Please note that since there have already been many user reviews written, this may not seem like much of a "review", but I thought I would touch on a few things I was wondering about myself before buying the camera in case it might help someone else.
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br /This hard drive-based camcorder is wonderful. Well done JVC! I was going to buy the next model up, the MG70, but since I don't use it for photos, I don't believe I would benefit from the increased megapixel CCD. Besides, the MG70 only had 10x optical zoom, and was missing the video light and F1.2 bright lens. I'm happy with the MG50.
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br /In case you haven't noticed, this camcorder has no viewfinder so you must use the flip-out LCD screen.
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br /Video quality: The hard drive feature is brilliant! 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 notice much of a difference when I lowered the quality level to Fine (10 hrs) or Normal (14 hrs). On the highest 3 modes (ultra fine, fine, and normal), the camera records full 720x480 resolution. As far as I can tell, it really is sampling that many lines of resolution. Other digital camcorders I've used (mini-DV) have had very noticable "stair-step jaggies" in parts of the picture, especially along the borders between high-contrast elements of the picture. On this hard drive camera, however, the resolution is significantly higher and these jagged lines (aliasing) are rarely noticeable at all, if ever.
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br /As for how the camera records files onto the hard drive: It creates a new .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 prefer. The camera will record for 12 hrs continuously if needed, but will create a new .MOD file for every 4GB of footage.
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br /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 use your favorite 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 problem. If you leave them as .MOD, then you won't find many programs that support 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.
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br /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 find this a bit annoying. Also, my Windows XP computer alphabetizes the files A-Z, then 0-9, so they end up being displayed in the wrong order. I'm not sure why my computer is doing this and don't know if all windows XP computers will do it (it worked fine on my Windows 2000 computer), but you can always list them in chronological order if you need to correct this. I believe most video editing software will, however, list the files in the correct alphanumeric order (1-9 then A-Z). Mine all do.
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br /The camera has a handy feature called "File# Reset". Every time you activate this, it creates a new folder on the hard drive and begins saving all future clips into it. This is a handy way to seperate your recorded "events", in case you tend to fill 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 trip to the zoo in another, etc...
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br /Playback: Playback of sequential clips on the camera (either on the LCD or onto a TV) is seamless. There is no pause between scenes - it plays back just like a tape would with clean cuts between recordings. Also, you can locate specific clips by viewing thumbnail images (9 per screen) or by listing by recording date. Then, of course, after playing back clips, there is no need to fast forward the tape back the next available blank part for recording. When you go to record again, the camera will not overwrite previous material.
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br /The camera allows for limited 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 used it myself because I haven't needed it, but it's nice to know it's there.
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br /Low light performance on this camera isn't the best I've seen, but it is still pretty good for such a small camera. My previous camera was a JVC as well (mini DV - only about 3 years old). It was slightly brighter in low light, however, I find that this hard drive JVC camera has much better autofocus performance for low light or fast movements. All recent JVC cameras (including this MG50) have "Night Alive" mode which reduces the shutter speed to about 1/2 second. This is useless unless your camera is on a tripod and your subject is not moving at all. You might as well take a picture then... However, the MG50 has adjustable shutter speeds in between as well. I find it useful in low light situations to change the shutter speed to 1/15 sec. This brightens the image considerably. It does reduce the motion a blur if things are moving too fast, but I still consider it a reasonable trade-off for the amount of extra brightness in the scene.
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br /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 make any difference. 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 bright.
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br /Photos: Image quality for still photos, in my opinion, is terrible. 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.
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br /Startup time: This camera has poor startup time, but I guess that's to be expected being that it's a hard drive camera. From the completely off position, it takes 10 full seconds (based on my own tests) before you can actually begin 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 record. Even if the camera is in record-standby mode, it still takes 3 seconds from the time you press the start/stop button until the camera is actually recording.
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br /Camera noise: The camera does produce 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 used. 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 quiet situation these sounds won't even be an issue at all for you.
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br /Lens cap: The lens cap stays in place nicely. Since it only covers the lens itself and doesn't extend any further than it needs to, it tends to stay in place (unlike other cameras I've had where the lens cap pops off while inserting/removing it from a bag or pocket).
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br /Drop detection: you may have read that this camera has a feature that senses a freefall or other motion that could potentially damage the hard drive, and automatically shuts the camera off. Well, just so you know, there is an option on the camera to turn this feature off, in case you want to make a video on your favorite rollercoaster. I'm not saying I recommend this, but I just thought I'd mention it. I myself have not personally witnessed this feature work yet, but then again I haven't tried dropping it!
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br /Overall, I highly recommend this camcorder to the casual videographer (great 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 consider a larger, 3-CCD camera with a bright light and external mic. Otherwise, have fun!
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br /I gave this review only 4 stars because of these few issues: lack of viewfinder, slow startup time, and poor image quality for still 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 price tag was too much though. Then I found out the GZ-MG50 was coming out, and would be about a $1000. I thought it was still a little pricey, but I couldn't wait any longer.
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br /So far, the camera has performed great. It's been easy to use 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.
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br /The movie quality is very good. I won't give it a "Great" because I occasionally see pixel blurring when watching my burned DVDs.
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br /Don't bother taking pictures with this, unless you only plan on emailing them. The quality is far too low to use to capture those precious moments.
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br /I recommend getting an additional battery (the three hour model). The one hour battery just doesn't cut it, especially if you want to review your scenes while you're out shooting.
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br /If JVC gave the camcorder a larger CCD and included better software, I would have given this a 5 star rating, otherwise I think they are on the right track, and in a few years, the MiniDV may be as forgotten as the eight-track.
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Finally! I have been waiting for a video camera that takes good quality video (not mpeg4) and does not use tapes. Everyone that I know has a minidv/digital8 camera, and when they shoot something, the last we all ever see of it is when they hook up the camera to the tv at the end 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 watch them easily whenever you want and be able to share them with friends and family whenever you want.
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br /First I have to say this is my first camcorder ever (yes, I have been waiting 30 years for this camera). I have used plenty of other camcorders that people have let me borrow, but this is the first camcorder I ever buy for myself.
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br /I went to Cancun two weeks ago and I made the decision that I had to buy a camera for the trip. This camera was a great choice and I love it! I didn't have to lug along my digital still camera, because the everio takes 1152x864 pictures as well which is more than enough for me (for those out there that think they need 6 megapixel pictures, wake up and smell the marketing).
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br /When I got back from my trip, I decided to sit down and get everyone a copy of the video. I was a little apprehensive because I work in advertising and I know how cumbersome and slow it can be to work with large video files if you don't have a computer specifically made for that task...I decided to use 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 used the Nero VisionExpress that came with my Nero Ultimate Edition software. It was soooo easy to get this done. Within one hour I had already completed a dvd with all the footage from trip, with thumbnail menus, and chapters automatically set for each time the camera stopped. I shot some footage of tropical fish in the water at Cozumel and I used 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).
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br /I had the software "burn to hard disk" so I could make 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.
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br /I love 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 great looking video and the convenience of being able to share it EASILY, CHEAPLY AND QUICKLY then definitely check out this camera.
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br /On another note, I have used 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.
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br /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.

Love my new JVC Everio. The original model just used compact flash cards, but the new Everio GZ uses an ipod like hard drive that lets you store a year's worth of video on it! Tape is definitely dead, and DVD camcorder's 30 mintues a disc doesn't hold a candle to the Everio.
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br /The only issue I had was that the software that come with it was pretty basic, but all the other video editing software programs didn't recognize the Everio video files (.mod files which contain MPEG2 Video and Dolby Stereo Audio).
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br /I did finally find Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 which supports this new file type natively. It has made editing a breeze.
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[Below is my recent review of the JVC Everio GZ-MG40, which has a 20GB hard drive rather than 30GB. Becase GZ-MG50 seems to be identical to GZ-MG40 save the hard drive capacity, I thought this review would be useful to those considering to buy GZ-MG50.]
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br /I have been using this camcorder for almost two weeks now. And here are my impressions:
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br /PROS:
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br /A) This is a tiny camcorder and I can easily carry it in my pocket everyday.
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br /B) It records directly on a [30GB] harddrive. This is probably the most amazing feature of this camera. It has the following amazing benefits:
br / (1) A huge recording space
br / (2) Random access to recorded videos when browsing
br / (through a thumblist of videos)
br / (3) Super fast transfer onto your computer through USB 2.0.
br / (4) No tapes, no CDs, no DVDs to worry about while recording video.
br / (5) Facilitates easy archiving/organizing . For example, all the recorded files on the camera's harddrive have "creation date"s as a part of their file information. When the camera is connected to your computer, you can sort all files by date and easily separate all recordings by date to different folders by simply selecting and dragging. (This is extra, but if you want to index and be able to search your video files, say with google desktop, simply enter a list of keywords in the file name about the contents of the file.)
br / (6) The harddrive on your camera can double as additional portable storage media- this is unlikely but If you wanted you could even install linux on it and carry with you an operating system on your camera.
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br /C) Video quality is good for a consumer level video camera. The sound quality recorded through the internal microphone is good: i can hear the lectures I record very clearly and there is no annoying noise generated by the camera.
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br /D) The charger that comes with this camera is very small. So you can carry that around as well and worry less about running out of battery.
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br /CONS:
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br /A) No mic jacks.
br /B) manual focus and light adjustments are done through menus.
br /C) The editing software that comes with it is limited.
br /D) The battery life is a mere hour(but you can buy a 3 hour battery for 70-80 dollars).
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br /As with all camcorders, the still images shot with this camera are not at the level of quality you can get from a good still camera. It produces reasonable snapshots in well lit situations.
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br /The video files recorded by this camera have a ".MOD" extension in their name. I replace ".MOD" with ".MPG" and most of my standard video viewing software automatically recognize the files.

I waited a long time for this camera to hit the market. The first generation, the 4GB version, did not have enough capacity for real life conditions. The upgrade, now with up to 30GB, fits the bill. I purchased the camera as soon as it came out and ordered a 3-hour battery just in case. Some people may not like the absence of a view finder, but you get used to it really quickly, and it doesn't detract from the ability to film scenes.
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br /Overall, with 30GB you can leave the camera on the highest setting all the time. To never need to buy tapes again is worth the extra premium. The video picture quality is better than our older JVC using VHS-C. The still picture quality leaves much to be desired, but that isn't why you buy this anyway. No detectable motor noise either from the zoom or drive.
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br /I would have given the camcorder 5 stars if it were not for the software application to transfer the movies to your computer and burn to a DVD as it is complicated to use. Despite the complexity, the ability to rearrange each scene, or delete parts, is key and a huge timesaver over tapes. With a lower price, a view finder, and better software, I would think this would signal the end of tape-based camcorders.

I bought this camera to document my three year old daughter's adventures inside and outside the house for various activities. So far the only incidence that I could not give this unit 5 stars is inside the house under low light conditions. Even under this condition the unit performed better than my Sony DV and Panasonic DV Camcorders. This JVC unit (GZ-MG50) did cost twice as much as those units but I think it is worth the money for the convenience of the hard drive. I tried recording using the units second highest setting the fine mode and I was not satisfied with the video quality therefore; I will only record on the highest quality mode. It's nice to archive the movie files as mpeg-2 files onto dvd for future use and recovery. The supplied software works very well converting this camcorders files to other formats. I found this software is great for converting all past avi files to a high bitrate mpeg-2 file for archiving or use with Windows Media Center Extenders. The video quality when using the Ultra mode does look DVDish whether playback is from the unit itself, through a Window Media Extender or on DVD media. Make sure to have an extra battery charged on hand because you will not get a hour of record time on a one hour battery. JVC recommends having a battery with three times the hourly capacity as anticipated recording duration. I think this is a excellent product and I would buy it again.

You know what I hate about video tapes in camcorders? You never really know where the record heads are:
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br /"If I hit record now, am I taping over something else? Now let's see, the last time I played back the tape, I think I fast forwarded back to the current record mark... or did I? Ooops, I missed my chance at a great clip... again."
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br /With a hard drive, there is no chance of recording over older clips. The camera is always ready to record, if the battery is still charged. Yes, the battery it comes with lasts about an hour. I have never ever in my entire life of video camera using/owning needed to record more than one hour at a time. When I am not using this camera, it sits in the camera bag charging off the AC adapter. This isnt a hard thing to do, so I dont know why so many people complain about the battery life.
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br /The still camera capabilities are not too bad really. Sure, the still pics are at the same resolution as the first digital camera I ever owned, but I still got some good images at ~1.3MP. Changing into still camera mode is ver easy and done with the switch, vs. through the GUI.
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br /I did not know about the CF slot when I bought the camera, so that was a very nice bonus to me, as all of our digital cameras use CF as well.
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br /Having the 30 gigs of space is nice, but in hind sight, the better glass on the lens is what this model is all about when compaired to its siblings.
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br /I leave the video quality on the highest resolution, and occasionaly copy the videos to my external HDD for editing, backups, etc.
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br /I got this model video camera because we have a new baby, and I was tired of putting energy into making sure I wasnt taping over priceless moments.
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br /With this video camera, that fear is gone, and I am able to get on with capturing our memories.

I bought this to replace my broken Digital8 Sony camcorder and the same sales guy who sold me the Sony 6 years ago advised me to buy this JVC, on one single criterion: the near-infinite hard disk drive storage. This was almost the only claim that was actually fulfilled.
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br /Summary: infinite recording time, disappointing image quality and control for the price, painful editing. Not for the average iMovie user.
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br /Positive points:
br /- the storage capacity: a dream. I thought that 7 hours of high-quality video would barely last two weeks of vacation. Actually it took me months to fill them. Mostly because, as with digital cameras, you can throw away all the bad takes at will. I decided I'd keep all my previous good takes until I really would need the space, well... I still have my best clips from 5 months ago in the camcorder, which means that I can always show them at friends and family on location, even if I don't have my computer or DVD copies on me.
br /- the size, weight and shape: perfect. You can take this camcorder anywhere without facing hard packing decisions. It's small, feels rather rugged. I added a wide-angle lens and the bigger optional battery, which makes the camera 50% bulkier but still manageable. The shape is great, at least for my hand size. I can really grab the camera properly in various situations of verticality and bumpiness... The microphones are not that well placed though, and I often cover them with my fingers.
br /- image stabilization: very good. By chance I shot a clip with my wide-angle lens in the way, which gave me a good fixed reference to see how the beast is fast and smooth at correcting unwanted shakiness.
br /- ease of connection: the USB2 link is OK. I'd have preferred firewire, but here we are not dealing with video streams but video files. BTW, this allows faster-than-real-time transfer. A firewire link with the camcorder acting as a hard disk would have been great...
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br /OK points: user interface, reaction time (even if it takes a long time to get ready), optics, battery life (with the 3 hour batt. - actually a 1.5 hours).
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br /Negative points :
br /- Image quality: considering the price, image quality is disappointing. Frankly. The viewfinder is flattering but color saturation is in fact low, and clips shot on sunny days seem sadder than they are as I found out after shooting for a whole week in Yucatan. Clips shot on my digital camera (Canon IXUS 60) look better. There is also a lack of control on image quality.
br /- Digital camera: simply forget it. My phone takes better pictures. I'd advise you to buy a 2Mpix+ cellphone and enjoy the benefit of sending your pics and videos immediately to far-away family and pals.
br /- File transfer and editing: pretty horrible with the originally supplied software. In marketing copy, MPEG2 files might seem nice as a target format, but we always have to edit our videos, and this is quite painful, whatever power-users might tell you. You are in for hours of conversion, except if you burn your raw takes, at the risk of boring your audience.
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br /I was going to write "don't buy this if you are a Mac user". This is NOT iMovie ready. I have both PCs and Macs, it's equally painful and disappointing, except if you buy yourself a real video editing suite.
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br /Still, if you have a Mac and an Everio get yourself the wonderful MPEG Streamclip free utility from Squared 5. It allows batch conversion of the Everio .MOD files into useable formats. You'll have to buy the MPEG2 component from Apple first and change the .MOD extensions to .MPG prior to conversions. Time- and disk-space-consuming but worth it, as the image quality is superior to the one generated by the JVC-supplied software.
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br /Neat thing: leave your computer at home
br /Though you can't use the camcorder as an external hard disk (it is write-protected) you can copy the photographs from the SD card to the hard-disk, which means that with the Everio, you wont need to bring your computer on a trip just to store the pictures from your digital camera.
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br /Conclusion: given the choice, I won't buy this camcorder, mainly for the below-par image quality, as I'm ready to cope with the complications of conversion and editing. But I'd seriously miss the storage capacity.

This is the second camcorder that I have owned, and I love it. Its smple and easy to use, and the picture quality is a whole lot better than my old higher end samsung mini dv, very easy to transfer and work with your videos, Very compact, very good camera would suggest to any friend.

WE HAVE USED THIS ITEM SO MUCH! GREAT MOVIE MAKER! EASY TO TAKE ON TRIPS AS IT IS NOT BULKY..FITS IN A BAG SO EASY

While the Everio will work on a Mac, it is with JVC's movie program. It is not iMovie ready. There is a very strange "work around" involving DVDrop that will make it work. Not very pleased with what I feel is misleading information about compatibility with Mac.

I agree with the many other users who have experienced the "Condensation, Operation Paused" defect on their JVC GR-xxxx. Despite numerous others reporting this problem, JVC says its not a recognized problem. I would disagree - it is a recognized problem, but its your problem, not theirs.

I bought this camera without doing much reviewing, because there was none at the time. The hard drive disk is really conveniant for easily deleting a video file after you just took it. Copying the files to the computer is simple, but actually getting them onto DVDs can be difficult. The main problem is the quality, it is a bit grainy a times in dark rooms. Also sometimes when recording after stopping the camera, it says "video recording failed". But then I go to preview mode and the video is there and fine. It doesn't make sense.

The problem I have with the unit is self created. If I had taken the time to use the unit in the field I would have immediatly found what I consider a glaring fault. There is no EYEPIECE. This may seem like a small inconvience, but, always that but, I have owned camcorders since 1985. I realize that I'm talking about my use. I have gotten use to looking through the eyepiece. The good points about the eyepiece (1) No Glare, or washout of the display as your taking the picture. (2)The extended life of the battery, since it doesn't have to power the display. (3) The added stability of holding the camcorder against your face and becoming the third leg of a tripod shooting platform rather than holding the camcorder away from your body and trying to keep it steady. Maybe its just me, but I'm the one that now owns a camcorder I absolutly would not have purchased if I had tested it or had been observant of the non-eyepiece aspect of the unit, but then again it was a unit of VERY LIMITED availability.