JVC GRDV800 MiniDV 1.33MP Camcorder with 3.5" LCD, 10x Optical Zoom, and 8MB MMC Card

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Manufacturer: JVC
Price at amazon.com: $699.99
This item is not stocked or has been discontinued.

Product Features:

• MiniDV camcorder with 10x optical zoom, 300x digital zoom, image stabilization
• 3.5-inch fold-out color LCD screen and color viewfinder
• Takes digital stills (1600 x 1200) and stores them on MMC card (8MB card included)
• MPEG 4 e-mail video clips, Web cam function
• Connects to PCs and Macs via Firewire (IEEE1394) and USB (for photos)

Product Description:

Elegantly styled with an easy to use design, JVC's GRDV800 takes full advantage of the MiniDV system and provides a sharp 540 horizontal lines of resolution, ensuring outstandingly vibrant images. Some of the features of the camcorder include a huge 3.5-inch LCD screen, 10x optical zoom, accessory info shoe, the ability to record MPEG4 clips, and remarkable still camera performance. Lens The 1/4-inch CCD sensor captures images with detailed accuracy so that images will be sharp and defined. The optical zoom magnifies up to 10 times while the digital zoom, which works by electronically enhancing the optical image, reaches up to 300 times. The digital image stabilization system keeps the picture steady and solid throughout zooms and camera shakes. You can shoot visible video at night using the night shot function, which allows the camera to shoot full-spectrum video in little or no light situations. Manual controls such as focus, exposure, and white balance give the user greater flexibility in shooting. Digital Stills The CCD sensor has a 1.33 megapixel rating, which creates images with resolutions of up 1600 by 1200 pixels. There are three lower quality settings (1280 x 960, 1024 by 768, and 640 by 480) that you can use to save memory. The DV800 includes an 8MB MultiMedia card and is also compatible Secure Digital memory cards. Inputs and Outputs The DV800 comes with the standard DV IEEE1394 port which provides a lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines, as well as a USB port for image transfer. The common RCA AV connections are used for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.

Description from Manufacturer:Elegantly styled with an easy to use design, JVC's GRDV800 takes full advantage of the MiniDV system and provides a sharp 540 horizontal lines of resolution, ensuring outstandingly vibrant images. Some of the features of the camcorder include a huge 3.5-inch LCD screen, 10x optical zoom, accessory info shoe, the ability to record MPEG4 clips, and remarkable still camera performance.

Lens
The 1/4-inch CCD sensor captures images with detailed accuracy so that images will be sharp and defined. The optical zoom magnifies up to 10 times while the digital zoom, which works by electronically enhancing the optical image, reaches up to 300 times. The digital image stabilization system keeps the picture steady and solid throughout zooms and camera shakes. You can shoot visible video at night using the night shot function, which allows the camera to shoot full-spectrum video in little or no light situations. Manual controls such as focus, exposure, and white balance give the user greater flexibility in shooting.

Digital Stills
The CCD sensor has a 1.33 megapixel rating, which creates images with resolutions of up 1600 by 1200 pixels. There are three lower quality settings (1280 x 960, 1024 by 768, and 640 by 480) that you can use to save memory. The DV800 includes an 8MB MultiMedia card and is also compatible Secure Digital memory cards.

Inputs and Outputs
The DV800 comes with the standard DV IEEE1394 port which provides a lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines, as well as a USB port for image transfer. The common RCA AV connections are used for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: The Inventor JVC w/ 21st Century technology Rating:
the "palm of your hand" has also mastered an amazing piece of technology here with the GR DV800U. Companies followed the lead of JVC and competition generated fantastic graphics/pixel imagery. This camcorder delivers a must in everyone's home. It picks up details you have never seen. So versatile not only is this mini-digital a camcorder it is a VCR, a Computer Cyber-Cam, a digital camera, a television, an e-mail capable device that has enough plug-in features such as s/video stereo sound 540+ lines of resolution digital still as high as 1600x1200 with a super high band processor this camcorder is thus far the most amazing one I have seen. The software and features combined will easily have you set to tape load edit and produce your own pro movies!!! This is 21st Century technology in the palm of your hand............undoubtedly underrated due to their lack of advertising. However, with such perfected leadership in the video industry there is little reason to advertise. This keeps cost low as competitors like Sony charge for their marketing costs . JVC charges you simply for the GR-DV800U technology and it is superb!!!!

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Comment: Great in good light, amazing battery life Rating:
I bought this camcorder late last year and travelled a lot over Christmas break - this camera satisfied my needs perfectly! Its charger is multi-voltage capable, the battery charges quickly and lasts forever (I still purchased a large additional battery for those situations when I didn't have access to a power plug for days!)

I agree with the reviewers saying the low-light mode is kind of strobe-like. However, it is in True Color,/b>! If you move your hand gently (use a tripod for low light!), or focus on a scene and don't move the camera much, you will like the results. I, for one, hate the fake, green tint (infraRed-based) that Sony and some other manufacturers incorporate into their night mode. Yes, it increases overall light sensitivity by absorbing more rays from outside the usual visible spectrum, but the video looks (green!) unreal and ugly. NOT an option!

The remote has a few nice features as well, and the photograph mode is quite impressive for a digital camcorder. I took over 300 pictures at the native resolution of 1.33 MegaPixels 1280x1024 (2 Megapixel photos at 1600x1200 are produced through interpolation, don't bother with it!). I got some beautiful low-light, dawn and dusk shots, including sunsets and sea shots.

The lack of a flash forcues you to use good photography principles like keeping the subject's face well lit, but the BackLight mode is a nice semi-fix for video or pictures taken with a bright backlight (eg sun behind subject).

BE AWARE that most versions of this camera do not like LARGE SecureDigital (SD) cards. You will be able to use cards over 128 MB, but can't preview the photos or the amount of space left because the camera doesn't fully support that card size (256 and above). Stick with a 128MB card, which can hold well over 250-300 photos at the highest native resolution, and you should be satisfied!

It would have been nice to have a lens with more optical zoom, because digital zoom is an absolute joke, just like any other camcorder - the graininess introduced into the video makes it quite worthless. 10X isn't bad, though, and the clarity of video and images shot with this camera rival anything I've had a chance to compare it to (mostly similar priced and similar featured cameras from other manufacturers, owned by friends). I've made a few DVDs and amny VCDs of video captured with this camcorder, and the quality is great.

The software included isn't too bad for quick and dirty image and video capture using the USB port and included cable (half resolution video) or Firewire (you need to buy a cable, but can capture full resolution video only with Firewire). However, I strongly recommend using something nicer like at least ULead Video Studio or Sonic MyDVD or Pinnacle's Studio products, or perhaps even Adobe Premiere to make truly 'prosumer' video! Its a pity a Firewire cable isn't included, but make sure you get one.

The video (composite) output cables are excellent, and dubbing video from the DV tapes to VHS or DVD/VCD recorders couldn't get easier. I haven't played with the scene transitions on the camera, because I edit in software, but I'm sure they'll be satisfactory if you want to make VHS tapes or DVD/VCDs directly using the (cable included) RCA composite AV output.

A note on DV tapes - stick to one manufacturer, because others (like Sony) use a different technique to make their tapes and camcorder heads apparently don't like frequent switching. I have had great luck with JVC tapes (duh!) which are re-labelled Fuji tapes. I bought well over a dozen.

The camera's pass through function for analog video lets you convert it to DV which you can capture on the fly (using pass-through) on a computer to convert your old VHS tapes into flawless (as good as the original VHS at least) VCDs or DVDs. I've used this a lot as well.

The large flippable LCD screen is good for those videos when you want to be in the shot but still occasionally monitor what the camera is capturing, from a distance. It doesn't get grimy or dirty and is easy to clean anyway.

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Comment: I think this is a Terrific Camcorder Rating:
I've had my JVC GR-DV800 for close to 2 months now, and I'm extraordinarily pleased. It's my first camcorder, and I don't regret in the slightest the choice I made, having tested much of the major functionality, especially interfacing with a computer. Although it appears this model is getting harder to find new, I would recommend it unequivocally to anyone considering buying it. I'd like to address some of the specific aspects I've seen downgraded by other reviews here and elsewhere on the web, as well as passing along my experiences with the more advanced capabilities, in particular, operation in conjunction with a computer.

I haven't tried using the camcorder in especially low light situations, and I guess my expectations are lower than many other users. I don't really expect to be able to take video in the dark. Without going into details, I would say the camcorder has met my expectations for shooting without a video light, although I don't doubt that some camcorders may do better in low light.

I've seen mixed reports on the supplied battery, which is a 400 mA-hr lithium, with some claiming the battery is useless after a few charging cycles. I haven't pushed it, but I seem to be able to get at least an hour of recording out of the battery (but I also bought a 2500 mA-hr model for flexibility).

Many reviewers have severely criticized the 3.5" LCD for low resolution/sharpness. It's true that it isn't "stunning", but it's extremely useable, with sort of a matte appearance, rather than the glossy appearance of, say, a Sony. Unless you're trying to do a precise manual focus, however, I don't see the LCD as a liability, and I don't assume most users sit around watching their videos on the LCD.

Most others have also criticized the still image capability of this, and all camcorders, stating that they are far inferior to digital cameras. The DV800 has a 1.3 MP CCD, and the Sony digital camera I've been using for several years is also 1.3 MP, and I've yet to be tempted to upgrade to a higher resolution camera for our family usage, since I typically don't crop and blow up my pictures. I use both the Sony and now the JVC DV at 1280 resolution, and aside from the camcorder not having a flash (standard), I've yet to notice any difference in the pictures from the two, in good light, other than a slightly different aspect ratio. Since my Sony camera only has an LCD, and no viewfinder, I'll probably tend to use the JVC DV through its viewfinder outside in bright light, where the Sony LCD is nearly impossible to see.

As far as operation of the camcorder with a personal computer, I've found the JVC to work extraordinarily well in all modes with Windows XP, after an initial intensive debugging of the FireWire (IEEE 1394/i.Link) capability. (I have a very long thread on the Dell Community Forum documenting this process.) JVC supplies Pixela USB drivers and an application (ImageMixer) that makes good use of those drivers, within the limitations of the program. JVC, like most DV manufacturers, relies on supplied Microsoft drivers for operation over the 1394 bus.

In still camera mode (Memory mode), with a memory card installed, and when connected to a computer via USB, the JVC requires no custom drivers. It looks like a removable USB disk drive, and all images are accessible as JPEG files for copying from or to the camcorder. For retrieving video or using as a webcam over USB, the Pixela drivers must be installed, and they present a separate Video Capture and Audio Capture device. With Image Mixer, I could capture 320x240 video (Video CD) from the camcorder, either by playing back a DV tape (in Video-Play mode) or as a webcam (in Video-Auto or -Manual mode). I couldn't get the camcorder to work reliably for video over USB with the other applications I had available, so I don't know if resolution above VCD is possible over USB. DVD resolution is 720x480 @ 30 frames/second, for a data rate of almost 30 megabits per second (Mbps). USB 1.1 is limited to 12 Mbps, so unless the JVC USB implementation is 2.0, DVD-quality video transfer isn't possible over USB.

Moving on to operation over the IEEE 1394 bus (FireWire), here is where the full video capabilities of the camcorder are possible. It is possible to download still images from the memory card over 1394, but it's much more convenient to use the USB disk mode for still image operations. Contrary to another review on this site, I don't believe there is any inherent limitation in the JVC 1394 implementation that limits it to working with particular 1394 interfaces. That limitation appears to be in the Windows XP drivers, and isn't particularly specific to given camcorders, as documented in many places on the web, including my thread elsewhere. After switching to using the Microsoft 1394 bus drivers, instead of those supplied by the interface manufacturer, my JVC has worked flawlessly with my 1394 interface, which has a Texas Instrument chipset, and it also worked flawlessly with a Dell laptop with a built- in 1394 interface with TI chipset, as well as with the built-in DV interface of a Macintosh iMac.

After the initial debugging cycle, I have downloaded lots of video from my camcorder's DV tape over the 1394 interface, produced video that I burned to DVD, which played back and looked great on my 27-inch TV, and copied the edited video back to a DV tape in the camcorder (all using Ulead Video Studio 8.0, which I will be reviewing in the software section of this site shortly).

In short, the JVC GR-DV800 has done everything I've asked of it thus far, and with its flexible input and output connections, and availability of useful accessories, including lenses and filters, I consider it to be a great product.

Posted at November 11, 2003 07:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)