Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this
Review: I love this camera. It's dirt cheap for all of its features.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I previously owned a Sony 8mm and wish now that I had either stayed with that or gone to a Hi8. Some complaints. The smaller, lighter camera is more difficult to hold steady. The stabilization feature makes no difference that I can detect. The digital format simply does not handle contrast well: if the background is at all bright it will be completely washed out so the sky, for example, usually appears to be flat white. The digital zoom requires a tripod. The camera has an excellent range of fade and wipe effects but it is necessary to move the main switch from "manual" to "automatic" while filming and that is not easy to do. The camera light is not bright enough to make any practical difference. The lens cup is hard and flat and does not effectively block the light from the viewfinder, especially if you shoot while wearing glasses. They do not sell a more effective cup as an accessory. Compared to my six-year old 8mm Sony, the image in the viewfinder is very poor -- small and grainy. Bright images are likely to appear white. The manufacturer advises that the remote control is not likely to function in bright light so you cannot, for example, film on the beach with the camera on a tripod, operated by remote. Is there anything good to be said? The Digital Still Camera feature is very good and so is the sound. The easy playback (with sound) on the LCD screen is a neat feature. I have not fully explored the camera's editing capabilities but the manual makes them sound difficult and complex. I am no computer guru and I have found the instruction booklets for computer editing almost incomprehensible.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning: "cleaning tape message"
Review: I thought this camera was great until I started getting the message indicated by several other customers "cleaning head tape required". Unfortunately, I cannot find this tape anywhere -- including Blacks, Henry's, Future Shop, Radio Shack -- and I was told in one place that the tape is no longer made. I hope this is not the case, but I have not yet been able to find out otherwise. Of course the camera cannot be used while this message continues to exist.
Rating:
Summary: troubles transferring still images from serial port
Review: I was quite impressed when I first used this camera, but after a few months, it's turning out to be a problem. I'm having the worst luck trying to download the still images on to my PC. Apparently, the enclosed software Multimedia Navigator(1 disc: JLIP VideoCapture | JLIP VideoProducer | PictureNavigator) does not work on the Windows 98 as it said, neither in W2K and Windows XP.
I'm still haven't been able to download my pictures because my PC doesn't recognize the camera. Apparently, many people are experiencing similar problems with downloading their images. There is no drivers for this camera and JVC support doesn't know about this issue.
Rating: 
Summary: Entryt Level - Good Value
Review: If you are not looking for a top of the line digital camera, this is a good value. It doesn't have as many features as a sony, no end search, no titles, no night shot, but the truth, I never really used those features. The quality of the image when plug to the TV is very good, and is very nice to be able to plug your camera to the pc and email a video to your family. The still camera doesn't have a good quality, but it's nice to have this feature. The battety last just 30 min. You'll need to buy an extra one....Nice step up from a Hi 8.
Rating: 
Summary: Very nice cybercam.
Review: Preface: I am a quality engineer in a printing companyI own a JVC GR-DVL805u. I think it is a very nice digital video camera. I like the built in 640x480 digital still camera. You can save and load the stills off of your miniDV tape - so you don't need a memory stick. The advanced features on the camera are very nice. Combined with the highest density CCD in the price range you can expect to get some nice results. Out of the box, I was not completely thrilled with the default white balace of the camera. The image was a little too red. You can re-calibrate the white balance in a few simple steps detailed in the manual. Perhaps the auto light mode doesn't work well under mixed lighting conditions (halogen & sun.) The camera does not support Hi8. It is a miniDV format. The camera resolution is 640x480 for still photos (in the fine mode.) I'm kind of glad JVC didn't include a package for firewire [aka i.Link or IEEE 1394]. The camera would cost at least $100 more and I'm not sure I would want the interface board they would give me. I'm not if the software with the system support Macintosh. The interface that you get with the camera is just what you need if you have a vcr and you want to edit your tape into a movie. Or if you don't have a bleeding edge computer with firewire. Firewire is next on my list, with that I can make movies of the baby to mail to my family. Nit-picky points: The logo plates pick up finger prints, and look hard to clean. The glowing logo on the side of my 805u doesn't read the same as the demo units I've looked at. The unit is packaged with the lense cap hidden deep in the box--not on the lense. (The lense was clean -- but it took a while to find the cap.) The ac power cable goes into the same area as the battery & the cable does not have an ideal fit. That is, JVC documents to have the coiled end of the cable near the camera, and the only direction the power cord fits without kinking is up - so over the long term the wire is more likely to break. ... please remember I'm a quality engineer. I think this camera is an excellent buy. If the price is a bit high - look at the 505u, which as far as I can tell differs only by .5" on the LCD and has a b&w viewfinder.
Rating:
Summary: told me to clean head and replace tape
Review: The picture quality is good, but some thing wrong with
playback, it keeps reminding you to clean the head and
use new tape (even it's new), and the picture is shaking. It happens from time to time, but not always.
Software is no use at all for windows2000. A litle problem with the tape door.
Rating:
Summary: JVC Digital Camera
Review: This is a great camera for the price. I looked around at several cameras before buying this one. This was my first digital camcorder and I found it pretty easy to use. The built in light, stereo microphone, still photo ability, remote control, and large monitor are great features in this price range. My only complaint was the instruction book that comes with the unit could be a lot better, and there is little help on the JVC web site. That is the only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating.
Rating:
Summary: very good miniDv Digital Video Camcorder
Review: very good miniDv Digital Video Camcorder in that price range (...). The unit is very light 1.3lb. Outdoor video is pretty good, but indoor isn't. Included battery is only for 30 minutes recoeding with LCD on. Remote control in very ugly, AC adaptor/charger and other accessaries are very rough, not Japan-made, the unit is just fine. Not 0 Lux, so video is terrible in weak light, the build-in light is useless at all in this case. I did not try still image mode, 640x480 VGA is not good enough for printing. Include software is for Win95/98 only, not for NT/2000. The indoor recording video is "red", you need to calabriate to write-balance to reduce this ugly effect. Summary: it is good enough for home use, but video and audio quality is just fair.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I thought
Review: We were very excited to get this camcorder, it took good video, but when we went to play it back on the television, you can hear the whirring sound of the camcorder thru the speakers, it really takes away from the sound you want to hear, for a $500 camcorder, i really expected better!!!
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