Monday, June 26, 2006

Equipment Review JVC GZ-MG20 Everio Videocamera

I wanted to put videos on my blog (arent they good! haha) and was looking for a video camera. I considered all the lower end DV cameras.. but my experiecnes with MiniDV and firewire are NOT GOOD. First its 1x transfer to PC... how can that be in this day and age!!. Second, Firewire carries power as well as data so i think its the reason that 2 DV cameras have had their firewire ports fried before. Third... tapes are BAD they hold only 90 mins at best and they arr irritating to carry around and stuff... reload, blah blah...

I also strongly considered the kind of camera that records to SD cards. I was THIS CLOSE to getting one before i found an offer on yahoo auctions for a mint condition, 4 month warranty left Everio. Im glad I got it!

Good points:
hard disk based NO MORE TAPES!!.
USB2 transfer (just like at thumbdrive).
25 hours of recording at economy size.
SMALL physical size.
Video is immediately viewable on transfer.
No FF or REW. Instant playback.
MPEG-2 DVD quality (plenty for home videos or web).

no tapes for me again EVER (i need to say this again!!) this baby suits my needs exactly.


Bad points:
short (1 hour) batt life.
Image quality (if you REALLY look VERY closely) slightly less than comparably priced Mini DV cams.


But still... the good FAR ...and i mean FAR outweighs bad... its not even close. If you need a videocam that you will USE (many ppl get a cam and stuff it at home cos its so incovenient) this kind is the way to go.

For a new home user, I'd go with this or one of the SD card cameras. DV tapes are so bad! Unless u need that last drop of qualtiy for pro video, get one of these new generation cams. Timeless moments of video you take is pricless. Video you miss because your cumbersome camera is at home is missed forever!