Customer Reviews

JVC GZ-MG750 80 GB HDD Camcorder

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderful compact camcorder for filming family and sporting events. I prevously had a Sony handcam which uses DV tapes, but it finally broke down after 10+ years. This JVC camcorder is about 1/4 the size and weight of my previous one, so it's handy to put into my purse. I also looked at the new Sony handycams, but I was not impressed by their image stabilization. The JVC camcorders were much better. The controls are pretty easy to operate. I read the manual front to back, but I was able to show my husband how to use the basic controls in 5 minutes. He probably could have figured it out himself, since it's fairly intuitive. I like how the camcorder turns on automatically when you open the screen. We tape our daughter's gymnastic competitions, so the 45X zoom is fantastic since the equipment is usually far from the spectators. The zoom button is a little hard to operate with your right finger since it's also holding the camcorder, but you can also zoom using the screen. The picture quality is fine, if you want better, you might want to get the HD version. For the price, it's definitely a good buy.

The only disappointment for me is that JVC camcorders output in their proprietary .MOD format, which is not readable on my old MAC 10.4x Tiger OS. I found a s/w program that supposedly converts various formats that the MAC can read, but the output resolution was awful. I ended up using the JVC supplied Pixela s/w to create a DVD that I can play on the TV. The Pixela s/w is OK, and you have to do some reading in order to figure out what you want to do, but it does the job. I wish I can use iMovie on the MAC since it has more features and is easier to use.

This is a very nice camera. It was easy to begin using and very logical in it's design. As others have mentioned, you should use a tripod when using a higher zoom. The image stabilization works well at wider fields. I like the tilting video door to be able to see what I am filming when the camera is not at eye level. I have wished for the ability to open the viewing door past 90 degrees, however.

What I appreciate most is the ability to take still pictures even while taking a video. This allowed me to capture a wonderful still picture at my daughter's graduation in the middle of filming her entire walk. It takes better still pictures than my older Cannon digital camera (and has a higher zoom).

The biggest surprise is that every time I hit stop it ends the video file, even if the camera remains in the "on" mode. The next time I hit start, even if it is 30 seconds later, it is a different file. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but the first time I used the camera I took about 30 short shots and I ended up with 30 different very short clips that I had to merge later. This was not made as clear in the instruction as I would have liked.

The battery life with the standard battery has worked ok for me so far. I was able to film an hour-long concert with no problem. However, it seems to be critical to charge the battery immediately before using the camera, or the charge seems to fade faster. Charging it on one night and using it the next night yielded an unhappy surprise for me (and an incomplete video of a recital).

I had this camcorder for a while, and I have to say it is the best standard definition camcorder you will find. And with 80 GB of space, you can record forever without worrying about space. I would have given this five stars, but the seller was not specific at all about whether or not this camera was HD. Instead, they put down HDD, which really means hard disk drive. Now, it may have been my fault for not researching hard enough on it, but I was looking for an hd camcorder in the first place. And yes, I was fooled by this. All and all, a very good camera for the average person who doesn't care about quality.

This is an awesome little camcorder. The zoom is one of the best I've ever seen. We bought this before vacation and it was so nice to be able to carry a small camera with me instead of lugging my old video camera around. I got to where I had to decide if I really wanted videos bad enough to carry it with me. But with this little camera, it is just so easy.
I went ahead and bought another bigger battery. I'm glad I did. The battery that comes with the camera does not last very long. If I were going to knock this camera at all, it would be for the crumby battery that comes with it. I can see that that is how they keep the cost down. Because, the bigger battery was NOT cheap. I paid about $85 for it--something for anyone to consider before buying this camera.
All in all, I am still very happy I bought the JVC. I recommend it!

This camcorder seems to work great and has all the features I need. The only thing I would have liked is HD. I mistook the HD on the side of the camera for High Def. when it means hard drive. But I like the storage space and I do not have HD anyway on my TV. The brightness is good in lower light which I needed as well.

After about 20 minutes of recording video maybe not even that much I am loosing bars on the battery meter..Battery is not as good as advertised...

I love this camcorder! It is very small - compared to the JVC Mini DV Camcorder that I've used for the last 10 years. I wanted JVC again since my old camcorder still works well, but was looking to downsize and get away from the tapes. The hard drive on this cam. stores over 19 hours of video - which is more than sufficient, and allows for plenty of time to download before you need to clear the memory. I charged it immediately out of the box and about 2 hours later was recording my kids in the yard. The next day, I downloaded the software and burned a DVD which plays on my DVD player (not just the computer!)

The battery life is somewhat short - about 40 minutes of actual recording time, however I usually purchase an extra battery for backup (so one can be charging while the others in use or to take both out an a long adventure) and they do have a couple of extended life batteries available. Not to mention the great price Amazon had on the camcorder! MUCH less than the MSRP :) I had been looking at the JVC flash drive models, but when I figured in the cost of purchasing 2 16GB SD cards - this model came out to be more cost effective and whith more recording time.

I like the camera for the fact that I can upload videos I record with ease. What I don't like about it is that the battery life is too short. I would buy extra batteries but they are too expensive.

Battery life is longer than advertised. Lens cover can only be opened/closed manually....should be automatic when you turn camera on/off. Good deal for the price. Easy to operate.

So far I like the camera. Very simple to operate, and serves its purpose. I wish the lense cover was automatic, but not a big deal. I do not care for the software that comes with the camera, at all. But with that in mind I did not buy the camera for the software. I found the best way to, edit, manage or upload things to the internet is with a seperate video editing software that is realativly inexpensive. I use Cyber Director, (I think that is what it is called) and it works much better for editing and uploading videos.