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"Nice little (and I do mean little) camera however....." on by scorpio2562
Pros: Small compact size, very easy to use,
Cons: PRICE!, NO REMOTE! NO DV INPUT! NO A/V INPUT, FIX THIS JVC!
Summary: OK folks, I just couldn't wait to get my materialistic hands on this new toy. When I finally did I started playing with it right out of the box. Menu is user friendly so setup was a breeze. So easy for me that I did not even need to open the packet of manuals. Once that was done, it was on to taking some video. I have another 3CCD camcorder that absolutely sucks in low light. A Panasonic. I closed the door, shut the curtains and tried the low light capabilities of this camera since none of the reviews have mentioned this yet. Anyway, low light capture is adequate compared to what I have with my other 3ccd ($1,000+ camcorder). It would probably pass for "it's just OK" to others but for me it's adequate. At least I can see actual images in low light. This camera is very easy to use, however, since the video is shot in MPEG2 I do not recommend this camera for the faint of heart computer users. You will need computer knowledge in transferring and creating a DVD from your home movies. I could see where the process would get frustrating. Video quality shot in regular light is great. The programs that came with the camera are OK. I wish it was all in one instead of being spilt into 3.
Now for my wishes. Since I do video editing on the side, I do wish this unit had a DV IN/OUT port. I haven't tried it yet but I do not think you can capture video from a USB2 port. There is also NO REMOTE CONTROL. I sure wish JVC fixes these minor annoyances for the next model release.
The price? Well, it IS steep, but to have the latest gadget I guess you gotta pay for it. I can't imagine how much the newer line of fixed HDD Everio's will cost. This one will do me fine.
I happened to purchase a bigger 6gb Hitachi HDD. I'll keep the 4gb around as a backup.
Overall, with it's ease of use this is a very nice camera. If not for my wishes, I'd give it a 10. -
"Another look" on by dgreene
Pros: Video quality and size
Cons: Photo Quality
Summary: I found the pictures to be good at 3Mp. At 5Mp the are a bit noisy and grainy. The other features of the camera are great. I found that it records video well at night if you use the advanced settings. In low light situations I slow the shutter speed down to 1/30 and use the gain. With these settings the detail looks decent.
Updated
I found that the camera will generate a movie with a 16:9 aspect ratio, but that the included Cyberlink PowerDirector software reduces the video to 4:3. I cannot find anywhere that the Cyberlink editing software supports 16:9. I also tried Pinnacle Studio 9, and Sony Vegas Studio. Neither of these packages can correctly open the video files. The Sony software will open the mpeg, but won't provide any sound. I called JVC, and was told that I need to call Cyberlink regarding the lack of 16:9 support. When I questioned them about problems opening the files from this camera with other editing packages, I was told that they only support the Cyberlink software included with the camera.Updated
I finally received a reply from Cyberlink support, and was told that none of their products support the 16:9 aspect ratio. They specifically told me that the software included with the JVC Everio GZ-MC500 does not support widescreen dvd authoring.
I did find another application that does support both the video files from this camera and the 16:9 aspect ratio. The software is called Womble MPEG Video Wizard. -
"A Breakthrough" on by Eren Tezmen
Pros: 3ccd, tapeless, small, supports SD
Cons: microdrive, MPEG2
Summary: This cam is very much a breakthrough. I love it. The SD support is a very important feature that fortunately JVC did not forget. But I don't like the microdrive at all. I think it is not so much important whether the camcorder is tapeless or not as long as the device is not fully solid state (except the optics, naturally).
It is very small but I would prefer it matchbox style (vertical) rather than horizontal.
3CCD improved the colours, the overall image quality and the low-light performance.
Since MPEG-2 is an old format, the files are bulky but it is easy to record onto DVDs.
H.264 would be better however. -
"Expensive useless toy" on by pesticid
Pros: Small size, easy to handle
Cons: Low batery capacity, very bad still pictures
Summary: I expected far more of this camcorder. The price is very high for the quality. I would point the main disadvantages which make the camcorder expensive useless toy:
1. You can shot still picture on focus rarely;
2. The capacity of the battery is very low – for 1 hour video you need at least 3 batteries – each one more than 100$;
3. Knowing above problems it is strange that JVC does not offer charger in the set. Y have to spend additionally to buy it.
4. It is impossible to make still picture at artificial light. The video has also bad quality.
5. When the sunshine comes from the back it is hard to see the view on the screen. -
"The Trick: Re-Size When You Render!" on by lilnyc
Pros: Compact and discreet, no tapes, thumbnail videos
Cons: File conversion, data loss, quality
Summary: I have had it for 4 days now and discovered something that must be shared.
The video quality is perfect under good light as long as the video is re-sized to 320x240 or smaller! This is perfect for web/multimedia videos. I do not think that anyone trying to sell this camera will tell you this.
I work in multimedia for a major television company and I extract still images from television videos every week. The images look better when they are re-sized in Photoshop to be smaller than the original.
When I record a video with this camcorder and play it at its original size, the edges are noisy and the video is unsharp. It looks overcompressed. The bottom line? It looks like a small image was stretched out. So if you shoot the video, then render it at a smaller size, the quality is great!
This is not a regular high quality video 3CCD camcorder. Do not be fooled. This is great for multimedia video only. On TV it looks horrible.
BEWARE!!!
After only four days, I lost all data because the cam froze and would not recover. I didn't have important videos on it, but I do worry about this type of error during the holidays.
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