JVC GRD230 MiniDV Digital Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

Details

Availability:: No longer available through SilverGelatin.net

List Price:: $699.99

Average Customer Rating:: 4.0 out of 5

Manufacturer:: JVC

Features

Ultra-compact MiniDV camcorder and still camera with 1.33-megapixel CCD
10x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 500x) and image stabilizer
Crystal View rotating 2.5-inch High Resolution LCD, to reduce glare and reflections from the LCD screen
Illumi-Light: Built-in Auto light using twin LED lights for 1/10th the power consumption
BN-V408U 800 mAh Lithium-ion, high-capacity, rechargeable battery pack; camera has built-in battery charger

Description

JVC's Ultra-Compact Series Mini DV camcorders feature a fun, stylish design unique to JVC. The initial model in this series features JVC's DV Navigation, which displays thumbnails for each recorded scene to make it quick and easy to find specific material. Also featured is a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, 10X optical/500X digital zoom, USB connectivity, Video CD creation, e-mail video clips capability, NightAlive and includes an SD card.

The features of the compact, versatile GRD230 are accessible right out of the box. The record button is right under your thumb, and the digital still shutter button is exactly where your index finger comes to rest on top of the unit. Playback and mode functions are likewise clearly marked and easy to reach under the flip-out LCD screen. The camcorder's well-thought-out design manifests itself in a dozen other thoughtful details as well. One of our favorites is that closing the LCD screen turns the power off, and opening it turns it on, which facilitates quick-draw shooting and means you'll be unlikely to run down the battery accidentally.

Turn the camcorder on and off simply by closing and opening the LCD screen.

Which is all well and good, but how's the image fidelity? Decent to excellent. Daylight, of course, provides the most vibrant colors and the sharpest contours. But we found that even indoors, under the kind of fluorescent lighting you might find at, say, the offices of a Seattle-based online retailer, the video quality is surprisingly good. One thing the GRD230 does extremely well--and this is not a feature JVC calls out--is take sharp close-ups. We could see clear detail from as close as 5 centimeters away. Image stabilization is among the best we have ever seen: zoom in on a detail across the room, and the picture is as steady as if the camera had been mounted on a tripod.

One of the big draws of the GRD230 is the SD memory card slot that lets you take digital stills (the unit includes an 8 MB card, but you will almost certainly want to get a higher-capacity card as soon as possible). All the power of the 10x zoom lens is also available in still mode (forget about the advertised 500x "digital" zoom, whi ch is nothing but a cropping mechanism), and there is almost no shutter lag. Plus, the GRD230 does close-ups as well in still image mode as it does in video mode.

Freakishly good close-ups.
(Actual still picture taken with the GRD230 --
See full-sized image.)

The twin white LED auto-lights are a nice touch, even if their power is not overwhelming. The LEDs come on automatically whenever light is low (you can override this manually) but drain battery power at about a tenth the rate of conventional lights. Power management in general is something the GRD230 does very well indeed. An entire day of intermittent shooting on one charge proved to be no problem.

We do have a few complaints. Automatic mode is not as automatic as it might be; we had to manually adjust the brightness on a few occasions. Transmission to a PC via the USB cord required the installation of drivers from the included CD-ROM. (Isn't the U in "USB" supposed to stand for "universal"? Why do some cameras require a special driver and other s don't?) Also, the shape of the camera body, with its round hump, rather suspiciously makes the GRD230 look like a DVD camcorder. JVC isn't trying to fool anyone, are they? No matter: DVD or no DVD, you would be hard pressed to find anything at this price even approaching the quality and features of this tidy little unit. --David Stoesz

Pros

Compact, intuitive design
Decent image quality
SD card slot for digital stills
Excellent image stabilization

Cons

Shaped deceptively like a DVD camcorder
LED lights have a very limited range
USB connection requires installation of cumbersome software

Spotlight customer reviews

Don't buy this camcorder

[ Posted: 2006-04-14 ]

Rating: 20%

I bought this camcorder in 12/04 and I had to take it for service 4 times already. The screen was too dark and when I record, it show in slow motion.
The worse camcorder I ever bought bought not to mention the service I received. I take it for service, 2 weeks later I pick it up only to find out I still have the same problem
Don't waste your money.

Motor noise record in tape

[ Posted: 2005-04-01 ]

Rating: 60%

The picture quality of this camcorder is good, nice body, The motor noise record in tape, I tried evry things, finally I give up, have to return it. The motor noise made me don't want to watch the play back.

Great Quality, Great Price

[ Posted: 2005-01-07 ]

Rating: 100%

I bought this as a wedding gift for my sister, and have used it to shoot loads of footage at the wedding. Firstly, I havent heard ANY motor noise (and nobody else seeing the video has either). And I used it in both dimly lit rooms and normally lit rooms as well as outdoors. The picture quality is great, and the sound quality too. The ease of use of this camera in automatic mode meant that any relative of mine could step into my shoes when i wasn't around. Plus the digicam feature was a lifesaver because I ran out of battery on my digicam, and had to use the JVC as the substitute (and the photo quality is prety decent). Also the remote included with it is pretty handy and damn neat.

I would recommend that you buy the JVC starter kit along with this (thats the bag,1 cassette and the extra battery pack which lasts for 3 hrs) because the standard battery has a 1 hr life only. I also recommend that you buy an SD card separately as the included 8mb card is inadequate.

If this camera has faults, its only for the USB/Firewire port cover. I don't like it as I feel is fragile and can snap off pretty easily. Also the LCD has to be kept open due to the location of the cover.

All in all, a great camcorder, and at the price I bought it, excellent value.

How to make the Date & Time showed when transfer onto PC?

[ Posted: 2005-01-04 ]

Rating: 80%

Basically, It's a median quality product for a very reasonable price. Mine is working without any huge noise.

Just one thing though, does any one know how to make the Date & Time shown when transfer onto PC? I need help.

With analog A/V output to VCR, there's no problem. But when I use either USB or i-Link to transfer the Pictures or Mini DV Video onto the PC, the the Date & Time can never be displayed in my Video Edit Program or the DVD I made, and I don't really understand why. Please help, thanks.

no noise problem here

[ Posted: 2005-01-04 ]

Rating: 100%

I see two people reported noise and 17 mentioned no problem, with one specifically saying they had not noticed this at all.

I just want to second that I have han NO noise at all. I have tested it with both normal volume recording at a christmas party as well as a situation with no noise at all, and I can here no noise from the motor on any recording.

I am also surprised that soemone mentioned no tape in the package. I have bought panasonic and sony models with no tape either.

I am very happy with this camera for the price