JVC GZ-HD7EK HD Everio Camcorder

December 25, 2007 | By Doug In Digital Camcorder |

JVC GZ-HD7EK HD Everio Camcorder
JVC expands its award-winning Everio hard drive camcorder family with the addition of the JVC HD Everio GZ-HD7, a new high definition camcorder that provides full HD 1920×1080i video quality combined with the convenience of hard drive recording. This camcorder is the first Everio to shoot in full 1080i and the first JVC consumer camcorder to adopt a Fujinon lens. Designed to enable consumers to conveniently capture and share their memories in full high definition without the need for removable tapes or discs, the HD Everio offers consumers the simplicity of a point-and-shoot camcorder combined with the features, technology and manual controls that appeal to the serious videographer.

Customer Review: My first camcorder
I did a lot of research and soul searching before parting with my pound notes for this camera. I am new to the Camcorder arena so I guess my comments are true lay-terms as opposed to other experienced users on this page. Delivery was right on the button, thanks Amazon. The Camcorder is stunning stuff, great build quality compared to other makes in the price range and it works ‘just like it says on the tin’ The picture quality is great, the instruction manual gets nine out of ten for accuracy and the software that’s supplied works fine even on my old cranky laptop.(a bit slow though.) I took time to read some of the help files in the software suite and the .tod issue is not a problem if you use the JVC software, so I haven’t found the need to buy other editing software to produce DVDs etc. Everything I need was in the box except an iLink/firewire cable to download the pics to my recorder. I went to the camera shop and they wanted fifteen quid for one (Dick Turpin rules)so I got one on Amazon for under five quid. Happy filming.

Customer Review: A good first attempt - next year’s will be better
I took advantage of the exchange rate (thanks, again, DM) to pick up one of these for ?750 and ordered it in April just before the ‘it’s not quite as qood as we thought it was going to be’ consumer feedback started to come from the US.

Having had it for six weeks, I can say I love the build quality, the balance and the size. It’s a well-made product. And the image quality is just great. Not the best, (apparently that’s the tape-based Canon HV20) - but a million miles better than DV and more than good enough for my needs.

I had wanted an high-def Hard Disk camcorder for visualising scenes/general filming and this seemed a reasonable bet. I had looked at the Sony hi-def hard drive model in January (SR1?) - but decided to wait because none of the editing packages at the time supported the new AVCHD format the Sony used.

To deal with the OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) issue which is taking a lot of time on the US Amazon review boards… Yes, the camera is skittish at high-zoom and there is shake. But, remember, this is a prosumer model camera with lots of manual features; so, if buying it, you should be also considering investing in a tripod. Additionally, using the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen, helps steady the camera.

The .TOD issue is fairly easily dealt with by manually renaming the files .mpg. I edit in Sony Vegas, which pulls the files in very happily. Vegas is multi-core capable (uses all four processors on my machine) so editing seems pretty smooth. Even the cheaper versions of Vegas are pretty capable beasts.

So, all in all, I’m very happy with this as a buying choice. Canon HV20 sounds very nice - but there’s that tape issue. With this, I can shoot, select, watch, delete - fast. I’ll be happy with the Everio for the next couple of years.

NB: A key thing to consider, when buying an high-def camera, is the need to have a computer powerful enough for editing. The no-brainer is a Mac. By comparison, I picked up a 2x dual-core Xeon 2Ghz on ebay (Precision 690) for just over a grand. And a Dell 24″ A03 screen for ?400. Which makes the Mac an expensive no-brainer.

Sony DCR-VX2100 Digital Camcorder [Semi Professional, 12xoptical, 2.5" LCD, CCD]
Take Control of Sound and Vision with the DCR-VX2100 series, offering the brightest video results of all Sony MiniDV models. With its Advanced HAD progressive scan CCD technology, illumination is improved dramatically, delivering superior low-light perfor
Amazon Price: ?1,439.97

Samsung VP-D361/XEU Ultra Compact Digital MiniDV Camcorder - Silver/Black
Used Price: ?109.99
Customer Review: can not get better for the price
i got one of these and have used it loads and got more than my moneys worth the picture is good the sound is good it takes some amazing still photos and has a massive 33x optical zoom so can get right up close to most things you can see in very clear detail pretty easy to use but with things to try as you get better at using it like the manual focus and different shutter speeds i wood say get a tripod if you have unsteady hands and you will see a difference happy filming
Customer Review: Extremely Disappointed
I have spent hours trying to get this camera to register on my PC. I purchased a firewire card and TWO cables to no avail. The picture is grainy. I lost a whole day of footage in Barcelona. I am extremely disappointed in this camcorder.