JVC Everio GZ-MC200 > Reviews (4)

Whilst on my holiday recently with my old camcorder a Sony DCR-TRV14E (not a bad mini DV camera) I got fed up with carrying around a rucksack to carry the camera in, so it was time to look and see what else was around. After visiting a number of independent electronics retailers in San Francisco I decided that the JVC GZ-MC200 was looking the favourite as it was pocket sized (OK a coat pocket but compared to my current camera it was brilliant). I almost brought the camera in the states but the retailer wanted cash, so I walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~The Purchase~~~~~~~~~~~
On my return to the UK the internet was sparked into life and a number of searches for the camera were undertaken, this returned prices ranging from an astronomical £900 to £640. After a bit more searching I found a store called Crampton and Moore (www.cramptonandmoore.co.uk) who were doing the camera for £611 inc P&P a real bargain.

I thought I would try my local Jessops to see if the would match the store and they said they would try their best, and they came in at £662, but the key thing was they would take my old camera off my hands so no messing around with ebay. 1hr later I had a new camcorder and a dent for £600 on the credit card.

~~~~~~~~~~~In the Box~~~~~~~~~~~
In the box came the following stuff, the camera, charger, battery, 4GB CF Card (this is used instead of tapes), S-Video cable, USB Cable, DVD editing software, and the most important bit the manual.

~~~~~~~~~~~Size and Feel~~~~~~~~~~~
The camera is small for a camcorder measuring just 74 x 56 x 94 mm which for me is palm sized, just what I was after. When in the palm the main controls are located in the right places for comfortable operation, the zoom is operated by the index finger and the record button by the thumb, as with most camcorders it is designed to be held in the right hand. The other controls on the camera such as the on/off switch, delete and menu buttons cannot be reached when the camera is in the palm, but that is acceptable as you don’t need them when recording.

The camcorder doesn’t have a viewfinder, so the 1.8-inch Polycrystalline silicon LCD screen must be used to see what is being shot, this seems to be quite visible in daylight although due to there being none around I cannot say what bright sunshine would be like. One advantage is that the lens can be rotated 45 degrees up or down allowing a good deal of flexibility in what is being shot and the position of the camera.

There is a small speaker on the top of the camera used for playback and providing menu confirmation, also on the top is the left and right microphone. The right hand side of the camera is used to house the CF Microdrive and the battery for the camera.

~~~~~~~~~~~The Technology~~~~~~~~~~~
This camcorder is quite revolutionary as instead of using tapes or DVD’s it uses digital media to store the video footage, it can do this as the pictures are converted into MPEG2 format within the camera. With the camera you get a 4GB hard disk, this can store 60 mins of high quality video, if the quality is dropped to the minimum (eco mode) 300 mins can be stored, additional disk can be purchased at around £170, the camcorder has a SD slot which can also be used to store video, although SD doesn’t come in the same large sizes as CF.

The camcorder has a 2MP CCD in it and can be used for still photo’s as well as video, when video is being taken the resolution is reduced to around 1.2MP which is ample for moving images. When taking still images there a number of options available such as self timer, shutter speed, white balance, exposure, and effects (B/W, Sepia). One of the very good options is continuous shooting, this takes pictures one after the other, ideal for fast moving action. The camera also has a built in flash so stills can be taken in low light as with a normal digital camera this has anti red eye options etc.

Recording video is very simple on the camera, just point and click the record button, as with the stills camera there are very similar options for shutter speed etc. The optical zoom on the camera is 10x and there is a further 40x and 200x digital, but as with all digital zooms the pixilation starts to show. The camera also has a stabilization engine that attempts to avoid the morning after shakes and keep the image still. A great advantage of not having tape is that recordings can be deleted freeing up space, a bit like a digital camera where by unwanted photos can be deleted, this is not easy with tape.

~~~~~~~~~~~Viewing and Downloading~~~~~~~~~~~
The camera comes with a lead that connects it to S-Video and Composite with left and right sound, this allows you to view the recordings on a normal TV or copy them on to a video tape for viewing anywhere.

Editing the video on a PC is the way to go these days and it is far simpler with this camera than a traditional tape version, the camera supports USB 2.0 and comes with the lead to allow connection to the PC once connected to the PC the camcorder shows as a USB hard disk and the video can be seen as files and imported into the DVD editing software supplied cyberlink power director express. This is so much easier than a normal tape based DV camera as with these you have to import the tape to the PC using firewire and it is done frame by frame so takes ages and the file size obtained at the end can be massive.

~~~~~~~~~~~Conclusion~~~~~~~~~~~
I think this camera and I are going to get on well, primarily because of it’s size and the quality of the video it can produce. I also like the ability to edit the video taken very quickly with out having to firewire the tape to the PC. On the down side is that CF microdrives are not cheap so if you are away for a long time and a hour is not enough recording time you may find yourself stumping up another £170 for a spare.

If you are looking for a new camcorder I would seriously recommend that you take a look at this one.