JVC Everio GZ-MG330EK

I was watching the TV and the JVC Everio GZ-MG330EK camcorder was being shown for the first time on QVC (it's a brand spanking new model) at a today's special value...and what a special value it was...I had no intention of buying a camcorder as I'm already the owner of the Sony Mini DV....but when I saw what this could do and the price I was very impressed, so I sent for it, knowing I had 30 days to play with it and send it back if it was proved to be rubbish....but there's no way they are getting it back now...Let me explain.

Firstly...it's HDD...No tapes...No Discs....you record directly to a Hard Drive and in this case a 30GB one....this equates to 7+ hours in Ultra fine DVD quality or 37 hours of SVHS quality and 2 more settings in between.....more than enough in my opinion to shoot any vacation (they actually do a 60gb model for those greedy people.lol.) ....anyway....Hdd technology is getting more popular,and I can see why with no fuss in buying any extras afterwards such as tapes and discs..When I got the camcorder I got it out of the box and with what little power there was left in the battery I started to shoot my first few clips in seconds...and I mean seconds...I decided to charge the battery fully which by the way is a Ion Lithium ,so no need to get the memory loss and you can charge it up anywhere in between...it took just an hour and a half to fully charge the battery which claims 90 mins...so far I can tell you I got a genuine 80 mins...but this was also starting and stopping and previewing any shots I made which in my opinion is very good..Manufacturers always tell you the PERFET record time based on none stop recording...The first thing i did notice was how well it was made and it had a quality feel to it.You have no eye piece so you have to solely rely on the 2.7 in viewfinder which is fantastic even in direct sunlight (it put my Sony to shame)...I deliberately aimed the sun direct onto the screen and I saw no white out whatsoever.

This camcorder is a basics down to earth model and does exactly what it says on the tin,so don't expect lots of buttons to play with (which are unnecessary in my view)..It's more of a aim ,press and record and that's it....after all....what more do you need.This enables you to get on with the task in hand..taking great video clips..It sits very neatly in the hand and all the main functions such as record button and zoom drop naturally in the right place....I put the camcorder through some extreme tests and wanted to see if I could catch it out.but no such luck..I went in extremely close (within half inch)..no problem...then I went to the other end of the lens which is a 35X Optical zoom and no falters there either...You do have a 70 X and a Massive 800X digital zoom but don't bother with the 800...it's a joke...but so are all the others from other manufacturers...the picture is all pixelated.35X optical is more then enough to get into the action and besides...you'll be needing a tripod anyway to stop the shakes....but this has an anti-shake setting and it works extremely well....turn it off and you'll soon find out..!!...but just in case you think the vidio clip is spoilt by the extra bit of shake...fear not...the software supplied will take even more out for you,but more on that later.....I then put it to the test indoors with electric light and that proved to be exceptional (it even beat my Sony for graininess and they are the best around...or so I thought).....Even the white balance test was very good for a model of this stature and price....scanning across the living room then hitting the patio window with the sun coming through took it with ease and the subject was still well lit...This model is mainly Full Auto..but you do have a few things to tinker with in Manual mode...like the white balance and focus etc etc...but as I said earlier..it's not for the semi pro this one...it's more for the casual user who wants excellent quality....

This model (the 330) is brand new and finding reviews will be hard right now and so will finding it cheap.... '£350/400 are some various prices I have found so far but as I said I got mine from QVC for '£288 and thats fine by me....What IS different with this model compared to the others is the screen...It has ''Laser touch'' which you use to scroll through the menu guide and and that is situated on the outer edge and below the screen are a few more buttons which are the feather touch type....This is far better in my opinion then poking at the screen itself (like my Sony)...No more grubby finger marks there then...I was a little dubious about this system till I actually used it and I need not have worried as it works very well indeed...When the screen itself is opened it automatically turns the camcorder on and puts it into standby mode and this from cold start takes around 5/6 seconds but from standby itself it takes a mear 1 second....that's great if you don't want to miss that sudden piece of action...the screen can also be turned the full 180 and can be folded back into the body of the camcorder itself....Behind the screen and on the main body are 4 buttons...There's a main on/off and 3 more which enable various features such as memory/battery/Direct Back-up.....direct DVD/title and Auto/manual...there is also a small speaker to listen to the sound which is altered by the zoom button....The menu is quite simple to follow and scrolling through very easy....BUT...there is one major fault with this camcorder....If you don't know anything about camcorders you certainly wont learn anything from the poorly written JVC Manual....There are MANY features on the camcorder itself that you wont find in the manual so pressing to see what happens is a hit and miss affair....What on earth are you playing at JVC....get your act together....I'm no novice and even I have no idea what some of the buttons actually do ....or more to the point....how to make them work....Your probably thinking that why would I have bought it then and kept it....Well...it's because of the fantastic sound and picture quality and I don't really think I'm missing out on the buttons I can't use.

The software that is supplied has it's moment of glory but can also be a bit sparse ...To get full benefit from titles and such stuff your encouraged to BUY it from Cyberlink but I have no intention of doing that myself...However...putting together a good looking and sounding movie is VERY easy indeed and the extra anti-shake is a fantastic edition and really does work...I strung together several clips with narration and music in a matter or minutes and burned it to DVD and played it back through my DVD player with crystal clear results...I was impressed but only with the ease of making a movie but disappointed in it's sparse software.

There appears to be several different models out there in the JVC range and each offer something a little different....One has a larger HDD (60GB) another has a docking station and yet another one comes with a remote control....but there's isn't one that comes with everything....but this is how JVC are playing around with the different price structures....Study them carefully before you buy the one you really want....I myself was not interested in a remote control or docking station....a good old fashioned USB lead was more then sufficient and operating the buttons on the camcorder itself to watch play back on TV was fine by me....so just be aware of what model offers what.

To sum up this camcorder then....You'll be hard pushed to better the sound and picture quality for the money....It's well built...the screen is superb in direct sunlight....it's a great point and shoot camcorder....it's very tiny and light...I don't think anyone will be disappointed with what it offers and does...so if you can get one at a cheap price then go for it.....

One other thing....When buying a replacement battery...BEWARE....the compatible ones are NOT genuine Data ones and when attached to the camcorder requires a small lead to fit into the mains socket of the camcorder itself...hence the cheaper prices...I decided to buy a Genuine JVC battery even though it was twice the price....I'm not being bitten as I have been in the past...it's worth it in the end...Happy film making..!!!