JVC Everio GZ-MG130E > Reviews > Just Very Cool GZ-MG130

Author's product rating:   

Ease of use	Excellent
Recording quality	Excellent
Picture quality	Excellent
Sound quality	Excellent
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	excellent picture recording, easy to use, durable, exceptional sound pickup
Disadvantages:	the LCD screen can be difficult to see in bright conditions

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Recording those special moments in life have never been easier for me since I bought the JVC GZ-MG130 for £300 (well, £299.99 incl delivery) prior to Christmas. Deciding which camcorder to buy was something of a minefield with so many different models, brands and additional features to take in consideration. A quick comparison between a few of the lower end models drew me away from my a budget purchase and towards the JVC GZ-MG130. The main selling point was not the range of features, it was just because my trusty JVC stereo of 14 years is still going strong, still looks the part in my lounge and has never needed the slightest bit of attention by an engineer.

The JVC GZ-MG130 is a digital camcorder which means that it is visibly smaller than many other models as it records to a 30 GB hard disk drive rather than a tape, DVD or memory card. The use of a hard drive enables up to 37 hours of recordings to be stored before any downloading, deleting or editing is needed to free up room for further recordings.

As far as usability goes, the JVC GZ-MG130 is incredibly user friendly as it is lightweight, has a reinforced handstrap and is moulded to be gripped between the thumb and forefinger. All of the controls needed whilst filming are then accessed using remaining fingers while keeping a firm grip on the camera. There is absolutely no fiddling required at all and the layout has been designed with ease of use at the front of the designers minds. After a few hours of using the camcorder it comes as second nature to press the required button as and when rather than having to look and check.

The left hand side of the camcorder folds out to reveal a 2.7 inch 16:9 widescreen LCD viewfinder. The hinge holding this on is very durable and I would imagine impossible to be snapped should little hands find their way onto the camera. I like the veiwfinder but struggle to see some images on it in brighter conditions. Although the screen folds out, I would have liked to have been able to tilt it forwards and backwards to take some of the glare of the picture purely to assist with filming.

Accessing the hard driver can be done either directly from the camera using the onscreen menu or remote control, or with the use of a USB cable, done via the specialist software on a computer. I prefer to backup my files to a hard drive on my computer and then wipe the hard drive on the camcorder to ensure that the maximum recording time is available. I then play movies on my television via a HDMI lead from the computer rather than attaching the camera straight up to the television.

The quality of the recordings can vary. There is the option of recording using 'ultra fine' and this produces amazing results as far as picture quality is concerned but it seriously reduces the amount that can be stored on the hard drive. I think the maximum recording using this feature is 7 hours. It might use up more space on the hard drive but it is worth it as the picture quality is 3-4 times better than using the standard recording feature.

I haven't experienced any problems with the microphone and although you can't tell while recording, it picks up the slightest of whispers, so not a good idea to go around filming people and muttering under your breath!

Was it £300 well spent? Yes it was. I know have special moments captured forever. The films can be converted into files so I can share these moments with anyone around the world, at any time. I wouldn't be without it now.