JVC Everio GZMG21 20GB HDD Digital Media Camcorder with 32x Optical Zoom

I've had this camera for about 2 years now, and I've been very pleased with it overall. There are a few things that I've learned to live with however.

Using it outdoors, it shoots beautifully. The picture is crystal clear. The same goes for indoors, in well-lit situations. But in low light situations, the picture is grainy and quite dark. You can futz with the manual settings to try and compensate for it, but the picture simply won't be as great as you would like it to be.

Another nitpick is that the files are proprietary, and only works with the editing software that comes with the camera. I'll never understand why companies will do that sort of thing. There is a work-around out there that will allow you to convert the files into more common mpeg files, but I'll let you look for that yourself.

Aside from those issues, it's a very fine HDD camera.

We have had this unit for a year now and are pretty disappointed for the money we paid. We upgraded to this JVC hd model from a Panasonic minidv that was great. First indoors the camcorders light is nearly useless at more than three feet. The video picture qualty is terrible unless you turn the frame rate down. I think basicaly this is a good unit for the bright outdoors. The camera is well thought out functionally has great controlls. The software that came with it is somewhat usefull but not good or up to par for the cost. I sold our 5 year old panasonic for a 100 bucs and I really miss it.

its a great camera except burning the DVD procedure is hard. It was hard for me to Edit and burn the DVD. Its good for those people who have great knowledge of Photo/Movie editing software. indoor recording is not that great eigher. great for Outdoor recording.

I purchased this a few months ago, and am not very happy with it. Operationally and functionally it works fine. However, I'm not at all happy with the quality of the videos/pictures. I had a small digital I bought for $125 and the video quality is the same. Also, even after making the adjustments and settings recommended for low-light and indoor photography, it is not very good. And then, you have to reset for outdoors, then reset for indoors, etc. If it involved one or two adjustments, it would be fine but it's a lot of hassle for poor quality you end up with. Also, this just may be me, but it's so light when you use zoom it's very hard to hold it steady and the image then gets blurred like it's out of focus. For a $500 range camera, I would look at something else.

This camera does what I want; allows me to take quality footage of my daughter as she continues to grow. I don't record film footage in a cave, so I have no complaints about the low light conditions. If what you're looking to do is capture precious moments as keepsakes, then this ought to meet the need.
Pros:
*Hard drive storage, so no disks to tote
*Small bodied, light weight
*Easy connection to TV or other media for playback
*Controls are fairly easy to navigate
Cons:
*Battery life is short; buy a spare or two, as well as a separate charger (shop online for bargains)