Rating: 
Summary: Great Camera; Lousy Software
Review: Before I bought this camera I did a lot of research and found this one to have the most features for the price. The camera itself works really well and met my expectations. The once big drawback is the software that comes with it. JVC calls this camera a "cybercam" which implies compatibility with your computer. In its promotional material, JVC indicates that the camera comes with "sophisticated software." One of the reasons I bought the camera was to download and edit video clips on my computer. When I received the camera, I found that you can only download still pictures with the software JVC provides and cannot download streaming video. The JVC website recommends a $99 software package from Pinnacle systems to download video clips. I ordered this software, but discovered that in order for it to work, you need to add a different PCI chip to your computer. This was dismaying since I was forced to take the back off of my computer to add the chip and because the chip was a downgrade from the new PCI chip that came with my computer. After much work, I still have not been able to capture and edit videos on my computer - Kind of a bummer for a product taht calls itself a "cybercam."
Rating: 
Summary: Best one ever!
Review: Excellent quality and very easy to use! I love this camcoder. I like the ability to capture the photos on the PC and be able to email it to family and friends!
Rating:
Summary: Very good quality for extremely reasonable price
Review: First, the 1-hour battery supplied will last only 20 - 25 min, if you are using a lot of zooming or built-in light. So, if you don't want to be interrupted by "battery low" messages, purchase 2-hour battery (BNV214U), which is compatible with the supplied AC adapter/charger. Still the better investment will be buying 8-hour battery, the only two problems: it's very expensive. . . and needs a special charger. They included the editing cable to capture your video on computer, however, it connects to COM1 port, which might be already in use (by your mouse). Besides this, the COM ports are the slowest ports on computer systems, so the quality of editing process is questionable. If you hope to do a lot of editing, purchase a video capture card with all cables supplied (Pyro ProDV will do fine, Pinnacle DV200, 500 are also cool, but much more expensive). Unfortunately, JVC doesn't supply any tapes with this GRDVF-31 unit, which means you should purchase them yourself, especially if you wish to test your camcorder immidiately after shooting. The technical manuals are not very good (and surely the worst I've ever seen). All text is printed, using almost the same typefaces and sizes, so it's very hard to extract information you need quickly and switch between general instructions and technical details. It's also very poorly organized (description of all dials and buttons on your camera is at the end of the book!) The reason I gave this camera five stars is that all problems stated above are easy to solve. Just purchase additional batteries, tapes and capture card, and you have pro-style video studio right at your apartment for the lowest and most reasonable price ever.
Rating:
Summary: Very good quality for extremely reasonable price
Review: First, the 1-hour battery supplied will last only 20 - 25 min, if you are using a lot of zooming or built-in light. So, if you don't want to be interrupted by "battery low" messages, purchase 2-hour battery (BNV214U), which is compatible with the supplied AC adapter/charger. Still the better investment will be buying 8-hour battery, the only two problems: it's very expensive. . . and needs a special charger. They included the editing cable to capture your video on computer, however, it connects to COM1 port, which might be already in use (by your mouse). Besides this, the COM ports are the slowest ports on computer systems, so the quality of editing process is questionable. If you hope to do a lot of editing, purchase a video capture card with all cables supplied (Pyro ProDV will do fine, Pinnacle DV200, 500 are also cool, but much more expensive). Unfortunately, JVC doesn't supply any tapes with this GRDVF-31 unit, which means you should purchase them yourself, especially if you wish to test your camcorder immidiately after shooting. The technical manuals are not very good (and surely the worst I've ever seen). All text is printed, using almost the same typefaces and sizes, so it's very hard to extract information you need quickly and switch between general instructions and technical details. It's also very poorly organized (description of all dials and buttons on your camera is at the end of the book!) The reason I gave this camera five stars is that all problems stated above are easy to solve. Just purchase additional batteries, tapes and capture card, and you have pro-style video studio right at your apartment for the lowest and most reasonable price ever.
Rating:
Summary: iMac owners beware!
Review: Great camcorder for the price, and with better resolution than most of its competitors - even those costing much more. But...not for iMac owners due to problems with Firewire compatability. Regretably I'm returning mine for another manufacturers similar model which will work with an iMac...
Rating:
Summary: Excelent features for the novice and the professional
Review: I bought the JVC GR-DVF31 Dec 15 and have since used it to run tests in different settings, at twilight with an orange sunset, and also to record the Tournament of Roses Parade. For the sunset, I recorded with and without the Twilight setting.I could not tell the difference, but both reproduced the reddish-orange clouds perfectly. Like many videophiles I prefer to manually adjust the focus, white balance and exposure, all of which are possible with this camera and perform admirably. I am equally impressed with the automatic setting which does these things for you. I used this setting for the Rose Parade, which was a partly cloudy day, and the camcorder performed beautifully. Focus is so quick, it even kept up with my pans. Color detail was reproduced very acurately, even when the clouds blocked out the sun. Variable zoom speed is a bonus. Digital Image Stabilization was only noteworthy when I moved the camera around slowly, otherwise not much difference. Digital Zoom is good up to 64x and allowed me to see a license plate off a car that I couldn't see with the naked eye; past that is pretty useless. Speaker was a nice bonus, since I only had a S-Video cable and needed it to hear the audio. I haven't been able to judge the sound quality accurately, but the marching bands sounded pretty good through the little speaker. Definitely recommend 2 hour battery. As a test, I would turn the unit off when nothing interesting was happening, then see how fast it took to power on, flip out the nice and big 3" LCD screen and start taping. It passed with flying colors. Very fast. Lightweight design meant I could hold it above the crowds, aim the LCD screen down at me and tape the action without any shakiness. Well, until my arm got tired, anyway. The controls for zooming and the dial to access the menu could all be done with one hand, provided the hand strap was secured tightly enough. The quality of still pictures is fairly questionable. The few stills I took were not under good lighting conditions, but details still came out fairly well. Hooking to the computer required I pull out a device I had already linked to COM1 (a pocket organizer cable), since my computer (PC) couldn't find it on COM2. Have not done video downloading yet, but prospects are favorable, considering the time it took to download and check out the stills. I have one caveat: the lens cap has a hook on it for hanging onto the handstrap while in use, but sticks out just a little too closely to the lens when putting it on. So be careful. Repeated use could eventually scratch the lens. For ease of use, the terrific automatic settings and the price I would recommend this camcorder. I also looked at the Canon Elura, but found the viewfinder to be next to impossible to see through and manipulate controls at the same time. Also much more expensive (as of this writing).
Rating:
Summary: Great camera
Review: I love this camera and am thrilled that I bought it. There may be newer and sweeter gadgets out there nowadays since I bought mine back in 7/2000, but this still more than gets it done. Based on the ... ticket price on this site (as of 7/2002), it leads me to believe that this is still a very respected camera (can be found less expensive elsewhere, by the way). If there is one knock against it, it's the fact that the software package doesn't allow you to make mpeg movies straight from camera to PC. I believe there are 3rd party software titles that you can buy ... and get this accomplished. All in all: great video and great sound. I tape my school's basketball games on this camera, and I have wowed the coaching staff on more than one occasion with the clarity of the pictures. And, trust me - when you are trying to stat a game, clarity is priority one. You will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Great camera
Review: I love this camera and am thrilled that I bought it. There may be newer and sweeter gadgets out there nowadays since I bought mine back in 7/2000, but this still more than gets it done. Based on the ... ticket price on this site (as of 7/2002), it leads me to believe that this is still a very respected camera (can be found less expensive elsewhere, by the way). If there is one knock against it, it's the fact that the software package doesn't allow you to make mpeg movies straight from camera to PC. I believe there are 3rd party software titles that you can buy ... and get this accomplished. All in all: great video and great sound. I tape my school's basketball games on this camera, and I have wowed the coaching staff on more than one occasion with the clarity of the pictures. And, trust me - when you are trying to stat a game, clarity is priority one. You will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Product For PC Users
Review: I purchased the GR-DV21 (only difference is the size of the LCD screen). Camera is fantastic! Easy to use. Interfaces to computer in about 5 minutes for install, after that downloading is a cinch. Could not be happier with this product!
Rating:
Summary: Great camera for PC- Firewire not for MAC's!
Review: I purchased the JVC 31 model and was immediately impressed by the generous lcd screen size. Also, the 400X was helpful on my trip x-country from Tampa to Seattle. Lots of good effects-bells whistles with cd quality sound to boot. I'd give it 5 stars, but had to return it because of lack of compatibility with my new DV-MAC...even with the firewire port. Major :( PC's go for it MAC's beware!
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