JVC GRDVM90U MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

For the past 10 years I've always had to lug both my nikon slr and the camcorder on vacations and to events. It was such a pain. I've been waiting for a camera with enough quality to cover both my motion and still photo needs. The JVC 90 did the trick and it's smaller than both my slr and previous camcorder! The quality of the stills when set to XGA fine is good enough to make an excellent 5x7 and pretty decent 8x10. The 8meg mem card will allow you to take ~24 pictures at this level. Even better, you can video and then take snapshots off the video. This allowed me to get some awesome hockey shots during games this winter. The camera has tons of features I'm still trying to figure out, and leaves plenty of room to grow your skills. I'd recommend an extended warrantee though as the internals of this thing are microscopic mechanical parts that would prabably set you back and arm and leg to repair. I bought a pelican box for mine to protect it. My battery lasts about 10 minutes before dying I usually run with the foldout off to save power.

I just purchased this camera and love all but one of the features that I was most interested in. JVC advertises that you can capture a short video clips to email friends and relatives. Well, this is true, but what they do not tell you is that the format is in JMM format, which is some kind of JVC proprietary format! I have yet to find anyone who supports or has a converter for this format. JVC has partnered with a web service that allows you to store these images for people to come view. This is a free service until you what more space. I just think this is another gimmick to make money at the expense of the consumer.

You will also find out when you play back these clips with the supplied viewer that the quality is very poor!

Another issue I had was that the menus and buttons associated with the memory card were not very intuitive or easy to follow.

Overall, I would recommend this camera with the exception of ... the Email Clip feature.

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Bought this unit to use the DV features with my Macintosh. JVC is not real supportive of Macs, but they do give you an extension to add to your system which will let other video editing software see the camera on your firewire port and bring in/out the video.

However, to discuss the camera, it is amazing that so much can be packed into such a small package. Due to all the editing features, shooting options for video, and options for single photo shots with it you will be overwhelmed by it all and maybe bit frustrated. Hang on cus it gets easier. Spent a LOT of time just learning how and went to use the features. When it is all said and done, the quality of the video is great. Good control of brightness during shots in low light rooms or bright light. Zoom is fast, but can be made to go slow so not everyone is on a rollercoaster.

JVC support stinks. Call and hard to get someone to answer questions. Leave messages and they dont call back... ever. Recommend going to local camera shop for assistance, if needed.

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I purchased this camera because of its size and advertised good features. Well, let me tell you. First, unless you are in a very well lit place, the image is extremely dark and poor. Even in a room in the afternoon with natural light, the image will be too dark.

Second, the camera started giving me problems and stopped functioning after only 2 months of light use (I was only able to record 4 tapes with this gadget)...that means I ended up paying about 300 for each tape ...Geez...I am MADDDD!!!!

I tried to contact JVC but they would give me no answers, I sent it by the mail to Florida where, after about a month they sent me back the camera and charged me $70 (Don't know why because thee warranty was still valid), but anyway, I coughed up the money beause I didn't want to miss any day of my newborn's baby without filming it. Well, after about a week, the camera would not open and eject the tape. Could I be more frustrated? NO!!! I will buy a Sony instead and NEVER!! EVER buy a JVC prodcut again. If you buy this thing beacuse it hs been reduced (...), think again. ($$$) bucks is still a bad dealfor such a crappy gadget with no tchnical suppost whatsoever.

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I discovered pretty soon after I bought it that this was not the camcorder for me. The only time the image quality (both still and video) is acceptable is outdoors in bright daylight. I have had much problems downloading still images to computer. I was working on a windows NT station and on a win95. I got it to work once but was never able to repeat it. I am a computer professional. It could be I have a defective cable but frankly I do not have so much time to deal with tech support and repairs and replacement. When I buy a product like this I just want it to work out of the box. Other issues are that it comes with no lens cap and that the battery that it comes with has a very short life (less than a hour). In retrospect the SOny P110 (which is almost double the price) is worth it.