Product Description

This newly styled JVC Compact camcorder is designed for those who are searching for a fun, slimline and convenient camcorder. The GR-D72US boasts JVC's new Just Very Convenient features 3-D NR to eliminate noise up to 30%, 2.5 inch Crystal-View LCD to reduce glare and reflections and a built-in auto " Illumi-Light" for 1/10th the power consumption. Plus, a color viewfinder, 680, 000-Pixel CCD Super High Band Processor for 520 lines of horizontal resolution, Power-Linked Operation, Night Alive, and 700X Super Digital Zoom with Spline Interpolation. The GR-D72 can also take HG digital stills at 1026 x 768 / 640 x 480. Convenience for digital stills is achieved by a SD/ MMC card slot.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50031 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: JVC
• Model: GRD72US
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 1.00" w x 1.00" l, 1.00 pounds
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• 16x optical zoom lens (700x digital zoom) and digital image stabilizer
• Crystal View rotating 2.5-inch High Resolution LCD, to reduce glare and reflections from the LCD screen
• Built-in auto light using twin LED lights for 1/10th the power consumption and SD/MMC card slot
• BN-V408U 800 mAh Lithium-ion, high-capacity, rechargeable battery pack; camera has built-in battery charger

From the Manufacturer
This newly styled JVC Compact camcorder is designed for those who are searching for a fun, slimline and convenient camcorder. The GR-D72US boasts JVC's new Just Very Convenient features 3-D NR to eliminate noise up to 30%, 2.5 inch Crystal-View LCD to reduce glare and reflections and a built-in auto "Illumi-Light" for 1/10th the power consumption.

Plus, a color viewfinder, 680,000-Pixel CCD Super High Band Processor for 520 lines of horizontal resolution, Power-Linked Operation, Night Alive, and 700X Super Digital Zoom with Spline Interpolation. The GR-D72 can also take HG digital stills at 1026 x 768 / 640 x 480. Convenience for digital stills are achieved by a SD/MMC card slot.

• Crystal View 2.5" High Resolution LCD, to reduce glare and reflections from the LCD screen.
• 3-D Noise Reduction (3-D NR) to eliminate up to 30% of noise in low light situations.
• Illumi-Light: Built-in Auto light using twin LED lights for 1/10 the power consumption.
• MMC/SD Card Slot
• HG Digital Stills with 2 selectable Image Size Settings (1024x768/ 640x480)
• Color Viewfinder

The MiniDV Format
MiniDV, the most common type of digital camcorder, records video using the standard DV-format. It's the preferred format for broadcast-quality video, and it is also highly regarded for its high audio and still image quality. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. Tapes come in lengths of 60 and 80 minutes at standard speed (SP), with use of lower speed mode (SP) increasing time to 90 and 120 minutes while reducing resolution.

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Customer Reviews

Very pleased so far!
I've only had this camera for a week now, but I'm very pleased with what I got for the price. I have a degree in cinema & photography, so I like to think I know a few things about cameras.

PROS

Nearly all the controls can be manipulated with one hand, thanks to the scroll wheel. Pushing it in brings up the menu, and scrolling the wheel allows you to select the menus and features you want to change. Another push of the wheel selects the menu item you want to change. This is a great feature that pretty much sold me on the camera, as the Sonys rely on a touch-pad LCD. The trouble with that is you must have the LCD screen out whenever you want to alter a setting, and therefore you have to take the camera away from your eye and use both hands. You also use up your battery twice as fast, and you'll eventually wear out the LCD screen and get it dirty. No thanks, Sony.

It also has a built-in LED light for low-light shooting. This doesn't compare to the infra-red of the Sonys, but then again infra-red gives you a green "night-vision" picture. If low-light shooting is important to you and you don't mind the greenish video, then go with infra-red.

It uses a separate SD memory card for digital stills (card not included).

The viewfinder is color, not b&w like some camcorders.

Analog-to-digital pass-through for converting your old analog tapes (VHS, etc.)

Remote control included! Big plus in my book.

It has a bigger lens than the Sonys (but still not as big as the Canons). This should result in better picture quality; however, it does make the camcorder slightly larger and heavier than the Sonys.

The optical zoom is 16x, versus 10x on the Sonys. (Canon even has a camcorder with 22x zoom.)

JVC bundles MovieWOW software for editing your videos. I haven't used it yet, but it's a freebie so it's worth trying out. You can also download Microsoft's Movie Maker software for free if you don't like MovieWOW.

At less than $400 it's the best value out there. (...) CONS

The viewfinder doesn't tilt up -- strange that JVC wouldn't incorporate this feature, as it would be a big plus. I'm over 6' tall, so when the camcorder is mounted on a 5' tripod I have to stoop to look through the viewfinder. (Yes, I can pop out the LCD screen and angle it up to view the picture instead, but this eats up battery power as I said. I could also get a 6' tripod, I suppose.)

There's no hot shoe on top to mount an external microphone or flood light -- another oversight on JVC's part.

No included SD memory card for digital stills. Oddly, you can only select "tape" or "tape & SD" for capturing stills, so either way it's going to record the still to tape. Why JVC didn't give you the option of writing stills strictly to the SD card is beyond me. No matter -- the stills any camcorder takes are low-resolution, so if you want good digital stills then buy a digital still camera instead.

Image stabilization is disappointing, but that's true with all the camcorders I tried out. It's somewhat helpful, but it's certainly not going to turn your camcorder into a Steadicam. Use a tripod when at high zoom levels, or keep the lens as wide as possible when hand-holding to smooth out your tilts and pans.

Night vision mode slows down the shutter speed, making your video a bit choppy.

OTHER ADVICE

Go to a camera or electronics store and try out the different cameras before making a decision. You might be surprised by the features you hate and the ones you love. This is what steered me away from the Sonys and to this JVC model.

Turn off the digital zoom -- it's worthless (this is true of any camcorder).

Make sure you add on a UV filter, if only to protect the lens. This should be standard issue for all camcorders.

Also consider a polarizing filter for sunny outdoors shooting -- makes a big difference.

A flourescent filter is a good idea if you will be shooting indoors where flourescent light dominates (office or industrial settings, for instance).

If zoom is important to you, consider adding on a 2x or even 3x telephoto multiplier. This will turn your 16x zoom in a 32x zoom, or 48x zoom, respectively. But be warned -- at those zoom levels, you'd better have a rock-solid tripod to keep the picture as steady as possible.

You need a firewire connection to your computer to get the best transfers. If you don't have firewire on your commputer, you'll need to buy an add-in card.

Enjoy!

Best camcorder under $600
I spent over 20 hours researching my recent camcorder purchase. The best site was camcorderinfo.com. In fact, they just posted a thorough review of the GRD72 and also have reviews of one model down (D33) and one model up (D93) from this one. Also be sure to check out the competing models' reviews (Sony and Canon).

What I was looking for in a camcorder, was, surprise surprise (!) good video performance in a range of lighting conditions. I had read that low-light performance on ALL so-called consumer camcorders was very poor. The D72 (and D33) have the best low-light performance of ANY camcorder priced $600 or less! That's saying a ton considering these models sell for almost half of that! Seriously, check out the Sony HC20, 30, or 40 and the D72 beats them all! Plus it has decent still image capability, includes LED lights, and has analog-to-digital passthrough. Can't be beaten! What a deal!

Super easy to use and great video - what more could you want? Some of the other reviews on amazon for the D72 seem bizarre and based only on the software that comes with the camera. You likely won't use the software that comes with ANY camcorder you buy. What do you want out of your camcorder? Good video performance, versatiliy, and ease of use are the only criteria that matter! Dig around on the Internet for reviews of other models to convince yourself, but if you take this reviewer's advice alone, you'll save yourself a dozen hours of work! :-)

December update: Well, I've had this camcorder now for six months and I'm still thrilled with it. I've shot about 3 hours worth of video in that time and have played around with editing on the computer. The key seems to be to have a fast enough computer as well as a firewire connection (my first attempt with a USB cable yielded horrible video). Also, when viewing on TV, again, the video quality depends on the connection you use (try the S-video!) as well as the quality of your display. None of these problems are limitations of this camcorder, but are realities of digital video. The video I've shot so far is VERY good (stunning actually) when hooked up properly. I also have noticed that this camcorder is now $50 less than when I bought it in May - even more of a great deal! Enjoy!

Good for the money (so far)
I wanted a camcorder that has a large zoom and good low light performance, as I shoot wildlife. So far this camcorder seems to "check most of the boxes." I bought it at Costco for $[...]. For the money it's 5 stars, but in the larger schema there are a few improvements I might recommend.

Some negatives-
->Nylon strap is narrow, contributing to a little instability in handholding; one has to form a "C" to cup the camcorder like a Big Mac to hold it steady (not a big deal).
->Manual focus is a bit awkward, I still prefer the ring. Man focus is useful while crouched in the bush and you don't want the auto-focus to zero in on the blade of grass 2 feet in front of you, instead of the elk 30 feet away. Simple solution: Set to manual control, focus on distant object and press manual focus button.
->Zoom action lever is small, so one must concentrate to do a smooth zoom. But true of many camcorders.
-> I wish the finder tilted up - it only goes straight back.

Positives-

Software install went off with out issues. I believe some of other folks' issues is due to other issues on their pc's.*

->scenalyzer captured all the video perfectly on the timecode breaks.
->Video quality is quite good, in fact excellent (YES!!) for such a cheap camcorder. Low light performs far better than expected, My old Sony lost all the chroma at low light levels, while the color on this JVC is not vivid, it is far better than most in low light. ...and that's without their niteshot.

Daytime quality is fantastic. I can't believe I am getting this quality for this price, actually.
->The gentleman who mentioned the mic picking up noise from the mechanics, I did not hear this. I hope his replacement unit is ok for him.
-> Macro (extreme closeup) is very good.
-> Has just about all the key features one could want to shoot decent video. Manual exposure controls, Iris lock, White balance (limited, but good enough). Like a good set of golf clubs, the limitation is usually in the operator, not the tool.

Some General TIPS:
->The CCD image sensors in a digicam and a camcorder are completely different, so don't expect ANY camcorder to shoot stills well. Maybe someday, but there's a long way to go.
-> Digital zoom is worthless. Ignore it. Turn it off.
->Tape is cheap, always record at fastest speed (SP)
->Don't expect to get DV out of USB. USB on most all camcorders is simply to dump out "low-res" still and MPEG files from the camcorder. These are really only good enough for streaming to the web, or e-mailing to those on dial-up. To do it right, you need firewire to get DV ot of the camcorder.

Additionally,

Tip: Consider http://www.scenalyzer.com/ for their capture program. It does analog and digital capture very well and is pretty cheap ($[...]). One thing i love is the stop motion video capability it offers.

*Don't underestimate how important is is to have the latest drivers (esp. video card drivers) on your pc before doing such an intensive task as video editing. As an experienced network manager, much of the PC problems I see are due to an excessive amount of garbage software and outdated drivers (and BIOS) on the typical PC.
For video editing, I have a partition on my PC running Windows 2000 and my video editing (Premiere) and related software ONLY. No games or other crap to gum things up. (That's on a separate install of Windows) You cannot expect to be able to install all that software available out there and still have it work correctly.

Your PC MUST deliver about 3.6Meg of data per second to the CPU to have smooth video. 720x480 DV consumes 13.6Gig PER HOUR of your hard disk. Rendering sucks CPU cycles, unless you have a hardware card to offload this process to. You will also need a fair amount of freespace to render and do other tasks. I believe it a disservice for others to state they had issues w/ this software w/o checking to ensure their own house was in order first.

Summary: Excellent value for the money. Thanks JVC!!

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NEW (7/06) I just discovered many camcorders apparently are being recalled - the video goes Kaput - no video in camera mode or streaking. Apparently there was a batch of bad CCD's Sony, JVC and maybe more bought. Sony has a class action against them; JVC is doing a recall. check the relevant site if your camcorder is kaput! It may be on a warranty.