JVC GZ-MG555 First Impressions Camcorder Reviewby James MurrayPublished on Jan 10, 2007 6:00 AM
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Still Features
The still features for the JVC GZ-MG555 will definitely provide users with some options and controls. However, it will certainly disappoint the user thinking that full manual control will be possible when shooting in this mode. While the hybrid nature of this camcorder is more integrated and flushed out than many digital cameras and the capabilities do exceed their still image cousins.The GZ-MG555 still has a little way to go before it will be a fully hybrid camera. To be fair, we've never seen a satisfactory hybrid yet.
Shooting in the still image mode is done by turning the mode switch on the right side of the camcorder body downward from the back with the right hand thumb. Once complete, users capture images by pressing the snapshot button on the top of the camcorder directly behind the zoom toggle.
The maximum still image resolution for the GZ-MG555 is 2592 x 1944, or approximately 5MP, which can certainly compete (in a strictly numbers sense) with dedicated still cameras. Other resolutions include 640 x 480, 1600 x 1200, and 2304 x 1728, 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080 and 2592 x 1456. Photographers using the JVC GZ-MG555 will be able to shoot still images in both the 16:9 and the 4:3 format. These settings and the quality level options can be found within the shooting menu opened by pressing the menu button located within the cavity of the LCD screen.
The in-camera flash is located to the left of the JVC lens in a position that is hardly going to produce images with an even dispersion of flash. Photographers should expect to notice shadows being cast across their subjects when shooting with this camcorder and this could only be avoided by rotating the camcorder ninety-degrees clockwise so that the flash is positioned more on the y-axis of the lens.
Still shooting features included with this camera are a continuous shooting mode, a bracketed burst shooting mode, quality, image size, ISO settings of auto, 50, 100, 200 and 400, exposure compensation from +/-2 EV with 1/3 steps, the same white balance settings as the video mode, two effects options, and three flash settings. Preset shooting modes that are found in video mode will also be available when shooting still images. Users will find the aperture and shutter speed priority modes to be accessible in when capturing photos.
In review mode the user will be able to delete, protect, copy, move, DPOF and engage two effects when working with previously captured images. While a good start for in-camera editing technology, it might be helpful for JVC to take some cues from digital camera manufacturers, as in Nikon’s Coolpix one-touch editing system.