The 3CCD of MG505 does its work. The color is great and video quality is terrific even in low light. The size of camcorder is very handy and compact. I strongly recommend for the additional battery.
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br /I believe that the hard disc camcorder will be the standard soon. No more hassle with DV tape or small CD-R or CD-RW. Each shot of video is recorded into one file and it is ready to be played with your computer.
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br /Tip : The video format actually is already MPEG2 (DVD). But the file extension from your JVC is *.MOD. Just simeply rename it to *.MPG, then it will become universal format compatible with any player programs such as Windows Media Player, Power DVD, etc. No need to convert the file format. You just rename the file extension and that's it.
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I've had the camera for almost a week and love everything about it except the 50min battery that JVC supplies. Luckily you can go to walmart and buy another battery for $16 bn-vf707u (yes that's right and OEM JVC battery only $16). I also purchased a bn-vf714u, from another store for a little more. Any I'd stay away from the non-brand batteries since JVC will void your warranty if a problem comes up related to a power issue.
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br /The photo and video quality are top notch the 5meg pixel still images are really sharp. I now leave my digital cam at home. The compact size of the camera is really nice too, although it doesn't have a view finder i personally wouldn't use it even if it did (never have on other camcorders or digi cams) the LCD does it's job very well. The number 1 let down for me about this camcorder is that it can't be used as a webcam. I was hoping to put the camera to use regularly.
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br /Overall I can't complain about anything really, webcam feature would of been nice but no HD cam in JVC or Sony's class offer that support yet. 50min supplied battery life, bad but Walmart selling the battery for $16 made up for it =) Video quality is really good but the supplied free software is lacking. Thats why it's free i guess.

I bought this camcorder from Fry's for $1080*** including tax as a new year gift for my parents. I tried it right after I received the package and I just love it. Everything is great except the battery included in the package can last only 30 min which is too short for a camcorder with 30G memory. So I bought a data battery from JVC ($126), and then the camcorder became perfect. I made the choice between Sony SR100 and JVC505. Sony has a better lense (Carl Zeiss) I have to say, but JVC has 3CCD(!!!) and a much higher resolution.I prefer the cool silver color of SR100 to the black 505, but 100 is too big, even longer than your palm. Besides, if you have large fingers as my father's, you'll not like the touch-screen from Sony although it is fancy (or you can borrow the pen from your NDS). Other features: sound effect is good, LCD is bright and adjustable, low light recording not a problem if you understand the instruction book, buttons are easy to use, 30 G is wonderful for travelling without a laptop on you hand, it is very good to watch what you record on a wide-screen TV. By the way, sony just released their new HD camcorder to beat this 505, but, as sony always is and I believe will be forever, it is more expensive than it should be...
br /Hope this is useful for you. Good luck searching.

About 7 years ago I purchased a JVC mini-DV camera that was supposed to take both still images and video. The video worked, the stills were horrible. This camera actually does both very well. It's a breeze to shoot and review both formats. The joystick is cool to use, and lets you zoom in on your stills, fast forward, rewind, etc. It's much smaller than I expected, as well. The manual controls are also very useful. If the file format was more universal and it had a viewfinder, I think it would be just about perfect.

I bought both cameras to compare the video and stills. Not suprisingly, the 505 was has better video quality, but not a lot. For those that expect the best (right now) get the 505.
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br /The MG37 is good too and they share the same chasis. I took video with both cameras. The same settings and the same basic views, the same orange candle or couch. The 505 seems less grainy and the color is truer.
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br /Someone that wants all the offerings of the 505 except the 5 mpx and the better color, get the MG37 or 77 (better lens in low light with the 77). Its 1/2 the price.
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br /David

This JVC camcorder is excellent, nice to be able to record to a hard drive vs. tape, Can record 7-14 hours before having to transfer to a computer. The camcorder itself deserves a rating of 5 stars, included software 0 stars. But JVC support is lacking. I have spoke to them 4 times, The first one after asking for a supervisor hung up on me, The others that I spoke with had VERY limited knowledge of this unit. The software that comes with this unit is "crippleware" For the price that you pay for this unit it should include the full version of the software. They even state in their manual that the included software has limited functions, but they show the full version in the manual. This limited software is not disclosed until you open the box, load the software or read the manaul. The full version is an additional $179.00 dollars.

A fantastic piece of equipment! The 3 CCD sensor, small size, remote mike input all add up to a very high end home-style camcorder. The low light capabilities of this are fantastic as well and the 5MP still camera, although a bit slow to focus at times, provides crisp, clear pictures.

I really love this camcorder. Great video quality, easy-to-use menu, and all kinds of functions which are similar to a professional camcorder. Since I have to buy an extra battery so that I can make full use of its 30G hard disk, I find it's hard to hold it still for longer than 3 min with the extra battery. So far this is the only problem I have with this camcorder. I saw several reviews complaining about its video quality, well, you have to adjust its settings to whatever you need. Its default setting is not the best this camcorder can do and may not suit our various need. :D

I can't believe I spent so much $$ on such a P.O.C!! Takes one in focus picture out of 50. Oh, and the video part - well, there is NO flash for the video, so if you want to take videos indoors or in low light you are S.O.L! Don't waste your $$ like I did - you WILL be sorry. But don't say I didn't warn you!!

Great camcorder, even the digital camera is great! Love that even with a 30GB HD is still is capable of a 2GB SD card for the digital camera.

I bought this video camera in August, I got jumped by three guys wanting the video camera and I wouldn't let go of it the side of the camera got ripped off lost the HDD card some how all while these guys are hitting me. So I contact JVC bring it to there repair place and they didn't charge me for the Estament which is 50 dollars Thank you JVC. So they check out the camera and give me the total of what it will cost to repair 773.51 including labor of course. Be careful if you need your camera repaired and it's not even a year old. I would check warrenties on everything you buy aperently JVC's warrentie of one year is fake, While this is good camcorder the shake at long shoots is very shaky the OIS does not work that great or may be I just can't control my hands shaking.