Customer Reviews

JVC GR-D650 1.33 MP High-Band Digital Video Camera

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

These are my first impressions of this camcorder I got a month ago to document my baby growing up.

Pros:
- Good color quality compared to other cheap camcorders
- Small and light
- Easy to use
- 16:9 aspect ratio. Not HD, but still letterbox
- Excellent anti-shake mechanism
- Worked very well with my PC through the Firewire connector

Cons:
- No audio inputs
- Menu system is a bit tedious
- Autofocus a bit clumsy when zooming in and out of objects

After reading every review I coud find, I purchased the GR-D650 in November 06, to replace an older JVC camcorder (which did well for us). I chose the GR-D650 due to: its claim to record well in low light; I've had success with other JVC products; and the price was in my budget. I read through the manual to become familiar with the features, set the camcorder up the way I wanted (clock, date, fade in-fade out feature, etc), and felt ready to go. We took it on our Christmas vacation and recorded in daylight, dusk, and night. The flip out screen worked great. I could see what I was shooting, even at night. It took a short while to get the feel of the camcorder and where buttons were, compared to my old one, but certainly not a hassle. The zoom worked great. When we returned home, I connected the camcorder to my TV with the supplied cord and hit play (it even comes with a remote control). We were very happy and impressed with the quality. I wondered how my voice would come out on the recording, because viewing through the flip out screen allows me to be further away from the camcorder, compared to how I used my older one. My voice recorded fine (I do narration when I video). I haven't tried the still photo feature yet. So, all in all, I am very happy with this camcorder, especially for the price. It costs several hundred dollars less than my old JVC and actually performs better (and is a whole lot smaller and lighter). For general everyday and family type use, this camcorder works great. I recommend it.

This was just what we needed. The still pictures are great as are the videos. And it also works really well in different lighting. We would definitely recommend this to other consumers.

The video quality is amazing. The DSC still picture quality is poor. I would save the money and not buy an SD card for it since the DSC still picture quality is terrible. That said the video quality is top notch, and I highly recommend this video camera, just don't forget your DSC if you want to take stills.

I read through many reviews and considered many cameras. I thought this camera would offer the best blend of quality image and style. I was skeptical but once I recieved it was comletely satisfied. You can get a better camera but you'll have to spend a good deal more. Nighttime images are pretty repectable too. The Elura 100 was good too but a bit ugly if you ask me. My only complaint is this camera is on the boxy side.

We bought this JVC GR-D650 as an update to a 1996 Canon ES900 Camcorder. The JVC is less than half the weight of the Canon and has the flip out LCD viewfinder my wife likes better. Heck, she likes the whole thing a lot better because of the size and weight. Most of the subjects we've recorded were simple subjects with ample light. Ambient indoor lighting shots have looked a lot better than the Canon. It did have trouble with lighting from a community play; there was excess color saturation around the bright colors and it had limited definition of darker items on stage. I had 4 opportunities to record the same play and I could not find a setting that helped this condition too much. That said, for a less than $400 camera, I did not expect perfection.

I'd recommend the camcorder for the average consumer. I'd recommend a higher capacity battery to avoid running out of juice at the wrong time.

After having gone through several reviews for MiniDV camcorders, I decided to purchase this one. I havent been disapointed with this product. It has great pictures, indoors and outdoors. The stills are pretty decent (remember they are 1150x1024 resolution).

After reading other reviews, I just have one more thing to say. The other folks who gave this product a low review either didnt understant how to use it properly, or were expecting performance similar to professional camcorders / slr cameras. Remember folks, for around 330 USD this is very good product and excellent features

My JVC GR-D650U started to have the lens cap problem after I bought it a little over a year ago. The camcorder will not record video. It's a widespread problem that has been found on dozens of JVC products. Search for "JVC lens cap problem" on the internet for more information.

Although JVC offers to fix this type of problems free of charge, D650U is not covered by that program.

I read several reviews that this camera shoots decent low-light video and by low-light, I mean a regulary lit room at the evening. The video came out like I was shooting in the dark room with no light whatsofever. The night mode is no use either...as with it video becomes like first generation of analog cameras. The build-in LED light is only good to eliminate object that is a foot away from you, otherwise this light is useless. The pictures taken inside are extermelly poor. The battery that came with camera is rated at 90 min (be happy if you can get a half of it).
On the positive side...videos and photos taken with camera in a day light outside (not inside the house) are good.
So if your primary video recording is outside then this is a good camera for a good price, for me it just did not work.