The photoionization and photodissociation dynamics of H-2 and D-2 in selected rovibrational levels of the B (1)Sigma(u)(+) and C (1)Pi(u) states have been investigated by velocity map ion imaging. The selected rotational levels of the B (1)Sigma(u)(+) and C (1)Pi(u) states are prepared by three-photon excitation from the ground state. The absorption of fourth photon results in photoionization to produce H-2(+) X (2)Sigma(g)(+) or photodissociation to produce a ground-state H(1s) atom and an excited H atom with ngreater than or equal to2. The H-2(+) ion can be photodissociated by absorption of a fifth photon. The resulting H+ or D+ ion images provide information on the vibrational state dependence of the photodissociation angular distribution of the molecular ion. The excited H(ngreater than or equal to2) atoms produced by the neutral dissociation process can also be ionized by the absorption of a fifth photon. The resulting ion images provide insight into the excited state branching ratios and angular distributions of the neutral photodissociation process. While the experimental ion images contain information on both the ionic and neutral processes, these can be separated based on constraints imposed on the fragment translational energies. The angular distribution of the rings in the ion images indicates that the neutral dissociation of molecular hydrogen and its isotopes is quite complex, and involves coupling to both doubly excited electronic states and the dissociation continua of singly excited Rydberg states. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.