JVC Everio GZ-MG30 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/25x Optical Zoom Camcorder Reviews

JVC Everio GZ-MG30 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/25x Optical Zoom

What Were They Thinking 2006-07-31

Other people have covered the good aspects of this camcorder - light weight, no tapes/discs to mess with, pretty good menu. However, these are easily outweighed by the lack of thought by JVC's engineers; and to add insult to injury, the downfall of this camcorder hinges on the very feature that is supposed to be it's selling point - storing video files on a hard drive (and not other media).

You would think that if this was to be the camcorder's selling point, that these knuckleheads would have come up with an easier system for transferring the video files from the camcorder's hard drive to your computer's. The complete lack of thought is amazing. To come up with the goofy .mod naming convention is outside my comprehension. Why not give customers a naming convention with which they are generally familiar? (Besides the .mod files, I've also got .moi files- what the heck is that about? Are they important? Do I need to keep them associated with the .od files? And the uselessness of the Capty software (even its name is goofy) is astounding.

Finally, I don't mind having to actually read the users' manual. However, in this case it's useless. It doesn't explain anything about file transfers, the naming conventions, etc.

Obviously, the customer wasn't first in JVC's thinking. I would recommend staying away from this camcorder...What good is the convenience of recording on a hard drive is the files then become a mystery to access and edit. Stick with the "inconvenience" of tapes & discs...I wish I had!

Greatest camcorder ever! 2006-07-10

I read all the reviews and have to say I have no idea what they are talking about. Sure you need a computer thats not 3 years old and up to date software like anything thats new these days. But just imagine NEVER having to buy tapes or CD's again! And the picture is always prefect! I am in love with this camcorder. Its like my forth one and I had the best DVD camcorder, there is just no way to compair them. Inside, outside, in the sun, in the dark are all a great picture. My sister used it for her sons birthday , now she bought one of her own and loves it as much as I do. And all the people having issues transfering video files or pictures to anything, hmmm, I dont know but it takes me 5 to 10 minutes to sort and then i just burn them. You have to buy this camcorder, you'll love it!

A new Trend in Video !!! 2006-06-11

I am a bit perplexed by the odd reviews this camcorder has gotten.. Personally, I am very happy with mine... no real problems... of course, I don't profess to be a geek....

Good idea, implementation suffers... 2006-05-31

I was excited to have a camcoder device and not bother with any media, so bought this one before our trip to Tahoe. Well, I'm not gonna say it's horrible - may be someone will find it suitable for the purpose but these are my thoughts :

good :
- very light (i've checked the bag couple of times to see if it's inside, it felt so light.
- bright lcd screen
- fancy menu
- convinient presentation of clips : you see first frames of your footage tiled on the screen - very easy to navigate.

bad :
- no viewfinder : that mkes it impossible to use in a bright environment
- video quality is avg to poor, for example green foliage comes together to a green pixely substance
- takes long time to start up
- turns off when you close lcd screen (was annoying for me)
- digital image stabilizer (doesn't compare to optical one at all...)

Once again, it might be suitable for someone, but I'm looking for better wuality, view finder and i guess optical image stabilizer...

--
V.

Indoor picture quality not sufficient. 2006-05-11

First the good: this camera is small and very convenient in MANY ways and you don't have the cost of tapes or mini CD's. And if you are a little computer savvy, the file format issue that people are always complaining about really isn't that big of a deal. I have Pinnacle Studio Plus 9.x (ie, with all the latest online updates to that version) and it handles the files just fine once you rename the file extension from .mod to .mpg. I've seen a lot of reviews here and elsewhere on the Internet that Adobe Elements Premiere 2.0 also handles the files just fine. I think ULead and a few others might as well. If you aren't that computer savvy (and don't necessarily want to be), then you may want to consider another camera just for this reason alone (unless perhaps you buy JVC's external DVD burner drive and are happy with mostly unedited clips).

However, I have learned my lesson by putting too much trust in Amazon's online reviews and discounting what is said in official reviews too much sometimes. I don't think any of the reviews here mention this camera's poor indoor (low-med light) picture quality... so I figured the official reviews of it I found elsewhere online were just being too picky. PC Magazine does a good job of describing the poor (especially low to medium light) picture quality in their Oct 17, 2005 review of this camera (you can find it by searching PCMag.com - search on "GZ-MG30"). I'm sure there are many other reviews noting the picture quality issue as well.

I am giving this a 2 rating (really s/b about 2.5, no option for that) because I feel the low to medium light picture quality issue is enough to sink this camera for many people... especially at this price (I paid $550). If it was only $400, then I would have given it 3 stars (for overall price/value). If you will be using it almost exclusively outdoors, then I could probably give it a begrudging 4 stars.

For my all-around purposes, I am dissatisfied with this camera and wish I could return it. If you don't have good video quality, then nothing else really matters, does it? For some people, this camera might be just fine, but for the rest, I hope this review saves you from a costly mistake.

Forced to use preprietary software playing video files with sound 2006-04-21

I got this camcorder yesterday. After taking some video images, I transferred the files to my PC and renamed the file extension from "MOD" to "MPG". It turns out that there is no audio playing the recorded video files using Microsoft Media Player 10. My Studio 8 software also failed to "initialize the audio file". To listen to the audio, I have to use the "Power DVD 5" or "CyberLink PowerDirector Express" came with the camcorder. As we all know that the video image software came with the camcorder is very limited. To do anything meaningful, I have to buy their upgrade. So far, I could not find a way to convert the MPG files to a compatible format so that I can play and edit them in Studio 8 or Media Player. For this reason, I'm going to return the camcorder to the vendor soon.

Still picture quality not too great 2006-04-20

That's the only drawback that I find with this camera. 640x480 still pictures means you still have to lug the old digital still camera along as well...

As for the 'proprietary' MOD file format, don't be fooled - simply transfer the files to your PC and rename the extension to MPG. The files will open & display just fine in whatever video software you already have. No need to buy ridiculous add-on software!

what a fourteen-year old has to say! 2006-04-04

hey there! i've just bought my everio g last saturday(april 1, 2006). the exterior design is really nice coz it's small and when my family saw it they were surprised, in a good way. it's very light too. i've been checking out the everio g site for quite sometime before i bought one so i'm pretty much aware of its features and stuff. well, i didn't know the difference between the ultra fine mode, the fine mode, and the eco mode. for me, there's no difference at all, maybe because i'm just 14 so i still dunno how to distinguish their differences.

the everio g is really easy to use. and the best things about this are (1)the playlist function coz it lets you sort out your videos depending on the event or whatever it is you're filming. and (2)the zoom...is just awesome! before, in my old videocam, when i zoom in like 25x, this huge pixels appear but with my everio, zooming 25x above still produces clear images.

the only problem is the battery! i'm spending much more time on charging it than using it!!! that's the worst part of this camera. so i advice you, before buying one, be sure you'll buy an extra battery and a battery charger if you can. so that while you're using one battery, the other is charging so you wouldn't have to attach it on the videocam to charge.

i was a bit worried about the video/picture transfering on my computer since i've read one of the reviews about it. but installing the software was really easy for me. i wouldn't give the Power Director a two thumbs up coz i wasn't really amazed on what it could do. but atleast i could convert the MOD file into MPEG/AVI and i could just edit it on the other editing software i have. the Power Producer made burning into dvd easy for me since i don't have to download a software anymore. the only problem is my cd-writer only burns VCD's and not DVD's so the quality was a little lost. but it works for me! the image quality isn't as impressive as the images you can get on a digital camera but hey, it's its video quality that i care about!

all in all, i would have to say Everio G is great! if you like going out and loves to seek fun and adventure, you definitely need this one so you wouldn't miss a single thing! well, goodluck to you then! see ya

Consider your computer hardware carefully before purchase 2006-03-07

After buying this product I found out the hard way that the only way this works as advertised is with a fairly new computer, preferable with a media center. I spent many, many, many frustrating hours trying to get the system to work on my 3 year old machine (Windows XP with plenty of memory). In the meantime I loaded the Cyberlink software into my old machine (with Windows 98) just to print out the docs, and the software completly fried the computer. So, we replaced the old computer with a new HP and voila, the camera and software now run as easy as the ads claimed. I think this camera is great, but most likely ahead of the general public's access to the hardware to make it function as it is intended. Unless you have a new system with a media center or are ready to upgrade, I would not recommend purchase.

JVC Everio Hard Disk Camcorder 2006-02-09

I waited a while before writing my review to really experience this camera. I have to say I love it. I went through some trial and error in the beginning but I really am enjoying the camera. I am not a professional videographer so this camera is fine for me. I have been taping all my son's basketball games and after a few times, I finally found a sports mode which works great. The camera is a perfect size. The convenience of not using tapes is incredible. I would suggest downloading your film often. It takes 11 minutes to download about an hour worth of filming. Since the camera can hold over 30 hours of information, I would not suggest downloading all the material at once. I have not used the software that came with the camera. After reading other reviews on the internet, I decided to get Adobe Premier Elements 2.0 which I am very satisfied with. The camera records in .MOD format so you need this software to convert it to MPEG. Yes, it takes a while for the process to complete, but once it is done, it is ready to be burned onto a DVD. You can also save the MPEG file to watch your entire movie on the computer in Windows Media Player. I would strongly suggest having at least a gig of ram and alot of hard drive if you plan on filming alot and keeping the footage on your computer. Even though this is the first hard disk camera, I am very happy with it for my use. Anyone that wants to record family events, games, etc., and is computer literate, this camera is for you. Would I recommend it to a professional videographer? No. The film quality is the same as a mini-dv or hi-8 recorder. The menu buttons are small, but easy to use and simplified. If anyone has this camera and has some good tips for me, please email me [...].

Good product, bad recording format 2006-01-08

The image quality, small form-factor, small size, large hard drive, and battery life make this a winner. However, the .mod files are a pain in the butt. The only thing that you can view these with is the PowerDVD viewer. In order to convert these files to AVI or MPEG I had to by something called Power Producer, and let the computer work for an hour to convert a large file to MPEG. That's just wrong. The camara should have an option to compress to MPEG. This is similar to what the early Kodak digital camaras, such as the DC-120, did in saving images to the proprietary .kdc format. A royal pain.

Hopefully generation 2 will have MPEG conversion built in.

Anyhow, better and easier than converting from tape. A buy if you need a camcorder now.

Response to previous question 2005-11-25

In regards to whether or not you should keep your old camera, that's up to you. Really, most people are turning their video into digital anyways, so it's really not a question anymore. This just facilitates that process. However, keep in mind one thing: digital items fail. Then again, so does analogue. But now instead of having 7 tapes and only 1 failing, you have 7 hours in one spot. Personally, I'd rather this than the old tapes.

Also note, this is the first release of a HDD based video camera. Either A, the price will come down and you'll kick yourself in the butt, or they'll keep coming out with better versions quickly for a while. But this is mostly based off the iPod frenzy. It's just a standard JVC camcorder made to store the information on a different format.