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JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom | List Price: $900.00
Discount Price: $499.00
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Brand: JVC
Binding: Electronics
Features: - 30 GB hard drive camcorder, high-quality MPEG-2 recording
- 3-dimensional noise reduction for clear picture
- "F1.2 lens, 2.2-megapixel CCD, 10x optical zoom, 800x digital zoom
- 2.7-inch widescreen LCD monitor, power-linked operation
- USB 2.0 high-speed interface; 12x transfer rate
Good Camera Poor Battery Life [Posted on 2007-06-23]
This is a good camera. It has served well since I bought it a month ago. The only thing is that battery does not last more than 40 minutes when fully charged and there is no warranty on the battery. Mine is dead after one month. That is kind of disappointing. I had a Sony DCR-SR40. It had two hours battery life. JVC customer is not good like Sony or Canon.
Klunky, Proprietary and Unreliable; Worst Camera I've ever used [Posted on 2008-04-26]
About the only redeeming quality it has is that it does, in fact, record video. Other than that, I find numerous flaws and have multiple complaints. It is a camera that I record video _in spite of_.
1. My camera eats batteries very quickly. If a battery is left in the camera for more than two weeks, it becomes useless. I now have about five dead batteries thanks to this camera. It seems that every time I need to record something the battery is dead. Of course it's out of warranty and customer service won't talk to me over email.
2. JVC uses a bizarre, proprietary format - .MOD - that is essentially MPEG-2 with a strange audio format. **It is impossible to edit the files in Adobe Premiere** - a huge letdown. I had to go through hours of research and trial and error to try to get my files just to play in premiere. Why JVC couldn't have used a more universal format baffles me.
3. Video quality is merely average - about on par with an inexpensive point-n-shoot camera. It is interlaced, and I could not find a way to record progressive, so all motion looks jagged when played on a progressive screen like a computer. Another huge letdown.
4. The zoom control imparts clicks and pops to the video when it's used. Also, the zoom itself is very slow and actually varies with the focal length. E.g. If I hold it all the way down, the zoom moves at one speed from about 1x-6x and then slows down from 7x-10x.
5. Misc. - The wide end of the lens is too long of a focal length. I have to use a .5x adapter to get a decent wide shot. The camera has a long startup time - 4-5 seconds as it goes through a "JVC camcorder" animation. It also has no physical controls for manual settings - all must be done through a menu. There is no focus ring; trying to manually focus through a menu with a joystick is near impossible.
Beware of the software [Posted on 2008-08-03]
This is a wonderful camera. I purchased it and took it on my long-planned trip through Europe in 2006. Upon return, I downloaded the pictures using the Cyberlink Power Producer software. I worked on the pictures, then saved them until I had time to return and finish my sorting, renaming, etc.
When I returned, the pictures were missing. I found a file with the correct extension, but the software wouldn't open it. In spite of several attempts to get Cyberlink to resolve the problem, we were unsuccessful. Their suggestions for resolving the problem were short-sighted and repetitive. I even paid Data Doctors privately to try to find the file. Cyberlink finally admitted there was nothing else they could do.
JVC didn't even bother to write back.
Compact unit, great pictures, and durable! [Posted on 2008-12-01]
I have had this JVC camera for two years, and I absolutely love it. Yes, I had to figure out that you need to use the director software first and then the producer software to create your DVDs. The battery that came with mine wasn't the longest life, so I would recommend a spare with a longer life. BUT, HERE'S MY FAVORITE PART: This summer I accidentally left this camcorder outside on a jacket along with my Kodak digital still camera. It rained. Both cameras sat in a puddle on my jacket for about a day. The still camera was junked-it would no longer turn on. The JVC, however, didn't miss a beat! I dried the outside off, it turned on right away, all of my film was still there, and 6 months after the incident I still have no issues with this wonderful little camcorder. I think the quality is great for filming my kids, indoors and out. I miss the night vision that my old 8mm camcorder had, but the portability, convenience of not having tapes, and the durability of this gem makes it a 5 star for me. JVC will definitely be at the top of my list when I choose to upgrade. Suggestion: Have or purchase an external drive to hold all of your footage. My laptop's hard drive filled up fast!
HORRIBLE PURCHASE [Posted on 2009-01-03]
BEWARE!!! DO NOT PURCHASE THIS MODEL! The software that comes with it will NOT allow you to burn your own DVD's with your own computer. It creates errors with Windows that are not easily traceable. I have had two professional computer people look at it and neither one could burn DVD's without fixing some of the errors in the software provided.
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