JVC Everio GZ-MC500 review

Average user rating

6.0

good

Average user rating from 3 users

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JVC Everio GZ-MC500 user reviews

August 30, 2006

Posted by:

"Excellent all in one in a small package"

What I like:

Size, ease of use, picture quality

What I don't like:

Battery life

Review:

A small camera which takes video in MPEG-2 (much better quality than my previous Sanyo Xacti C5, which records in MPEG-4 and more than comparable with my old Samsung DV camcorder). I record video to the microdrive and stills separately to the SD card. The stills picture quality is very good, although it will never be as good as a dedicated digital camera. Small and compact, easy to use, although it takes a while to get used to the size and viewfinder being at the back. Microdrive records approx. 1 hour of footage at highest quality and SD card approx. 500 stills at highest resolution. Chose microdrive over hard drive to ensure footage is transferred to other media (VHS/DVD or computer) on a regular basis so as not to loose any data if camera is lost or damaged. Only problem is the battery life. I took the camera out recently and the battery ran out after 1.5 hours of on/off use, which only recorded 6-7 minutes of footage and 10 stills. I have just left it recording constantly (no zooming or such like) and managed to get 35-40 minutes of battery life. So I suggest investing in a couple of replacement batteries (not JVC as they are £55 each) and a separate charger. Overall I am very glad that I bought this camcorder as it does exactly what I need for family events and holidays.