Rating: 
Summary: Compact, powerful and easy to learn
Review: This camcorder is everything I expected. I wanted a Digital camera that would take stills (4 different quality settings), take top qaulity video (IT DOES), and can be interfaced in all aspects to my computer for transfer to in-laws via email. This product does everything I wanted and more. Many different special effects, fades, 12 sounds to add to video, frames to add to stills. Firewire connection worked very well (Card and software for video capture not included, only software for Stills and other video dubbing included). Another neat feature is the email clip feature which lets you pick out a 20 second portion of your recording and transfers it to the included 8MB memory chip for easy transfer to your PC for inclusion in emails! 8MB card hold lots of photos (at least 40-125 depending on quality setting), hold video clips, sounds and frames! Screen is great, battery included lasts about 50 minutes with screen and 60-65 minutes with eyepiece. Very small and inconspicuous. Light (1.2 lbs). Many cables included for dubbing. Great Zoom (200x digital). Good pictures in low lights conditions. Sound picks up very well. Included base screws into camera for more expansion for video out to TV and dubbing connections. Remote control works great, so you can hook it into your TV and sit on the couch and play it as if it were a VCR. All in all, this is exactly the camera I wanted. I have read some reviews that people are having a hard time with all the computer interfacing, but they must be novices because I had to do very little out of the ordinary to get it working. I purchased Movie DV Suite, which included a firewire card and the captures work unbelieveably well. I highly advise purchasing this camera.
Rating: 
Summary: Ruined vacations
Review: This camera [the worst]!!! 3 months after we purchased this camera, we went vacationing in Whistler. The camera came up with a E04 error and head cleaning required. We sent it back to JVC, they checked and said nothing was wrong. They said perhaps the cold and altitude we were what caused the malfunctioning. So what are they saying, this camera does not work in cold weather.So since the camera was supposedly fine, we took it on our cruise vacation a few months later. Same Head Cleaning message ruined this trip. They said perhaps the humidity of the islands was making the tape stick to the head. We did get some recording, but half the screen was blue and the other half had a picture. Sent it back to JVC, once again, nothing was wrong. They said they did a head cleaning for us anyway. We used it several other times after that, at home it works. When it counts, it doesn't. We've decided that we need to just get another camcorder and throw this junk away before it ruins anymore special moments. I don't know who would buy a camcorder and only use it at home in a controlled temperature setting. Don't let the pretty compact exterior of this camcorder fool you, it's got no inner quality!!!Buy Sony!!!
Rating:
Summary: Ruined vacations
Review: This camera [the worst]!!! 3 months after we purchased this camera, we went vacationing in Whistler. The camera came up with a E04 error and head cleaning required. We sent it back to JVC, they checked and said nothing was wrong. They said perhaps the cold and altitude we were what caused the malfunctioning. So what are they saying, this camera does not work in cold weather. So since the camera was supposedly fine, we took it on our cruise vacation a few months later. Same Head Cleaning message ruined this trip. They said perhaps the humidity of the islands was making the tape stick to the head. We did get some recording, but half the screen was blue and the other half had a picture. Sent it back to JVC, once again, nothing was wrong. They said they did a head cleaning for us anyway. We used it several other times after that, at home it works. When it counts, it doesn't. We've decided that we need to just get another camcorder and throw this junk away before it ruins anymore special moments. I don't know who would buy a camcorder and only use it at home in a controlled temperature setting. Don't let the pretty compact exterior of this camcorder fool you, it's got no inner quality!!!Buy Sony!!!
Rating:
Summary: You will regret if you buy it
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Expensive Garbage
Review: Unfortunately there is no "zero star" rating available. After about 40 hours of recording time, and a zillion E05 errors and gobbled up tapes, this piece of garbage is ready for the trash, together with all the accessories I bought. I should have just flushed $...down the toilet. At least that would have been funny.
Rating:
Summary: Not So Great Camera
Review: UPDATE: I was finally able to get the store I purchased this at to give me a replacement. The Camera was out for repair for about 3 weeks and it is hosed up pretty bad. Hint, anyone who buys this camera, PURCHASE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WITH IT. Luckily I did so because the cost of one repair on this thing would have far exceeded the money I paid for a 4 year service plan. I went with the Sony this time and I already like the Sony better. Sony is hands down the choice when purchasing a digital camcorder. I tried contacting JVC to advise them of my problem hoping they would be a responsible company who cares about what their customers think. I have yet to hear back from them. No JVC product will ever be purchased by myself or anyone I can sway. With the lack of customer focus and the CRAP that they are producing I must believe that JVC stands for Just Victimizing Consumers. I take back everything good I said about this camera. today I picked up my camera to take a picture and the camera would no longer focus. Made sure it was on auto and not manual. Still no focus. Then I was zooming in on something and the zoom hung. It is now at perpetual 8x. Nothing I can do to change it. I tried powering the thing down, tried running it off the power pack. I tried everything. I had noticed that about a month after I bought this thing that the picture quality (digital still picture, not video) was rapidly going downhill. Just figured I had made a change by mistake. No such change occured on my part. The camera was slowly dieing. The camera would stay in a blue screen sometimes no matter what type of picture I was trying to take. So now I have [an expensive] paper weight unless JVC can fix it. I might have expected something like this many years down the road, but I have had this camera less than 6 months and have not used it that much. I just wanted to buy a nice camera. Guess I should have bought the Sony model. I must apologize to the 10 people who found my initial review helpful. I will NEVER purchase another JVC product. Sony makes products that are far superior, they may cost a bit more but they are worth it. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA or any other JVC camera for that matter.
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