JVC Everio GZHD300 60GB HighDef Camcorder Red

Not quite as advertised
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
To start things off, I should inform you that this is my first HD-Camcorder purchase. I initially bought it so I can enjoy High Definition video recordings of family events, parties, and for travel. For the price, it can’t be beat with the features it advertises. I thought with the flashy advertisement of “Full HD,” it would look similar or at least close to what I expected from HD-recordings I have seen on TV or online. The result is far less than expected.

First off, after you record in the highest definition, the format (AVCHD) is not compatible with Windows Movie Maker and you need extra software to make it run. Furthermore, the mediocre software it comes with can not output the same quality to different formats. I had to purchase Adobe Premiere Elements 8 just so I can make a home movie disc (DVD and Blu-Ray). After one month with this product I still can’t get my DVD and Blu-Ray discs to not distort or create pixely messes in the video. The quality of video simply is not as good as the quality of videos playing from the Camera itself. I’m still working on getting this to burn right and it’s a lot more work than I expected to do. I bought lense filters, and a wide-angle lens for this camera to get some good shots. I expect myself to fork out a few extra hundred dollars to buy some other accessories to get better quality audio & video out of this camera.

On the flipside, the Camera itself is easy to use, it even comes with componenet video so you can view the HD-video directly from the Camera, which is the only way a novice like me can figure out how to output HD-quality out of this camera. The camera works well with good lighting, but once the lighting decreases, a grainy appearance takes over the entire video. This is more prevalent when recording home videos inside the home with inadequate lighting. The flash on the camcorder is also mediocre and there is no port to attach a flash to it, so you have to buy a seperate accessory for that as well. The microphone used to record the sound on the camera is mediocre, but JVC has a $150+ accessory to fix that. The Battery that comes with the camera cannot record even 2 hours. You’ll need a separate battery for it as well.

In conclusion, to get this Camera to work as advertised, you really need a better video editing software, a couple accessory lenses, a microphone acessory, a new battery, a better flash, and a decent tripod to hook these things up to. That’s on top of the necessary Blu-Ray discs and Blu-Ray recorder. With that kind of money you are better off saving up a couple extra hundred dollars and buying a high-end HD Camera instead.

Pros: Price, portability, Easy to Operate, plenty of cables to connect to TV’s and PCs, and uploads directly to YouTube.

Cons: High Definition video does not come close to High Definition video you come to expect, horrible software, and requires many expensive accessories to achieve optimal performance.

Excellent video, minor control concerns
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The quality of video shot with the Everio is excellent. Even at fairly high zoom factors (up to 80x), the picture is crisp and clear, and at the maximum digital zoom of 200x was still very reasonable. Consistent with every camcorder I’ve ever tried, however, the still photos are not as clean. The out of the box quality settings (which are fine for basic use) provide almost eight hours of filming capacity. The provided battery gives about 90-120 minutes of active life, and higher capacity batteries are available.

The only (very small) issues with this product are:

1. The control buttons for record and zoom are placed so that it difficult for me to get my hand in a comfortable position to use both, so there tends to be a jolt at the beginning and end of my videos as I have to adjust my hand position from being able to reach on/off to zoom and vice versa. Of course, every hand size is different, so for someone else it is probably perfect.

2. The “Laser Touch” sensor allows you to scroll through options with a finger, reminding me of the control mechanism for pick lists on an iPhone. However, it is not nearly at that level of quality–the same gesture does not result in a consistent scroll, so movement through the options can be a bit jerky.

3. The manual–let’s just say that acronyms and abbreviated text abound. As most of the features are reasonably self-explantory for anyone who has used a modern digital camera/camcorder in the past, this is not a deal breaker. If you are new to this type of device, you might be just as well off “winging it” than trying to dive through the manual.

In summary, this is an great camcorder with a few minor nits that do not detract from the overall quality product.

photography
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I want to create a DVD from the JVC GZ-HD300AU that will play on a DVD player (not just on a computer) so we can share videos with family members. Can anyone help? PLease?

Simple but effective
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This camcorder is dead simple to use. Open it up and you’re ready to go. Simplicity, however, means you give up control and that started to bug me pretty quickly. For those of you who want to shoot video without leaping technical hurdles, this could be a good camera for you. Recording direct to a hard drive is cool, however, that means you’ll need to have a lot of storage space on your computer to archive your movies. Or you can archive to DVDs, I suppose but that may be where the simplicity breaks down for some people. Digital acquisition is where things are headed, though. Tape is dead.

Small and capable, but not as good as the Canons in this price range
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Since there are so many detailed reviews here I will keep this review concise. This is my third HD camcorder in 18 months, so I’m comparing this JVC camcorder to the other two I own: Canon HG20 and Canon HF10. I performed various side-by-side experiments with them all, and here are the Pros and Cons of the JVC Everio camcorder.

Pros:

– Very small and lightweight. Noticeably smaller than the Canons.

– Good outdoor (bright light) performance that is on par with the Canons.

– Fantastic total optical zoom (20x)

– Very fast startup time – ready to record almost immediately when you open the LCD screen.

– Large capacity (60 GB)

– Easy to understand menu system

– Comes in different colors

Cons:

– No optical image stabilization, making the zoom almost useless if you aren’t using a tripod. Normal hand-held clips are noticably shaky. The digital image stabilization doesn’t work very well.

– Poor indoor (low light) perfomance

– Grainy and low quality LCD screen that is much worse than the Canons.

– Same weak software as Canon (no editing capabilities)

– Sometimes slow to focus

– Cheap hand strap that isn’t comfortable

Bottom Line:

– This camera does well in outdoor lighting. However, the indoor/low light performance is sub-par making some videos look almost like cell-phone videos, not HD videos. The lack of true optical image stabilization can make the video seem choppy and unpleasant to watch, especially when zooming without a tripod. The included software is just a different version of the cheap, almost useless software that Canon includes with their camcorders. In this price range, this JVC is on par with the Canon HG20 in terms of image quality. However, I absolutely recommend the Canon HF10 (or HG20) over this camera. The image quality is superior on the HF10 and it handles low light situations much better than the HG20 or this JVC.

Great camcorder, horrible proprietary software…
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Now I’d like to start off by saying that I’m not a tech or video geek, so I’m coming from the point of view of a buyer is who looking for a product that is easy to set & use and has a decent amount of versatility. This is the first digital camcorder I’ve used, let alone an HD digicam, and I was a little concerned about the supported file format, in particular how hard it would be to get the video off the camera and onto my computer.

First off, I was surprised at how quickly I had the JVC Everio GZ-HD300 set up and was ready go to. It was out of the box and ready to be charged in a matter of minutes, and in the time it took to charge the camera I’d easily installed the included software for viewing and backing up/exporting video from the camera. I was shooting my first video in just over an hour. The camera interface is pretty straight forward, with most of the work done through the LCD monitor arm, in particular the laser touch scroll bar. I’ve had a handful of touch screen mp3 players and am used to the sensitivity issues of some touch screen interfaces. The touch scroll bar on this camera has a nice midrange sensitivity that makes navigating through most of the menus pretty easy. My one complaint was scrolling through the video playback menu, as the up and down on the scroll bar is very unintuitive for skipping though rows and columns.

As for capturing video, again, the design of the camera is pretty intuitive. Not only is the camcorder small, but the placement of the stop/start and zoom buttons seemed perfect for me. There is a separate button for shooting still images, which is a little weird (I’d figure it would work of the record start/stop button on the back), but it is located right next to the zoom toggle switch on the top so it’s not that hard to get used to. The 20x zoom is very nice, though for handheld shots it the video can get very shaky. I also liked the power on function coinciding with opening the LCD screen, as it takes a step out of the process and gets you shooting video a few seconds faster, and from my experience those few seconds can really matter. It also has a sleep mode for when you close the LCD without powering off the unit, again, saving precious time when trying to conserve battery power and shooting video on the go. As I’ve mentioned the camera is also capable of shooting stills as well, though it’s almost impossible to get quality shots when using the zoom without a tripod.

The largest gripe I had with the camcorder, and the reason why I can’t give it more than three stars is the horrible proprietary Everio MediaBrowser software that’s included. First off, it’s Windows only, which is sort of limiting (and weird considering it has a built in export function for iTunes.) Second, it’s very confusing. I’ve played around with it a few times and from what I can tell the interface is split up between the camera and the software. You have to initiate the backup/export function from the camera and then take over in the software. There is no drag and drop functionality from the camera to your computer, instead you have to use the software. On top of this, and for the life of me, I couldn’t get the video playback to display decently in the software player included (it was very herky and choppy, and I’m not referring to my handheld skills.) The video playback on the camcorder’s LCD is beyond beautiful, as well as playback on my old Sony Trinitron TV (with the included Audio/Video cords), but it really stank on the software. I noticed that there are some freeware programs like Media Player Classic that can handle the .mts video files, but there are a bunch of codecs needed to get the video to display. As for exporting to iTunes, this wasn’t that hard, but the converted m4p video files were almost unwatchable with mass amounts of pixilation and discoloration from the conversion process.

Though I really like the design and ease of use of the JVC Everio GZ-HD300, I would give up all of the bells and whistles for an easier way to get the video off the camera and onto my computer.

Not impressed
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
JVC Everio GZ-HD300 is beautifully designed, lightweight and has good specifications. I liked the built in lens cover and that the startup is very quick. The camcorder has a built in LED for shooting in dark situations, and the light is quite bright. I did not like the Laser Touch control at all – I found it to be frustratingly imprecise. In fact, I found the menu layout and operation to be unintuitive and not user friendly, although it did not take too long to get used too it.

I tried the JVC Everio GZ-HD300 in outdoors daylight, lit indoors, and dark indoors conditions. The outdoors movie came out very clear but had bluish hue to it (all settings were on auto). Both indoor movies were very very grainy. The camcorder was slow to focus during indoor shots.

One minute of video results in a file size of ~130Mb. The software that came with the camcorder is average at best. It was not intuitive – I had to read instructions on how to do a backup – and even then all that the software did was copied .MTS files to my hard drive (something I could do without any software). I expected that the start of import would be controlled from my PC, but it is controlled from the camcorder.

I will keep playing with the settings and I hope that I can adjust the camcorder to record great outdoors pictures, but I do not expect much from it for indoors shots.

ADDED 7/8/09 Used over 4th of July weekend. On the 4th I took some video in the evening at the beach ~8:30 PM; it came out very grainy. On the 5th (a bright sunny day) I started taking video inside my car and then pointed the camcorder outside; aperture was slow to react resulting in a bright white picture for a few seconds until it finally adjusted to the sunlight.

I dislike the “laser touch” control very much. I brushed my finger against it and some icon popped up and then disappeared. It distracted me from shooting the video and I started looking for what it was that I accidentally activated.

Expected more
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera mostly to be used in sport events and so far it was a good decision, based only in this purpose.

When recording indoors the quality is very poor, being my old 35mm a lot better than this new camera. Lack of Mac interface is also an issue; iMovie detects the camera but there is not an easy way to select/load just a few clips. With my other cameras is just to connect and drag and drop.

Only good for Outdoors
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Its a great camera if you are using it outdoors. This cannot be used

in doors, even with bright lights. The video is dark and granny.

I have tried the manual options even then there is no improvement

to the picture. We need this to record our new born. So the only way we can

record him is when there is sunlight in the room through windows.

dont buy this if u plan to use it indoors for b’day, or child plays

or anything else indoor. You would think there would be a new firmware out

there to fix this issue, there is none.

Great HD camcorder at a great price.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
There are many super detailed and lengthy reviews for this camcorder already so I will try to sum up my impressions in a shorter amount of space.

Size: Super small. Could fit in a womans purse. Great for travel.

Features: This has everything an average camcorder user would want. 60gb hard drive, good zoom range, option to use a memory card, photo capability, solidly built and feels good in the hand. The blue “slider” to the left of the screen is more of a gimmick than something super useful.

Video: I think any non-professional would be very pleased with the video quality on this camcorder. I have a top of the line Sony HD camcorder and this compares favorably to it while being hundreds of dollars cheaper. Many options for changing video quality and settings. Overall video quality is very good. Pictures are average but then again you shouldn’t be using this to take the family portrait.

Software: Not great. I would recommend finding a different software solution for this camcorder. Keep in mind that HD files can be large and make sure the software handles the video format.

Overall: I think this is a great camcorder for the price. It keeps up with my top of the line Sony HD camcorder for hundreds less and is much smaller. 60gb is more than adequate space for most. This camcorder has plenty of bells and whistles. If this had been available when I bought my Sony I would have saved the money and bought this camcorder. Very impressed.

Heavy on gimmicks, light on quality.
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
YouTube integration, face detection, “laser touch” buttons, 20x optical zoom… these got me second-guessing how great I thought my Canon VIXIA HG20 AVCHD 60 GB HDD Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom was.

The first thing that grabbed me about this camera was the “One Touch YouTube” feature. I had been impressed with the YouTube integration on the Flip cameras, and thought the idea of a high-quality straight-to-YouTube camera would be cool.

In practice, however, I’m not sure how they got away with that on the box. If I really wanted to pick nits, I’d point out page 36 of the manual, which says you have to hit “upload” twice, but my contention is larger. If you’re not using JVC’s Windows-only Everio media manager software, it simply doesn’t work. Sorry Mac users, and anyone who doesn’t want to use JVC’s software. You’re out of luck here.

The “laser touch” feature looks cool, but actually using it is awful. It’s really nothing more than an up / down slider that glows blue, and is terribly inaccurate. The most annoying aspect of this, is that you have to use the slider to do just about anything in the menu system.

Face detection works, but is quite slow. It would be fine for recording an event where people are relatively stationary, but relying on it when recording something like a child’s birthday party is practically worthless.

On a similar tangent, the camera itself is incredibly small, as is the handstrap. I thought this was very impressive for the first few minutes. Then I started using the camera. The strap is so small and narrow that the camera sits at a 20-degree angle if you rest your hand. And combined with the placement of the record button, it all but ensures that the beginning and ending of every recording have a few seconds of jostling.

All of this would be somewhat forgivable if the video quality was stellar. Sadly, it isn’t. The Everio captures unusually grainy images in indoor light — even on the highest quality setting. The autofocus is slow, and easily confused, especially when zooming.

Getting a little deeper in to things that are wrong with this camera…

*The menu system is awful. Who on Earth would think that putting “Basic Settings” as the 10th menu item on the third page of a menu is a *good* design choice? JVC would, apparently. In their defense, some of the more frequently used pre and post recording options are closer to the beginning of the menu. It isn’t *completely* illogical.

*The lens barrel is only 30.5 millimeters, which seriously limits the selection of filters you can use with this camera.

*Video-out on the camera can only be accomplished when opening the screen and leaving it open.

*Controls are not well laid out for making changes while recording.

*Image stabilization does not work when the Everio is in still camera mode, so any zoom is going to produce blurry pictures unless you use a tripod.

*The camera’s size and layout make it difficult to use if you have larger hands.

*The included software is not very good (even for free), and only runs on Windows.

The Everio isn’t terrible, and if I didn’t have my Canon Vixia HG20, I’d probably be pretty impressed with it. But at the current selling price, you could save a few bucks and get the HG20 (which is VERY similar in terms of features) or any of the other outgoing Vixias if you don’t need the 60 gig hard drive.

Not bad
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The camera is light and easy to use. The navigation of the menus is good once you get used to it. Video in good light with little motion looks good. Anything with a lot of motion (sports, racing, etc) you need to have the camera on the highest quality setting or the picture looks really pixely. Even on the highest setting it looks pixely, but not too bad. This is the first HD camera I’ve used and I guess I expected better quality on motion video. The stills are not that good, but you can capture a still from the video that looks great.

The software that comes with the camera SUCKS!!! It only allows you to export the video into two formats: youtube (which is low quality) and iTunes. What? You can’t save as any other format. Ridiculous. For a camera of this price, it should’ve come with a much better app. I’ve found a free app online that converts the files to mpg or whatever I want. But, you CAN’T just drag the files off the camera and watch them on your pc. They must be converted first.

The battery is average, I guess. I plan on buying a 2nd battery. It will run out quick if you’re not careful to turn the camera completely off when not in use.

Still using the camera and figuring it out. The zoom works good and that’s one reason we chose this camera over others.

I’d love to see a free download of a better software app.

Decent Camera but shoddy software
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I purchased this camcorder not too long ago from best buy. Its a very good quality camera. Its small and lightweight with easy navigation options on the main screen. It doesnt have IR lighting however if you want to shoot in pitch black but it does have a normal light that illuminates about 3 feet in front of you. You also cannot shoot in black and white or sepia tone. My old camcorder was a sony mini DV, I actually wish I had kept it for certain occassions like shooting in black and white but overall I like the HD picture. You can also take snapshots and use it as a digital camera if you dont want to purchase an actual camera.

Now on to the software which is why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5. Its crap…you can shoot and upload your movies in HD yes, but if you use the software function to upload directly to youtube, it wont be in HD and wont even take up the full movie viewer that youtube uses nowadays. You need a movie editing tool like windows movie maker to process your raw video into a windows movie file first then upload that to youtube. I know it sounds complicated but thats the only way it will show up full screen and in HD on youtube. Also the files are uploaded to your computer from the usb as some strange file that your computer will not recognize. Only windows movie maker recognizes the extension so use that to edit your movies. You can convert the raw files to windows movie files but this degrades the picture quality considerably and shrink the resolution so its pointless unless using it for itunes.

All in all worth 600 bucks. I just wish it had a pitch black IR light. You can still purchase big IR lights on amazon for relatively cheap so it doesnt really matter.

Well designed, compact, easy to use camcorder that produces excellent video under most conditions.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Overall this camcorder is very easy to use and well designed and thought out. It produced high quality video for me under most conditions. In a very small package you get HD quality video a 20x optical zoom, and user-friendly design. Indoor quality was not as good as outdoor shooting (common to most every camcorder) but much more than acceptable.

Pros:

Sharp, clear, outdoor video. The first afternoon I had the camcorder I was shooting outdoors and creating AVCHD DVDs. The DVDs looked great on my HDTV. They had the sharpness, clarity, and depth you expect from an HD broadcast. I use a PS3 and it had no problems playing the disc whatsoever.

Easy to use navigation finger pad and laser touch. The user interface was very easy to get use to and worked great for me. On the left side you have the laser touch that I found quite easy to get use to for me to do exactly what I wanted to do. You also use thumb pads that are very responsive. The end result is an easy to navigate set of options.

Good smooth focusing. Most of the time people shoot with automatic focus so the focusing is important. This camera has a better than average for HD 20x optical zoom. Outside I had a fast response to focusing when zooming. More importantly for me, when I burned the DVDs and played them back the focusing was smooth. Other digital camcorders I have used I would get an unpleasant visual sensation when focusing in, not the HD300. That is not to say that it doesn’t have to refocus, but that the transition is much smoother than other camcorders I have used. I was also able to get focused closeups of butterflies on flowers.

Well thought out user features. There are number of good and useful design features with this camcorder. First the strap is excellent. It includes a clip that you can open and close for very easy adjustment for people with different hand sizes. My wife and me both get a great fit, very easily. Start up is great. Opening the screen turns on the camera and opens the lens cover. A short everio startup screen appears but you can start shooting in seconds. When you close the screen you can leave the camcorder in quick start mode so the next time you open the screen it is ready to shoot without showing the everio startup screen. Closing the screen closes the lens cover automatically.

Software is basic but does what it is suppose to do. I used windows Vista and had no problems with software. Very basic software but it was easy to use from the get go and let me create DVDs with no problems. It also let me upload to Youtube very easily. Something I had never done before. It was great as I was able to share video with friends and family around the country. One odd thing with the Youtube upload was that at 50% done the software seems like it freezes up. The progress counter stops, things start blinking. The first time it happened I cancelled the operation. Then it happened again and I left it go and it has completed the upload every time. The software asks for your Youtube id and password and it is right there in your account when it finishes.

Cons:

You cannot create AVCHDs in the highest recording mode UXP. The UXP mode records at 24mbps, however when you select UXP it gives you a warning, DVDs can not be created. In the user manual it confirms that UXP can be used for playback and for storage and then playback. Since I primarily use a camcorder to create DVDs to store and share memories this means I will not be using UXP. XP and SP both produced high quality video though. If you have a Blu-ray burner I believe you can create Blu-rays in UXP. XP records at up to over 17mbps.

Poor manual. Most manuals nowadays with electronics are longer than War and Peace. This one is too short. It does not go into using manual mode and different scene shooting modes for instance. Nor does it list an option to cut down on wind noise for sound recording (that worked pretty well). Many other options are not mentioned. What this means is the user needs to play around with all of the menu options to see what the camcorder is capable of. Not hard to do, but no reason not to include a more informative manual.

Indoor recoding. I hesitated to put this as a con because all camcorders I have ever used do not produce as good results indoors. There is a reason that Discover HD looks so amazing most of the time, it is being shoot outdoors. Even TV quality HD cameras do not work their best indoors except with Hollywood level lighting. I thought the results were overall good with the HD300. During daylight indoors the quality was pretty crisp and sharp. At night it was grainy. However color reproduction was good indoors during daylight and nighttime. You are not going to get as good quality as outdoors though

Mixed-bag.

Sound recording. Overall I was able to get some pretty great sound. Much better than camcorders I have used in the past. However when you zoom the microphone zooms as well. This is good if you are recording say a baseball game and want the sounds from the game. But I do a lot of `narration’ where I am zooming in and out but the sound I want is my narration. It would have been nice to be able to turn off the zooming mic when possible. Also you can not attach an external mic.

Conclusion.

This is a small but powerful workhorse of a camcorder with a lot to recommend it. The camcorder is very easy to use, great menu interface, super compact, good smooth zoom, nice amount of HDD storage (7.5 hours in XP), good basic software included, and really nice video quality under most conditions. It is remarkable what you get in so small a package. I am not a videographer as much as someone who wants to create video to share and remember. And I like that video to be as high quality as possible straight from the camcorder. This camcorder does that very well. It lets you easily create high quality AVCHD DVDs to store and share memories.

hardware great, software awful (but there are alternatives)
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3D5N4KQFIMLTJ In this review I show off the camcorder itself, show some video and pictures I took with the camcorder that show off the features, and discuss the software limitations.

[...]

Excellent CMOS Camcorder // Good JVC Quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
** UPDATE 9/5/2009 **

Since my last review, we have taken this camera on many family get-togethers and on our summer vacation to northern California. We had an excellent trip and caught just over 70min of crystal-clear video on this little gem. When we got home, I offloaded the video on to my 15″ Macbook Pro for a change since I usually use our desktop (20″ iMac 2.66Ghz, 4GB RAM) to handle video editing. Since I use iMovie ’09, the transition between using the iMac and the Macbook Pro is completely seamless; moreover, I use a Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive-Silver ST903203FJA105-RK as my video drive for editing. The drive makes it easy to move data back/forth between computers, and iMovie ’09 lets you edit right on the drive itself. I digress…. Anyway, it took nearly an hour to offload all the AVCHD video footage from the camera b/c the files have to be decompressed so they can be edited–this is par for the course of any AVCHD camera, unless you are using a program that can edit AVCHD files (I believe Final Cut Pro can, but I’m not going to spend the $$$ for it yet). I had iMovie offload the files in full quality (1920 x 1080, not 540p which it recommends) and used the files to make a DVD for our parents. The video files looked perfect and had very bright, colorful shots of our vacation–my mother even called to say that she couldn’t believe how bright the pictures were. Yes, it was that good…..even on a simple DVD (not Blu Ray). You can burn a DVD of your HD movies, but you will no doubt lose quality in comparison to a Blu Ray. However, the quality is still very good on DVD nonetheless.

Battery life has thus far been very good, although I am starting to shop for an extended battery for it. The lens has stayed remarkably clean considering how much use it has gotten; I clean it with a can of compressed air and a soft, damp lens cleaning cloth.

Wind noise was a minimum most of the time, although I did have to turn on the wind noise option to block some of it out at times. In low light situations, it will tend to get a little grainy so I recommend having the LED light on if possible.

All in all, I stand by my 5/5 star review of this camera since it has performed very well and handled a lot of the rigors of travel better than I would have expected. This camera has been a great purchase for us so I wholeheartedly recommend it.

** UPDATE 5/11/2009 **

Oh how I wish I could post a HD video sample. We took this camera with us to my Mom’s house for Mother’s Day and the video (esp. outdoor) was just priceless quality; I am amazed at how much detail shows on our 42″ Plasma HDTV (42″ Samsung 1080i)–it just “pops” and hows every possible detail. The sound pickup was excellent and did not require any sort of modification in iMovie ’09 for crisp sound; it picks up every voice, tone, and even helicopter in the distance.

As a Mac user, I cannot recommend this camera enough; it really is a simple camera to use and my wife and I are thrilled with it.

–

My wife and I were looking at getting a camcorder to take with us on vacation. After doing a plethora of research, we finally decided on the JVC Everio line and chose the GZ-HD300 60GB HD Camcorder.

I haven’t owned a video camera since my vintage RCA VHS shoulder-mount video camera. There are many types of camcorders available, so I was choosy in balancing form/function vs. price. I looked at Sony, Canon, and JVC , and finally went w/ JVC.

When I opened the box, I was happy to see everything was plainly laid out and easy to identify. Cord…check….camera…check…battery…check…manuals…check.

The battery was dead so I had to plug it in; powered it on, and it fired right up. Within 5min of opening the box, I was shooting video. I was impressed at the simplicity of the camera and didn’t start to read the manual until the following day–it’s that easy to use. Everything is well placed and easy to read/understand. Clearly JVC engineers did their homework about how to make something as technical as a video Camcorder easy to use.

Works great with our 42″ 1080i Samsung Plasma HDTV with the included component cables. The camcorder is also HDMI-compatible (mini adapter is needed).

We own/use Macintosh in our home, so I cannot comment on how well the included, pack-in software works on a PC.

** ILIFE/IMOVIE ’09 USERS **

CORRECTION: Before you shoot video, make sure you do use image stabilization in iMovie ’09; it works just fine on the camera, but do not use stabilization in iMovie ’09.

Here’s a link that explains it: [...]

I am using this camera with a Intel iMac 2.66Ghz w/ 4GB RAM, Leopard 10.5, and iLife ’09. All cables are included in the box, so hook-up to the iMac took less time than finding an available USB port.

iMovie ’09 had no problem at all reading the AVCHD content from the camera, and gives you three options; Import, Import All, or Archive Camera. Instead of writing a whole tutorial on how to use iMovie, all I’ll say is it works very well with iMovie ’09 and I’ve had no problems w/ video.

As I said earlier, this camera is not compatible with the image stabilization feature in iMovie. Apple also suggests turning it off in iMovie due to limitations using CMOS-based cameras.

Here’s a link explaining the “rolling shutter” effect… [...]

All in all, a great camera. We’ve been very happy with it.

CORRECTION: Image stabilization on the camera works just fine w/ iMovie/iLife ’09; just be sure not to use image stabilization on camera AND use it in iMovie ’09. Apple is clearly aware of it and it is and has a link explaining the issue (see below).

As an amateur videographer I find the HD300 ideal: user-friendly and good quality.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve owned the JVC Everio GZ-HD 300 60GB camcorder for one and a half months. I have used it extensively during that time to record video at the highest quality setting, and I’ve been mostly pleased and impressed with the results. (I experimented with recording at lower quality settings and saw no reason not to always use the highest.) I took a few still pictures to see what the image quality is like. I had low expectations for that and those low expectations were met, e.g., as compared to the image quality of my Lumix FZ28. But that’s of less than trivial concern to me, as my interest in owning the HD300 is to record video, not still images.

I’ve used some of the video I’ve recorded to create short movies with Adobe’s Premiere Elements 7 software. I’ve viewed some of the recorded video directly from the camcorder on an HDTV via an HDMI cable (which is not supplied with the Everio), and I’ve viewed footage on a non-HD TV via the supplied component and AV cables. In all cases I found the image quality excellent, the best of course being on HDTV via an HDMI cable. I made DVDs of two of the short movies I made with Premiere Elements 7 and have viewed them on both a TV and a computer. One DVD turned out excellent, the other didn’t, and I am reasonably certain that this is due to problems having nothing to do with the camcorder itself (but with settings in Elements 7 which I’ve yet to learn to master).

Video recorded on the HD300 in low-lighting at the highest quality setting is grainy. Video recorded where the only light on the subject is from the Everio HD300′s LED light (a handy feature which can be set to on, off, or automatic), is grainy. I think it this is to be expected for a camcorder in this price range, but I mention it anyway. Video that I recorded outdoors on bright days under a clear or hazy sky came out exceptionally clear and not at all grainy.

I’ve had to practice using the zoom lever so that I can zoom more smoothly. I suspect that there is a mechanical limit to how smoothly one can zoom on a camcorder in this price frange. The HD300 has a fairly generous 20 times optical zoom, and for those who may not understand the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom, optical zoom uses a camera’s lens to bring subjects closer while digital zoom only simulates optical zoom by enlarging a portion of an image, usually at a discernable if not striking loss of image quality.

I cannot fit my hands into gloves smaller than extra large and my fingers are a tad fat. I nevertheless have had no problem at all using the “Laser Touch Operation” sensor to the left of the LCD monitor. I found it intuitive to use right out of the box as soon as the HD300′s battery was charged.

Because my hands are large, the grip strap is less comfortable for me to use than it would otherwise be (and in fact relatives with smaller hands have told me they find the grip strap comfortable when it is adjusted for their hand). Therefore I normally keep the grip strap adjusted so that it lays flat against the camcorder’s body, leaving a loop at the end that I can slip over my wrist, and that works fine for me.

While I’ve used the HD300 with a tripod a little bit, I have mainly used it in hand-held mode, and unless I use two hands and my elbows against my chest to form a kind of tripod (a technique many binocular users use), I find it difficult to just hold it up in the air with one hand and keep it as steady as I’d like. That lack of steadiness shows up when I view what I’ve recorded.

The JVC GZ-HD300 is a hard disk camera, meaning that (except when a micro SD card is used) it records video and still images directly to an internal hard disk. Hard disk is one of several media formats that camcorders use for recording. One advantage of hard disk drive camcorders is their storage capacity. With 60 GB (gigabytes) of storage capacity, the HD300 can record 25 hours of video at the lowest quality setting and 5 ½ hours of video at the highest. Another advantage is that the user doesn’t have to carry tapes, memory cards, or discs around (though as I note above, the HD300 can record to micro SD cards).

A disadvantage of hard disk drive camcorders compared to solid state drive camcorders (which record to flash memory) is that the moving parts of hard disk drives are subject to bumps and are less durable than solid state or flash drives, which have no moving parts. Another disadvantage is that hard disk camcorders can heat up considerably (there is a warning about this on the bottom of the HD300), and are more limited as to the minimum and maximum temperatures in which they can operate than are solid state drive camcorders. And, solid state drive camcorders can start up a bit faster than hard disk drive camcorders.

I’m very pleased with the HD300. I find it ideal for my non-professional reasons for wanting a camcorder with an optical zoom; recording excellent quality video (assuming sufficient lighting) at gatherings with family and friends, recording in nature and when traveling, and recording excellent quality video that I can play with in video editing software.

Average Performance But Tiny Enough To Travel Anywhere
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Body and Features

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First off, this camera is tiny, especially considering the fact that it has a 60GB hard drive. The size rivals most SD card-only cameras. I assume it uses the same type of tiny shock-resistant hard drive found in MP3 players. The camera is even pocket-size if wearing loose fitting pants or pants with roomy extra pockets, like cargo shorts. Setup was simple. I inserted the battery, plugged in the power cord, and waited until the charging light stopped flashing. You simply open the LCD to turn on camera. There is no optical viewfinder. The LCD is big and bright, although not quite as clear and sharp as some of the competition. There is a vertical touch-sensitive laser scroll strip on left of LCD and touch-sensitive soft buttons along the bottom. The laser scroll strip is very responsive and becomes quite intuitive after you get accustomed to it. Menu items are logically arranged and easily accessible. The most often used items, such as video and sound preferences, are at top of menu, making them quickly accessible. Scrolling through the menu is accomplished by simply sliding finger up or down laser strip. The laser strip can also be used to zoom the lens in addition to using the switch atop camera. The LCD cavity also houses the power-off button, a mini-HDMI port, component video out connector, a button that enables switching between micro-SD and internal HDD, and additional buttons for playing and exporting video. There is a still picture snapshot button atop camera next to zoom toggle. The tiny form factor fit comfortably in my grip. The adjustable hand strap has a locking clasp that easily snaps open for quick adjustments. It can also be extended and converted for use as a wrist strap for carrying the camera. It also includes a small remote with basic features.

Performance

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The camera powers on quickly and is ready to shoot in seconds. There is no noticeable lag waiting for the hard drive to spin up. The hard drive is silent and is never interfered with recordings. The auto-focus performs okay in most circumstances. AF performance varies with distance and lighting. Shooting objects at full zoom and close-up (3 feet or less) seems more challenging for this particular auto-focus compared to other cameras I own. The face detection feature works well at identifying and tracking faces, even in cluttered shots, although it does have a difficult time keeping up with rapidly moving targets. Shooting footage of my kids, moving rapidly about, caused the face detection to lose target several times, although reacquisition was fairly quick. Despite this fact, the hard drive-based camera is able to keep up and maintain a decent level of detail in high-definition with constant hand/camera movement. Video shot in well lit conditions was clear and sharp. The camera exhibited good color balance with crisp true colors, decent saturation, accurate color reproduction, and good white balance. The camera also shoots in 24Mbps UXP (ultra high definition) mode. If shot in bright ideal conditions, the video in this mode is quite stunning, especially for such a tiny camera. Indoor and dimly lit video was not as nice. The video was much softer and noticeably noisier. Colors were also more washed out and adversely affected by indoor lighting. White balance took a nosedive. My white walls took on the orange color cast by the overhead incandescent lighting. And the luminance of the lights caused ghastly glowing effects on the walls as well. To be honest, I was a bit surprised after viewing the very first footage I shot with the camera, which was indoors with medium lighting. Video shot in even lower light (a 32″ television and one lamp) was really bad. The video was so grainy, I had to double-check to make sure I was shooting in high definition. For comparison, I checked older footage from a standard-definition mini-DV camera previously shot in the same location with even less light and footage from a Panasonic SDR-H40 shot in similar light. The mini-DV footage was actually better, however, the Panasonic experienced a lot of the same issues as the JVC. The JVC was actually clearer in some instances and showed fewer video artifacts. So although indoor/dim light is not the greatest, I’d be hard-pressed to call it the worst. The camera does offer manual controls that can be used to improve indoor performance. There is a button right on the LCD that allows switching between manual and fully automatic. I tried it and with a little fiddling, significantly improved my indoor performance. If you’re the fully-auto type, this camera will definitely force you out of that comfort zone if you want decent indoor performance. If that seems too daunting, then you will definitely want to use the built-in light for all but the brightest indoor filming. One area where the camera excelled was sound. Sound was crisp and clear with no virtually no interference. The camera even did a very good job of recording ambient sounds during outside filming one early morning. I heard every little sound of nature. Birds chirping near and far, insects, etc. Normal sounds are nice and clear with no harshness. If you close the LCD, the camera will enter standby mode, conserving battery life. To turn camera off completely, you have to hold the power button for a few seconds. The 60 GB hard drive is fast enough to keep up with various recording conditions and offers more than sufficient space for an entire vacation worth of recorded memories. You won’t have to worry about running low on space unless you allow footage to accumulate over time on camera. However, if you do manage to run low on space, or simply prefer, micro SD is another option. The minimum specs suggest class 4 card or higher for normal video, class 6 minimum for UXP mode. This will help you avoid potential problems like drop-outs. Frankly, I wouldn’t go with anything below class 6 for either mode. Unfortunately, class 6 micro-SD cards are not the most common thing in the world to find. In fact, I’m pretty sure you can check most stores in your area and they won’t carry a class 6 micro-SD. They’ll likely have Class 6 SD or SDHC cards however. I don’t know why JVC opted not to go with the more popular regular SD. Nonetheless, if you need additional storage, micro-SD is also an option, thus causing JVC to label it a “hybrid” camera. Still shots are adequate but unremarkable. I wouldn’t use this as my primary still camera but it works in a pinch. Shot Video/still footage is organized as thumbnails on the LCD when the user enters playback mode on the camera. The laser strip allows you to quickly navigate through the various thumbnails to select, play, and delete clips.

Exporting and Saving Footage

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The camera can export footage to both Mac or PC, external recording devices such as DVD/Blu-Ray/VHS recorder, or another camcorder. You can also play footage directly from camera on your television using the mini HDMI or component connections. The component cables are included, however the mini-HDMI is not. JVC also offers a direct to disk device, but a Mac or PC should be sufficient. Exporting to a Mac is relatively easy enough with iMovie. In fact, there is no bundled software for Mac. The bundled Pixela Everio MediaBrowser HD software for Windows (only) is severely lacking. It is primarily used for extracting, backing up, and organizing files from the camera. I do like the fact that it neatly organizes your videos chronologically (reminds me a little of Picassa, only for videos) and makes it easy to find specific footage. It also remembers which footage was previously backed up from camera and only imports the new footage. Unfortunately, that’s about all the good I can say about it. Footage is backed up as AVCHD (H.264) files with a .mts extension on your computer. This will likely be a little confusing to people who have used standard definition hard drive cameras or mini-DV in the past. You cannot browse the camera in Windows for footage like you can with a standard definition hard drive camera because Windows does not recognize the .mts format. When files are backed up to your computer via MediaBrowser, they appear as an unknown file type to Windows. Unfortunately, this also means neither Windows Media Player nor Windows Movie Maker recognize the .mts file format as well, rendering them useless for viewing or editing. You will need an AVCHD compatible video editing application to manipulate and edit the files. MediaBrowser has a built-in viewer, however, viewing H.264 files will likely be a stuttering pixelated mess unless you have a powerful video card and computer. That rules out most average desktops and laptops. I used the viewer on a pretty decent laptop with a dedicated video card (256 MB RAM), Intel Centrino 2 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64-bit OS. The majority of the videos were watchable, however, certain videos with fast movement or camera shake, were a bit choppy in spots. I also tried it on a mid-level laptop with integrated video using shared system memory. The videos were much worse, very choppy, and basically unwatchable (unless you were deliberately attempting to give yourself a headache). MediaBrowser can convert the .mts files to Windows viewable video files, however, your choices are extremely limited. You can either choose to convert to a tiny (320X240) .mpg file, or export to iTunes for conversion to Quicktime video. Neither of which produced desirable results. MediaBrowser also allows you to “edit” movies, however, this is limited to simply cutting out unwanted footage. Lastly, MediaBrowser allows users to burn the video files to a DVD disk, which can be performed with files saved on the PC or directly from the camera. For some people, this may be adequate. Not everyone wants to be Steven Spielberg. Most users just want to shoot decent quality video, have the ability to remove footage of that crazy uncle (every family has one) embarrassing himself at the 4th of July cookout, and burn a DVD for watching later. This program will do that. It just doesn’t do much else. Mac users on the other hand, have it much better off with iMovie. iMovie can open, view, and edit the AVCHD files. Mac users don’t need any bundled software because they already have software that’s pretty much better than anything the camera makers are willing to bundle anyhow. If Windows users wish to go beyond the very limited capabilities of the bundled Pixela software, they will have to invest in some type of third-party AVCHD compatible video editing or conversion software like Corel VideoStudio, Sony Vegas Movie Studio (Platinum or Pro), Cyberlink PowerDirector, Adobe Premier Elements, etc.

Summary

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To sum things up, is this a perfect camera? No, especially if you compare it to some of the other models on the market. It doesn’t have the “professional grade” quality lens or features of some of the competing models. In addition, indoor/low light full-auto performance is less than stellar, especially for an HD camera, and the included software for Windows users is pretty weak. That being said, this camera does have two factors going for it that merit consideration: size and capacity. It’s a consumer-grade camera, so let’s look at the real reason the average consumer buys a camcorder: to record and document memories. A lot of times, those memories are going to be on the go. A wise art teacher once told me the best camera in the world is the one you have with you when needed. This camera packs tons of storage into a tiny body rivaling SD-only and similar sized videocams with far less flash memory. You can take this on vacation and feel confident it is small enough to carry everywhere yet capable of capturing all your trip memories without the need to offload footage or add memory. Yes, there are larger much higher quality alternatives, but smaller and lighter is sometimes the better trade-off. Anyone who has ever spent a few days chasing kids all over Disney World or a water park can bear witness to that fact.

In a nutshell, this camera shoots decent to very good outside footage and average to poor (depending on circumstances and whether you’re willing to compensate in manual mode or use the built-in light) indoor/low light footage. On the other hand, it’s small enough that you’re more likely to carry it with you to capture any footage at all. If you’re looking for a tiny pocket-size videocam with acceptable performance and a nice little feature set, this is worth a peek.

A beautiful, logical Hi-Def Camcorder
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is the nicest and smallest camcorder I have ever had the pleasure using. A true pleasure it is! It even makes my Panasonic HD Palmcorder (SDR-H200) look large!

The body is plastic but appears to be extremely durable. I would hate to drop it even though it feels heavy and extremely solid. The Konica lens is also a plus and worth mentioning. No lens caps with this camcorder, the lens cover is built in (an extra blessing when keeping features in mind).

It comes with paper manuals in multiple languages as well as an application CD with a media player and a calendar app and easy upload to YouTube. If you fancy making YouTube videos, this camcorder is for you.

Everything is very “touch” sensitive and oriented. There is a Touch Sensor on the side of the LCD screen that provides the way to work through sub-menus. This sensor is really, really cool and works great! Out of the box. I did not find it difficult to use and was able to employ the “Easy Start Guide” to get started recording right away (after a recommended 110 minute charge of the battery).

Initial set up of the camera is very logical and works through a menu system. Date and time settings were easy (and the easy start guide and the actual manual is very well written). This camera could be easily used by a hobbyist such as myself. I am technical, but I do not feel that the camcorder requires a huge amount of technical knowledge. Read and follow the manual … and you will be set. For more savvy users, I! think this camcorder will reach you, too. It’s remarkable

The manual and easy start guide relay the importance of making backups of your video projects (to a PC or external HD). I think this is a very good thing to reiterate and I was glad to see it placed in the manual.

Looking at the LCD monitor and seeing all of the different symbols can be daunting! If you are a hobbyist like I am, you may want to take the time to really delve into the manual and see what this camera is capable of and what you will be able to do with it. The symbols make sense and the manual will help you make sense of them.

Along with being a high-def camcorder, you get a wonderful point and shoot camera

At first, I had a very difficult time steadying this camera with my own hand to take any still photographs and noticed that the pictures were really blurry. I realized quickly and with reading deeper into the manual that I did not have the Digital Image Stabilizer on (DIS). This made all the difference in the world for the video and although it says it does not work with the stills, I noticed they were better (perhaps less movement by the subjects).

The colors are bright, and I love the touch buttons. I find the Touch Sensor (it’s a slider that really allows you to navigate through the menus) one of the most ingenious ideas I have seen implemented on an electronic item. When opening the screen, the camcorder turns on automatically.

This is a sweet little camcorder that I think just for ease of use alone is totally worth the money. Also keep in mind you get a SD card slot and an internal 60GB hard drive. Plenty of space for hours of recording without having to lug around large media. I noticed that the battery power got eaten up pretty quickly. It’s worth having a spare and keeping the charger handy. It never hurts. The hi-def functions must be a power hog–understandable. Keep it in mind when you buy.

One last thing, I am a MAC and PC user but decided to go with the MAC and bypass the enclosed software after playing with it on my PC and having a couple of USB recognition problems on my Vista laptop. Mac makes thing much easier. Uaing iLife’s iPhoto and iMovie on the Mac made using this device a snap. No recognition problems whatsoever. It’s one of the things that makes me love MACs more and more.

Kudos.

Not as good as it should be!
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I used to work in tv, and have extensive experience of video cameras.

This little jvc promises so much, yet somehow fails to deliver. Three things really irritate, and make it almost useless.

1. The zoom is jerky mechanically and electrically. And the steady shot doesn’t really help either. [When can we have smooth motorised zoom - like we had 20 years ago on analogue cameras the size of a wardrobe?]

2. Its very narrow angle lens means that to capture a person standing full height, you need to be 25 feet away. So can’t really see what’s going on. This is particularly exacerbated by having a wide-screen format only – lots of width, no height. Fine for blockbusters, hopeless for shooting youtube type day-to-day talking heads type stuff. Sometimes you just need a 4:3 format and this hasn’t got it! (Also this is pathetic on a pc – which of course is generally not widescreen so letterbox effect infuriates here too)

3. There’s no external audio inputs ! What’s the point of having HQ HDD video if the audio is crap from silly built-in mic? And if you’re 25 feet away from your subject what do these pick up? Just distant mumble and hum, that’s what!

Useless camera designed by a software team, not by (or for) real video users. If it wasn’t a birthday present, I’d ask for my money back!

PS and the battery lasts doesn’t seem to last any time at all – I’m getting less than 30 mins. Which is also useless.

Don’t buy this camera! Don’t even accept it as a gift!

JC GZ-HD300
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I like the size. It is very compact. But this is where the good ends. The image quality is not so good, certainly not worth the money. The zoom is kind of jumpy, and low light performance is nonexistent. Even at the highest quality setting, the video quality is still so poor and grainy. In short it is a total disappointment.

Good Product
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The product was received in excellent condition and in a timely manner.

Thank you for the great service.

Good Hardware, Beware the Software
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
JVC continues to build on and refine its handheld cams.

I thought I’d use this for a few months before reviewing, just to see how it held up. It has been completely dependable and willing to go the distance time and time again. Picture quality is great; sound quality is as good as one has a right to expect from a little cam-mounted mini-mike. It does fine, but nobody will be cutting a cd from the jvc audiotrack any time soon.

The non-hd picture quality continues to be good, and the hd pic is excellent as well. The controls are easy to use and reasonably intuitive, though some of the touch controls can be a little too responsive.

The drawback as always is the software. Almost anything in the world is more useful than the programs that come bundled with the camera. This is, of course, and easy issue to rectify, but it’s worth knowing about up front.

Outside Only
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Do not buy this camera if you are planning on using it inside. Any video shot inside is extremely grainy, even in the daytime, or with lights on. The quality of anything shot inside (played back on a new Samsung, 1080p, LCD TV) was less than regular definition. The camera has a light, but it only helps if your within inches of your target. Very disappointed, returning camera to store.

Handy Cam
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Price was better than most others. I was satisfied with the JVC product and the delivery was fast considering the shipping is absolutely free. The only problem is the memory card…its limited to find microSD which is compatible with this product.

Very good, especially for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camcorder records stunning video especially in well lit settings. The quality of the video rivals the HD you see while watching your favorite Television shows. There are many settings to choose from. Menu navigation is effortless. The laser touch scrolling is also very nice to use. It gives this camcorder iphone like menu navigation functionality. The hard drive and SD Micro card can be mounted by a PS3 for quick and easy play back. Still pictures are not perfect, but very close. There is so much to love about this camcorder. I paid $699 at BestBuy last week. I have been testing it like crazy before the 14 day return policy expires. I will not be returning this product.

Good quality video, but the controls left me flat
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I really wanted to love this camera: the size is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I had a Sony Handycam that was just a tiny bit smaller, but it stopped recording a while back. Having a teeny video camera allows you to feel less self-conscious recording in a public place. The problem is that this camera doesn’t record unless the screen is open, and hey, nothing screams “I’m recording you” like an open screen flashing light on the people behind you. I will keep looking into whether or not there is a way to do it, and I’ll update my review later, but for now, that’s my biggest complaint.

The controls are very weird, but I’m getting used to them. After having a Sony, Canon and Flip video camera, the buttons are unusual, but usable. I think I would have preferred a pure touchscreen without the weird buttons, but it’s nothing I can’t adapt to. The “Knightrider”-type glowing virtual scroll area (I don’t know how else to describe it) works well but is odd.

Pulling the camera out of the box, I was able to start recording video as soon as the battery was charged (how I wish these things came with a full battery – who wants to wait to play with a new toy?) I wanted to see how intuitive the controls were, so I started using it without first looking at the book. The only thing I couldn’t get to work without looking at the book was still photos, and I think if I’d looked at the controls harder, I would have seen that you have to toggle the mode for that (no taking snapshots while in video mode).

The image quality is great, and I’ve had no trouble with sound. The camera is whisper quiet because there are no tapes. The zoom works well, although I find the button a little awkward to reach. Maybe it’s just the size of my hands. [I will update my review with a video clip in the near future.]

Bottom line, this is a really nice little camera, but I would suggest that if you’re coming from Sony or Canon land, that you go try one out in a store before buying to see if you like the controls.

Adequate.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The JVC is a competitively priced camera that is certainly adequate but far from the best camera in the marketplace.

**1080p?**

Before I get into other features, it’s important to note that this is not a 1080p camcorder! The marketing materials both on the box and here at Amazon indicate this camera shoots 1080 60p. It doesn’t. It’s 1080i running at 29.97 frames per second. While this shoots 60 /fields/ per second, it’s not the holy grail of 60 /frames/ per second. The product manual does indicate the correct output resolution, but it’s unfortunate that JVC is misleading customers into thinking this is a true 1080p device.

**FEATURES**

The Everio is definitely smaller and lighter than most of the cameras in its product range even with a 60 gig hard disk crammed in. JVC is “checking all of the boxes” for a good consumer camera, including facial recognition, 24 megabit maximum recording (which is unfortunately off by default), and a hard disk that records about five hours of footage at the highest quality setting.

The display screen is sub par. Very low resolution and a low dot pitch.

The biggest omission, something that JVC is not alone in omitting, is a microphone port. It just infuriates me to see this becoming more of the norm for consumer cameras, dooming users to a lifetime of lousy audio. Good audio is such an important part of good video, and the lack of even the option to bring in an external microphone is a real deal breaker.

**OPERATION**

My real issue with this camera, despite all of its features, is that it does nothing particularly well. JVC opted for a touch sensitive “laser touch” glowing navigation pad that is difficult to use with menu options that don’t make much sense. For example, the menu description for the built in stabilizer reads “image blurred need to reduce camera shake…” Huh? I was equally confused by an “auto manual” icon that doesn’t tell me what exactly it is I am manually controlling. There are no manual white balance, focus, aperture, or shutter controls that I could find.

The hard drive is responsive and relatively quiet. I predict this will likely be the last year for hard drive based recorders given how inexpensive large flash drives are becoming. Avoid buying this for kids who are rough on their equipment, as hard drives do not fare as well as flash drives do when getting knocked around.

The camera touts a bunch of ‘one touch’ features that ease the uploading of video from the camera back to a computer as well as YouTube. The problem is that none of these features work on a Mac. The camera does, however, interface perfectly with iMovie and Final Cut Pro.

**IMAGE QUALITY**

For a 2009 model year camera I was extremely disappointed with the output quality. I ran test footage side-by-side with last year’s Canon HF-100 in a naturally lit room. The older camera far exceeded the JVC’s output. The JVC was overly grainy with very flat colors. Image quality improved outdoors in good light, but still not as good as the Canon.

**CONCLUSION**

This is a competitively priced camera that is adequate but not great. There are definitely better models out there, but none that have this amount of storage capacity and features in this small a form factor at this price.

Consider the JVC if you don’t care about manual controls, shoot mostly in good light, and don’t need a microphone port. If you see yourself becoming a more serious videographer, look elsewhere. You will quickly outgrow it.