Customer Reviews

JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Well friends, if you have been searching for a bevy of great features, simplicity of use, great video and audio quality all in a micro-sized package, this unit may be the end of your search.

I had spent a great deal of time and effort comparing the various camcorders on the market before I made the move to the JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom several weeks ago. I was looking for a full featured product that would travel well, provide long operational time, give me plenty of built in functionality yet one that didn't bust my budget.

This unit has proven itself worthy across the board. The "77" is so small that I find myself forgetting that I am carrying it around in the palm of my hand. When things happen that I want to capture I just flip open the view screen and within a few seconds the "auto on" feature has my camera in hot stand-by ready for action as it unfolds. The (30GB) hard drive has proven sufficient to record a wedding, HS graduation, two trips to the beach, a weekend to Disneyland and stuff around the house with over three hours to spare (all in the ultrafine mode)!

Downloading and producing DVD's is a snap and the quality is superb even on my DLPLCD 16:9 format Display at home.

If your considering this unit I have a couple of (must have) recommendations for maximum usability with minimum of fuss:

First off get additional batteries. The one hour is small and light weight and last me around 45-50 minutes. I purchased two additional batteries. One is rated at 3 hours and the other at 5 hours (a little large on size but great run time)! This gives me more then enough "pocket power".

The second recommendation would be to purchase one of the many stand alone battery charges on the market. I ordered a battery and charger package on Amazon (ESPOW - Equivalent JVC BN-VF714, BN-VF714U Battery and AC/DC Charger Set. [ 1400mAh ] ) This charger allows you to charge a battery without having to use the Camcorder itself. This particular model even provides AC or DC charging options.

Bottom line... I am very pleased with the JVC "77" and believe you will be too.

Bought this for a trip to southern Africa. It is my first camcorder - I was always turned off by the idea of lugging around tapes or blank DVDs. I have used ultrazoom digital cameras for all my other trips, so I am familiar with making manual adjustments for different situations.

I was amazed at 1) how easy the Everio was to learn and use, 2)how small and light it is, and 3) the large storage capacity of the HDD.

I had to set manual adjustments for lighting and exposure a lot of the time. The AUTO setting is best when it's bright sunlight and fairly even brightness of objects - other times of the day, or when there are dark AND light objects in the field of view, you're better off using MANUAL. Video I shot at sunset and sunrise came out good with very little grain, but it is best if you use MANUAL setting and keep the camera stable.

The zoom control is pretty sensitive - takes some getting used to being careful about how fast you zoom the lens.

Would have liked this model to have a light for night video rather than just a flash for still photos.

The battery recharged quickly and I bought a second one from a third party. The battery life is as advertised, which isn't bad considering the power it must take to run the big LCD display and the hard drive.

I think the video quality is excellent. Incorporated the video along with digital stills into a travel DVD we produced. The quality when displayed on my large LCD flat panel TV is great. (Remember though that this is NOT an HD camcorder.)

On my trip, I ran into a fellow who had the new Everio model with the 3CCD sensors. Our videos of the same scenes looked very similar in quality.

It's simple to edit the video files with the supplied Cyberlink software. Upgrade to the full version is reasonably priced compared to buying Adobe Premiere Elements.

Overall, I thought this was a good first camcorder purchase. I'll carry it along on other trips.

This unit has a very user friendly interface and is very easy to figure out for the average consumer. I work in the motion picture industry as a cameraman, so I do have a unique perspective. It does take a while to figure out the software and the the best way to download the video, but once you get it, it's as good as apple pie. The one downside is this unit's operating temperature. It gets very hot the longer it's powered. But that's the price you have to pay with a hard drive camcorder this small. Even with the state of the art Professional High Definition cameras in the motion picture industry, you still have over heating issues as well as power consumption issues. Eventually this will be solved, but for now, this is as good as it gets.

The zoom is incredible. The camera's multi shot works great. The colors recorded are perfect, the sound great. I can record up to 8 hours (depending on battery life)and combine still shots and video on one recording.

Totally awesome. The best camera/camcorder I have seen after weeks of detailed research.

If you want quality and a reasonable price, buy this one.

P.S. If you are a Mac user and want to import these videos into iMovie i have found the perfect app. (note: i have no affiliation with them). I searched around for weeks and tried every app i could get a demo for and I have to share that VisualHub by techspansion is the best of the best. it was effortless to install and use. I didnt change any defaults and it converted the widescreen .mods perfectly into dv format which i then imported into imovie. the jvc included app Capty does not do this, it squashes the dv files and you are forced to use other means to get the aspect right.
visual hub is also universal binary and thus very fast on the mac...
the demo is free and i highly recommend it to mac users.

until iMovie can read .mod files i can live with this one extra step!

Enjoy your Everio!

CZR

I recently purchased this camcorder at Circuit City for around $750. It works very well and the video quality is very good.

VIDEO & SOUND: When viewing on the television, it is surprising how clear and crisp the video is and how realistic the sound is--there is no irritating tape or dvd recording humm, and people's voices sound natural--not like they are in a wind tunnel as with other camcorders. Also, the night video is quite good for a camera this size. I shot some video using only candlelight to illuminate people's faces, and the details were the same when I played it back as if I had been sitting right there. The pictures are also good quality, though not huge, and it is nice to be able to store them on the camera instead of my computer.

BATTERY LIFE: if you are going to be using this camcorder for periods longer than 45 minutes, buy an extra battery as it takes at least an hour to recharge.

SOFTWARE/COMPATIBLITY: I have a mac mini G4, and my biggest concern with buying this camera was whether or not it would be compatible. It processes video in MPEG-4 mode, which is not compatible with mac. However, after reading the manual, I found a solution to this problem.

To convert video for use with iMovie:
1. Install the Everio "Capty MPEG Edit EX" program provided with the camera.
2. When installed, open the program and select the "view" tab, the click "combine files."
3. Connect the camera to the computer using the USB cord provided and set camera on the play setting
4. Open the Everio harddrive that appears on the desktop.
5. Drag files with the extension .mod from the video folder to the "Capty MPEG" program--you will see thumbnails appear as the video takes.
6. After adding all of the files you want, click the "create" button on the "Capty" program
7. A format box will appear. Select Quick Time Movie
8. Another option will appear that allows you to convert to MPEG, DV, and QuickTime: Select "Quick Time" again.
9. Name your video in the next blank that appears
10. Click the button to start the creating process
11. It will take some time to create the video. After the video is created, look for the title in spotlight in the searchbar.
12. When you have located the file, open iMovie.
13. Drag the file into the "clips" section of iMovie.
14. You can now edit your WIDESCREEN movie in the iMovie program.

It sounds long and complicated, but the only "challenging" part is just waiting for it to format for quick time. I recommend not putting too many clips in at once so that it goes faster. It takes a little more time, but it's worth it to use iMovie, and it's faster and more efficient than many of the other methods I have seen.

I have had my Everio Camcorder for 1 week. During that time I have been getting familiar with its great features and accompanying software by taking short clips of the surrounding area. I am completely satisfied, and would recommend the GZMG77 to anyone. The Zoom is super, videos are very sharp and clear. It is very easy to use, just read and follow ALL the instructions. Great value for the dollar. I will write another review in about 6 months.

I have only really used this for some family videos. Plus marks are for size and weight. I put the videos onto a 42" plasma and they look fine. I am sure you can get better quality but at the end of the day if you want to make a Hollywood production then you dont buy a $700 Camcorder. Another down point is the Autofocus which can be a bit slow or just not work. Tends to be poor in low light, sometimes you have to move away from subject then back again to get it to focus. 10x Zoom is fine, Battery life is not great but I suppose you can upgrade the battery to a higher mah.

Overall I like it, I am sure HDD Camcorders will improve in time to come but I am happy with what I have.

Fantastic camera, no disks, no tape, point and click for hours of easy recording, simple process to download to computer for storage of movies.

Going to a HDD camcorder from a miniDV camcorder was like going from a film camera to a digital camers. The camera will also record directly to SD memory cards. (about 50+ minutes of normal quality video on a 2GB card)
I would recommend getting an extra battery and external charger. I paid about $42 for a 1400mah battery and charger. having short battery run time and built in charger is just plain stupid on the part of JVC. If you aren't willing to pay for an external charger and extra battery you are going to be missing out on a lot of video shots.