JVC Reviews

The GR-DX300U is the ideal size for outdoor enthusiasts. The camera is small, light and fits perfectly in a backpack or pocket. Despite its size, the 3 inch LCD screen is beautiful, but the viewfinder is easier to use in bright, sunny conditions (unfortunately the viewfinder is B/W). Battery life is dismal and you will need to purchase a backup battery (1 hour at best). Digital still pictures are fair and still do not seem to be as clear or vibrant as those taken by an actual digital camera (I rarely use the camera for stills). However, video quality is excellent and footage is easily transferred to your computer through the fire-wire port (using Windows ME and IE-1339 card and cable). With the correct software, DVD editing and creation is a blast! I have also used the JVC GR-DVM76U and am very pleased with JVC's quality and performance.

I have 10 year old Panasonic VHS type video camera without lcd screen, it's work nice and heavy duty use, i am also happy panasonic help me to tracy back a lot of good memory in video. unlikely, technology come to new genaration for minDv. my existing panasonic become an obsolete machine, i even hard to get vhs tape.

for minDv, at first, i was consider for panasonic NV-GS5EN. in fact, i almost going to swap my credit card pay for this camera as i test infront of the video camera shop. the video quality is very clear and nice.

However, for the final minute i change my mind and switch to JVC dx300 due to sales man advice. he told me the most popular item is dx300 due to cheap price and more feature and high quality video, and he sold almost 25 units per months (would you believe what he said??).

Now, i cannot believe my eye, the 540 lina of resolution is a major strength for this machine. 3" lcd and one touch to record the video to memory card. This is the true minDV i am looking for. Another point for this product is small size, very compact, slim, easy to handle, the grid make me so comfortable.
the prices almost excellent compare to sony and canon for same feature

my husband gave a lot of credit for this video cameres. for still image, i would like to say moderate not so bad and not so good. anyway this is not a main function for me, for still image is only extra function for me.(as i have canon digital camera for 4 mega pixel).

finally, i am sure in future this video camera will help me to creature more fun for my family, perhaps later 10 years and i will looking for DVD recorder. this is totally best buy and not regret. thank you.

i do have one sony digital video camare which is only 1.5 megal pix for still camera, and the video quality very nice even sound quality also. two month later, i going to buy another video cmera for my husband due to outstation work need. intialy, i am also looking for the same brand like sony, well after i search from AMAZON web page (would like to thank for AMAZON.com for provide a treasure information for me) i decide try to shift my brand loyalty to JVC.

According to my fusband feedback, he is very happy and love this product. good quality video better than sony at least 75 percent. for still camera photo, after we develop to photo, it's very nice and clear. a lot of function to cover different situation to make the video and photo look nice.

Small and nice shape also attract me, of course the price is even more encourage us. if talking about weakness point for this product,, hmm,,,i would like to say during the darkness environment, you might hard to get a clear video, although it have a BACK ligh function, but it still cannot help much, if this product can add some light accessory to support the background it will be very very nice.

i hope those who looking for budget type video camera, i will strong suggest for pick this product, because i believe in future more and more new technoly will come out and the price will be more cheaper for better technology so wht for pay more as this product will provide all wht you want. thank you

I am an aesthetic person and i love beautiful things, so when i saw this, I bought it automatically on looks alone. Its functionality is great too but it all went wrong after 6 months. The flip out 2 inch screen started going blank when i pulled it out. Because of this it has soured my experience of the product hence only 3 stars. Has anyone ever had this problem and how, or how much did it cost you to fix it.

es una excelente camara de video, con una resolucion deslumbrante , facilidad para poder manejarla con solo una mano, y una calidad de construccion esplendida.
tambien hace soberbias tomas estaticas con su sd card .
Puede fimar con muy poca luz.....y en color!!!
La duracion de la bateria es razonable, pero mejor comprar otra aparte de la que viene con la maquina
Una segura eleccion, de las mejores mini dv del mercado.

This camcorder is an amazing piece of engeineering. The image quality is quite clear on the video as well as still pictures that are taken. The LCD screen is very clear, and the feature set is quite impressive. The menus could be a little more intuitive, but over time, you get used to their placements. Battery life tops out at around 90 minutes or so, so I do recommend getting an extended battery for it.

One more thing, according to the box, it works with Macintosh MacOS 9 only. However, it works perfectly fine on MacOS X 10.2. This camcorder is definitely worth the investment.

This camera is great while recording in bright light scence. The video quality is amazing. When I play it on my Sony WEGA TV, the color blue, green and red is so vivid. It looks just like DVD at all!! I am really satisfied about this. But unfortually when you use it in a low light condition, indeed, like previous reviews said, the color just washed out, the forcus can't stop changing. I really don't get it why a bright len like this (F1.8) has such poor performance in low light.
There are several more constraints I want to mention. The email (mpeg4) quality is really .... Even in a bright daylight outdoor condition, the email clip looks almost black and white. It's totally unacceptable. Further more, if you want to use its still image funtion. You had better buy another one. The still image quality is so poor. It looks like the camcorder just capture it from its video mode. I hope that you can understand what I said. I believe it just a function to "simulate" the digital still camera. I guess this is why its shutter speed is only available in 1/250, 1/60, 1/30. I am so glad that I didn't buy another bigger memory card, because I will never use it from now on. Turely, the still image function is really nothing but junk at all. As for battery, 700 mah is just not enough, you can use it to record around 40 mins with LCD on. Another backup battery is necessary or you can buy the car charger. It will take about half hour to fully recharge it. Or you can buy the 1400mah one but it's too expensive. (Other third party battery is much cheaper but poor quality)
Conclusion:
Best "video" camcorder I have ever seen. Execellent video quality in bright light. It is so small, campact and light weight. I can even put it in my canon powershot s30 digital camera carrying case. If you don't plan to use it as digital still camera, then go for it. Definitely worth it. Right now I am quite happy with the combination with JVC DVP7U and Canon S30. I can get great video and photo picture from them

After a week of heavy use while travelling in difficult lighting conditions and varied temps (0 - 40 deg C), indoors and out, shooting action, I still love this camera. Great pictures with honest color and no jaggies, fast reaction to subject moving in and out of shadow/sunlight, good sound, and easy to use even with gloves on. Battery life is short from monitor but recharges fast/easily with inverter in car and changes fast on fly. Spares are lightweight and fit handily in tiny belt-sized camera bag, so I still vote for convenience factor (I carried 2 spares). Downloads to hard-drive a snap. Menus easy to work and intuitive, and the blank search feature a plus to prevent broken timecode. Major improvements from previous top-of-line Sony. Purse-size will make it a constant companion, so no photo-ops missed. Highly recommended.

This camcorder has passed my test, very successfully. I give it very high marks and is well worth the price! I brought it for my Philppine vacation and...boy, did I make the best of it!

I played around with all the feautes, ended up using what suited me best, e.g., widescreen format (awesome), night owl (so,so, need to keep camera still), framed photo capturing, fade to black inbetween shots (great feature-makes your shots seem professionally filmed), and wind reduction, are along the others I learned to use and have adapted. Being able to switch from video mode to memory mode (for taking digital stills) has never been easier. It takes a few seconds to adjust but its quick enough. What I would do is capture some events in video and wish to also capture it in digital stills so that I can develop it. Just a small switch allows me to do this.

The functions/features may seem complicated at first, but like anything else, you got to "grind" the info at hand and get use to it. Hey, its the only camcorder on my trip, so I had to make the best of it! The only disadvantages it has that I found, but easily tolerated, is the image focusing. The camcorder sometimes has trouble auto-focusing when it can't seem to find its target or focal point. Its also hard to take sharp dark video and image shots when the "Night Owl" is set. Its required that you keep the camcorder still as best possible, or else it will come out blurry. As you'll find out, its hard to keep a camera very still! But in the brightest of days, especially found in the Philippines, the outcome of pictures and video, is impressively sharp. Outstanding, digital quality video!

Overall, the advantages very much outweigh the disadvantages unanimously! Its very stylish, would just place it in my pocket and ready to shoot whenever. Its got a full load of features that are very much necessary and impressive, allowing a professional outcome. Most important of all, the camcorder produces great quality digital video!! Can't say much about the digital 1.02 Mpx, but its good enough for a camcorder. The emphasis of this review is pretty much its digital quality video, it is quite impressive!

I've personlly returned to this site to make this review because I feel that I owe it to other fellow customers of how much I appreciated this camcorder. I do own one and will not return it, unless in need of repair, of course.

I just got this camcorder and I got very disappointed. It was impossible for me to use it on an outdoor party at night.

With the price, I thought this camcorder would be better than Sony DCRIP5 which my friend just bought. And the Sony camcorder works just perfect despite the fact that it's even smaller than this JVC camcorder.

Best camera i've seen for the size and for the price. A must buy if your the type that like to capture moments but would not like to carry around a big bulky machine.

I agree with other people talking about DVP3U's bad still image quality. However, camcorders are not supposed to take still images. If you buy any camcorders, you won't be satisfied with its still image. (Sony Mega pixel ones are just ok). The movie quality of this camcorder is great (audio is not as good but you can easily attach zoom mike on top).

To the main point. You can buy great super-quality camcorders like Sony VX-2000 or canon XL-1 (with 3CDD) and take hollyhood quality movies. However, if you don't carry it with you most of the time, you won't be able to make any movie at all. If you don't use it, there is no need for super-quality, mega pixel, etc. For this reason, DVP3U is one of best mini camcorders I've used. It fits in my jean pocket and I carry it with me anywhere I go. The battery life is short but you can buy two extra (2hour battery) .... That will be enough for continous use of this awesome camcorder.

Pros: Small Format - That's it
Cons: Battery life, Low light video Quality, Ergonomics, Software
Recommended: No
It took me about 1 hour (!!!) to figure out how to hold this thing. The ergonomics are unacceptable. Either one finger is on the microphone or on the autofocus. 2.The battery life is about 1/2hour, I bought an additional battery (1 1/2hours) for [$$$] which boosts the price. But this new battery sticks out of the camera... 3. The Still camera (1 Megapixel) doesn't meet current Quality standards => you will need a additional digital Camera. 4. MPEG4 format, is so low in quality, that you can barely recognize anything. 5. You can't plug in a microphone, which limits the use of this camera. 6. Software that came with it is worthless=>get XP Moviemaker (free download at Microsoft) or Video Explosion (CNET Editors Choice). 7. If you shoot at night, the picture is grainy and low quality. Indoors you need a bright room to get good quality. 9. Camera has a lot of features that you don't really need (i.e. Transition features like fading). It's better to use Video Editing software 10. Viewfinder is black and white and too small to see anything. However you will probably never use it since the Color LCD does a great job. 11. Camcorder only comes with a 8MB Smartmedia card, upgrade to at least 32MB necessary => boots price 12.Summary: Buy this camera if you are a beginner or don't use the camcorder too often. Don't buy it if you have high quality standards. And don't think about using this camera for still printouts.

I bought mine from a different website, but since I have been a long time customer and user of of Amazon.com website, I thought of giving this review to aid other customers old and new. I have this mini cam for about a month now and I used it when I vacationed in California just last month. I never regret buying it. My family and friends have a great time watching our pictures on TV everytime we return from one of our siteseeing trips. I just give it a four star for now because I still have not use all it's features yet. There's just too many to read and install in order for me to fully utilize it. Overall, I think I got my money's worth. It's convenient and easy to use (the still and video cam only). It can get great pictures, and you can use the auto flash if the lighting is not good. The LCD monitor is not so clear on a bright day, but who's complaining, just delete your not so good shots and just keep the best. I haven't used the viewfinder that much since even in 35mm camera I find the viewfinder too small, I used the LCD most of the time. You just need to buy additional battery, which I did. I bought the BNV840 before but it weighs just the same as the camera itself, so I end up exchanging it with BNV312. Plus the former one needs a different charger which I have to buy separately. I will definitely recomend this with anyone. Also I bought a 128mb SD memory card in addition to the 8md that is included in the video package, though I haven't used up my 8mb yet.

For all of you who want to benifit from the people who have suffered buying JVC NEVER EVER BUY JVC. The company officials are not cooperative. Please dont wat your money

This product came as nicely packaged and had all the bells and whistles and was way ahead of time in terms of progressive scan, miniaturization, etc. The progressive scan feature certainly tempted me to buy this product.

I bought this product 2 years ago and have probably used it about 10 total times when it really worked. Most of the time, the product just quits on you and the operative buttons are plain too too delicate. Here is the chronological list of events that I encountered and I certainly regret buying this camera. Worse, I don't think I'll have the heart to buy another JVC product again. Like they say, perception is reality. I learnt the hard way:

1. Bought the camera for ~$1400 2 years ago.
2. The camera failed to record in low light. I accepted it since it was digital and ahead of it's time.
3. The camera began a never ending sequence of attempting to FIND the focus. I have used this in wonderful full array of stage lighting but with highly pathetic results. The camcorder just would not stop finding the focus and you would see the entire recording blurred with the focus drifting in a never ending way from one section to another--very daunting when you cannot identify a leg from the hand and vice versa.
4. The camcorder's on/off/auto/manual switch became flaky to the point that I had to insert bits of paper to keep it on. The service people could not do anything about it.
5. The camera kept providing the cleaning message
6. The internal battery died and the camera would never respond to any button pushes.
7. The camera recorded beautifully (it appeared) but never wrote ANYTHING on the MiniDV tape--the tape was completely blank.
8. The camera is in such a pathetic state right now that I finally gave up.

Not to mention that the Snapshot mode is so granular and pixelated, I wondered who was in the picture a few times at least. If you are buying it for the snapshot mode, forget it. If you are relying on the software that comes with it, I have so much pity for you. The software is eions old (and a dinosaur) and seldom links with the camera or identifies it the first time through. With GRDVM90U, you have to TRY, TRY, and TRY again and then it does work (after so much agony).

I am buying Sony and staying away from JVC as far as I can be. As part of my new purchase, I reviewed the GRD-93US product of JVC. I hopped down to Circuit city to test drive it before venturing to buy it over the Internet. Guess what? I could not believe it that at 10x, the camera again went on the focus finding mission. I could easily decipher the camera limitation since I went through the ordeal with the GRDVM90U for so long. I tried the Sony DCR-HC65 and it worked just perfect. I was dumb-founded but I was able to make my decision of spending a few extra dollars now and buy a Sony than to buy the JVC and regret it for the rest of my life.

Hey, my life is simple...I just have to make sure that I don't buy any JVC products.

I have done a fair bit of research on the JVC GR-DVM90u camcorder and I have read many negative responses towards this camcorder. However, the specifications of the camcorder compelled me to buy this unit.

I found this camcorder as a demonstration model on [an auction website] and paid [money]. A great deal I might add from the original market price of [price]. What I first noticed about this camera was its sleek design. It is one of the best looking camcorders out there and relatively slim in my view.

The biggest complaint about this camcorder was its low light capabilities. But the fact is, Which camera will give you a good clear picture in the dark, Sony with its night shot which turns everything green?! Most cameras if shooting at low light require some outer lighting source... even professional cameras. If people didn't jump to conclusions about how poor this camera was in lowlight before reading the manual, they are terribly wrong. The camera has three features available to shoot under low light conditions.

Slow 1 - Slow Shutter raises light sensitivity to allow shooting in dark environments. Slow 2 - Slow Shutter raises light sensitivity further to allow shooting in even darker environments.
Gain Up Auto - The shutter speed is automatically adjusted (1/30 - 1/200 sec.). Shooting a subject in low or poor lighting at 1/30 sec. shutter speed provides a brighter image than in the AGC mode, but the subject's movements are not smooth or natural. The overall appearance may be grainy.

Although rendering the video quality, it sure helps and provides a decent clear picture.

Another thing what others have complained about is the 200x zoom and it being pixilated. It indeed does get pixilated however when using 200x zoom you are suppose to being using a tripod so the camera could focus correctly on the object. When moving your hand a millimeter to the left and right, you are actually causing the video to move 10 feet to the left and right allowing it to not focus whatsoever, in the end, causing the picture to be pixilated.

The Stabilizer on the camcorder is average. I can't say it's the best I have seen however it does cut down the erratic movement of your hand. Between 1x - 10x zoom, the stabilizer works perfect, however, anything beyond that point; you will begin to notice that it is becoming less effective. Some camcorders are able to handle better during these conditions, however if you don't plan to zoom beyond 10x, it works great.

Okay, enough with the refuting and on to the good points of the camcorder.

I have to say that the quality of the video under normal conditions is superb! Colors are rich and clear. Smooth movement under video mode, however, under progressive mode it really gives the video an unnatural look, perhaps for the better, perhaps for the worse. I mainly use the normal video mode when shooting.
The dual mode on the camera is a great added feature to the camera. While having the quality of the video mode, dual mode allows you to take still pictures and save it onto the removable 8 megabyte Multimedia Card. When pressing the button for the snapshots ½ of the way in, it freezes the picture and puts it on the right bottom corner of the screen like a picture in picture feature on a television, however, this does not show on the actual playback of the video. When you want to take that picture, you can press the snapshot fully and it will store it on the memory card. It does not affect the video whatsoever and was very pleased about this feature.

The Digital Camera Mode is another great feature that was implemented on the camcorder. Although the picture quality is average, it allows four different settings. Having choosing the highest quality, the picture quality is pretty good. I wouldn't say it is excellent, but good enough to pass it around.

The features on this camera are endless, from taking still pictures and adding a picture frame to it, to a wide variety of transition effects. Not to mention adding mp3 sound clips to the video.

So far so good, but what about the bad things?

All I can say is the battery life and the memory card storage. The battery life on the camera is 1 hour, however, you can pick up a secondary battery on [an auction site] for [price] that will last you 2.5 hours.

If you are a fanatic with taking still pictures 24/7, you might want to upgrade to more memory. You can pick up 32 megabyte of storage on EBay for around [price]. This will allow you to take 96 high-quality pictures and 620 low quality pictures.

What else should I get?

Firewire port for your PC if you don't have one already. Definitely a necessity to have if you plan to do any video editing. Just load the video into the computer, put it in VCD format, and you can take it to any DVD player that reads CDR's and view them.

Price?

A good value for this camcorder would be up to [price] providing the condition it is in. In any case, anything below [price] is a good buy!

Do not buy a JVC camcorder!!! - Just a couple of months after buying a JVC GRDVM80U an "E04" error start popping in th screen. Apparently the machinery is very sensitive to tapes lubricants and other compounds. Cleaning the head is not enough - the camara just becomes useless (Well, you can probably fix it for $350, but then it will break down again soon) Search the web for "E04 JVC" and you'll know how frequent and fustrating this error is - and I was surprised to learn it is not restricted to this model. JVC just ignores the problem and blames the tape manufacturers. It might function as an average camera if you are willing to give up using a tape ... and recording.

I got the camcorder about a month ago but only spend about 2 weeks with it because it was in the repair shop most of the time. It seems that this camcorder is incompatible with TDK tapes. There were no mention of it anywhere in the manual or in the packaging. They should at least include a recent updated notice on the problem. After using the TDK tape for 15 minutes, the picture became distorted and the message "Head cleaning required" appeared. I took it to the shop and the technician said the video heads were damage and need to be replaced. After calling JVC on the phone, they told me alot of people had call in about the same problem. I'm surprised no one mention it in their reviews or I would have stay away from the TDK tapes.

lots of features and a simple remote which can operate most of the features.
Not a bad little camera, the size is the biggest plus. I got this camera to take videos and snapshots of my new baby for the relatives. The camera is very good for well lit videos, but as with most of the DVM series, the low light filming is not very good. Transfer to PC is pretty quick using the firewire port. I use Ulead Video software that came with my firewire card, and not the JVC software.

I don't want to talk about good points for this camcorder here. I just want to point out some weakness.
1. still picture qulity is poor, much poor than you expected.
2. night alive mode is absolutely useless. this camcorder doesn't use infrared tech like most other camcorder using for night mode, instead it slow shooting speed so that it makes video pirture very blurring.
3. this cam is not cheap.
So if you want to spend [money] to buy digital camcorder, I don't recommend this one.

I bought this camcorder (Not From Amazon. I bought it cheaper) and it's my first camcorder. What a camcorder it is!

1. It's incredibly small. You can palm this camcorder easily.

2. It's light. You can carry it around in your pocket, without it weighing you down.

3. The ease of use is brilliant. You don't even have to look through the user manuals, because it's so simple to use. The buttons are places perfectly, so it's not difficult to press.

4. The "Extra Features/Special Effects" on this camcorder is very nice. You can shoot in widescreen (Which I love), have different type of faders (For instance, fade in black), you can shoot in different lighting that it will adjust automatically for you, you can also edit your footage as well.

5. You can use this camcorder as a digital camera as well. It comes with an 8mb memory card, but the quality of the still photos isn't top notch. They are a good "Email" quality, but nothing worthy of printing out. This is very typical on MiniDV camcorders with the "Still Photo" feature.

6. The video quality is quite good on this camcorder. The 10x optical zoom looks very good, and the sound is good as well. The mic is on top of the camcorder, so it does pick up a lot of noise sometimes, but when you do mean to talk while it's recording...it picks it up very nicely.

7. The "Night Alive" feature isn't that great. It's actually very useless. You're suppose to use it for when you're shooting in very dark enviroments, but when you use it, the shutter speed is so slow, it's very difficult to shoot, and the quality isn't that grand, if you ask me. So, don't bother using this feature and shooting in pitch black.

Overall...I had this MiniDV camcorder for about a week now, and it's great. I love the size and shape of it. It's very simple to use, my dog can even use it. Also, if you have a Mac (Like me), it works very well with iMovie. (You're going to have to buy a firewire cable though).

I've had the 50U for 3+ years and it has never disappointed me. It is compact, rugged and handsome. The 55U is an even more physically attractive update. The quality of the movies is excellent, and the quality of the still pictures is quite good (though not as good as any of the 3+ megapixel cameras available). The drawbacks, as I see them, are the relative expense of the mini DV film and more importantly, the loss of the MultiMediaCards for stills. Now all stills are recorded on the tape, making downloading images to your PC much more complex than with the older model. I think at that price, I'd opt for a camera with removeable media and perhaps image stabilization, such as the 80U.

...First of all, and this is probably true of all camcorders, is that you can take the fold-out LCD screen and shove it. You can't use it in daylight, it is totally washed out and impossible to see anything whatsoever and, indoors, when you can see it, it is confusing to use and disorienting and makes for wobbly playbacks, the eyepiece viewfinder is the thing to use and the expense and battery consumption of these LCD screens is shameful and baffles me why manufacturers tout them so much. Second, there is no way that I can figure out how to monitor playback tape position (for porting to make tape copies) using the tape counter and NOT have the tape counter/time counter/frame counter digits appear on the finished copy. If you turn off the counter so it doesn't appear on the copied tape, how the heck can you monitor frame/tape location?? I wrote email to JVC service asking a work around to the problem, but they ignored any acknowledgement or reply. The battery life is very short, the upgraded 1-1/2 battery is almost as large as the camera itself and almost costs as much. The much touted "infinite life", "no memory" attributes of these new fangled battery chemistries is pure BS. The old NiCad camcorder battery from my 8-mm Minolta lasted longer and, the best, still is, lead acid batteries of all things! I've never replaced the lead acid backup battery in my home security alarm in fifteen-years! I paid a ton of money (to be first kid on my block with DVM) for this item, I wish I waited so as to get the latest "progressive scan" technology that improves image quality at the higher zoom levels. The digital zoom (>10x) is practically a joke in optical quality. And forget about low light recording, even at wedding receptions, low light graduation ceremonies, Bar Mitzvahs, Communion parties, this camera will just not record under those conditions (if for no other reason than the autofocus mechanism breaks-down in low light) and there is no provision for external light attachment. The camera's physical size is a JOY though, something this small you can take everywhere, every time, it does get used! In fact it is a bit too small in the button department, my fingers have trouble pressing the teensy-weensy buttons, very frustrating actually. I would not trade this sized camera for any amount of improved optical quality in a larger unit and in fact the larger units don't have better image quality, only more convenient finger dexterity/functionality. As far as the snapshot mode is concerned, uploading them to your PC really degrades the image quality if you use the JVC docking station. I tried using these images in ebay listings, but the image quality was just too poor. You will love the credit card sized remote control and the convenience of being able to operate the camcorder using the remote, certainly worth its weight in Pistachio nuts.

I have the JVC GR-DVX48 , which is exactly the same as the 55U, but the model number is different here in Australia.
I've had the camera for a few months now and have been quite impressed by the quality of picture and ease of use in the camera.
I've had no problems with reliability, and JVC in Australia are always at hand to answer any stupid questions I have.

There is one thing which I utterly HATE about this camera though. I believe it's rated at 0.5 lux, and am not sure how much different a 0 lux rating would effect night shooting - but the camera performs poorly in low light conditions. Low light conditions being night time shooting under street lights. The camera doesn't seem to hold focus very well when it is dark and seems to get confused, and keep switching between being in focus to out of focus.

I was hoping i'd be able to attach an external light for night use, but there aren't any available for this model. Many JVC cameras have a socket on them called Info shoe, which allows easy attachment of external lights and microphone - for some reason this model does not have that socket. There are some info shoe adapters which can be put on this kind of camera but the JVC website said they can only be used for the external microphones, and not to be used for external lights. Although I would much prefer if this camera had a bit better capabilities at night, as an external light would be a hassle and not give me the natural effect I want.

Adding to that, the Nightscope function is complete and utter... I guess it is ok if you stick it in a tripod and are shooting something which isn't moving. Nightscope drops the frame rate to 3fps, and even then it doesn't improve lighting that much at all.

Besides the lack of night shooting capabilities, it really is a great camera.
If I had a choice again, I would go for the Sony TRV-15, which is a 0-lux rated camera, and also the night vision works properly (although making the image appear green).

But consider the fact that I haven't seen how well the Sony performs at night - so maybe I am just asking for too much when it comes to shooting at night.

I purchased the camera as a gift for my husband in July of 2002. As new parents, we expected that we would want a camcorder to record important moments in our children's infancy and toddlerhood. We have not been able to do so, as the camera has been out of commission or in the repair shop for most of the time we've owned it.

In September of 2003, after approximately 15 total hours of normal use, significant digital noise / pixel distortion and a "head cleaning required" message began to appear. We followed the prescribed procedure and cleaned the video heads with a MiniDV cleaning tape. The problem was not corrected, so we sought repair of the camcorder (to the tune of $240). A rebuild of the drum assembly, supply and takeup reels was performed by a JVC-authorized repair center.

Since then, we have recorded less than two hours of tape, and the digital noise problem has again reappeared. Some research suggests that we are not the only ones who have had this difficulty with our JVC camcorder. Since my difficulties, I have found hundreds of consumer comments that suggest that this and several other models of JVC digital camcorders and DV recorders are riddled with digital noise problems.

I have never been so dissatisfied with such a major purchase and am currently seeking a full refund from JVC. Wish me luck.

This is an excellent camcorder.

The 920U (this camcorder) is much better than the 720U/820U. The earlier versions had a constant buzz on the recorded audio that appeared to come from the DV tape motor. The 920U is very quiet and the audio is crystal clear.

Video quality was much better, too, with sharper colors probably due to the improved lens. (The colors on the 720U/820U were washed out and dull.) On the 920U, I couldn't tell much difference between real life and recorded video in well-lighted conditions. Also, the viewfinder is color whereas the 720U/820U have B&W viewfinders.

Zoom is smooth and well-positioned. The menu is easy to use. Overall the ergonomics of the camcorder are excellent.

The 3.5" LCD is VERY nice. I'm definitely hooked on that feature.

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I used it for the first time during my vacation with my family to Southern California last December and it satisfied me very much. The manual is really easy to follow. It felt good in my palm during action. I took some pictures because the 920 is also equipped with memory card. I really proud of this camcorder...