I bought this camera to videotape legal depositions. Not very exciting stuff, but they typically run for hours. Mini-DV cameras only run for about an hour. I didn't want to have to stop and switch tapes every hour. This HD camera can record 14 hours with quality sufficient for what I'm doing. I tested it over a few days and just burned a DVD a few minutes ago on my computer. The camera is small, lightweight, easy to use, and can go for hours. I can easily burn DVD's through my computer or home VHS/DVD recorder. I'm thrilled.
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br /However, it's important to mention:
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br /(1) The quality of this camera is not as good as a dedicated "tape" camera. I have always loved JVC since I bought my first camcorder (remember the purple video camera used by Marty McFly in the "Back To The Future" movies?). Analog VHS/VHC or 8mm still look the most natural. I have a Mini-DV JVC that I thought I would sell after buying this HD camera, but I've changed my mind. My other JVC has a better anti-shake feature and the image quality appears better. The colors are not as accurate with the HD camera and the action doesn't flow as smoothly. I will still probably use the Mini-DV camera where a more natural appearance is important.
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br /(2) Even though the HD camera can record for hours, the battery only lasts an hour. Buy an extra JVC "hulk" battery (5 hours of juice?) when you buy the HD camera.
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br /(3) If this camera were to malfunction or be stolen, you'd lose a whole lot of video footage. Back it up regularly or stick with a tape camera.
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I purchased this camcorder about 3 weeks ago. I previously had a Panasonic DVD model which I returned after 2 weeks. My biggest issues with the Panasonic were the lack of software and the difficulties I had with the DVD formats. At the price to add software I was better off with the JVC and removed the DVD issues. In short, unless you are going to buy write once DVDs and want to just pop them into the DVD player to watch I don't recommend that format.
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br /Back to the JVC. Size, very small, I can only imagine it being too small, easy to use, software took a little getting use to, but I don't need anything else to turn a clip into an MPEG to watch (I haven't gotten to the point of making a DVD yet). I like the "shutter" lens cap, you can record video to the SD card, screen is good size, I think I prefer the joystick control over a touch screen, although I liked how the Panasonic used the joystick on the outside with the right hand, so you could do most stuff one handed. The dock is very nice, it it supports Firewire/i1394/iLink, but it doesn't come with that cable. I haven't noticed a difference, but the Optical Image Stabilization of the Panasonic would be nice (better than Electronic as JVC is). Other than that I can't think of anything the JVC isn't better at. (Oh yea, no viewfinder, who uses it? Seems like only "pros" who aren't buying this anyway.) I do agree about expensive batteries, but what electronics company doesn't stiff us with high prices on extra batteries? I don't give anything a 5 unless it exceeds my expectations, so unless I find it juliennes my potatoes... If JVC wants a 5 they will have to add the Firewire cable, OIS, and make extra batteries cheaper.
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br /Bag - I own the Lowepro 110 bag, it was purchased for another camera, and it makes a great carry all bag for this camera, especially if you are going to have an extras, like a spare battery. I also own a Lowepro Z-10 bag which I can actually stuff the camera into, but the front pocket buckles out a lot, so it isn't practical, but possible if you want a camera only bag.
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br /Finally, I purchased mine elsewhere, but if you are buying here why not get the GZ-MG255 instead? It isn't much more.

We purchased this model due to its hard drive recording space, 7 - 37 hours recording time which is just awesome. No need to worry about a new cartridge, or dvd disk to record to. Its small, and compact; so if your hand is large you may find it harder to work since its compact. I love the size as its soooo portable and light. You don't have to worry about taking extra dvd's etc with you to record do. There is plenty of space to do that built in. And all you do is place it in the docking station it comes with and it saves it to the computer where you can then even DVD what you recorded. It has a built in light and so far we love all the features. I love the quick 1 second record feature. Its great for those moments you just want to try and get; pop open the LCD screan and wham, your recording. It takes a second as it says. My favorite thing about this camera is really its size and portability and lightness. Thus 5 stars!

I chose the JVC Everio GZMG155 because I was looking for the best combination of optical zoom and still shot capability. At 32X optical zoom it should capture the action from the back of room or in the stands while also allowing for a passable 1 mega pixel still photo.
br /A bonus has been the incredibly small size. While not pocket-sized this is certainly a convenient little device.
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br /Pros
br /great zoom
br /1 MP still shot
br /tiny size
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br /Cons
br /OEM battery only
br /1 MP still shot (Would have loved at least 3 MP)
br /lack of accessories like a wireless remote microphone.

After looking around quite a bit, I settled on the GZMG155 camcorder and I'm very happy with it. The picture quality is great and it's easy to transfer recordings to my laptop to burn DVDs or edit. I find the automatic mode find for shooting in most conditions. I use the manual mode for low-light, but that's just because I'm picky. The 1 MP CCD is great - the picture quality is better than similarly priced Sony's. The included editing software is ok - not great, but sufficient. I ended up buying Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0, which I couldn't be happier with.

This is our third camcorder, started with a vhs (vhc-c) model 5 years ago. It was not so great, but we did get to capture some movie memories. 3 years ago we bought a Sony DCR-HC30 digital MiniDV recorder, have used it alot, good quality picture. Problem is the head gets dirty sometimes, you have to stop, run the cleaner cassette, then put the tape back in, and you still end up with a section on tape where it "became" dirty and these are peppered through our captured movie memories. Not knocking the Sony HC30, just the technology. I really wanted a dvd camcorder years ago but two problems with that idea, too expensive and only 30 minutes per disc, plus you have to finalize each disc, each time to save your 30 minutes of shoot. The MiniDV is 60 minutes per tape, quicker change-out time.
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br /So finally the price was right for HDD camera, enter the JVC Everio GZMG155 that appeared on QVC's website 3 days ago. Extra battery incl. made it the best price (value) going. Just arrived yesterday. So I'm set for our next trip to Disneyland. 7 hours recording time at fine quality, 2 batteries at 1.5 hours each (approx.) (my Sony was 1.5 hour with lcd screen closed, using viewfinder, less than 1 hour with screen open) the JVC Everio GZMG155 the same quality video as my old Sony. Low light it not so great, a little grainy, but every digital camera does this. No points off for it performing at par with any other 1/6" CCD. You get what you pay for. I have been taking it through the paces the last 24 hours.
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br /I give it a five star rating, it will do everything I want it to do. Oh and by the way, either watch your recordings on a standard 520 horizontal line monitor or set your HD set to 480i any input signal of 520 lines will not look so good on a (Hi Def) 1080i/1080p set. I learned this with the Sony. I'll buy a HD camera when they are under $400. Give it a few years.
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br /Summary. This does all my HC30 did and more, it's smaller, easier to grip, no more buying tapes, no more digital debri from a dirty tape head, large HDD 30G, 7 hours of recording time, three times the optical zoom. A fine camera, excellent upgrade for the same price I paid for MiniDV 3 years ago. The reviews here are quite accurate, the one about a "shaky" camera, maybe when you have it zoomed all the way out, that's always going to happen with any cameras.
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When I first got this camera, I was very happy with its features. I like being able to cue up specific scenes without having to fast forward or rewind tape. I also liked the size and HDD capacity
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br /But then I actually watched some of the video I had recorded on vacation. My jaw hit the floor - I simply could not believe how horrible the quality was. There were jagged digital artifacts everywhere. This camera cannot handle motion at all. It lacks clarity and the colors appear washed out. The poor picture quality is unacceptable at this price point. I returned the camera and bought a refurbished (with an extended guarantee) canon HV20 from this website. I am VERY VERY happy with this new camera - while it uses tapes it shoots in HIGH DEF and the picture quality is superb.
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br /Don't make the same mistake I initially made - avoid this camera like the plague. Read the review of this model on camcorderinfo.com to see just how poor the picture quality is.

Best experience was at my son's middle school concert. Was not very pleased with the image stabilizer at only a short zoom. Sound was descent. Mediocre ease of use. Horrible software. Drains the battery fast. I ended up getting the Panasonic SDR-H18 and it seems to have been a better buy.

So far, I love this thing! I haven't had many chances to use it, but the ties I have, it has great zoom, and the best part to me, is it is very light weight!

I have used the camcorder for 3 weeks now, and it has worked perfectly under every condition I have tried. My son plays indoor basketball and the video this camera took was perfect. I have used it on hikes in the mountains and have used it while riding in a car. I have to admit I was very impressed with the video under every condition.
br /Downloading the videos from the camcorder to my pc was incredibly simple. I like that I have the ability to edit out the parts I don't like and to retain the video portions that I would like to keep.
br /I would highly recommend this camcorder if you want something that is simple and easy to use.
br /This camera does what it is suppose to do.
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I chose this model because it was the highest rated of the Consumer Reports models tested that was compatible with my Mac's IMovie software. I have already used it for a family trip and for filming several of my kids basketball tournaments. It has been very easy to use. The features that I really enjoy: Fast transfer of footage from the camera to my computer. With HDD it is impossible to tape over previous recorded footage. Taping at highest quality it can hold up to 7.5 hours of footage. After a day of shooting I transfer everything to IMovie and then delete it from the camera. I edit the stuff I like with music and titles and then burn it to a DVD. Wow,its so nice not to have the mountain of mini-dv cassettes piling up in the hall closet and then trying to remember everything that was on them. Overall I am really happy with the camera, but even more pleased with how well it works with my Mac.

I started looking on many sites trying to decide...different recording formats,zoom,still pictures etc.....however the HD is the SUPER best as far as i am concern....I got a steal of a deal...in fact I owe the manufactures money..It is easy to use even my seven year old daughter has NO problem operating...the ZOOM is perfect...the still pictures are not great however I have digital camera for that purpose....i think the best things about this device are .1 How compact and easy to use .2 No need to worry about finding the spot you last recorded it does it for you .3 The movies direct to TV or on CD's are GREAT......I love this HD CAMCORDER....

We purchased this camcorder about 8 weeks after the birth of our son, hoping to catch the many wonderful memories that would occur in these precious first years. Not even 2 months after owning the camcorder, we turned it on one day only to get "communicating error" between the camcorder and battery. We tried charging the battery on the docking station, still the error, we tried charging the battery directly from the power cord to the outlet...same message. After only 2 months we couldn't believe that the battery that came with the camcorder was dead. We took it back to the store and tried to show the associate our problem...but it didn't happen there. Figures. So we went ahead and purchased another battery for $80, went home, charged it, and still got the same error message. The only way the product would work was if it was literally plugged into the wall while we were using it. Up to speed at 6 months, we contacted JVC only to find out that we have to send it off (shipping costs on us) to the factory and it will take 6-8 weeks for repair and return. We decided to wait until after X-Mas, since this was our babies first one and suck it up, use the device plugged into the wall during X-Mas and then send it in. Today, after putting down our son for a nap, who is now 9 months, we heard him making noise and went in to see he had pulled himself up for the first time and was standing holding on to the crib...we ran to get the video camera to plug it in to the wall to tape this joyous occasion, only to find the zoom function is broken and it is so far zoomed in, nothing is visible on the camcorder. After trying everything in the manual...we are SOOOOO P.O.ed! This is the worst product ever and our moments that we hoped to tape were priceless and now they are gone!!!! I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT. I wish we could return it and get our money back. I am going to send the product off on Monday with a letter to JVC to tell them how crappy this product is and see what happens next, but it still sucks that for these next 8 weeks, of which time it is very possible that my son could take his first steps, we will miss it, all because of this STUPID, NON-FUNCTIONING, AWFUL, and every other terrible name you can nicely put on this so-called camcorder.

I purchased this camcorder to record the dog sport of flyball. I took it to a tournament (indoors) and recorded our dogs passing to see if we could improve our skills. The lighting that this camcorder picked up was very warm (red tones) and the overall quality was not sharp as I had hoped. Once we recorded our dogs passing we would reivew the recorded material and slow it down to see how close the dogs were passing. Once we slowed it down they dogs were fuzzy and not in focus. I had recorded at the best quality the camcorder had to offer but I will be taking this one back for a refund.
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br /I loved being able to get to certain recordings through the index and loved the ease of everything else it had to offer. Easy startup and transfer but the quality was just not in the picture.

I bought this camera based on the other great reviews here... I am not sure if these guys actually own the camera or have ever compared it to others in the market. The camera can not do auto white balance, thus is very bad for low light or conventional light bulbs. It will look good in the store with florescent lights or in the sun with bright lighting. The camera also claims to have night shot, which works very poor. It does not do IR for night shot it just has a flash light type light on it that turns on and then it increases the aperture time to ½ seconds, so it takes tow images per second, so the images become rally grainy and slow.
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br /The worst part about the camera is that It clams to have Digital Image Stabilization, but unfortunately that is only true on the video portion, if you read the fine print the image stabilization is not available on Still images, so you can never get a good still image unless you are out in the sun.
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br /There are many better choices, sony and Panasonic to name two, the Panasonics have the best image stabilization, they do it optically. Sony does not do a bad job but Panasonic 3CCD model does it the best. Although the advance functions on the Panasonics are a little hard to get around I feel it still wins the race.

Just bought one of these over the weekend. First of all, it's really tiny. I have medium sized hands and the camera fits in my palm. Reviews on other sites have described the interface as a chore, but I'm not that put off by it. There are two basic modes: video and photo, which are switched by the power switch (easily available under your thumb, next to the record/stop button), and there is a button to switch between capture mode and playback mode. Most of the menus and scrolling is done by a small joystick on the LCD screen. The other two HDD models we looked at (Panasonic and Sony) used a touch screen, which would probably be a little more convenient, but the LCD would get smudged by fingerprints. There is no optical viewfinder, only the LCD. Video and Photo capture can be sent to the internal hard drive, or to an SD card. I haven't tried hooking it up to my computer for download, but there is included software and a USB 2.0 connector. I'll write a review of transferring video and picture quality once I get that setup.
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br /My only complaint is that the included battery pack has a stated life of only 1h20m, and that additional batteries are expensive ($80 for the middle life 2hr battery). JVC claims that their proprietary "data batteries" are the only ones that will work with the camera, and I haven't seen anything online to contradict that. It would have been nice to buy a 3rd party battery to save money.

I've been working with their software for the last three days with little success. I have 3 hrs of my son's black belt test on the camera but can't get it to DVD. He successfully completed the 29 hour test and I'm spending more time with no success. Others have found the authoring program equally as difficult. Its just plain slow and you need to wait until the end of the process to find out it went wrong. The help at JVC said with a very rehersed tone "You're the first person I talked to with this problem." Yea right. The sad part is that he at age ten is the first black belt of his school's program, his instructors are as proud and elated as I, he is held as the example for others to emulate and the only footage is locked in this blasted JVC. VHS is a piece of cake compared to this nonsense.

Bad Tech Support,
br /I can't get the Everio software included to capture the video from the camera and record it on a DVD. I keep getting Error codes FF037303 and EOFD003D in PowerCinema NR, with no explaination of what this means. I called JVC, but they don't provide tech support for the software. I've tried installing it on three different Dell computers - Latitude and Dimension, running XP and it won't work on any of them. PowerCinema only has paid support, and won't answer my email support requests