Hitachi pioneered the concept of recording digital video direct to DVD . Now into its third generation of DVD cameras, a few competitors have appeared on the horizon with its first generation models.

In the past the major disadvantage of the DVD cameras has been their size - they were twice the size of most tape-based digicams but had the advantage of being able to take a finalised DVD-R straight from the camera to the DVD player.

The 350e and its more expensive sister, the 380e, are literally half the size of their predecessors, bringing them down to about the same size and weight as a tape based camera. While you can still use both DVD-R and DVD-RAM disks to record both video and stills (at 640 x 480), Hitachi now includes an SD memory card for photographs, the resolution has not improved, which is disappointing.

The quality of the video remains high, thanks to the 800k pixel 1/4 inch CCD, and the basics of using the camera remain simple. A novice can just point and shoot and confidently rely on the automated settings to ensure a good quality recording, however, if you like to tinker with the settings, there are plenty of options for you to play with too.

The 10x optical zoom provides a nice crisp image which shows good contrast, even in poor light, however it loses quality as soon as you try to go any higher using the digital zoom. It's only when you have to finalise discs or transfer the video to your PC for editing and then back to disc that things could be better.

While MyDVD is fine for burning your final product to a separate disc, the other included software – DVD Movie Album – serves little purpose other than to download the video (via USB 2.0) from the camera and is a poor choice as an editor. You are much better off using a program like Windows Movie Maker, which is far more intuitive and easy to use.

Overall, the reduction in size combined with the handy advantages of recording direct to DVD outweighs any of the shortcomings of the editing software.