JVC GR-D850 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom

by JVC

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7 x 5 inches ; 14.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0012825KC
• Item model number: GR-D850US
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,969 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 9, 2008

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

The compact design of the new JVC GR-D850 MiniDV camcorder belies a rich set of powerful features, such as a Konica Minolta lens with 35x optical zoom and a 2.7-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD monitor with automatic backlight control for easy viewing, even on a bright, sunny day. For low-light shooting there is also the built-in Auto Illumi-Light LED.

The GR-D850 also comes with an array of features to enhance ease-of-use and ensure top quality footage. The Stick Control on the LCD makes navigating menus and settings a one-finger operation, while the Data Battery lets the user know how much recording time remains. Other standard features include Multi-Language On-Screen to switch the on-screen display language, a dedicated Auto Button to instantly switch between auto and manual modes, and Power-Linked Operation, which switches the camcorder on as soon as the LCD monitor is opened.

JVC GR-D850 Highlights

115-minute data battery This new slim and powerful long-life data battery allows you to shoot precious moments with peace of mind. By simply touching the DATA button, remaining battery and recording time can be easily viewed, even when the power is turned off. This allows you to check the remaining power for the battery and recording time before shooting, so you can prevent the battery from running out during shooting.

Auto button The Auto button allows you to conveniently and quickly switch between Auto and Manual modes with a simple push.

3D Noise Reduction 3D NR automatically provides a more accurate noise reduction. This is based on twice the visual information than conventional field-based types. The video noise is reduced by 30 percent in low light for a 2dB improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio. End result, you get a bright picture with less noise, even in low light.

• Super high-band processor
• Web-camera function via IEEE 1394
• NightAlive
• Digital effects and scene transitions

Multi-language on-screen settings The user can choose the language for menu settings and camera operations, allowing you to operate the camera in your native tongue.

NightAlive Boosts light sensitivity for a bright picture even in environments with minimal illumination, always giving you full color, without any distance limitations. NightAlive works in both still and video modes.

35x optical zoom with 800x digital zoom Zoom right into the action with this powerful 35x optical zoom. The image is magnified optically to eliminate jagged edges. Images can be further enlarged up to 800x when combined with the digital zoom.

Stick control on LCD Conveniently access a multitude of functions with the 4-way one-finger control on the LCD door. Simply press the four "compass points" on the circular control to navigate menu items and manual feature settings during recording and playback.

2.7-inch widescreen Clear LCD monitor The 16:9 wide screen format is common to today's flat-panel displays. JVC digital video cameras are equipped with 2.7-inch 16:9 LCD monitors. Our wide mode will maintain a high picture quality, plus give you a more realistic visual due to the extended field of vision. The Clear LCD feature reduces reflections and glare to maintain a clear, visible and bright viewing during outside recording.

Product Description

Compact and easy to hold DVC with ultra-powerful 35x optical zoom and user-friendly features such as Auto LCD Backlight Control and Auto Illumi. Light.High-Band Digital Video Camera with 35x Optical Zoom

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JVC GR-D850, February 25, 2008

By 

xeolvoid (MS, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JVC GR-D850 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The sound and video quality is amazing! I am very impressed by the quality of the image and sound even at night. There is no blurring when panning around either, but at night its performance slightly suffers. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to focus correctly at night from switching from close to distant objects, but it is crystal clear. The sound is GREAT. Its easy to use, easy to hold.

In order to place taped videos to the PC, you need a Fire Wire port on your computer, a 6pin to 4pin fire wire cable, and a lot of hard drive space. One hour is about 14 gigs when transfered 100% uncompressed. After editing and compression though the file size is very manageable.

**For every minute you record it takes one minute to transfer to the PC**

If I had payed 350 dollars for this, I would still be amazed. Its the steal of the year, so cheap yet so good...! I bought the camera, firewire cable, three Fuji Film MiniDV's with tax didnt break 300 dollars!

This is the first camera I've ever owned.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So far, so good..., April 21, 2008

By 

JSR (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JVC GR-D850 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this one for my mom and dad. It seems just as easy to use as the one I purchased a few years back. It's lightweight and mom seems to understand how to use it after about ten minutes of showing her how to do things.

The only thing I would not like is that it lacks a viewfinder (like on a film camera) -- all it has is the large LCD display. If you prefer a viewfinder, you may want to look at other camcorders.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good low res camcorder for family use., June 8, 2008

By 

Peter Muzyka (Madison, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: JVC GR-D850 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The JVC GR-D850 MiniDV Camcorder is our 3rd JVC camcorder. It was purchased primarily for quick capture of family events and we didn't expect the final video to be as high a quality as our previous JVC GR-DV800U which cost almost 3 times as much. So, when we powered up the camcorder and took our first video we weren't too disappointed. That being said, this camcorder is small enough to tote around just about anywhere and comes in handy when hiking in the woods or around family gatherings. The final video produced isn't too bad although the color balance is just OK.

For the price this is a good buy.