Performance
The JVC Everio GZ-MG77EK takes forever to perform some operations. Though autofocus and exposure were generally accurate, both moved at a snail's pace. Automatic exposure was particularly laggy, often taking several seconds to adjust when panning from a light subject to a darker one. Manual focus was usable, though the joystick is a poor control for fine adjustments.
The zoom rocker is very sensitive, but it was easy to perform both fast and fine zooms once we got used to it. Optical image stabilisation functioned well enough but didn't completely eliminate camera shake. At low zoom levels, it evened out typical hand movements. At higher levels, camera shake was present, but the image stabilisation made the motions smoother.
The 69mm (2.7-inch), 16:9 wide-screen LCD monitor is reasonably sharp, and it displays fairly accurate colour. It's small and video shot in 4:3 aspect ratio is shrunk further by the screen. Unfortunately, the GZ-MG77EK has no viewfinder so the LCD is the only option for framing and reviewing shots.
Because the GZ-MG77EK lacks a microphone jack, users are stuck with the camcorder's middling stereo microphone. It does a decent job of picking up sound, but offers little in the way of separating the channels. There's a wind-cut feature, but no audio zoom function.
The GZ-MG77EK's battery lasts about 1.5 hours, a great improvement over the 40- to 50-minute battery life of its predecessor, the GZ-MG70. Still, you'll want to pack a couple of extended batteries if you plan to fill the entire 37 hours of recording space between charges. Even the 7 hours of high-quality video requires the camera to take a few breaks to recharge.
Image quality
Much to our disappointment, the JVC Everio GZ-MG77EK's video quality is quite poor, and JVC hasn't addressed the many deficiencies that plagued last year's GZ-MG70. We can't even attribute its image problems to its use of MPEG-2 encoding -- DVD camcorders such as the Sony Handycam DCR-DVD505E use MPEG-2 as well but produce much better images.
Even with the camera set to best quality, our test footage suffered from very noticeable problems, such as compression artefacts, colour fringing and noise. The variety of artefacts included shimmering pixels near straight edges and stair-step jaggies on curves. The video also lacked detail compared to MiniDV footage.
The GZ-MG77EK's video quality is at least better than that of lower-end models such as the GZ-MG36EK, thanks to its larger CCD (1/3.9 inch vs. 1/6 inch). It's also a better performer in the dark, where graininess doesn't increase much until lighting gets very low. The colour balance and intensity are significantly more accurate.
Aspect-ratio distortion is a big problem on the GZ-MG77EK. If you're using software other than the bundled applications, you'll need to use your video-editing software to adjust the aspect ratio so that wide-screen footage appears correctly. Adobe Premiere Elements, Windows Media Player and Nero Showtime didn't recognise the wide-screen aspect ratio of footage that we shot in 16:9 mode. Video playback was squashed and inaccurate until we manually adjusted the aspect ratio.
The JVC Everio GZ-MG77EK's stills are decent, suitable for small snapshot prints if you don't need to crop or zoom. Colour came out well, but our indoor shots were blurry, and the flash's red-eye reduction was completely ineffective.
Edited by Will Greenwald
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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User reviews3
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Andy Ogden 8 February 2007
Good: Size, quietness of recordings and video and still quality.
Bad: Standard battery life 50 mins
Comment: Firstly I've had many tape camcorders and this is a breath fresh air - all recordings indexed. How can Cnet give the GZ57 6.4 and this 5?? After reading all reviews I got this over the Sony 96 and Sony 505DVD.
Low light is ok and in manual better, daylight is great and stills at 6x4 print are fine.
£383 at Amazon I think it's a bargain, although a newer version's on its way.
Andrew Kerr 7 September 2006
Good: No media, good quality snaps and video if left on ultra-high mode. Software very intuitive
Bad: Quality not quite up to Mini DV standards
Comment: I bought this camera and took it to Spain with me for a fortnight. It's fantastically easy to use and in my opinion perfect for a family to record memories. No longer do you have to worry about tapes or discs, and although the quality is not quite on a par with Mini DV, it compares very favourably to most DVD camcorders. 7 and a quarter hours in ultra fine mode is plenty for any holiday, then you just plug it in to the computer and drag'n'drop to the desktop. I had over 3 hours of footage and it took a little over 13 minutes. Superb! The software supplied allows you to either burn straight to disc, or use the editing software also supplied. I had never edited video footage before, and being a man, never bothered reading the instructions and tried to figure it out for myself. Yes, I made a couple of mistakes, but in general I found it all very instinctive and pleasing. Within 3 hours I had produced my very own (and 1st!) DVD with menus and titles similar to that of a DVD movie you could buy. Bought mine for £480.00 and it's an absolute bargain and pleasure to use.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Ron Brierly 30 August 2006
Good: Not much
Bad: Poor video imaging and lack of response from automatic processes
Comment: I was attracted by the HD storage but soon lost interest after noting the slow response to changing conditions. The loss of image quality in transition to an editing suite was frankly appalling. Poor purchasing judgement on my part, I should have paid more attention to reviews.
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