JVC GR D770 - camcorder - Mini DV

9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Elegant and Easy
The GR-D770 is an excellent camcorder. Now that every TV in my house is wide screen, I wanted a Wide ...
The GR-D770 is an excellent camcorder. Now that every TV in my house is wide screen, I wanted a Wide screen camcorder. The JVC is amazing for the price. The video is very high quality and smooth, though not HD. The colors are saturated and the sound quality is good (even on the built in speaker). The 2.7" wide screen viewfinder is relatively good, though a higher resolution would have been better. It is nice that JVC included an SD slot, but the VGA stills are rather low quality. The photo light is very bright and convenient. The automatic function is nice. There is also a very helpful menu that displays battery life, but unlike Sony's HandyCam line, it does not show how many minutes left next to the battery meter. The menu system is a little confusing. You have to first put it into "Manual Mode" before you can access it. But the navigation is made simple with the built in joystick. Overall, this is a camcorder to behold.
The Amazing Video, large lens, and wide 16:9 shooting, makes up for low quality stills and a quirky menu system.
I would recommend this camcorder to everyone who wants good quality at a low price. Read more
by zmandatechfreek (see profile) - May 2, 2007

25 out of 25 users found this user opinion helpful.

3 out of 10 - Poor
Pale colours
I used it under exactly the same condition as a Panasonic, it was pale by comparison (pun intended).

Not that

...
I used it under exactly the same condition as a Panasonic, it was pale by comparison (pun intended).

Not that I am advertising Panasonic, it had its own problems too, but that's another story. Read more
by quefactor (see profile) - January 28, 2008

5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

1 out of 10 - Abysmal
AVOID this P.O.S
The video quality is so bad, it's like watching a distored webcam. if I wanted a webcam I would'...
The video quality is so bad, it's like watching a distored webcam. if I wanted a webcam I would've paid 30 bucks for a webcam not 250. I would avoid this product at all costs. I'll gladly post video's on youtube from the camera as soon as I get a firewire. (which does not come with the camera) poor quality, poor performance and the battery dies within an hr (i figured that'd happen though, most batteries from manufactures suck) I will never buy from JVC ever again. AVOID THIS PRODUCT! Read more
by theghostohio (see profile) - January 3, 2008

5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

3 out of 10 - Poor
Cheap, washed out colors, picks up operational noise from itself
My family purchased this camera on clearance at Walmart to record home movies and ended up returning it two weeks ...
My family purchased this camera on clearance at Walmart to record home movies and ended up returning it two weeks later. The price was good and the ability to record widescreen video and transfer it to a pc via the firewire port was a definitely plus. We were not satisfied with the quality of the recording though. The colors appeared washed out, objects (e.g. people) in motion were slightly, but noticeably blurry, and the built-in microphone picked up operational noise from the camera itself while recording (e.g. the humming/buzzing sound of the tape in motion as it records). I don't know if the sound issue is common among all mini-dv cameras or just this particular model, but we found it to be unacceptable. I tested the camera in both noisy and completely silent conditions and the operational noise was always present on the recording. Also, as other people have pointed out, the menu operation is confusing, but this is really minor compared to the recording issues. Read more
by bioguyva (see profile) - September 2, 2007

9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Inexpensive and delivers great quality
For the $230 paid for this miniDV, I couldn't be more satisfied. There is some motion blur for fast ...
For the $230 paid for this miniDV, I couldn't be more satisfied. There is some motion blur for fast movement close to the camera but for typical home use it is fine. Photos are poor quality but that is what still cameras are for. It is possible my flash memory card is a fault. Settings are simple as is every camera function. . The 16:9 aspect ratio is handy for widescreen TVs. I am pleasantly surprised at the high quality for a very inexpensive camcorder Read more
by Scuba Diver Ron (see profile) - August 4, 2007