Customer Reviews

JVC Everio GZMG37 30GB HDD Digital Media Camcorder with 32x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

At $700 this camera was not a good buy - for $500-$550, not too bad.

The biggest complaint people seem to have is with the video quality - and while I agree it's not as good as a top quality miniDV or some of the more expensive HD models JVC also produce, it's not nearly as bad as they're making out (or they've somehow managed to buy a whole bunch of bad cameras).

I've recorded movies both indoors and out - neither have been particularly poor, and I would place it's top quality setting somewhere around that of a VHS tape. I got none of the artifacts or corruption people have complained about, the quality is a bit fuzzy, but on the whole perfectly acceptable for creating family movies or sending scaled down mpgs via email.

The format it records in is NOT proprietory as some people claim. It records in mpeg 2 format, but unfortunately due to the proprietory software that comes with the camera all the clips have a .mod instead of a .mpg file extension.

No drivers or software are needed - just attach to your PC, then access the HD as if it were a USB thumbdrive. After you've copied the data, you can rename the files to .mpg if you wish, this will make them instantly available to any movie playback program, including Media Player.

Editing in Windows Movie Maker however is not possible, as this softare isn't able to handle mpgs it doesn't create with it's own proprietory codec - but all versions of Premier or other decent video editing programs work fine.

If you want top quality, don't buy an HD video camera - stick with miniDV or spend big bucks on High Definition. If you don't mind a little bit of fuzziness around the edges, then any of these cheaper HD cameras work great.

I've head that the more expensive versions of this camera have higher resolution recording as well as better handling of colour/light/etc. If this is true then you might want to ask a sales rep to do a recording and transfer it to a large screen PC to see if that works better for you. Any salesman worth his salt will do this test for you, after all $500+ is a lot of money, and if they truly want the sale they'll show you how good or bad the camera really is.

This videocam turned out to be a great and expensive disappointment. I spent some time searching through the menus for the right settings--surely something wasn't set properly. I studied the manual until it dawned on me that the settings were not actually misconfigured -- that the image quality truly is horrendous.
Even at the highest resolution, there are more compression artifacts than picture. This is especially visible in freeze-frame mode. The contrast is very poor, and the colors look hideous. In Ultra-fine mode (the best mode) the images look like a cheap CMOS webcam. Don't believe the hype that claims "DVD-quality movies". For such an expensive camera I was expecting something much better than this. I'm returning it. This product is not ready for prime-time. I've got an ancient mini-DV Sony DCR-PC100 that has much better picture quality. Also, the battery life on the GZMG37 is very short.

On the positive side, it is quite light-weight and there is no videotape to mess around with. If only one did not have to sacrifice image quality completely for that convenience. Overall, this unit does not live up to its promise.

The only advantage this camcorder has it size/media. That is it.

While it has a 30gb HDD, which is certainly very convienent, the highest quality setting uses half of the bitrate of what a minidv would use. In addition, the artifacting is multiplied in lowlight conditions.

You can use a USB cable to transfer the videos to your computer, to edit them.. but you have to use their software, or you will lose the audio. (What is wrong with just using MPG files?)

Bottom line is:
It's quite obvious that a HDD in a Camcorder is the way to go. But not until the video quality is comparable to what is out there now.

I was waiting for the second generation to come out, hoping there would of been some improvments from the first generation hard disk camcorders.

The good: looks and feels reel good. Easy to use, LOTS of room with the 30 gig drive. 32x zoom.

The Bad: LOUSY low light! Maybe I'm spoiled. My first mini-dv camcorder was a JVC-GR-DVM70 that is now 7 years old. Compared to that camera, the GZMG37 is bad in low light. The other thing I was disapointed in is that the movie is NOT recored as MPEG2, but a .MOD file extention. SHAME ON YOU JVC for creating your own file extention and not using a standard MPEG file. If you search you'll find programs that will convert it to the standard mpeg.

Bottom line...This camcorder is great except for low light recording. After looking at several other camcorder reviews that seems to be the biggest issue out there.

I returned this camera to Best Buy and gladly paid the %15 restocking fee. This is the biggest waste of money I can imagine. There is no documentation on how to convert to PC for editing and the video quality is terrible. Don't waste your money. I can't believe they charge $700+ for this thing!

The camera is great except that when storing it on a tripod to record a program and leaving it set, after 5 minutes, it shuts itself off automatically, even if the camcorder is plugged in, regardless of battery being connected or not. You have to keep the camera active within every 5 minutes, such as zooming, turning the light on or off, or info button the remote that comes with the camera. If you enjoy the program too much and forget to operate the camera, the camera turns itself off automatically. The manual even makes note of this. Disappointing. If it weren't for this, I'd rate it at 5 stars. If anyone knows a way to disable the auto shut-off feature, please share. Also, waiting for the battery to come out for this, which should be ready by mid-April.

This camera works great, even in low light. Colors are clean, focus is clear, stabilization works fine. I don't see any artifacts at all and I've been shooting video since 1988. My only complaint is that the start-up time ought to be quicker for a hard-drive camera. I picked up a slightly used specimen on ebay a few months ago for about $200-300 less than typical street prices and I am delighted with the results. Even the editing software does what I need it to do. If you want Hi-Def, then go take a gander at Hi-Def prices!

Nice compact, size and shape. Good picture. Very user friendly. I would recommend this product for first time buyers.

This camera exactly meets my needs. It's easy to use and holds a huge amount of data. We have been able to store multiple clips right on the camera's hard drive. Deleting a bad clip is easy. I scanned the directions but didn't have to peruse them to make the camera work. Simplicity is important for us because we have a new baby and there's no time for excess complexity. Overall, this camera is a great piece of equipment.

Ok, so this isn't the highest quality camera on the market. But, it is light, easy to use, and has decent picture quality. If you've got the money, spulrge on a higher rated $600 camera or hold out until prices on hi def camcorders come down more. If you don't want to spend more than $400 or so, this is one of the best HDD cameras you can pick up.