JVC Everio HDD Camcorder

Author's Rating:

Pros: Good quality video and pictures, no need for tapes or discs, 30 GB hard drive

Cons: Short lived battery life

The Bottom Line: 
This is an excellent camcorder, take care of it and it will be useful for a good while.

Author's Review
I got my Everio camcorder at good ol’ Wal-Mart. And at the time it cost me roughly $530 dollars after tax, so I would suggest to anyone interested in this camera to shop around for the best deal you can find. But when it all came down to it there was a lot I was paying for when I got this camera.

Features: Snapshot, 34x optical zoom and 800x digital zoom, 16:9 wide screen and 14:3 modes, 30GB hard disk drive, Direct DVD and Direct Backup features.

Video: The video has four quality settings: Economy, Normal, Fine and Ultra fine. As the quality goes up the number of hours that are available to record on the camera go down. Length that the camera can hold ranges from about 37-7 hours depending on the quality setting.

Zoom: This camera has 34x optical zoom (actual physical zoom) and up to 800x digital zoom. The zoom feature on this camera is awesome, but I would suggest, if one plans on using it to its greater potentials to get a stand for it,, Video gets pretty shaky as you zoom in closer.

Media: The Everio Camcorder has a hard drive and does not need tapes or discs which is very nice. It also has a slot available for an SD card which can come up to an extra 4 GB of memory.

Battery: The batter that this camera comes with has a disappointingly short life span and new ones are kind of pricey.

Snapshot: This is one of my favorite features because I enjoy taking pictures. The snapshot feature has normal and fine settings for picture quality, black and white and sepia effects and shutter speed and brightness adjustments that make taking pictures fun. And there’s plenty of memory on the camera or SD card, if you have one, to take plenty of pictures.

16:9 Widescreen: There are two recording modes on this camera, the regular 14:3 or the wide screen setting of 16:9 for those who like to get more in the picture.

Direct DVD and Direct Backup: These are features I personally haven’t put to much use because they require buying a base for the camcorder. Though it might be nice because once set on the base and hooked up you’re on e button away from directly burning you video to DVD.

Durability: I have dropped my camcorder once and, amazingly, it took no disabling damage; though investing in a camera case for it would be advisable.

Overall this is a very nice camera with all the features and convenience it presents, and its well worth the money spent on it.