Quick Review Camcorders: JVC GZ-MG70

The GZ-MG70 is the top of the line in JVC’s Everio G-Series. It sells for around $799 and boasts a 30 GB hard drive within a simple body, weighing a mere 1 lb. But these perks were colored by mediocre video quality and restricted manual controls. Did JVC manage to find a balance in their bold, but flawed, solid-state camcorder series?

 Despite the 1/3.6 CCD chip size, the MG70 doesn’t deliver impressive video quality. Testing yielded bleak results in both color representation and sharpness. The picture lacked definition, and both noise and blurring were apparent, leaving you with an unimpressive image. The MG70 did surprise in its ability to perform well in low light situations, where the picture remained bright, while retaining its sharpness and focus.

Handling and ease of use also generated mixed results. The body’s right side is a flat panel, which provides for an excellent hand grip, complimented by a sturdy hand strap. The Power/Mode switch and zoom toggle are well placed on the top of the camcorder. The zoom offers excellent control. On the back, the Rec/Snap button is easily accessible and the rear-mounted battery gives you the option for longer life, expanded batteries. All the navigational buttons are located on the left side under the 2.5 inch LCD panel. The administrative menu and mode switch are easily accessible. However, the four-way menu navigation pad, with a miniscule “enter” button in the middle is way to small and difficult to operate. The last issue with handling is heat. After 20 minutes, the MG70 gets hot, almost too hot to handle.

The MG70 performs well in automatic mode, covering exposure, white balance, shutter speed, gain, and focus. The only issue was the relationship to focus and stabilization. One shake of the hand and your subject will fall in and out of focus. The automatic white balance was also problematic, and we recommend learning how to manually adjust this aspect if you plan on owning the MG70.

JVCs are typically strong contenders in the field of manual control, falling right behind Panasonics in their breadth and level of control. The G-series, however, falls far short of their established expectations. All the manual controls buried in the menu, which must be maneuvered through with the ridiculously small navigation buttons.. We hoped to see even one or two dedicated buttons for white balance or focus, but there were none to be found. These design shortcomings seem to relegate the MG70 to an expensive point-and-shoot.

For still features, four resolution sizes are offered (1600 x 1200 max) and two quality categories (Fine and Standard). A massive number of stills can be saved directly to the 30GB hard drive or to a removable SD card, which is not included. The MG70 produces better still pictures than video, but don’t count this as a match for your dedicated digital still cam. The images were much sharper, but the colors still remained a little dull.

There is a software bundle that comes with the MG70, which allows you to get your footage onto DVD. However, if you want to use a more advanced editing program, you must manually change the file extension of each clip from .MOD to .MPG in order to import them. In doing so, however, the audio track will be lost. So, if you’re one of those unreasonable users that insist on audio with your footage, you’re stuck with the software provided.

In the end, the MG70 just doesn’t cut it. Despite the enormous hard drive and easy automatic controls, the top priority of a camcorder should  be video quality and control, and that is where the MG70 falls short. Why record extensive amounts of footage and stills if they don’t look good? Why buy a camcorder that offers manual control but makes it so difficult? While the MG70 takes a step toward the future of solid state cameras, it also proves that the road ahead is vast and long.

JVC GZ-MG70: THE BOTTOM LINE... Rating: 188.0

Likes

- Recording capacity   - Size  - Solid Grip

Dislikes

- Mediocre video quality  - Small button size / interface control  - Editing restrictions

JVC GZ-MG70 Compared to the...

JVC GZ-MG30 Rating:152.76	Panasonic SDR-S100 Rating: 204.24	Canon Optura 600 Rating: 230.33	JVC GZ-MC500 Rating: 217.32	Sony DCR-PC1000 Rating: 213.72
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-25x optical zoom lens -Lower Price range	-On-camera headphone jack  -Large aperture range: f/2.0 to f/16  -2.8 inch, widescreen LCD  -First 3 CCD SD camera -Better video quality  -Manual Gain control is possible	-Headphone Jack  -Native 16:9 format  -Higher-quality MiniDV compression also eaiser to edit -1/2.8 inch 3.5 MP (effective) CCD  -Aperture Priority opportunities f/1.8-8.0  -More Program AE modes -Easier editing compatibility  -Controls are well-sized  -Higher resolution with still images (2304 x 1736)  -Better options for still image mode  -Microphone Inputs and manual audio control	-Focus ring  -3 x 1.33 MP, 1/4.5 inch CCDs   -Aperture control: f/1.8 to f/8.0  -Interesting swiveling split body design  -Higher still resolution   -Pop up flash  -Better wide-screen format -Headphone jack means users will actually be able to gauge audio levels while recording	-Numerical Focal scale on-screen during shooting -Hot accessory shoe (although requires Sony proprietary products) -3 x 1/6 inch CMOS sensors -Better size on external controls  -24 step exposure mode  -Higher still resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio -2.7 inch LCD screen  -Higher-quality MiniDV compression also eaiser to edit -Audio Recording Options  -Spot Metering and Spot Focus
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- +/-6 Exposure range  -Digitized focal control  -Poor legibility of focal setting and interface on LCD  -Complicated and undersized external control structure means slow progress during shooting  -A/V Composite port  -30 GB Hard Disk Drive is non-removable -MPEG-2 format recording  -USB Port  -Shutter speed range -Manual White Balance -S-Video port  -Not true "wide-screen" -2.5 inch LCD screen  -No mic input  -No headphone jack	-No mic input -On-camera stereo audio recording  -Backlight Compensation mode  -USB Connection  - A/V  composite -S-video port  -10x optical zoom  -Bad manual focus  -Manual White Balance settings along with presets  -False wide angle format  -MPEG-2 video format	-Composite AV jack  -Digitized Manual Focus control (no focal ring)  -10x optical/200x digital zoom lens  -2.5 inch LCD screen  -Manual White Balance along with presets	-USB port -A/V Composite Port  -Built in stereo mic records Dolby digital  -6 step Exposure shift setting  -10x optical zoom lens  -Similar preset shooting mode set-up  -Video shutter speed range  -Limited White Balance presets	-Identical still image resolution in 4:3 aspect ratio -Opportunity for manual white balance  -Similar Preset shooting modes  -10x optical zoom lens  -No microphone jack and no headphone jack
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-Smaller 680 K CCD -Still resolution fixed at 640x480 -Lack of an on-camera flash for still shooting -Smaller Lens of only 27 mm	-Internal battery=shorter shooting time  -Hand strap is less secure and handles with less assurance  -Lacks internal hard drive  -SD card media limited to about 18 minutes of footage at highest quality  -Slowest shutter speed is 1/60th	-Inability to gauge widescreen frame with LCD screen -Slow end of shutter speed range is truncated at 1/8 of a second -Higher price range	-Smaller 1.8 inch LCD makes focal adjustments harder -4 GB Microdrive limits recording capacity	-Closed battery system will limit options for extended battery life  -Structured to only function in conjunction with other Sony media  -Poor Microphone placement on the top of the camera body  -No Slow shutter speed options