Wednesday, April 2, 2014

JVC GRD30 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and 16x Optical Zoom

JVC GRD30 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5' LCD and 16x Optical Zoom..... I love it. The picture and sound quality are great, I dont think I could ask for more.

The battery it comes with is good for over an hour, which easily covers a 60 minute tape. Thats better than the default battery you get with a lot of other camcorders which are often in the 30-45 minute range. It lacks the remote control and USB/memory card you get with the 2 higher (and more expensive) models, but thats fine by me. It can still take stills, but its not a function I have any interest in. If I want good stills, I have a 2.2MP Kodak for that. Pretty much everyone knows by now that you dont get good stills off a camcorder, just as you dont get good video off a still cam. If its an included secondary feature, then fine, but dont expect the quality you get with a more dedicated device. I got this for the video, and its a wonderful thing.

It doesnt do too well in really low light, of course I wasnt really expecting otherwise. I have yet to ever see a digital camcorder that actually does great with inadequet light. It has a night mode, which does greatly increase the lighting, but it drops the frame rate terribly. It has another "backlight" function that can be handy for less than optimal lighting. But in reasonable-good lighting, you get wonderfull piture quality. It has a nice selection of transition effects built in, I still have yet to explore them all. The 16x optical zoom is cool. Its more than enough for me. The size of the unit is nice, not too big and not too small similar in shape/size to the canon ZR series, only this thing is of higher quality than the canon counterparts, especially where audio is concerned.

Now, Im sure this isnt the ideal model for everyone in every situation, but for the price, you'd be hard pressed to get this kind of quality elsewhere. There are $$$$ models that cant compare to this, so Im happy with the buy. Its pretty easy to use. Not too much of a learning curve. Not so many buttons that you get lost. Manual/automatic choices. Yeah, its a nice piece of work and I was surprised at how affordable it was. I would recommend this to most people.

I just got my GRD30 yesterday and spent a good amount of time with it last night. Overall, I think it is a very good camera for the price.

It wasn't made overly clear to me (until I read through the manual) what the real differences were between this model and the GRD70/90 models. The only differences I saw were that this model has no remote control (not a big deal for me) and doesn't have on-board memory chip for storing still images (again, not a big deal). What I do think is important to know, though, is that the GRD70/90 models accept DV INPUT and can record the DV input onto the MiniDV tape. Had I known that, I might have stepped up, but I'm not sure it's worth a hundred dollars.

Overal Pros:

The picture quality is excellent.

The CCD resolution is outstanding at this price point -50% higher resolution than most other entry-level models (what sold me on this camera).

The price (and, therefore the value) is excellent.

Battery life is better than average (>1 hr) and it fully charges in less than 1.5 hrs.

...and So-So's:

The zoom is adequate, but not spectacular.

There is some on-tape noise when zooming in and out, but it's not overwhelming. We didn't even notice it until we taped our dog running in the yard (with no conversation).

The image stabilization is merely okay. But, it is a worthwhile feature.

...and Cons:

There is NO on-board light, and the low-light functionality is not spectacular. I'm not sure how much that will come in to play down the road.

There is no auxiliary audio input, so the front-facing microphone is all you get.

If you're looking for an entry-level DV camcorder, you could do a lot worse.

Buy JVC GRD30 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and 16x Optical Zoom Now

This is a standard-issue MiniDV digital camcorder in a very stylish body. While not one of the small pocket-size types -incidentally those are often awkward to operate and susceptible to hand shakes -the GRD30 is still small enough to be highly portable. All the standard features of a digital camcorder, from digital tape to fold-out LCD screen to IEEE 1394 "Firewire" connections, are there, and JVC also claims superb video image quality. The 16x optical zoom is higher than many other camcorders. (When choosing a camcorder or digital camera, pay ZERO attention to digital zoom claims, since digital zoom is entirely useless. Only optical zoom power counts.)

An attractive price, especially here on Amazon.com, makes this a top buy.

Read Best Reviews of JVC GRD30 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and 16x Optical Zoom Here

I purchased this camcorder strictly for two reasons. One, the price was exceptional. At first, I thought quality might suffer, but what the {heck}, buy it anyway. The second reason was to get a camera that I could carry around with me all day. And if it got banged up, or run over by an eighteen wheeler, no great loss. Upon receiving the camera, I opened the package, loaded a cassette and started shooting. This is one great little unit. The picture quality and sound were amazing. People complimented me on such colorful and crisp footage. I now view this camcorder right up there with the more expensive Panasonics. In the creation of this camcorder, JVC performed a really wise concept. They left all those features that you and I never use OFF this camera. We're talkin' bare bones here, and that's just fine with me. Buy this one, make your movies, and let it bang around a bit. For this great price, you cannot lose.

Want JVC GRD30 MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and 16x Optical Zoom Discount?

I've not owned a camcorder for about 12yrs. I'm glad I waited until now to buy a MiniDV. I'm a Windows user and was not sure how XP Pro would like this JVC. It's was easier than I thought! No PC video software included unless you loaded the Demo software and buy it. I connected the FireWire to my PC. I already had an IEEE 1394 port on my SB Audigy2 sound card. Powered it on. XP Pro surprised me! It knew the device and the model. Then Windows Movie Maker app loaded with all the basic controls as the camcorder on screen for my enjoyment. Coolness + some basic tools to make .wmv's from clips I recorded of the video footage taken or insert .jpegs from our Digital Camera into the movie I was putting together.

JVC MiniDV GR-D30, got its first work out at the Indy 2003 USGP F1 race. Took some video & Digital Photo's of the race. We set up the GR-D30 with the Sport mode & Clouds. Race was overcast and at times did rain. Video came out very nice and the long life battery (5hrs)was a good decision for this 2hr event. I put together a highlight movie 4:23 min. 320x240 16bit @ 705kbps total file size 20.5mb.

I've always liked JVC it's been my choice in TV's & Home Theater Audio. I like the JVC MiniDV and ease of use with PC's.

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