To date, most domestic high-def camcorders have fallen into one of two format camps - HDV, which is basically an MPEG2 update of the established mini DV tape, and AVCHD. The latter supports the newer and more efficient H.264 codec and a variety of recording media that includes hard disks and solid-state media (memory cards).

One of Panasonic's latest 3CCD AVCHD cams, the HDC-DX1, will also record high-def AVCHD footage to UDF 2.5-formatted mini DVDs. The company claims that such discs, which will run for around 40 minutes if you're using dual-layer media, are compatible with Blu-ray players.

Hitachi opts for Blu-ray

However, Hitachi - ironically the inventor of DVD camcorders - has its own ideas. Two of its latest models will write directly to the newly announced mini Blu-ray media; a range of which has just been announced by Hitachi subsidiary Maxell (TDK and Verbatim also have discs available).

The idea is that after recording and finalising the disc, you can drop it into a Blu-ray disc player and enjoy your footage in potential Full HD quality (a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels).

With the exception of Panasonic's DX1, all other HD camcorders require you to plug them directly into an HD Ready TV or - even less conveniently - view your footage on a computer.

There are currently two models in this prestigious range. The BD70E is a Blu-ray only camcorder, able to write to 7.5GB BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable) media.

Blu-ray and a 30GB HDD

Upscale of this is the DZ-BD7HE, its 'hybrid' brother. This also includes an integral 30GB hard drive, to which you can record directly. These video clips can subsequently be copied to the 8cm Blu-ray discs. Both of the camcorders can also record standard-definition footage directly to DVD media in MPEG2.

Unfortunately, dual-layer media (Blu-ray and DVD) are not supported by this generation of Hitachi hardware. Another disadvantage is that the BD7HE won't let you record in DVD-compatible form to the hard drive. Instead, you have to transcode from the camcorder's primary high-def format (AVC-compliant H.264) to the MPEG2 of DVD. This can take as long as two hours, for a one-hour movie!

Compatibility of recordings with existing Blu-ray players is a moot point. Our Samsung BD-P1000 won't accept BD-R discs - just as many early DVD players rejected rewritable DVDs. For its part, Hitachi says that recordings made by these camcorders "work on a PlayStation 3".

Design and layout

A little larger than the average DVD camcorder, the BD7HE is dominated by a disc-loading mechanism that's crowned by an enormous Blu-ray logo.

It may tip the scales at over 600g, but it's comfortable to hold - the usual handstrap arrangement applies here. Elsewhere on the body is a slot for SD memory cards, which is intended for still photography only. Dotted around the casing are terminals, USB 2.0 (for transfer of footage to a PC for editing) and composite/S-video (standard-definition output). For those who don't have a Blu-ray player, Hitachi has also included a HDMI port.

Full marks for the 'interactive-guide' user interface, which takes advantage of the inbuilt viewfinder or the 2.7in. flip-out LCD screen. The latter is not big enough to show up all of that high-def detail, but a larger screen would have impacted on the battery life (100 min, with viewfinder).

A nice touch is the one-second quick-start function, which is associated with a low-power standby mode. Just the ticket, then, for those 'once-in-a-lifetime' moments.