Introduction

Hitachi introduces a new digital camera that will be available in Japan from May 13 2005. The new Hitachi HDC-302SLIM digital camera is a follow-up of the Hitachi HDC-301SLIM. The Hitachi HDC-302SLIM is equipped with a 3.15 Megapixel CMOS sensor and features a fixed focal lens of 44mm (equiv. 35mm camera). The compact Hitachi digital camera has a interesting feature; the output resolution is stated as 3264x2448 pixels, in other words the Hitachi HDC-302SLIM is able to interpolate from 3 to 8 Megapixels. The back of the camera features a nice 2-inch format LCD display. For storage a card slot for Secure Digital is used.
Features
The new Hitachi HDC-302SLIM digital camera has a slim design of only 86(w) x 22(D) x 56(H) and weighs around 85g (excl. battery and flash card). Capturing high resolution photos is possible due to the interpolation of the CMOS image sensor. The effective number of pixels is 3.15 million, and after interpolation the camera gives an output resolution of 8 Megapixels (3264x2448). The size of the CMOS sensor is 1/2-inch. The Hitachi HDC-302SLIM offers a macro features. In the macro mode it is possible to capture close-ups within a distance of 17-22cm.
Entry-level digital camera
The new Hitachi HDC-302SLIM digital camera has a nice modern design. Of course we are looking at an entry-level digital camera with nice features for the digital beginner. In Europe Hitachi is not longer available as a brand for digital camera, however it is interesting to see where Hitachi is bringing its digital camera line up to. Are they going to re-invest into the European market and hit back with some stylish designed, entry-level and low-priced digital cameras or are they only focusing on the Japanese or Asian market? Time will tell?
Specifications :

• JPEG format or AVI video clip (no sound)
• CMOS 1/2-inch format
• Max. photo resolution of 3264x2448 pixels
• High video resolution of 640x480 (15fps)
• Low video resolution of 320x240 (20-30fps)
• f3.0 bright fixed focal lens of 44mm
• Exposure compensation -/+2EV with 0.5 EV step
• Shutter speed of 1/4 - 1/2000 sec
• USB 1.1 and video out interface
• For power 2 Alkaline batteries
• ISO 100
• 4x digital zoom
• Self timer