JVC GR-DVM50U Digital Cybercam

I loooove the small size! Because of that, it gets more use. HOWEVER, had to send it for repairs 3 months after I bought it. Warranty covered the expense, (but not the shipping), and I'm afraid of the next time it will break, since the warranty has now run out. I would recommend some other brand with a better repair history. I don't recommend purchasing extended warranties, since it's damn near impossible to make them pay.

I have owned 3 JVC camcorders or similar type DVM3, DVM5 and DVM50U. I have loved the size, capability and quality of video image, but all 3 have had significant and expensive repairs. So much so that I gave up the DVM5 because the repair cost was more than I could buy a new and more recent model. At the moment the DVM50U is in the shop after about 5 months ownership and the DVM3 has troubles holding selected zoom mode. I have also owned 3 JVC VCR's and 2 JVC televisions. One VCR bombed out with expensive repairs that dis not correct the problems, but the others have been great. I am not sure I would buy another JVC camcorder.

I've owned mine for about 1 1/2 years now, and I'm happy to say it gets more use now than ever. The camera is well-made, the quality of the images is very good and the price and availability of media (both tape for movies and the proprietary MultiMediaCards for stills) continues to improve (a 32 meg MMC costs about $100 and holds 200 or so images). I do seem to have a problem keeping dust out of the viewfinder, but that's my fault for shooting on windy days at some very dry baseball fields. The most useful addition was a MMC reader, which makes downloading images to my desktop simple and fast. I have not bought the FireWire set-up yet, but this is required for tape transfer to the desktop. All in all, this is one of the most versatile cameras I have ever owned.

I bought this camcorder for it's features and size. On the shell it seems like a killer product. However, after I bought it, I've noticed annoying, loud drum and zoom motor noises that become recorded on tape. I've sent it for service. They replaced a video drum and shipped it back. The noises didn't disappear. I sent it for service again. They did nothing and shipped it back (without an explanation). Again I sent it for service and followed up with phone calls. They claim there is no problem with the unit; it is supposed to work like this! I've never seen a camcorder (even a thrid of it's price) that was so noisy. The product is simply FLAWED. The service was also an unpleasant experience. The product has to be shipped to a scarsely located service center (I've spent almost $50 on shipping). The personnel was unresponsive and played a game of "do nothing and a customer will go away". After a verbal bout with the service manager, he agreed to refund the money for the camcorder. However I got stuck with extra accessories worth over $100 I bought for this unit. When I called the JVC customer relations, they suggested it was only MY problem with not being satisfied with THEIR product and I should be glad they refunded the unit price. This whole experience of owning this JVC product was very unpleasant from both emotional and economical point of view. I've decided to buy Sony TRV11 camcorder which I very happy with.

I purchased this camcorder shortly before our baby was born, and absolutely love it. It's a bit expensive, but so easy to use and handy that it was easily worth it for us. I used the accompanying software to capture the best frames as still photos, and then simply chose the "save as HTML album", and VOILA--I had a web site for the baby! There are plenty of more advanced features that I haven't had the time to experiment with yet, but it's good to know that they're there when I do get around to it. I couldn't be happier with my choice!