JVC GZ-MG505 Camcorder Review

Audio (6.75)
The JVC GZ-MG505 (Review, Specs, $829.95) offers what few consumer camcorders do: an external microphone jack. In terms of your ability to record high-quality footage, this is among the most important features to look for in a camcorder, because onboard microphones are just not capable of recording decent sound unless recording conditions are optimal. External mics can be positioned at the sound source, in the case of interview mics or lavalier mics, or can be selected for highly targeted sound gathering in the case of shotgun mics. Onboard mics are generally omnidirectional, meaning they are not selective, and they are positioned on the camcorder which may be so distant from the sound source that they are effectively useless. If you’ve ever tried recording an event from the back of a room using only a camcorder’s onboard mic, and been dismayed by the abysmal quality of your recorded sound, you have experienced the limitations of internal mics. JVC deserves praise for including the mic jack, and for including an on-screen display of external microphone levels. While we would have liked to see a headphone jack as well, the onscreen display is a helpful tool for monitoring audio levels that is rare on consumer camcorders.

The mic input can be difficult to access due to the short stretch on the port cover.

The GZ-MG505 also has a wind cut feature, which is standard issue on most of today’s consumer camcorders. Wind cut is a high pass filter that reduces the buffeting sound of wind on the camcorder’s onboard microphone screen digitally. Wind cut features are an effective tool for improving your audio signal to noise ratio in breezy situations, but they will decrease the overall quality of your audio. If you’re not in a windy environment, you should make sure that this option is turned off. Wind cut is also much less effective than a good windscreen on an external mic.

VCR Mode (6.0)
Calling the GZ-MG505’s suite of playback functions “VCR Mode” suggests random access digital video is no different from tape-based recording systems like MiniDV. VCRs play tapes linearly, so moving from shot to shot can only proceed as fast as the tape heads can rotate. This camcorder, and other Everios, records footage to an integrated HDD (hard disk drive), opening up a world of file management and editing functionality that is impossible with a linear format like tape, and at greater speed than DVD camcorders can manage. In theory, an HDD camcorder is capable of manipulating files in the same way a PC does with the interface offering the prime limitation. That’s where this camcorder’s VCR mode falters – with so many options for playback and file management, it’s easy to get lost in an interface that’s limited to a joystick and a few buttons.

Playback mode is engaged by switching the Power/Mode switch on top of the camcorder to the Play icon option. Within playback mode, the Photo/Video mode switch inside the LCD cavity allows you to toggle between still photo and video clip playback, and the camcorder toggles between media types in only a few seconds. Video clips stored on the HDD appear first in a nine-to-a-page thumbnail format, with the first frame of each clip displayed. Thanks to the on-screen joystick, browsing files is very easy: in thumnail view, you can move in any direction, and select a clip for playback by pressing the center of the control. You can also browse clips one at a time by tapping the joystick up or down to jump from clip to clip.

JVC could have stopped here, but their engineers have added some additional file browsing and organization options that take fuller advantage of the camcorder’s HDD-based system. The GZ-MG505 also includes a three-to-a-page Date Index Screen option that displays files with information about the date and time they were shot. Another option called Event Screen displays clips according to a particular “event” or shoot if you registered those clips (registering a clip is an administrative option that is accessed via the menu in shooting mode). Numerous additional file management options are available, including rating clips in order of preference, protecting clips from deletion, creating playlists, and more. Most file management options are also available in still mode, but file review is limited to the default nine-image thumbnail view and the Date Index Screen.

When playing back a video clip, the joystick is used to control basic VCR functions. It’s an easy control to use given some practice, but actions for Play, Rewind, etc are not labeled, but an onscreen playback guide appears for a few seconds when you engage playback mode – so don’t blink. The center of the joystick acts as the Play/Pause button, while left scans backwards and right scans forward. Pressing up and down skips to the beginning and end of a clip respectively. When a clip is paused, pressing left or right repeatedly engages frame-by-frame playback, and pressing and holding left or right plays back footage in slow motion. Moving from one VCR action to another is very fast, especially compared to the frustrating delays that are inevitable with DVD camcorders.

The GZ-MG505 also features a playback zoom function that magnifies a paused clip or still image up to 5x, using the zoom toggle to move in or out. When viewing a magnified clip, you can also use the joystick to pan over the image, analogous to the same option on many digital still cameras. In photo playback mode, you can rotate images onscreen by pressing the up and down arrows on the joystick.

Ports (6.0)
JVC has equipped the GZ-MG505 with a reasonable array of ports, including an external microphone jack – but none for headphones. Underneath the camcorder is an SD memory card slot, protected plastic hatch opening on a hinge. The base is not the best location for a card slots, because you’ll need to remove the camcorder from a tripod to swap out memory cards. We always advocate maximum accessibility for any feature that might be used during the course of a shoot. Like the GZ-MG77 (Review, Specs, $467.95), USB 2.0 and A/V out ports are at back of the camcorder above the battery, where you’d normally find a viewfinder. These ports are protected by a plastic port cover. Inside the LCD cavity, you’ll find an S-Video port which offers another video playback option that many consumer camcorders lack. The DC-in terminal is on the right side of the GZ-MG505 near the back end, and it is also protected by a port cover. The external microphone jack is at the camcorder’s front end below the lens, and is also protected by a cover.

The port array, going clockwise from the upper left: AV-out and
USB 2.0, the accessory shoe, the S-video-out, and the DC port.