JVC GZ-MC200

Pros: Excellent video and sound. Fits in my pocket.

Cons: Battery life is less than an hour. Must use abysmal JVC software. Software is not available for macs.

Summary: Background: I have owned and operated this camera for about five years now. I have been around the country using this camera. I also made some great dvds of my college years. I am not a photographer. In fact, most of the time, I don't adjust any of the manual settings on cameras and camcorders. However, I am an electrical and computer engineer, so I am proficient in technology.


Pros: First of all, this camcorder is EXTREMELY small-the main reason I bought it. It fits right into my pocket. Those who complain about no placement for the thumb, or small buttons just don't want a small camcorder! These are the results from a small camera. I can deal with it, not a problem. The stills are great when they are outdoors, as well as the video. The indoor/low-light quality has given this camera a bad name. I want to say that if you take time to adjust the settings (cloudy mode/shutter speed), then the indoor pics/vids will be just fine. The camera remembers these settings. So, if you are outdoors, you can put in auto mode. Then you can switch to manual if you are indoors.

Cons: BATTERY LIFE! The battery life is absolutely horrible. It gives one hour, max! You will definitely need to buy a spare. What's worse than the battery life is the pathetic software that JVC gives you with it. Sure, it is easy to go right from the microdrive to a DVD, but if you want to edit it, it may take you a long time. It is not very intuitive. What's worse is that you have to use their software because the file has an extension of .MOD. Most programs won't recognize this. I tried changing it to .mpeg, but it wouldn't work with a mac. On a PC, you can simply just rename the extension. Finally, the software will not run on a mac. This is a huge flaw because macs (when they recognize the file) can process and edit video much more efficiently than a windows machine.

Neutral: The 4 GB hardive is fine. It is not big, it is not small. It suffices. I like the SD slot and being able to assign video to the microdrive and pics to the SD card.

Conclusion: Despite the small size and the excellent video quality, I would NOT buy this camera again. JVC screwed up with their software. Mac users should not even consider this product. I could live with the short battery life (a small camera means a small battery), if only JVC could fix their software.