JVC Everio Camcorder

We’ve all heard of JVC right? I bet even if you ask your folks at home they’ll tell you they’ve seen the name somewhere. All you guys who grew up in the Dubai/Bahrain or any other country in the Middle East (where most Indians go) will have heard of JVC. The point here is that this company has been around for at least 2 decades (that we know of), so you’d think they’d have enough time to properly develop they’re technology right? I don’t think so!

JVC’s GZ-MG21E, Everio camera is exactly the kind of product I’m referring to. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of great things about the camera, like its 20GB HDD for storage instead of the old fashioned tapes, but may be it could have been better.

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Design / Interface
Pretty much all camcorders have a similar design. I mean how different could they be right? Lens, Night Light, Mic, Strap, Pull out (swivel) screen, battery pack and zoom lever, all tossed in to a cylindrical mold. Even though the JVCs Everio has, typically your average design, I have to admit, it is quite compact and light weight as camcorders go. It fits right in the palm of your hand.

It seems that they’ve found just the right areas to place the right buttons. And unlike a few other models out there, there are fewer buttons to scramble your brain with. The entire user interface is simplified so much so that your average camera user who doesn’t know a lens cap from a lie detector, could figure out the basics quite easily enough.

The clear 2-inch LCD swivel screen is accompanied by a tiny joystick to scroll through the menus or the files. I do think they could have made the option (Power, Play Mode, Camera Mode) switch a little smother though. The transition between the three tends to be a bit of a pain in the… (If you’ll excuse the French) thumb.

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Now the best part is, no tapes, CDs, DVDs of any shape or kind are required for storage. The JVC Everio has a hard drive capable of storing 20GB worth of data. So it’s a simple plug and play device. Cables are provided for both AV and USB. Though still images are easy enough to view as they’re stored in JPEG format, but videos, however, are stored .MOD files (a form of MPEG2 file format).

You can use the software provided to convert your files and burn a DVD and if your printer supports PictBridge, simply connect the cam directly and print your images.

JVC has also included an additional SD card slot at the bottom of the cam, just in case you run out of memory (Yeah, like that’ll happen often with 20GB of space to spare). While it may seem unnecessary, it would come in handy depending on the circumstance.

Features / Usage
During the day you’re videos are crisp and clear and the microphone is capable of 360 degree sound pick up. You know how some camcorders don’t pick up the background sound too clearly, doesn’t happen with the JVC Everio.

In ‘Auto’ mode the camera is perfect for your regular shooting and Image capturing. So my advice is, leave it there. Let’s talk about the Night mode setting for a minute, because that’s how long it’ll take. To sum it up, it ain’t good! My mobile phone takes clearer pictures in night mode. Not what I expected from a sophisticated camera like this. There is a drastic drop in the frame rate and it feels like the whole room is moving in slow motion except you.

Speaking of motion, filming in night mode while traveling or of moving objects is the absolute worst. Lights seem to merge and all you can see are psychedelic images. Stills in night mode are no different than when in normal mode with the camera light on. Though the night mode setting does lighten up a few dark places, keeping the camera steady enough for it to focus on them, is not something a person with little patience can stand. However when in motion and with normal street lighting the videos are quite nicely defined in normal mode.

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The battery can run for 4.5 hours when using ultra fine mode and up to 9 hours with normal. The good thing is it takes just about an hours or so to fully charge.

I wouldn’t recommend using the still camera too much. It’s not easy if you’re dealing with fidgety people or you don’t have a steady hand. One slight move and the pictures are ruined with a blur. (They should include the stand with this).

There are plenty of settings to play around with for all you serious photographers out there, like Sepia settings or Monotone. Even various settings for different lighting conditions eg. For floodlighting, snow, florescent lighting etc. Most important are the adjustments that could be made for viewing, the 16:9 aspect ratio which is best suited for viewing on a wide screen display and 4:3 for your standard displays.

The 32x Optical Hyper zoom is smooth when in normal but again too slow in night mode. You do need a steady hand to focus while zooming in or out but which camera doesn’t have that problem.

Conclusion
The bottom line – While your night mode setting is, well literally a shot in the dark, its still a great camcorder for your normal use. With its light weight and compact size it’s easy to carry around. The user friendly interface is great and simple enough for even first time users to figure out. Even the sound and video quality is great when connected to the TV. But I like the fact that I don’t need to carry spare tapes with me when I go on a trip. The 20GB hard disk is excellent and the fact that this JVC model allows for an external SD card, makes it even more attractive.

I’m not so sure it’s worth the street price of Rs. 31,000, but it is a great little camcorder, although the stills are not so great. So you might want to consider that.