JVC Everio GZ MG255

The JVC Everio GZ MG255 videos are saved as .mod file which is not compatible with iDVD and iMOVIE when downloading to a mac. Have to use Toast to copy files to a dvd which limits your editing capabilities. Battery life could be a little better as well as the user manual. Great camera and I'd probably buy it again if I would have to.

The JVC Everio GZ MG255 is one seriously GREAT camcorder! It's compact and light, with controls placed well. The camera's single greatest feature is its wide aperture lens that allows indoor shooting in dimly lit rooms without need for auxiliary lighting. I've shot lots of indoor evening video with the camera on auto and am amazed at the results. With over 7 hours of ultra-fine quality widescreen video possible, there is little reason not to record in best quality all the time, though I've not been able to tell any difference between ultra-fine and fine quality, on which setting over 10 hours is possible.The camera shoots widescreen "VGA". Standard VGA is 640x480, widescreen being 720x480 which delivers HD standard 16:9 aspect ratio. This is a major plus when saving video or burning to DVD that may later be played on HD or widescreen capable TVs. A note worth remembering before going out and paying multi thousand dollars for a camcorder that shoots native HD is the availability of "upconversion" units that take standard definition video (and DVDs) and upconvert it to near HD quality for playback on HDTV. Upconverter units can be found for under $50 and do an amazing job of allowing someone to shoot SD VGA then watch is on HD.The autofocus feature works quite well, with little if any lag during transitions. In fact, for most people, using the camcorder on "auto" mode is all they'll ever need unless they just want to play around with the many manual possibilities. Zoom is QUIET--did I say that loud enough? During video playback absolutely no camera noise is present, and the zoom is super smooth, with variable rate allowing slow or fast zoom.Stills come out sharp and bright, and in fact, I discovered when shooting stills indoors the flash is best turned off. This is that f1.2 aperture lens at work.The camera will also save BOTH video and stills to either the hard drive or an SD card--your choice. Some so-called professional reviewers have stated it does not save video to the SD card but they are WRONG...hmmm, this blatantly overlooked fact makes one wonder just how valid are any of their comments, because so far, pretty much everything negative the professional review on cnet and zdnet (same idiot) said has turned out to be wrong and clearly biased against JVC products in general.The included dock is a very nice feature, allowing the user to connect the dock to their computer and leave it. The camera charges through the dock as well as having a separate input, but the dock is so much easier.I have an iMac and found when I connected via USB iMovie 08 instantly recognized and imported my video. Using only the firewire connection, iMovie seemed to think I had connected a miniDV (tape) camcorder causing it to import video in a lengthy "playback" mode which is totally unnecessary for an HDD camcorder. Adding back the USB cable brought back the "communicate with device" screen on the camera; once selected all video instantly popped into iMovie. This is not what JVC states in their online tutorial, but it's a small issue, nothing negative about the camera itself, and clearly not a problem once one understands to rely on the USB connection.On problem not addressed in the JVC manual is how to import stills and video saved to the SD card. On my iMac which admittedly lacks any 3rd party software specific to this camera, the SD card seems "invisible"...no big deal to me since I don't need it...being that stills are just as happy to save to the hard drive, but still, if one has an SD slot and card, one would like to be able to make use of it. Rather than invest in a 3rd party program the simplest solution will be to purchase an SD card reader. Again, with a 30GB hard drive, there just isn't a great deal of urgency to use the SD save location.The "data battery" is also a nice feature. With the push of a button one can view how much time is left, and being lithium-ion, has no problem being recharged from a partially charged state. The simplest approach is to leave the camera in its dock until needed. The factory supplied battery is good for 70 minutes...not a lot of time, but not bad. Larger capacity batteries are available that will allow up to 4 hours...MORE than adequate for most people's needs.The nice thing about an HDD camcorder is not having to carry around anything but the camera itself...no need to swap out storage medium in on the go, and with a single large battery, likely more than most will need during an average day's outing.A word about buying generic after market batteries. There are versions matching the three JVC sizes available quite inexpensively, but they come with a downside. They aren't data rated, meaning the camera would not operate nor recognize them if they supplied power through the battery contacts. The way around this is to place a small auxiliary cord in the battery which is connected to the camcorder's DC input jack to supply power as if coming from the charger. While this approach certainly works, it means remaining battery power cannot be checked through the camera, and it also means the cord must be sticking out the back and looped into the DC port during use...as well as disconnected to swap out.My overall impression of the GZ-MG255U is that it is a very well built camera...feels solid in the hand, and not heavy at all. For the average man's hand, the camera barely extends beyond the breadth of the palm.Another nice feature is the included remote. I mounted the camcorder on a small tripod situated on a bookshelf overlooking my living room. This allowed me to "get into the action" as it were, playing with my kids, while being able to start and stop recording, as well as zoom in and out. After having shot much video and taken many stills with "me" NOT in the picture, I find this to be a valuable, yet understated feature.I bought my Everio GZ-MG255U from Beach Camera for an amazingly low price of $399.00 shipped...no hassle, and the camera shipped within 12 hours of my order being placed. Considering the prices of other brands that are FAR less feature packed, this is one sweet "sleeper" of a camera. Most camcorders only offer f1.8 or higher lenses...allowing about half as much light through, as well as having CCD's under 1MP, meaning stills intended to be turned into 4x6 prints are simply NOT going to look decent, not to mention they can't possibly produce as clear and crisp video as can the MG255.A last point I feel compelled to emphasize is this camcorder is one of those "rare models" that incorporates high-end features not limited to a price-point...most notably the high aspheric f1.2 lens. Other models will need more ambient light, or added lighting to obtain decent indoor, living room lit video, while this model is absolutely BUILT for the job. In fact, I considered going with the up-model GZ-MG555 5MP model, but it comes with the industry standard f1.8 lens and for me that was the deal breaker. The 255 is far superior in terms of shooting great video in less than bright lighting.