Review By Terry SullivanJVC envisions camcorders of the future as hard drive devices that don't require removable media such as miniDVD discs, DV tapes, or media cards. They'll also be really small and light. Indeed, the Everio GZ-MG30 is just that—a compact hard-drive-based camcorder. The body is quite small, at 2.7 by 2.8 by 4.3 inches, and it weighs just a bit more than 13 ounces with battery. But if JVC really wanted to make this the camcorder of the future, the video quality would need to improve. Right now, this innovative approach to home video doesn't justify spending so much for such mediocre images.
The Everio GZ-MG30—one of four new hard-drive models (the other three are the GZ-MG20, GZ-MG40 and GZ-MG50)—is a one-CCD chip camcorder with 25X optical zoom (a 35-mm equivalent of about 42 to 1,050 mm) that allows for more than seven hours of shooting time on the highest quality setting. The hard drive also lets you avoid the continual need to buy additional disc media, which may soften the blow of the hefty $900 price tag. (The GZ-MG20, GZ-MG40 and GZ-MG50 list for $800, $900, and $1000, respectively. The latter two give you 1.3-megapixel still-image quality photos.)
Unlike most camcorders, though, the GZ-MG30 doesn't have a viewfinder. We understand that this is a move to keep the camcorder compact. But for bright outdoor settings, like at a beach or in a snow scene, you will be at a disadvantage. It's the same dilemma we run into with digital cameras. A compact body is great, but bright outdoor settings will leave you shooting blind without some sort of optical viewfinder.
We definitely like the feel of the camcorder.
The controls were logically placed, and the menu structure was good as well, displaying the settings in a vertical scroll. You just use the four-way controller to get in and out of the menu. Nice and simple.
We like the info button too; it lets you see the maximum recording time in a pie chart based on the four quality settings. Press the button again, and it lets you know how much battery power you have left. This is all displayed on a clear, 2.5-inch, articulating LCD.
We were quite pleased with the drop-detection feature, which automatically turns off the camera when it senses it has been dropped. When the camcorder is dropped, JVC says the recording head is moved away from the hard drive, avoiding damage to the hard drive. Although we couldn't see inside the camera to test whether this actually took place, we tried a few scenarios in dropping our test unit, and the camcorder turned off each time. When you turn it back on, there is a message that the drop-detection feature has been activated and the camcorder had been turned off.
On the downside, there was the usual problem of editing the MPEG-2 files: Neither Pinnacle Studio 9.4, Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe, Adobe Premiere Elements 1.0, nor Ulead VideoStudio 9 would let us import video files. And even though the beta version of Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 let us import the video clips, the resulting imported footage was choppy and unplayable. So, to edit any video, we were forced to use the included software—Cyberlink PowerProducer, Power DirectorExpress, and PowerDVD—which are not as easy to use as the more popular programs, but let you edit the footage and create DVDs.
In our talking-head clip, we noticed the video needed more contrast and wider dynamic range. The colors looked washed out and could have been more vibrant. We also found lots of noise in low-light situations.
In our action clip, we found the camcorder snapped quickly into focus. Although we didn't find a lot of artifacts, we did think the footage could have been sharper. For example, small details that we look for were hard to spot, and text was too blurry, especially when in motion. On our color chart, we found the colors to be washed out and not vibrant enough.
The camera captured 375 lines on our EIA Resolution Chart. In testing the camera on a TV monitor, we found the video footage looked very good, though TV screens typically mask the flaws in the footage. The sound on the camcorder was very good, with no hissing or swirling.
Lastly, we found the digital still-camera capabilities to be inadequate for anything other than Web use. For this camcorder, the stills were only 640-by-480, with an average of only 350 lines of resolution—below our acceptable 1MP range. There's no flash included on the camera either, so we were unable to test boot-up and recycle times.
JVC claims the Everio is the first hard-drive-based camcorder, and we applaud the pioneering effort, but until the image quality gets better and the price comes down, leave this one for the early adopters.
Weight: 13.39 oz
LCD size: 2.5 inches
CCD Resolution: 0.68 megapixels
CCDType: Single CCD
Still Image Recording Format: Secure Digital type / MB
Optical Zoom: 25 times (X)
Image Stabilization: Digital
Focal Length (Wide): 2.2 mm
Focal Length (Telephoto): 55 mm
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