My favorite toy; works great with XP "MS Movie Maker"
Written: Apr 28 '04
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Pros: AV in, remote, battery life, FUN camera
Cons: no headphone/microphone jack, no light, night-vision worthless
The Bottom Line: Don't expect magic to happen: read about lighting and perspective, color theory and panning, and your videos will get much better. Quality has very little to do with the camera.
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| denardoh's Full Review: JVC Cybercam GR-D90 Mini DV Digital Camcorder |
I bought this camera over a year ago and also bought the extra big battery. I know I paid more than what's on the sticker nowadays, but I don't recall the exact value. I was dying for digital video and hoping to do some things with my computer as far as editing small videos. Here's what I found:
STILLS... I didn't expect this to be the number one camera in the world and I expected the stills to be as bad as they are - but to be honest, they're not completely useless in the right light. DO NOT BUY ADDITIONAL MEMORY FOR THE STILL CAMERA FUNCTION. My camera came with plenty of memory to take all the stills I'd ever want - it is a nice side function. If you want good stills, get a different kind of camera.
VIDEO... Best shots with this camera are during the day in full light, just after sunrise and just before sunset. There are no add-on light options that I know of, but I have had the thing long enough that I am about to get out the duct tape and my mini-mag. Shooting at night is tough - my buddy's Sony kicks the crap out of the JVC night functions. The 'night mode' or whatever is embarrassing for JVC; they would have been better with nothing - I'm not joking. IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO FILM A LOT IN LOW LIGHT, THIS IS NOT YOUR CAMERA. It is of course the cheaper option.
I have taken plenty of video during great outdoor lighting and have been very happy with the results in general. I think the controls are nice and in the right place - and comfortable to hold for long periods. I have taped many concerts (indoor and out), and advise getting a tripod even though the picture can be fine without.
BELLS AND WHISTLES... Ok, here is why you get this camera.
A/V in - this means you can feed the TV, VCR, the old camcorder, cd player, whatever you want into the camera and record. I have recorded entire basketball games from the TV live directly to DV. Not to mention dozens of old VHS-C tapes.
Remote control - So you can be the cool guy on a long trip watching tape from earlier in the day. It's also great for transferring to VCR or computer.
DV out - right into the 1394 (firewire) card. I got that setup for pretty cheap and used a hack version of some software. Now I use the MS Movie Maker (free from microsoft.com). It took a while for MS to come around, but this program is great. I'm pretty sure my grandma can use it. So out of the camera, into my Emachine (woohoo!), edited and back into the camera.
Battery life and fun - no this isn't the best camcorder available. But if you have a young family or travel with friends, this is a wonderful toy to have. Thrifty spenders may want to check out the other cameras in this line (D70, D30) to see if the price difference grabs your attention. I know I saw D30s on clearance for under 200 dollars the other day. NOTE: I DON'T KNOW THAT THESE OTHERS HAVE SIMILAR PERFORMANCE OR IDENTICAL IN/OUT FUNCTIONS AS MENTIONED ABOVE.
I hope you enjoy this camera if you buy it, it is definitely for fun and recording and sharing memories. Of all the "important things" I have recorded, I appreciate the Christmas videos and tapes of firework accidents the most : )
ENJOY!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 600
Recommended for: Budget Buyers - Best Values to Fit the Budget
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Epinions.com ID:
denardoh
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Location: Delaware!
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Boy. Delaware. 26. Drummer. Engineer.
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