JVC GZMG50 Best Prices, Compare, Reviews
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Product: JVC GZMG50 Amazon Price: Too low to display Availability: In Stock |
Finally! I have been waiting for a video camera that takes favorable quality video (not mpeg4) and does not exhaust tapes. Everyone that I know has a minidv/digital8 camera, and when they shoot something, the last we all ever notice of it is when they hook up the camera to the tv at the slay of the day. After that, no copies, no sharing, most of the time no one ever sees the video again. The whole point of recording memories is that you can search for them easily whenever you want and be able to part them with friends and family whenever you want.
First I have to say this is my first camcorder ever (yes, I have been waiting 30 years for this camera) . I have obsolete plenty of other camcorders that people have let me borrow, but this is the first camcorder I ever remove for myself.
I went to Cancun two weeks ago and I made the decision that I had to engage a camera for the hurry. This camera was a broad choice and I adore it! I didn't have to lug along my digital quiet camera, because the everio takes 1152x864 pictures as well which is more than enough for me (for those out there that believe they need 6 megapixel pictures, wake up and smell the marketing) .
When I got abet from my spin, I decided to sit down and accept everyone a copy of the video. I was a minute timid because I work in advertising and I know how cumbersome and unimaginative it can be to work with gargantuan video files if you don't have a computer specifically made for that task...I decided to exercise my home computer because I didn't want to wait (2.6ghz celeron with 512mb of ram) . I didn't really like the DVD authoring software that came with it (seemed to complicated and unintuitive), so I primitive the Nero VisionExpress that came with my Nero Ultimate Edition software. It was soooo easy to come by this done. Within one hour I had already completed a dvd with all the footage from dart, with thumbnail menus, and chapters automatically situation for each time the camera stopped. I shot some footage of tropical fish in the water at Cozumel and I old-fashioned that as the video background underneathe all of the menus. On a separate DVD I also created a compilation of photo slideshows (with music) from all the photo cameras everyone took (including pictures taken with my Everio) .
I had the software "burn to hard disk" so I could acquire as many copies as I wanted of both dvds. I made 5 copies and was totally done with the project in 2 hours. This would not have been possible without this camera, capturing from any other minidv camera or other video source would require hours upon hours of video conversion to dvd compliant mpeg2. But since this camera shoots in mpeg2, that is not a factor.
I cherish this camera and highly recommend it for most people. If you are one of those videophiles that worries about the number of lines of resolution of your video, or how many ccd chips your camera has, then this camera is probably not for you. If you want huge looking video and the convenience of being able to part it EASILY, CHEAPLY AND Fleet then definitely check out this camera.
On another imprint, I have outmoded the software that came with the camera to convert video clips to quicktime, windows media video and realvideo. This is very useful for emailing clips, posting them on websites, or putting them inside your windows media center (or other home theater pc) for easy access.
Also, when getting this camera, be aware that there are two models/versions out there that only do 640x480 pictures...I almost made that mistake.
Please ticket that since there have already been many user reviews written, this may not seem like mighty of a "review", but I notion I would touch on a few things I was wondering about myself before buying the camera in case it might succor someone else.
This hard drive-based camcorder is amazing. Well done JVC! I was going to prefer the next model up, the MG70, but since I don't expend it for photos, I don't fill I would succor from the increased megapixel CCD. Besides, the MG70 only had 10x optical zoom, and was missing the video light and F1.2 shining lens. I'm contented with the MG50.
In case you haven't noticed, this camcorder has no viewfinder so you must consume the flip-out LCD veil.
Video quality: The hard drive feature is sparkling! The only quality level you should avoid is Econo (37 hr mode), since it reduces the resolution by half and also records only about 15 frames per second. Ultra-fine (7.25 hrs) is the best, but I couldn't watch remarkable of a contrast when I lowered the quality level to Magnificent (10 hrs) or Normal (14 hrs) . On the highest 3 modes (ultra elegant, pretty, and normal), the camera records rotund 720x480 resolution. As far as I can thunder, it really is sampling that many lines of resolution. Other digital camcorders I've archaic (mini-DV) have had very noticable "stair-step jaggies" in parts of the represent, especially along the borders between high-contrast elements of the characterize. On this hard drive camera, however, the resolution is significantly higher and these jagged lines (aliasing) are rarely noticeable at all, if ever.
As for how the camera records files onto the hard drive: It creates a unique .MOD file (it's an MPEG-2 video file with Dolby Digital audio) every time you start/stop the recording. So, all your clips are conveniently seperated, but of course you can combine them with your video editing software later if you catch. The camera will describe for 12 hrs continuously if needed, but will form a unusual .MOD file for every 4GB of footage.
You may have read in other reviews about the following trick: rename the .MOD files that the camera records to .MPG for increased compatibility. Well, I tried it and it works like a charm, regardless of whether your video footage is in 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio. This makes it easy to utilize your current DVD-burning or video editing software with this camera, as well as ensuring future compatibility. I haven't found even one program that couldn't play the files perfectly after I renamed them. Even Windows Media Player 9 had no quandary. If you leave them as .MOD, then you won't come by many programs that succor it (at least not yet) . The only ones I found that did were the one that came with the camera (Cyberlink), and Adobe Premiere Elements 2.
One thing I should mention about the files that the camera saves. It numbers them in hexadecimal (1-9 then A-F (eg. MOV009, then MOV00A...) ), so some people may win this a bit annoying. Also, my Windows XP computer alphabetizes the files A-Z, then 0-9, so they slay up being displayed in the faulty order. I'm not clear why my computer is doing this and don't know if all windows XP computers will do it (it worked fair on my Windows 2000 computer), but you can always list them in chronological order if you need to suitable this. I bear most video editing software will, however, list the files in the suitable alphanumeric order (1-9 then A-Z) . Mine all do.
The camera has a handy feature called "File# Reset". Every time you activate this, it creates a recent folder on the hard drive and begins saving all future clips into it. This is a handy diagram to seperate your recorded "events", in case you tend to occupy up the hard drive before copying it to your computer, and you may have months worth of footage on the camera. So you can have your daughter's birthday party in one folder, your accelerate to the zoo in another, etc...
Playback: Playback of sequential clips on the camera (either on the LCD or onto a TV) is seamless. There is no quit between scenes - it plays wait on unbiased like a tape would with natty cuts between recordings. Also, you can locate specific clips by viewing thumbnail images (9 per shroud) or by listing by recording date. Then, of course, after playing relieve clips, there is no need to mercurial forward the tape aid the next available blank fraction for recording. When you go to portray again, the camera will not overwrite previous material.
The camera allows for cramped editing (deleting or rearranging of clips) . Also, in case you delete a lot of clips and then continue recording, the hard drive may eventually become fragmented. The camera has a handy utility built in that will defragment the hard drive. I haven't old-fashioned it myself because I haven't needed it, but it's nice to know it's there.
Low light performance on this camera isn't the best I've seen, but it is detached ravishing safe for such a shrimp camera. My previous camera was a JVC as well (mini DV - only about 3 years mature) . It was slightly brighter in improper light, however, I fetch that this hard drive JVC camera has great better autofocus performance for shameful light or rapid movements. All fresh JVC cameras (including this MG50) have "Night Alive" mode which reduces the shutter race to about 1/2 second. This is useless unless your camera is on a tripod and your subject is not bewitching at all. You might as well remove a represent then... However, the MG50 has adjustable shutter speeds in between as well. I catch it useful in uncouth light situations to change the shutter run to 1/15 sec. This brightens the image considerably. It does slash the motion a blur if things are arresting too speedily, but I peaceful judge it a reasonable trade-off for the amount of extra brightness in the scene.
The built-in light is useful under some situations. Be aware the effective range of the light is only about 3-5 feet, so unless your subject is within that range, the light won't manufacture any incompatibility. It does have it's useful moments though (like filming a pet on the floor in a dimly lit room) Also, using the light consumes less than 10% more power because it's an LED, but of course that's also the reason why it's not very smart.
Photos: Image quality for peaceful photos, in my view, is dreadful. Not only is the resolution inadequate for most uses, it's extremely difficult to depress the shutter button without shaking the camera and blurring the image. The start/stop button (doubles as a shutter release button in photo mode) is quite stiff.
Startup time: This camera has abominable startup time, but I guess that's to be expected being that it's a hard drive camera. From the completely off area, it takes 10 plump seconds (based on my contain tests) before you can actually open recording. Even this is only about double the typical startup time for a mini-DV camera, it might mean you'll miss that special moment you're trying to represent. Even if the camera is in record-standby mode, it mild takes 3 seconds from the time you press the start/stop button until the camera is actually recording.
Camera noise: The camera does construct a faint hum while the hard drive is spinning, but I found that this is less noticeable on the recording than the sound of the tape machanism on the 3 mini-DV camcorders I've obsolete. Of course, some mechanical noise is expected on compact cameras like this one. Without an external mic, it is unavoidable. Unfortunately on this camera, you cannot connect an external mic. The zooming motor is also slightly noticeable, but no more than other similar-sized camcorders. Besides, unkless you're in a completely collected location these sounds won't even be an swear at all for you.
Lens cap: The lens cap stays in position nicely. Since it only covers the lens itself and doesn't extend any further than it needs to, it tends to conclude in state (unlike other cameras I've had where the lens cap pops off while inserting/removing it from a bag or pocket) .
Drop detection: you may have read that this camera has a feature that senses a freefall or other motion that could potentially pain the hard drive, and automatically shuts the camera off. Well, unprejudiced so you know, there is an option on the camera to turn this feature off, in case you want to get a video on your popular rollercoaster. I'm not saying I recommend this, but I objective view I'd mention it. I myself have not personally witnessed this feature work yet, but then again I haven't tried dropping it!
Overall, I highly recommend this camcorder to the casual videographer (ample for vacations!) . It seems to really stand up to competing cameras in it's class on most points. However, if you're a more serious videographer you might want to deem a larger, 3-CCD camera with a luminous light and external mic. Otherwise, have fun!
I gave this review only 4 stars because of these few issues: lack of viewfinder, wearisome startup time, and unpleasant image quality for smooth photos.
I've been waiting for this technology for years. So when I found out JVC was planning on coming out with their 4 GB microdrive version, I had to have one. The $1500 label trace was too remarkable though. Then I found out the GZ-MG50 was coming out, and would be about a $1000. I belief it was detached a puny pricey, but I couldn't wait any longer.
So far, the camera has performed sizable. It's been easy to exhaust and easy to transfer the files to my computer then to DVD. However, the video editing software that came with it seems a bit cheap, but it gets the job done. Maybe the next gen version will be an improvement.
The movie quality is very pleasant. I won't give it a "Colossal" because I occasionally peer pixel blurring when watching my burned DVDs.
Don't bother taking pictures with this, unless you only opinion on emailing them. The quality is far too shameful to consume to pick those precious moments.
I recommend getting an additional battery (the three hour model) . The one hour battery unbiased doesn't slash it, especially if you want to review your scenes while you're out shooting.
If JVC gave the camcorder a larger CCD and included better software, I would have given this a 5 star rating, otherwise I reflect they are on the suitable track, and in a few years, the MiniDV may be as forgotten as the eight-track.
