JVC Everio GZ-MG27 review

Hard drive camcorders seem like a great idea. A tiny hard drive in a small camcorder case can record hours upon hours of video without having to switch out a tape or a DVD. Unfortunately, JVC's execution falls short; while the Everio GZ-MG27 may seem like a nifty camcorder, its video quality and design leave a lot to be desired.

The first thing you'll notice about the JVC Everio GZ-MG27 is that it's small--really small, about the size of a large fist. It's light, too, weighing less than 14 ounces with its battery. We like tiny devices, but the GZ-MG27 just doesn't feel right in large hands. If you have tiny mitts, though, this camcorder will probably fit just right.

Even with its tiny size, the GZ-MG27 is built like most consumer camcorders: a strap handle on the right side, a flip-out LCD on the left side, the battery pack in the back. The bottom side of the camera holds a tripod mount and a Secure Digital card slot. Since the camcorder uses a hard drive rather than tapes or DVDs, the entire case is solid, with no pop-out door for video media as in most camcorders.

I found the control layout simple, direct--and awkward. With the screen closed and the camcorder strapped to your right hand, only three switches are available. The record button rests under the right thumb, the zoom rocker rests under the right forefinger, and the mode slider sits just above the flip-out LCD.

The real frustration begins as soon as the LCD flips open. A control stick and the quality/battery button sit on the left side of the screen, while the photo/video toggle and the menu, info/light, auto, and trash buttons sit on the camera body, beneath the LCD's inset. The buttons on the camera body are so recessed and awkwardly placed that your thumb will develop arthritis long before it actually hits the menu button. Since the control stick is on the other side of the LCD, your left hand has to dance between the display and the body to navigate the menus and change settings. If JVC had simply switched the menu button on the body with the nearly pointless quality/battery button under the control stick, the camcorder would have been a lot easier to operate.

Despite its design flaws, the JVC GZ-MG27 has some decent features. Its onboard 20GB hard drive can record as much as 25 hours of video at the lowest quality or 4.5 hours of video at the highest setting. Its 680,000-pixel CCD works with an image-stabilized 32X optical zoom lens. The 2.5-inch LCD is nice and bright, though it tends to wash out colors.