JVC Reviews

JVC GR-AX841 VHS-C Camcorder We use this unit to supply warehouse security systems to the industrial market. No wonder it is out of stock at Amazon (May2000). The camcorder arrived and was setup in about 10 minutes. It has performed without a 'hitch' for several months. The AV output is routed to an Intel PC Camera ProPack webcam. Intel provides with this product a low cost.... time lapse and motion detection software CD utility. Both the JVC and Intel parts work well together. I suggest buyers focus on Windows98 and 64MB RAM on their PC to avoid USB lockups on their PC. We are well pleased and the systems work daily with only a regular environmmental housing we made to protect them from dust and cold. JVC makes a fine product which we will buy again due to its value and reliability. Thank-you!

When I decided to buy a camcorder I spent a good month researching and shopping around. This product caught my eye in a display window in a popular department store here in Australia, and was reasonably cheap, so I assumed that it wasn't a great product. Even so I checked it out, and discovered that it had everything that even some of the most expensive camcorders have, including digital zoom and numerous special effects. It was light weight and easy to use, and I don't regret buying it for a minute. Once out of the box, I had a quick look through the manual and had the camcorder figured out in a matter of minutes. The picture quality is brilliant, and I would have to say that this JVC product was the best investment I have made in a long time. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to buy an easy to use, no fuss camcorder, and being JVC you know it's a brand you can trust.

this is the easiest camcorder I've every used. I'm a real clutz when it comes to electronics, but even I can use this one with ease. It's great!

My first cam, for home video only.

pic and sound are good, with adapter you can play tape on any VCRs. pretty light in my view, i can easily operate with one hand, battery life is 1.5 hour, compatible batteries can provide better number.

only has black & white viewfinder, no LCD, but for this low price, i can live with it.

overall, good cam for first time or entry level user who just want to record some family moments and share it, for that purpose this is a good choice.

When I first bought this camcorder in December 2000, it seemed to work pretty well. But after 4 months, the zoom button broke. Then for no apperent reason the whole camcorder completley stopped working, so I had to send it to the JVC mechanics to get it fixed. When it was returned (after spending a lot of money to get it fixed), it worked well, or so I thought. Only 2 months after having it returned, the zoom button broke again, and the viewfinder turned green.
Not wanting to have to send it back again, I decided to live with it, but a year and a half later, the built-in lense got stiff and the view-finder turned solid white, not allowing me to even look through. About a month after that, things got worse-- the button which you press to record FELL OFF, the playback stopped working, and the viewfinder turned BLACK, rendering the camcorder useless. Shortly after it broke (for the second time), I bought a different camcorder (the Panasonic PV-L452 Palmcorder Camcorder) and so far, it is working much better.
If you are taking into consideration what kind of camcorder is best for you, don't get this one, EVEN if you like VHS. I was also disappointed by the fact that this camcorder doesn't have an LCD moniter (a screen that folds out), that it doesn't have a built-in light or nightvision, and that the battery doesn't last long. Also, this camcorder only has a 90 DAY warrenty. If I were you I wouldn't spend over 200$ to see this cheaply-made camcorder fall apart (which happened to me).

The picture quality is unacceptable, the VHSC format is a pain, it goes through batteries too fast, and it's shoddily built. Take advice from a guy who works with this kind of stuff all day. I bought this thinking it might be a good low-budget camera for home movies, but it's really worthless. After a month of terrible looking home movies, mine stopped working for no apparent reason. When I tried to call JVC, their customer service line disgusted me so much that I gave up, threw it out, and bought a slightly more expensive Sony model. I'm completely pleased with the Sony, and I highly recommend their camcorders for anyone. Just make sure to get the Digital8 format, it's really the best out there.

My buddy took some video with this camera and it looks really good.. its small affordable and gets the job done..

Fabulous camera, quite technical to use, but the automatic setting works flawlessly. One drawback is the short lifespan of the battery, but it does recharge quickly and you can use the ac cord. Another bonus is the attachment to take old negatives and scan them to digital images.

Takes 3.3 pixel. The one thing I like about this digi cam, the ordinary 35mm film can be reproduce to digital quality using the included software and accessories that came with this camera
And I got it for under $500!! no kidding..

Perfect size and quality for a budget!

The GCQX5 has nine different qualities of pictures that can be taken. It accepts up to 64MB SmartMedia cards (which is space enough!). Simply a great product from a great manufacturer.

Superb state of the art camera which is value priced in today's market. I had been waiting for digital camera resolution to reach the equivalent of 35 MM photography -- it has finally occurred with the advent of 3+ mega pixels. This camera has 3 advanced pixel shifting modes which generate results equivalent to 6 MEGA PIXELs. When the pictures are printed as 8" X 10" blowups on my 2400 X 1200 DPI Lexmark ($175) inkjet, they are equal to my 35MM 8" X 10"s (magnificent). Extremely easy to use, with many features such as: Collage (taking 1 photo and superimposing a 2nd photo upon it so that it appears as if the subject from pic 1 was in the location of pic 2 -- a different background), video streaming where a succession of 20 seconds of stills run together as a clip which can be emailed as motion video, red eye reduction built into the flash, USB port for direct input to a computer or printer, Video port for input to a TV, Calendar to time /date stamp if desired, Macro capability which I recently used to take pictures of pictures, etc. And the price at our local electronics store was $699!!

Just a quick clarification: an aspherical lens is a GOOD thing. The owner who complained about his camera's aspherical lens (twice, no less) is a little confused, I think.

Traditional (spherical) lenses are, as the name implies, spherical. Imagine cutting a section off of a sphere. You'd think that this lens would produce beautiful pictures, but it actually produces images with some minor flaws. I believe the flaws may be the result of different colors of light diffracting in varying degrees; I'm not sure. I DO know that lens manufacturers produce lenses with slightly aspherical designs to compensate for these flaws. Aspherical lenses are more expensive than standard lenses, and produce better images.

I believe that the reviewer who was complaining about aspherical lenses had his terms confused with digital zoom. Digital zoom is a worthless extra the marketing boys at the digital camera companies dreamed up to make their cameras sound better. But this camera doesn't have digital zoom. It has optical zoom.

I don't own this camera, but, on paper at least, it sounds like a great camera. 3+ megapixels, 2.3 x zoom, and aspherical lens all make this sound like a high-quality product.

Just trying to clear up the confusion :)

This is my 4th digital camera,and its simply the best.Before i bought this i spend many hours online reseaching it and im glad i bought it, coz it even surpass my expectation of its performance...dont be fooled by other expensive camera out there...This is a top quality,super class,professional,digital camera for years to come.I use a 128mb smartmedia and it works great all the pics are all clear.And by the way one many feature of this is the Macro that i really like,but i love all about this camera.i would never trade this camera for anything...

This was our first digital camera and we were excited to unpack it on Christmas morning, but never warmed up to this one. It has a nice feel and theoretically, a nice design, but many of the features didn't match the documentation and didn't work the way they were supposed to, until three months later, the entire system just died. Fortunately, we purchased the camera from Dillards.com, and their excellent customer service allowed us to return the camera for a full refund, but we won't replace it with another JVC. The camera has some nutty little quirks, such as a warning not to turn the camera on with the lens cap on the lens, or you'll risk serious damage to the lens mechanism. Sounds like a definite design flaw, doesn't it? JVC makes great audio equipment, but buy your camera from a manufacturer known for cameras! Good luck!

I purchased this camera exactly one year ago last week and the LCD screen went out. I called the local JVC repair and was told that it would be around 400.00 to repair(way not worth it). The pictures were decent while it lasted but I did not like the design and it was difficult to use.

I bought this camera while I was on a ship supporting "Operation Enduring Freedom", I wouldn't have anything else ever! I have never been disappointed with it ever. it can only use up to 64 Meg memory and using the lowest resolution it gives you 690 pictures to take. it comes with a 8 meg card so you can take 84 pictures.

I bought this digital camera to use for a project at school -- I needed something cheap and easy to use. I didn't want to spend more than $and after looking around on the net concluded that this one was the way to go.
I received it a few days ago and have been trying it out ever since. It took the first useable picture just an hour ago!
While this camera is cute and compact, it seems to me that it takes pictures two ways: far too dark (haven't tested it out in broad daylight as it's raining here) or far too bright. The flash bounces off objects harshly and while there is supposed to be a varibale exposure value that can be set, I found that it basically doesn't make a difference. The menu display is digital but THERE IS NO ON-BOARD PICTURE DISPLAY! I was very disappointed about this!
I will say that for $ it seems to be a good value. It comes in a family-friendly package with extremely simple directions and very few cables or wires. It runs on two AA batteries (included) and stores between 60 (in Fine mode) and 120 (in normal mode -- a bit grainy usually) pictures at once. It doesn't take any discs or cartriges, which can be a good thing or a bad one, depending on your computer-savvy or computer-sloppy nature. The shutter is generally as fast as a 35mm (sometimes there is a little delay).
Included in the package is a TWAIN program to transfer pictures from the camera to your PC and a photo-editing program (and something for making 360 degree photos). I don't know how good they are -- I'm a Photoshop girl myself -- but judging from the TWAIN interface they seem to be quite user-friendly. Also packaged with this camera is a mini-tripod (to use when in the 10-second-delayed-self-timer mode?!). Oh, and while it functions as a webcam you're supposed to use your own software (apparently packaged with Microsoft Netmeeting or something -- I'm not sure, as I have no need for this feature).
All in all, I definitely stick by my statement -- you get what you pay for. It's not a great camera, but a child could use it and that is a plus for anyone who isn't very comfortable with computers. It's about the size of one of those cool APS camperas (with the drop-in film); smaller than a normal 35mm. It comes with a case (with belt loops) and hand strap, so it's portable. Don't expect to take spectacular pictures on it, but if you play around with different lights and angles you should get the hang of it. It is easy to use and definitely is in the "cute" category. Again, be warned that you can't see your pictures before transferring them to the PC, so if there is any doubt, take multiple shots!!!

If you want an inexpensive digital camera and own a PC, this model is for you. No preview of photo until you load on your PC. Then, it's just as functional as the more expensive models. WEBCAM is TONS of fun, especially for the kids. Use with USB port (included), CD-ROM (included), Windows 98/98SE/Me/2000. Worked on Compaq Presario laptop. Self-timer.