There really isn't much innovation here, I just felt like writing about it because it's pretty rare that Hitachi release a digital camera.
And hey, this o­ne doesn't look so bad. Pretty cheap too.

Hitachi Living Supply Corporation will release the "i.mega HDC-401," a 4MP compact digital camera, o­n May 21st.

While the official price is Open Price, indicators suggest it should cost around 23,000 yen. There are two body colors available: red and silver.

The camera is a equipped with a 1/1.8" CCD with an effect 4MP resolution. The lens is a 35mm film conversion 37mm, with a F3.5 simple focus, and a 2x digital zoom.

Recording resolutions are 2304 x 1728, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, and 640 x 480. It can also record 320 x 240 pixel movies at 24fps, and the recording format is MPEG-1 (no sound though). It features a Composite jack, so it can output to TV and other video sources.

The LCD monitor is a 1.5" color TFT, it has an optical finder, and a strobe. The photographing range is from 1.1m ~ infinity, and in short mode, 0.55 ~ 1.1m.

Apart from 16MB of internal flash memory, the camera can also record to SD card. The interface with a PC is USB 1.1, and the supported operating systems are Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP.

Power comes from 2 AA batteries (either Alkaline or NiMH), or an AC adapter sold seperately. When using Alkaline batteries, the camera can take around 200 pictures with the flash.

The main body size is 96 x 30 x 51.5mm (W x D x H), and the weight is 110g (without batteries or accessories).





Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0510/hitachi.htm

News Release:
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/month/2004/05/hl_0510.html

Product Information:
http://www.hitachi-ls.co.jp/hdc/hdc_401/