JVC Everio GZ-MG36EK 30GB Hard Drive Digital Camcorder

JVC Everio GZ-MG36EK - Great all rounder

Strengths: Ease of Use, HDD (No media), Optical Zoom 32x

Weaknesses: Low light image quality, night mode unusable.

Summary: 2007-01-02 04:18:10 If you want a camera to record the kids opening their Christmas presents or playing on Holiday, I can recommend this camera. I've tried recording in varying light conditions and displaying the results on a 42In Widescreen TV. In normal light conditions, from dull overcast weather to bright days, the picture is very good, better than watching live football on Sky for example! With lower light, whilst the picture quality is still very good, the colours tend to acquire an orange-yellow tinge. The Optical Zoom is fantastic (32x) although even with the image stabilisation, a Tripod is required for over 20x. The digital zoom is a waste of time, but you can reduce this or turn it off in the menu. Speaking of the menu, it is very intuitive and much better to use than the touch screen Sony HDD cameras. The stills quality isn't great, although miles better resolution than the Sony (Cheaper too). This didn't bother me as I wanted a camcorder, I've got a stills Camera already. The camera has got a night mode, but this reduces the mbs rate of the camera which results in very jerky images and any movement 'drags' across the screen, my opinion is this is a waste of time, use the built in light instead for anything up to 6 feet away. The files produced by this camera are .MOD, but just rename them to .MPEG and you can instantly view them in Windows media player etc.

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JVC Everio range - disappointing

Strengths: Easy enough to use, good for beginners - point and shoot

Weaknesses: Poor image and video quality for the money

Summary: This JVC camcorder is mediocre at best. As a first time camcorder buyer, I wanted a camera that produced good quality video footage (I wasn't too worried about the stills), which was easy to upload and edit. In all fairness, Hard Drive camcorder footage is very quick and easy to upload onto a PC, but I was very disappointed with the quality of the video I saw on my computer screen. The camera doesn’t handle low light well at all, producing a lot of 'artefacts' (grains) in the picture. Also in any light other than daylight the colours have a grey/yellowy tinge. In auto mode, the camera noticeably re-focuses, creating short blurring periods in the video, which is irritating on playback.

One plus point for this JVC camcorder (it wasn't easy to find one) is that it’s easy to use in ‘auto mode’ and the menu is easy enough to navigate.

However, for the price of this camera you can now get a decent 3CCD miniDV camcorder, producing much higher quality footage with amazingly vibrant colours. For example, the Panasonic NV-GS180 (miniDV camcorder) is around £50 cheaper, but wipes the floor with the JVC in terms of picture and colour quality, and is just as easy to use.

If you're really set on a Hard Drive camcorder, then try opting for one of the Sony range, which retail at very similar prices but beat the JVC Everio on video and stills quality hands down.

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