New Kodak Easyshare range has crippled HDV video

[Trevmar]

I recently read that cameras imported into Europe which can record for more than 30 minutes continuously, will have an additional 'camcorder import duty' imposed upon them. Since I live in the USA I figured that this would not affect me. Wrong...

Yesterday I bought (from Circuit City) one of the new Easyshare models released at PMA - the V1073.

Kodak has now fixed the 2 gig filesystem error from the v1253, meaning that this camera ought to be able to take 38 minutes of video in HQ mode and 55 minutes in "long-time-mode" (terminology used on the Kodak product specification sheet)

Yet, despite no mention whatsoever in the manuals or literature of any time limitations, my v1073 has a 29 minute countdown timer clearly shown in the middle of the display screen, and the camera terminates with a 3Gig HQ file at 29 minutes, well short of the 38 minute 4Gig file it should have taken. I was using an 8 Gig SDHC. I also tried a 16Gig SDHC.

The "long-time-mode" also terminates at 29 minutes (instead of 55), although there is no time limitation on any of the 640x480 modes, as far as I could determine.

For me this is a big deal. I want to carry a pocket camera which can record half-hour student presentations from time to time, and it boggles my mind that Kodak could be selling cameras in the USA which are crippled in this way, especially without any mention of limitation in the literature and manuals.

[Trevmar]

I notice that Kodak now has a new V1073 specification sheet online which differs from the one I printed out on Thursday by noting a 29 minute time limit on HDV videos.

I suspect I am not the only one complaining...

[Trevmar]

I put a video up at Vimeo, but they only converted the last of 4 segments.
http://www.vimeo.com/1028849
Download the raw MOV file there to examine all the segments I talk about in my narrative there. The segments all play with Windows Media or Quicktime.