Introduction

Today Hitachi Corporation introduces a new digital camera - Hitachi HDC-531 - that will be available in Japan from March 18. The new Hitachi HDC-531 offers 5 Megapixels resolution and a 3x optical zoom lens. The 5 Megapixel resolution provides a 2560 x 1920 captured image file which will be stored on a Secure Digital card. The 3x optical zoom has a focal range of 32mm - 96mm (equivalent with 35mm camera). The new Hitachi HDC-531 has a large 2.5-inch LCD display with a fine resolution of 210.000 pixels. In Europe there is not much information on the Hitachi digital camera series, however this digital camera is interesting and has a stylish design that caught our eye.
Main features
The new Hitachi HDC-531 had approximately 5 million effective pixels and a 1/2.5-inch CCD image sensor - A high quality 2.5-inch LCD display with 210.000 pixels, 3x optical zoom lens, 32-96mm focal range - Brightness of wide lens f2.8 and f4.8 for tele, 4x digital zoom combining for 12x total zoom - New Quick Help function - Secure Digital card - AV interface - Capable of capturing macro photos from 6cm distance - Audio sound recording with a maximum of 30 seconds.
Other features
Other features of the new Hitachi HDC-531 are: Add audio to photo for approximately 30 seconds - White balance settings (automatic / incandescent lamp / fluorescent light / fair weather / cloudy / manual) - Exposure compensation of (-2.0EV - +2.0EV, 1/3EV step) - ISO sensitivity range of ISO 50, 100 and 200 and Multi or spot metering.
Availability
The new Hitachi HDC-531 digital camera will be available in Japan from March 18. At this moment there is little or no information about the availability of this new product outside Japan.