JVC GRDVM80U MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

Rating:
Summary: Super small, mediocre compatability
Review: When I first saw this tiny DV camcorder, I said to myself, "wow, I can't believe this is so small! It must be really expensive." Wrong. In fact, despite the engineering required to reduce the size of this camcorder to something so small that one wonders how a lens, LCD, battery, and MiniDV tape even fit in it, JVC has managed to offer this for a really great price. Now, with amazon.com's $... price tag, this item is simply irresistable. While many buyers will not immediately appreciate the small size of the camcorder before actually using it, thinking that they don't mind lugging around something that is 2-3x its volume (as most DV camcorders are), what happens is that you find yourself able and willing to carry this thing around with you almost wherever you go, and suddenly filming becomes something that can be done anywhere, anytime rather than something you have to plan for in advance. This advantage alone is almost priceless. Additionally, the GR-DVM80U takes excellent video. The lens is tack-sharp, and the digital image stabalization, while slightly reducing image quality, works quite well. The 680K pixel CCD is not good enough to take decent stills - but no DV cameras take good stills. Color saturation is excellent, with little or no chromatic aberation. So what's wrong with this little guy? If, as I am, you are into digital video editng with your computer (despite claims by many DV camcorder manufacturers, the editing function that are built into the camcorders are pretty much useless), the GR-DVM80U may not be your best bet. Unfortunately, this camcorder is not as compatible with the majority of editing software, both on the mac and PC side, as are many of the Sony and Canon camcorders. Many applications had trouble recognizing this JVC, including one which failed to establish any communication. My strong recommendation is that if you plan on using the camcorder for computer editing, please check with the software company to ensure that their software is compatible with this camera. In conclusion, this tiny, extremely low-priced camera is a simply fantastic piece of electronics, much better for its size and price than any other DV camera I have used (from Sony, Canon, or Panasonic). Image quality is excellent, build quality is superior, and even when I dropped it three feet on a hard surface, nothing resulted except for a minor scratch! If you plan on doing video editing, this may not be the camera for you, unless you specifically ensure that it works with your particular application. Otherwise, I stronly recomment this product to all DV enthusiasts!