJ-TX10 is the monster of the group – in that it’s by far the biggest and the heaviest projector.

DVD is said to be to movies what CD was to music. Well-filmed DVD movies are better in all respects than those recorded on VHS, so the idea of a digital video camera recording direct to DVD disc would appear sound.

There is not a huge difference between this and the MV550E. In fact, if you put them side by side you have to look closely to see the difference in looks, which is model number in small print on one side.

Despite the $600 price gap there are only a few small but important differences between the 238E and the 270E. For example, the 238E has a smaller LCD display; a black and white viewfinder; and no S-connector input. Apart from that, the technology is essentially identical: both have the same 1.16-megapixel CCD as well as 12x optical zoom. As a result, the quality of the images is similar.

It's a sign of the times when Compaq's Aero 8000 runs Windows CE in a box bigger than a Sharp PC-A250 (reviewed issue 23, p86) running Windows 98. So what's the big idea? Windows CE uses no moving parts, while software in ROM means immediate start-up times, high reliability, and long battery life all highly desirable qualities in a portable.

The second Panasonic submitted, the PT-LC76E rated higher than its sister model -- with even better performance for both office and home real world tests - and came only second to the Hitachi CPS210 overall.

Small enough to fit in your pocket but with enough power to make light work of rusty screws and flat-packed furniture

If the CCD is the brain of a digital video camera it is logical that three should be better than one. A single CCD has to deal with all colours together while a 3-CCD system divides the primary red, green and blue (RGB) colours to individual CCDs to give a much more precise and accurate picture. The result is a high quality image that is as good as any of the cameras tested - including the Sony DVD201E, which provided the benchmark for most of the others.

Microsoft has four key 'visions' for Pocket PC 2003 (PPC 2003): make it easier for manufacturers to innovate, improve the 'wireless experience', bring easy instant messaging to the PDA, and expand the 'media experience'.

At just on $4,400, the 500A cannot really be considered a consumer DV camera, however, it is no doubt a camera a lot of consumers would like to own. However, the price and some annoying little problems stopped this camera from being the Labs Winner this month.

Panasonic claims this to be the world's smallest palm-type DV camera, and who am I to argue?

The future, they say, is based on the Internet and mobile computing.