JVC Everio GZ-MG505 3-CCD 5MP 30GB Hard Disc Drive Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 7.4 x 7.3 inches ; 15.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000FF9POC
• Item model number: MG505US
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,431 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Camcorders > Hard Disk Drive

• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

From the Manufacturer The new JVC Everio G Series GZ-MG505, like all Everio G Series camcorders, eliminates the need to carry tapes, discs or any media at all, yet can record up to seven hours of DVD movie-quality video or more than 10 hours at DVD camcorder-quality. To put this storage capacity in context, it would take 22 single sided DVD camcorder discs (8 cm/20-minute discs) to hold just seven hours of video at camcorder quality. In Eco mode, over 37 hours worth of video can be shot without any need to eject or reload recording media.

The GZ-MG505 sits at the top of the Everio G Series line because of its superior image quality, made possible by a 3-CCD imaging device that uses pixel-shift technology to deliver 5-megapixel quality. In addition to native full resolution 16:9 (1173 x 660 x3 effective pixels) and 4:3 DVD movie quality video with superior color rendition, this high-performance image sensor enables shooting of high-resolution JPEG photos of up to 2560 x 1920 pixels. And best of all, the hard disk’s high capacity means that nearly 10,000 photos can be shot without a second thought, with plenty of room left for hours of video, even at the highest quality settings. To take this many snapshots would require 416 rolls of 24-exposure film on a film camera, making the GZ-MG505 the ideal camcorder for vacations where travelling light is the priority.

Despite the enormous storage capacity, the GZ-MG505 weighs-in at barely more than a pound (510 grams) including the battery and lens cap. It’s small enough to easily take anywhere. Its classic camcorder-style design is topped off by a 2.7-inch widescreen 16:9 LCD that accurately displays native 16:9 videos while they are being shot, as well as during playback. A microphone input and accessory shoe provide flexibility to capture sound and attach lighting. And with multiple interfaces, high speed 12x USB 2.0 data transfer, and supplied software (Macintosh and Windows), it’s easy to view and share all those wonderful memories.

3-CCD/5-Mega Class Performance

The Everio GZ-MG505 creates sharp and vivid images by dedicating a 1.33 (1.23 effective) megapixel CCD to each color -- red, green, and blue. JVC’s advanced prism optics and filterless 3-CCD pixel shift technology quadruple the pixel count to record 5 megapixel-class stills. Simply put, the pixel shift technique, used also in JVC professional cameras, captures double the 1,228,800 pixel information in both the horizontal and vertical directions, creating a real full color image pixel count multiplied by four for stills. (In photo mode, the Everio GZ-MG505 uses 1280 x 960 effective pixels for each RGB color.) The broader dynamic range delivers videos with bright realistic colors and photo-quality digital stills up to 2560 x 1920 pixels for beautiful A4 prints.

Other Image-Enhancing Features

To fully capitalize on the camera’s inherent picture performance, JVC’s Megabrid Imaging Engine separately processes video and still signals, providing optimal processing for each. Megabrid technology assures high sensitivity and a high signal-to-noise ratio for moving pictures, and clear, high resolution progressive still images.

Also present is JVC’s 3D NR (3-Dimension Noise Reduction). Conventional 3D noise reduction offers limited accuracy since to compensate for noise it compares field A and field B that make up a frame with different sets of odd and even scanning lines. JVC’s 3D NR technology compares field A to field A, and field B to field B across two frames so that the scanning lines are identical and noise can be reduced more accurately. As a result, the signal-to-noise ratio is improved by 2 dB and noise reduced by about 30 percent. Flicker is eliminated and color reproduction is improved, enhancing overall picture quality.

The Everio GZ-MG505 also features a high resolution 10x optical zoom (8x for stills) JVC lens, with one of the widest 16:9 angles available for video -- 35mm equivalent to 41.2mm (43mm for 4:3 stills). To achieve high-resolution images, the zoom lens is a seven group, 10 element system developed originally by JVC. Chromatic aberration is decreased by using low dispersion glass lens materials. A combination of ultra-high-density and miniaturization was achieved with three aspheric elements. In addition, highly accurate 3CCD registration and multi-angle glass fixation technology developed by Fujinon for broadcast cameras are also used.

MPEG-2 Video Recording for DVD-Movie Quality Footage

JVC is a leader in MPEG-2 encoding technology for both professional and consumer camcorder applications. The Everio G Series GZ-MG505 offers seven hours storage at 9 Mbps, which is close to the maximum bit rate for DVD movie quality recording, or 10.5 hours at 6 Mbps, comparable to DVD camcorder recordings. Either way, the high quality MPEG-2 recordings are in the same format used in DVD so there will be no quality loss when burning them to DVD, and no time- and quality-wasting conversion. Two more modes are available for even more recording time, offering sufficient quality for normal TV-connected viewing or for uploading to the Internet.

Easy Access to Recordings
The benefits of recording video to a hard disk are the same benefits that have made hard disk-based audio players so popular -- random access to quickly locate desired material, the ability to effortlessly delete unwanted material, and easily rearrange the playback sequence. What’s more, there’s no danger of mistakenly recording over something you want to keep.

A new feature for this year’s Everio G Series is Event Selection. In addition to accessing video clips by thumbnail image or date, with Event Selection the user can pre-assign while shooting, or later assign, a convenient topical category with icon. Simply calling up the event type, like "Birthday," brings up all events associated with it. Event categories can also help make playlists for "in camera" video programs or for burning to DVD. And with remote control operation, it is possible to connect the Everio G camcorder to a TV and operate it from a distance, just like a DVD deck.

Hard Disk Protection and Stability
A challenge in designing and building a hard disk camcorder is protecting the disk from shocks and vibrations. One way this is done in the Everio G camcorders is through a unique floating suspension system that effectively dampens vibrations through advanced polymer shock absorbers. Another security measure familiar to notebook PC users is its gravity force sensor system that automatically senses sudden acceleration such as in a free fall situation, and turns off the power to defend the hard disk so that a head crash can be avoided even when the unit is dropped.

With the JVC CU-VD10 Share Station

Make Full-length DVDs Easily, With or Without a Computer
The Everio GZ-MG505 offers built-in DVD burner control allowing it to be directly connected to an optional JVC DVD burner, the CU-VD10 Share Station. The camcorder connects to the burner via a USB cable and the burner is easily controlled by the camcorder. The Everio converts its .mod video files to DVD Video format so the Share Station can create long playing full size 12cm DVD-R discs that play on most DVD players.

Advanced Interfaces for PCs and Printing
For use with Windows, the GZ-MG505 comes with CyberLink’s PowerProducer 3 NE for authoring DVDs, PowerDirector Express NE for editing, and PowerDVD 5 NE for playback. For Macintosh users, JVC provides PIXELA’s Capty MPEG Edit EX for simple editing and file conversion to popular editing formats, and Mono DVD for easy DVD authoring. An available option is Capty DVD/VCD 2 for enhanced function DVD authoring. For quick downloading to a PC, simply connect the camera via its USB 2.0 interface. All transfer is digital-to-digital so there is no quality lost in the process. The accelerated transfer speed for this year’s Everio G Series, including the GZ-MG505, is 12-times real-time speed, so a top-quality Ultra mode 60-minute (4GB) video clip can be transferred in about five minutes. And since the camera supports PictBridge, it can be connected by its USB terminal to a compatible printer for easy printing of stills directly from the camera. This model also has an SD memory card slot for direct transfer of digital still image data. DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) support allows the menus on the camera screen to be used to conveniently select images and quantity before giving removable media to a printing service. The JPEG images themselves conform to DCF, PIM 3 and Exif 2.2 for optimized print quality.

More GZ-MG505 Features

• Advanced photo functions including Auto Exposure Bracketing, enhanced Aperture Priority modes, Portrait mode and playback histogram display
• Hybrid digital image stabilization
• Program AE with special effects
• User-friendly GUI for easy operation and setting
• Thumbnail picture for easy and quick viewing
• Multi-language on-screen menu
• Data battery
• Protective rubber lens hood
• Mic terminal (plug-in power)
• INDEX/DATA button on LCD for one-touch confirmation of remaining battery time (even when off) and hard disk free space
• Stick control on LCD for easy operation and one- touch manual focus
• Auto flash
• Power-linked operation
• Remote control provided

Smart Advantages of a Hard Disk Camcorder

Long-time recording to shoot hours of video on the large capacity built-in hard drive. Now you can record entire events such as vacations, sporting events and more, without worry.

No risk of erasing previous recordings by mistake. You won't ever record over those once-in-a-lifetime events. Recording starts automatically from the blank space on the disk.

No cost for or need to buy additional recording media. No tape or disc is required The Everio G Series provides an all-in-one solution, ensuring no interruption during long time recordings, so you won't miss a moment. No media to lose!

Easy deletion of unwanted scenes. So you don't have to worry about getting it right the first time, safely select and erase entire scenes in an instant to free up disk space. Use your camcorder with a freedom never before possible!

Direct access to scenes you want. No need to Fast Forward or Rewind. Just click on the thumbnail image and watch your memories come to life. Makes sifting through hours and hours of accumulated footage a breeze.

Simple editing is made possible inside the camera. Fast, quick downloading to your computer via USB 2.0. Drag and drop editing software provided for Windows and Macintosh computers.

Product Description

Just keep on shooting! Nothing to load, nothing to eject, nothing to finalize. Everio is designed to eliminate your worries. Just keep on shooting, because the built-in large capacity hard drive easily stores hours and hours of your video inside a lightweight compact camcorder. Plus shoot thousands of digital still images. So whether you're at home or on the go, you'll always be ready to record or playback your memories.<p> The JVC GZ-MG505 3CCD-5Mega HDD camcorder is equipped with a 30GB hard disk drive, advanced photo features, microphone input, DVD creation via USB connection (without a PC), and full wide 16:9 recording with 2.7-inch widescreen LCD.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great video quality even in low light, October 26, 2006

By	Peter T. "peter" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

The 3CCD of MG505 does its work. The color is great and video quality is terrific even in low light. The size of camcorder is very handy and compact. I strongly recommend for the additional battery.

I believe that the hard disc camcorder will be the standard soon. No more hassle with DV tape or small CD-R or CD-RW. Each shot of video is recorded into one file and it is ready to be played with your computer.

Tip : The video format actually is already MPEG2 (DVD). But the file extension from your JVC is *.MOD. Just simeply rename it to *.MPG, then it will become universal format compatible with any player programs such as Windows Media Player, Power DVD, etc. No need to convert the file format. You just rename the file extension and that's it.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great camera..., September 19, 2006

By	P. Vanderhorst "dogved" (Chamblee, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've had the camera for almost a week and love everything about it except the 50min battery that JVC supplies. Luckily you can go to walmart and buy another battery for $16 bn-vf707u (yes that's right and OEM JVC battery only $16). I also purchased a bn-vf714u, from another store for a little more. Any I'd stay away from the non-brand batteries since JVC will void your warranty if a problem comes up related to a power issue.

The photo and video quality are top notch the 5meg pixel still images are really sharp. I now leave my digital cam at home. The compact size of the camera is really nice too, although it doesn't have a view finder i personally wouldn't use it even if it did (never have on other camcorders or digi cams) the LCD does it's job very well. The number 1 let down for me about this camcorder is that it can't be used as a webcam. I was hoping to put the camera to use regularly.

Overall I can't complain about anything really, webcam feature would of been nice but no HD cam in JVC or Sony's class offer that support yet. 50min supplied battery life, bad but Walmart selling the battery for $16 made up for it =) Video quality is really good but the supplied free software is lacking. Thats why it's free i guess.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good buy, March 21, 2007

By	QQ Yue "QQ" (LA, California) - See all my reviews

I bought this camcorder from Fry's for $1080*** including tax as a new year gift for my parents. I tried it right after I received the package and I just love it. Everything is great except the battery included in the package can last only 30 min which is too short for a camcorder with 30G memory. So I bought a data battery from JVC ($126), and then the camcorder became perfect. I made the choice between Sony SR100 and JVC505. Sony has a better lense (Carl Zeiss) I have to say, but JVC has 3CCD(!!!) and a much higher resolution.I prefer the cool silver color of SR100 to the black 505, but 100 is too big, even longer than your palm. Besides, if you have large fingers as my father's, you'll not like the touch-screen from Sony although it is fancy (or you can borrow the pen from your NDS). Other features: sound effect is good, LCD is bright and adjustable, low light recording not a problem if you understand the instruction book, buttons are easy to use, 30 G is wonderful for travelling without a laptop on you hand, it is very good to watch what you record on a wide-screen TV. By the way, sony just released their new HD camcorder to beat this 505, but, as sony always is and I believe will be forever, it is more expensive than it should be...
Hope this is useful for you. Good luck searching.