Quick Review Camcorders: JVC GZ-MG30

The JVC GZ-MG30, to be fair, is on the cutting edge of the next step in camcorders. It is part of JVC’s Everio series, recording video straight to a hard disk. The more expensive Everio models feature a removable 4GB Microdrive. The GZ-MG30, part of the lower-priced Everio-G series, has been stripped of the flashier features. The video does record to hard disk, and though it cannot be removed, the sheer immensity of the thing is going to be its biggest draw – 30 GB. That is, undeniably, a lot of video, 7 hours in the best quality, and 30 hours in the lowest quality. But does that justify a $900 price tag?

"No" is our conclusion. The GZ-MG30 performed abysmally in nearly every test. Even the cheapest camcorders this year were able to outperform the GZ-MG30 in bright light conditions. The colors were washed; the picture was grainy and the camcorder could not achieve a decent focus. As this is generally only a problem in low light, it was not a sign of happy times for our next test.

Low light performance was beyond the pale of consideration. As a note of explanation, JVCs often do poorly in automatic mode if one of their key features is switched off – Automatic Gain Control. AGC (which should always remain on) senses how much the overall signal must be boosted in order to correct for the lack of light. Because they ship from the factory with AGC defaulted “on,” we rate their performance with this feature on. On most upper-end JVCs, the AGC does wonders with low light. The GZ-MG30, on the contrary, was awash with noise, and the colors looked as though they had been swept out to sea. This is only in moderate low light, mind you. In dimmer light, the picture simply disappeared.

Automatic and manual control could not do much to help the picture. The camcorder had trouble focusing in even good light. Manual control is difficult to navigate, and did little to improve the picture.

Handling on the GZ-MG30 is as bad as the picture. The primary navigation tool, a four-way touch pad, has a plethora of obscure icons pointing to it. Decoding these mystic runes will take some quality time between you and the manual. Even navigating the menu can be a problem for some users, due to the absurdly small buttons, accessible only by the tips of my fingernails. Playback is equally confusing, as most of the buttons on the body have double or triple duty. They have been shrunken and multi-purposed to oblivion.

One thing we can say about this camcorder – it’s highly portable. Weighing next to nothing, and requiring no tapes, it can easily be taken just about anywhere.

The media requires a brief explanation. Video is recorded to the hard disk, compressed into the MPEG2 format. There are four quality settings available. Even at its best, MPEG2 compression cannot match the relatively uncompressed MiniDV data. This is a technology geared towards portability and ease of use. You will likely have a hard time editing the footage. Frankly, with the video quality as it is, you may have a hard time watching the footage.

Ports on the GZ-MG30 include USB, A/V / headphone, and S-Video. Rather sparse.

New technology can often have a rocky start. While we absolutely loved the upper-end Everio, the GZ-MC500, JVC seems a long way from making this an affordable medium. The G-series has several models, and the identically priced GZ-MG40 seems to have a great deal more features, coming at the relatively slim cost of less hard disk space. Still, we urge you to give the technology a few more years to mature before you dive into the tape-less market.

JVC GZ-MG30 THE BOTTOM LINE... Rating:

Likes

-Recording Capacity -Optical Zoom Specs

Dislikes

-Video Performance -Low Light -Still Performance

JVC GZ-MG30 Compared to the...

JVC GZ-MG40 Rating:	JVC GZ-MC500 Rating: 218.38	JVC GZ-MC200 Rating: 170.50	Sony DCR-PC100 Rating: 215.38	Panasonic SDR-S100 Rating: 197.94
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-Still capability -Imager Specs -Megabrid engine (Special Video Processing)	-Video Performance -Automatic Control -Still Capability -Low Light Performance -LCD -VCR Mode -Ports -Manual Control -Ease Of use -Handling	-Video Performance -Low Light Performance -Automatic Control -Manual Control -Still Capability -LCD  -Widescreen -Audio -Handling -Ports -VCR Mode	-Video Performance -Low Light Performance -Still Capability -Automatic Control -Manual Control -Ports -Handling -Ease of Use -LCD -Widescreen	-Video Performance -Low Light Performance -Wide Angle -Manual Control -VCR Mode -Ease of use -Handling -Still Features -Portability -LCD
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-LCD -Portability	-Portability -Widescreen -Audio	-Portability	-Wide Angle -Audio	-Automatic Control
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Recording Capacity -Optical Zoom Specs	-Recording Capacity -Optical Zoomm Specs Wide Angle	-Recording Capacity -Optical Zoom Specs	Recording Capacity -Optical Zoom Specs -Portability	-recording Capacity -Optical Zoom Specs -Audio -Widescreen -Ports