JVC Everio GZ-MC500 user reviews
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User reviews3
Morten Lindstrom 12 November 2006
Good: Size, storage, video quality
Bad: Really BAD picture quality, battery
Comment: I bought it partly because of the size, but also because of the promised 5-megapixel still-picture resolution. This is just a BIG lie! The true picture size is about 1-megapixel! So pictures larger than stamp-size are a problem.
As a camcorder it's perfect for use on "normal" screens, but for combined use as a still-picture cam look elsewhere.
Russell Couch 30 August 2006
Good: Size, ease of use, picture quality
Bad: Battery life
Comment: 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.
Karen Smith 9 July 2006
Good: Tiny machine, all on a hard drive
Bad: Found the computer software very difficult to operate, it took a year to burn my first DVD and that was only after I called in a computer expert to help me
Comment: You need to be very comfortable with computers to buy this machine. It's all very well taking the video but its very frustrating not being able to handle the software.
I don't think the still picture quality is very good. It's also frustrating that the battery time only lasts for 40mins and the machine gets very hot