Quick Review Camcorders: JVC GR-D250

The 2005 entry level camcorder for the JVC GR-D200 series, the GR-D250, is 30 percent smaller than last year’s models, the GR-D33.  JVC's approach for this current GR-D series seems to be an emphasis on style, accentuated by functionality.  This model's buttons, and ports layout make the camcorder easier to use.  Unfortunately, with the slimmer design is the absence of much needed features and ports, found on the parent model, that would have made transferring and monitoring data more accessible. 

The most notable void is the lack of an S-Video port.  While the GR-D250 shares similar cosmetics and imager specs with its bigger sibling the GR-D270, it is also void of significant necessities found in its siblings: USB port, SD card, and built in LED. As an entry level model, it is outfitted with basic provisions for frugal users.

The JVC GR-D250 is fairly easy to operate. Its slim design makes the camcorder more portable and easier to palm than last year’s GR-D33. The weight of the camcorder is easily distributed, making this model more comfortable to handle as well. The layout of the camcorder bolsters overall access and ease of use. The buttons are placed within effortless reach of the primary fingers, and the ports have been placed conveniently in the rear. A gray port cover shelters the DV, A/V out, DC in, and headphone jack. We found the headphone jack to be fairly useless due to high levels of static on our model.

This model and its siblings can be handled without much effort. In automatic mode the GR-D250 makes swift and adequate control adjustments to elements such as exposure, focus, and white balance. Manual controls can easily be accessed through the menu system, making user adjustments seem effortless. JVC has employed their new clear LCD technology on the JVC GR-D250 and in all the GR-D200 line. The 2.5” LCD has a gloss that offsets any outside glare. The camcorder's ease of use is its true appeal.

Although this is an entry level model, its performance mirrored that of the pricier and better armed GR-D270. Both camcorders share similar imager specs of 1/6” CCD with 680K gross pixels situated behind an impressive 25x optical zoom lens. The JVC GR-D250 performed well under bright lights conditions. The camcorder produced rich and vibrant colors, but the overall image displayed some noise. Surprisingly the absence of the 3D Noise Reduction from last years GR-D models did not harm this model’s low light performance too much. The camcorder produced images with respectable color representation, but the overall images were muddled and fuzzy.

While the JVC GR-D250 is a decent entry level camcorder with comparatively adequate performance and good ease of use, it is missing some essential features that are desirable for today’s consumer. The most important of the missing features is the memory port found on a sibling camcorder, the GR-D270. The GR-D270 can capture and store still photographs on an SD card; the GR-D250 cannot. The 2005 GR-D200 line has made appealing cosmetic changes, and design modifications that enhance ease of use and handling from last year; however, their performance has faltered slightly.  Compared to its predecessor the low light performance did not waver enough to determine whether or not the missing 3D noise reduction feature was a factor.  With its comprehensive manual control set, novice users with economic concerns could find this camera to be a suitable learning aid throughout development.

JVC GR-D250 Compared to the...

JVC GR-D33 Rating: 172.41	JVC GR-D270 Rating: 181.58	Canon ZR100 Rating: 181.94	Sony DCR-HC21 Rating: 167.90	Panasonic PV-GS19 Rating: 198.83
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-Video Performance -Low Light Performance -Ports -MPEG A/V dubbing	-Still capability -Ports	-Audio -Handling -Portability -Widescreen -Ports	-Navigation System -Automatic Controls -Ease Of use -Portability -Accessory Shoe -LANC Jack	-Video Performance -Low Light Performance -Ports -MPEG A/V dubbing
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-Imager Specs -Stills to Tape -Accessory Shoe (none) -Bottom Loading	-Video Performance -Automatic Control -Manual Control -Ease of use -Low Light Performance -Optical Zoom Specs -LCD Viewfinder -Portability	-Manual Control -Imager Specs -Bottom Loading -Accessory Shoe (none)	-Imager Specs Stills to Tape -Bottom-loading	-Imager Specs -Stills to Tape -Accessory Shoe (none) -Bottom Loading
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Optical Zoom Specs -Automatic Controls -Manual Controls -LCD/Viewfinder	-Audio -Analog-to-Digital Pass-through	-Automatic Control -Ease Of use -Still capability -Optical Zoom	-Low Light -Manual Controls -Optical Zoom	-Optical Zoom Specs -Automatic Controls -Manual Controls -LCD/Viewfinder