The Hitachi DZMV380A ($1,100 street) camera produced very good quality in our talking-head trials, but performance dropped from there. Although it's ideal for applications that need instant playback (thanks to the direct-to-DVD paradigm), the comparatively poor image quality, clumsy editing workflow, and low recording capacity at top-quality levels left us wanting.

The camera is small, with a plastic, insubstantial feel. Most controls are almost toylike, though we adored the joystick button that controls playback and menu navigation. The USB 2.0 connector sits behind the LCD panel, so you can't close the panel while downloading, and since the unit lacks a headphone port, you can't monitor audio while you're shooting.

The DZMV380A records in both variable- and constant-bit-rate MPEG-2 format to DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs, with capacities ranging from 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the quality you select. At 60 minutes, the camera records at a resolution of 352-by-480, half the height of normal MPEG-2.

Once the video is on-disc, you can access any scene or create a playlist from the camera, which is ideal for training, coaching, security, and similar applications. Hitachi supplies software for downloading video via USB 2.0 or reading the discs from a compatible player, then selecting and separating the video into scenes. We would prefer to use a standard video-editing package for this, but Hitachi hasn't achieved this level of application support.

The camera performed best in our talking-head trials (recorded at the highest possible quality level), producing sharp, crisp video with slightly oversaturated colors and a touch more noise than the top-ranked Sony camera. With the lights turned down, the image looked slightly brownish in hue but was generally noise-free. The oversaturation worsened in our more colorful action trials, where the video assumed a reddish-brown appearance whenever our subjects entered the frame.

In other video trials, the DZMV380A failed to adjust exposure values properly as subjects moved around the room, resulting in overly dark scenes. In addition, when recording at lower quality levels, the video became noticeably less crisp, especially when viewed on a large-screen television set. So most users will want to shoot at top quality—a rate of three discs per hour, which can get pricey in a hurry.

The camera can produce 1.2-megapixel still images (1,280- by-960). Here again, saturation problems were evident as skin tones took on a reddish-brown hue. So while the convenience of direct DVD recording will be enough to draw some users, we feel that most will be better off with the better image quality of a true DV camera.