JVC Everio GZ-MG360 60GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom
Product Description
Everio has been redesigned to offer more satisfaction in a smaller, lighter body. It’s the world’s smallest and lightest hard disk camcorder, so you can shoot actively without fatigue, and travel with lots of space left over when you pack your bags. Elegant and slim HDD/micro SD Hybrid camcorder featuring 60GB HDD for up to 75 hours of recording with KONICA MINOLTA LENS, 35x optical zoom and easy to navigate Laser Touch Operation… More >>
Features:
- Internal high-capacity HDD allows up to 70 hours of recording time
- Equipped with a high-performance Konica Minolta lens
- Enlarge images up to 800x with this full quality 35x optical zoom
- Pack efficiently with one of the world’s smallest and lightest hard disk camcorders
- View remaining battery power by percent and remaining recording time in minutes with the data battery
JVC Everio GZ-MG360 60GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom
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Filed under: Video Pocket Camera
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I searched high and low for a good HD camcorder that wouldn’t break my bank and I finally found the JVC Everio GZ-MG360 for a decent price. I took it with me on a trip the day after I got it and have just now been able to see the finished product. Here’s my eval of it:
Pros:
-VERY easy to use… if you’re the least bit tech savy then you can figure out how to use everything by just simply clicking through the buttons.
-Nice, functional design – lightweight, small, and very stylish!
-Even on the highest ‘ultra fine’ setting I got 8 hrs of video.
-Transfer between the camcorder and PC is a piece of cake… when you plug it in… it takes over!
Cons:
-Even though they do not lie about it… the battery life is only around 1hr or so… I would recommend buying a second battery… I had access to an outlet so no biggie.
-I wish there was an automatic lens opener on it because I kept forgetting to open and close the lens… it does remind you however!
-Not that this is a big deal but WMP does not recognize the 16:9 aspect ratio so you will need to use DIVX or RP to play the vid files with the correct aspect ratio.
Summary: Overall I am VERY pleased with this camcorder and would highly recommend this for anyone wanting a low end price memory snapper!
Rating: 4 / 5
What can I say? After trolling through pros and cons and tons of reviews, it came down to Panasonic, Sony and JVC. The Panasonic received too many negative reviews on their file format, and the only Sony option was Hard Drive since the flash camcorders used the very expensive and proprietary pro-duo memory cards. So Hard Drive camcorders it was. The 30 GB Sony was a tad more expensive, by about $[...], than the JVC. But it had 0 lux night vision. Awesome! The 30GB JVC Everio was cheaper and also had tons of great reviews. Then I checked the used camcorders. I picked up this 60GB version for a mere $[...] with an included JVC camera bag. So my choice was obvious, especially when I was able to score a 60GB for cheaper than the 30GB. It doesn’t look used, only an open box item. Plus the Seller was great and got the camera to me sooner than expected. Awesome service from Offprice.
Here’s a list of programs I use. I convert into i-Pod, wmv and AVI for all my portable players and to send across the net. I convert into VOB and MPEGII for all my DVD recordings. Here’s a list of all the programs I use, some free, some not. Nero Vision Express, Super encoder, TMPEG nc plus, TMPEG nc DVD Creator, and Archos media converter.
Here’s what I’ve done so far. I took the thing out and started recording at the best quality. Why not, it has 60GB of space. I also recorded an instructional video. After all my recording, I hooked the JVC up to the computer (external HD style), and simply drug the files directly into NERO Vision Express to create a DVD. I also created a DVD another way, by converting the files to .VOB and using TMPEG products to have total control over my DVD creation. Works like a charm, and quality is ok considering standard definition. On the 42 inch LCD HDTV, it looks ok. Not High Def, but I was only budgeting $[...], not $[...], so I wasn’t expecting movie quality. But if you hook the player directly up to the TV, the quality is much better. So I’ll tinker with it to find the best fit.
I haven’t tried the direct to DVD back-up yet from the camcorder, so I’ll try that next.
Now for the meat:
Pros:
It was the best deal I could find. $[...] for a 60GB 35x optical zoom is unbeatable. Speaking of the zoom, it gets a little fuzzy around 30x or so, but you can still make out a clear image. The optical stabilization works great when zooming in that close. I think the term for this type of zoom is “Stalker Zoom.” The 60GB HD will allow many hours of the best quality recording (15 hours I think), and hooking it to the computer is a snap, like any other external HD. Working with the files is easy with the right programs, and many of them are free. I haven’t installed the JVC stuff. Its small form factor (about the size of two packs of Marlboro 100s put together) is very compact and as the wife says, “cute.” It’s very good indoors, even better outdoors, and pretty good in low light situations. It’s everything I expected it to be. I started recording as soon as I took it out of the box, so it’s also very easy to use.
Cons:
The auto focus gets confused and sometimes takes a while under lowlight conditions. I’m still trying to figure out how to use the built in LED light; it seems to have a mind of its own and turns on and off by itself if it thinks the computer screen you’re shooting is too dark (for an instructional video).
It’s not HD so expect standard definition quality on a large screen HDTV. That’s all I can really think of other than the extra-life battery sticks out like a sore thumb, but at least it’s out of the way during operation.
Summary:
I’ll get a different point of view when the wife takes it out for our daughter’s field day. As of yet, I call this the purchase of the year for me. I got what I wanted. Next, I’ll look into HD camcorders, but that’s going to be a long while from now. This JVC will suit our needs just fine and fit our budget perfectly. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5 / 5
It is a very light and small camcorder. It records for a long time. It records for 14 hours at the best quality. It looks cool. The external light is very useful. Video quality is good, not too great but very good. Three JVC software comes with this product, a DVD-CD authoring software a video editing software and a video-computer link software. They are all easy and fun to use. Don’t worry about the still pictures. Get this and get a tiny camera to go with it. This camcorder is so small that you probably can fit this camcorder and a good camera in a small bag. I did it and it worked out fine. I used this camcorder to record a family vacation and I am pleased with the result.
Rating: 5 / 5
I wanted something light and compact to record my son’s soccer games and birthdays, family events, etc. While this would probably be fine for the other events, it was very poor quality for the fast-moving soccer game. It was okay when holding still, but following the players was pretty much a blur and the still shots so far at any distance are VERY poor, I’m pretty disappointed after researching and being so excited to get this model. Great price at Costco, however ours is going back. I was unable to change the recording mode from the default, which won’t publish to the web as far as I can tell, which is highly disappointing. The tutorial is very limited and the software not much more of a help. Pretty disappointed all around.
Rating: 2 / 5
I’ve recorded probably just 10 hours with the camera, and I am pleased with my purchase of this camera. My wife and I were expecting our first baby (who was born 7/9/08), and I had done quite a bit of research before deciding to but this particular model. I “test drove” several different brands and models by JVC, and decided that the Everio was the route I wanted to go. The good things about this camera that I’ve noticed thus far are the battery life, the massive 60 GB hard drive, the built-in light, the size, and definitely the price. There are points that I would like to warn folks about. The video and audio recording quality is decent, but not exceptional. If you are looking for a camera based upon purely video and audio quality, you might want to look at something else. The video files are shot with proprietary files with a .MOD extension. Although file extensions and video files are relatively simple to convert, you can’t just drag and drop the .MOD files in most applications. The software that is bundled with the camera will convert the files to any type that you want, but this is just another step or another application that you must go through to burn your movies via PC. I haven’t yet got the direct burn stations that JVC markets, but I am willing to try them just to make it a bit easier to get my movies on DVDs. For the most part, to view our movies, we hook the camera directly up to the TV…which works very well for quick video showings.
All in all, for my entry level camcorder and the way in which we will use this camera, I am happy that I chose this model (Everio GZ-MG360). I hope my little review will help…because I know how nerve-racking shopping for a camcorder can be!
Rating: 4 / 5