JVC GZ-MG70 Camcorder Review

The GZ-MG70 sells for around $800, an expensive first step for most consumers. This is JVC's top of the line in the G-Series, which use non-removable hard drives for storage. JVC believes their Everio G-Series represents the future of camcorders. They have picked up on three notable features – portability, simplicity, and capacity – that seem to mark the direction in which the industry is bound to shift. And we can’t argue that point. Camcorders are getting smaller each year, and the writing is on the wall for tape media. But before we can reach that land of milk and honey, where solid state cams weighing less than a feather can produce video of unparalleled quality, the path must be built to get there.

The MG70 is light, small, and simple to operate, but those benefits have often proven to come at a cost, most often in the form of awkward handling and curtailed manual controls. But JVC frequently excels in giving users manual control options above and beyond what Sony or Canon typically provide. So did it find a balance? And what about the solid-state file types; can they be easily edited? And what, if anything, is better about this camcorder than the abysmal MG30? For answers to all this, and more, read on.

Video Performance(5.75)
The GZ-MG70 captures video using a 1/3.6” CCD with 1,228,800 effective pixels. These are fairly impressive specs. The Optura 50 and 60 feature only slightly larger 1/3.4” chips, and both produced great video. But it takes more than chip size to deliver quality video, as the MG70 has the misfortune of proving.

At 3000 lux, the picture had unsatisfactory color representation and significant sharpness problems. As with the GZ-MG30, the camcorder had most of its color trouble with the yellow-green portion of the spectrum, which lacked any definition. The grayscale was slightly improved, with a much blacker black and whiter white. Also, the MG30's noise issues seem not to have carried over to the MG70 very much. There is still some noticeable noise in the violet and yellow areas. Sharpness seems to be the worst area of performance. Even with the larger chip (vs. the MG30’s 1/6” chip), the blurring is apparent.

The Panasonic SDR-S100, the SD card-recording cam with a 1/6” CCD and 640K effective pixels, produced an exceptionally sharp image, though coming at the cost of some fine grain. The color definition was much better, with bolder (though not brighter) colors. The only area where the MG70 might have trumped the S100 is in brighter whites. The Canon Optura 60, a comparably priced MiniDV with a 1/3.4” CCD, showed a sharper picture (though not nearly as good as the S100) but had marginally better color representation than the MG70. The biggest area of difference was the red-orange area of the spectrum, which was more clearly defined by the Optura 60. Finally, we looked at the king of the Everio line, the GZ-MC500, with three 1/4.5” CCDs. As if proving its familial bonds, the MC500’s color chart looked nearly identical to the MG70’s, but with a uniform boost in sharpness and color saturation. The MC500, in the same way as the MG70, did poorly in the yellow-greens and better in the blues. The MC500 did manage to sidestep the noise problems.

Video Resolution (13.9)
Video footage was taken of a standard ISO resolution chart with the JVC GZ-MG70 in both 4:3 and wide mode. Stills from that video were exported to Imatest Imaging Software in order to determine the camcorder’s true video resolution. In 4:3 mode, the camcorder gave us approximately 477.9 lines of horizontal resolution and 292.2 lines of vertical resolution at its best, yielding a true resolution of 139642.38(0.14 MP). In Wide Mode (16:9 aspect ratio) the GZ-MG70 gave us 448.4 lines of horizontal resolution and 252.1 lines of vertical resolution at its best, producing a true video resolution of 113041.64 (0.11 MP).

The Front (8.25)
The front of the GZ-MG70 is dominated by the large lens with its filter diameter of 30.5, which is a larger diameter than you’ll find on many compact cams (27mm on the GZ-MG30). In an interesting design choice, the lens is ensconced in a falsity. By this, of course, I mean that the lens is pulling the old “fake focus ring" gag. If you don’t plan on giving people good focus control, please don’t raise their hopes by making it look like you did. This is a terrible annoyance to us, the people that use your products.

Also, on the front are a  flash sensor, the flash, built-in microphone, and remote control sensor.

The Right Side (9.0)
The right side of the GZ-MG70 is a flat plane, marked only by some room for branding. Behind the wall, presumably, is the 30GB hard drive. The large, flat surface makes for an excellent handgrip. The adjustable hand strap feels tough and is perfectly placed on the body for balance and control. Also on the right side, in the upper rear corner, is the DC power input.

The Back (6.0)
The rear of the GZ-MG70 is not the space for interface that you’ll find on many camcorders. Most of the controls have been placed on the left side. Here on the back you’ll find the Rec/Snap button for recording video and stills. This button may sit a little low for people with larger thumbs, but it’s by no means impossible to reach.

The battery juts out from the rear, and provides a nice wall for your thumb to rest against. We appreciate a rear-mounted battery because it allows for expansion and extra-long battery life. The included BN-VF707U battery extends about 1/2” out, and is light enough to not tip the weight of the camcorder back. Above the battery are two ports covered by a shared rubber flap: composite A/V and USB.

The Left Side (8.0)
The busiest area on the GZ-MG70 is the left side. This is where most of the interface with the menus and manual controls takes place. All of these controls are found upon opening the 2.5” LCD screen. Inside, you’ll find these buttons (from top left): the video / still mode switch, the S-Video port, the flash on/off button, the battery info button, the delete button, the Menu button, and the four-way navigation pad with a button in the middle.

Like the buttons on the GZ-MG30, and as mentioned in the GZ-MG30 review, these buttons seem unnecessarily small. If JVC had gotten rid of the decorative semi-circle pattern taking up the left side of the interior panel, they might have had a lot more room. The navigation pad, in particular, is tricky to operate. And why the center button, that functions as “enter” or “set” when making selections, is so inconveniently small remains a mystery. As a rule of thumb, primary interface controls should not require the use of a fingernail to operate.

Placing the buttons on the left side also forgoes the possibility of one-handed operation. If that possibility is something you have your heart set on, there are other models that will accommodate, notably those in the Panasonic line.

The Top (7.5)
The top of the GZ-MG70 is relatively unadorned, with a power/mode switch for changing between recording and playback, and a zoom toggle. The zoom toggle is perfectly placed and has a great control. Behind the power switch are indicator lights for power and when the hard drive is busy accessing data.

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (5.0)
As with the GZ-MG30, and presumably all the G-Series Everios, finding the button to switch between automatic and manual control is one of the largest challenges a new user will face. Only upon close inspection of the left panel will you start to wonder about that graphic of the letters “A” and “M” connected by a diagonal line, located in the region of the right side of the navigation pad. A similar looking “A” on the LCD screen seems to indicate that you are in automatic mode. But toggling to Manual mode, then back, is the surest way to tell. If you touch the button, nothing happens. The “A” is still there. “How to get to Manual mode?” you wonder, as you press the button again and again. Finally, as you give it a long and frustrated poke, you happen to hold it down. Success! Your quest is complete. And if this little narrative sounds overly harsh, please consider that ease of use is supposedly one the MG70’s selling points. Finding a button shouldn’t be this hard.

Automatic controls are available for focus, exposure, white balance, shutter speed, and gain. The focus is surprisingly good, especially in close up. The problem is its relationship to stabilization. If the camcorder is on a steady surface or tripod, the focus does not falter much. But with the type of hand-shake you get in a full 10x optical zoom, the subject comes in and out of focus. The digital stabilization system does little to correct this, whereas an optical stabilization might have done a better job.

The auto white balance is the weakest of the controls. The GZ-MG70 can’t seem to adjust well to shady outdoor colors or indoor color temperatures leaning towards yellow. There are three preset modes: Halogen, Cloud, and Fine. None of these could do as good a job as the cam's manual white balance. Of course, not everyone is comfortable making manual adjustments like this, which is why manufacturers like Canon offer up to six presets rather than three.

The auto exposure did an excellent job making quick adjustments between changes from strong to moderate lighting. Less than moderate lighting, though, was a cut-off point in terms of quality. The exposure could not raise itself to make a low-lit environment appear brighter. It had trouble making a sharp image out of black objects in even medium light. Unfortunately, the manual exposure adjustments did not help much, but that will be elaborated upon in the Manual Exposure section below.

Any of the preset controls, like the white balance presets, must be engaged in Manual mode. Once there, pressing down on the navigation pad will bring up the manual control menu. Notable automatic controls, in addition to white balance, include NightAlive, JVC’s slow shutter night mode, and four Program AE modes: Twilight, Spotlight, Snow, and Sports. See the manual for recommendations, but the names should give you some ideas of what they do and which situations call for their use. Pushing up on the navigation pad also toggles between two additional exposure features. Backlight Compensation boosts the exposure to keep a strongly back-lit subject, such as a person in front of a window, from appearing too dark. The second feature, Spot Exposure Control, significantly narrows the range of the frame – down to a small circle – that the camcorder uses to adjust the exposure. The target can be moved into the three spots across the middle horizontal axis of the frame, then locked in by pressing the set button.

Overall Manual Control (4.5)
Manual control options is the area where manufacturer preferences become most obvious. Sony has clearly marked out the point-and-shoot crowd for their consumer cams; their manual controls are sparse and poor in quality. Panasonic leans in the other direction, with an assortment of manual controls that occasionally come at the cost of simplicity. Canon sits firmly in the middle, reluctant to include the full manual modes found on their pro lines, but generous enough to offer a good number of manual controls and priority modes. So where does JVC sit?

Everywhere, actually. JVC has made a clear distinction between the Everios and the rest of their camcorders. While JVCs typically had great manual control, the Everios have been marketed for the less-than-savvy user. Using manual control on the GZ-MG70 is taxing, due mainly to the small navigation buttons you’re forced to contend with. If all the controls weren’t buried in the menu, this might not be such an issue. However, there is no important control with a dedicated button, unless you count the zoom (they have made Backlight Compensation and Spot Exposure Control one-touch controls on the “up” button of the navigation pad). JVC continues to push this as a camcorder for the point-and-shoot crowd. But even the point-and-shoot crowd wants to tinker with the controls once in a while.

Most of the manual controls are located in a menu that appears by pushing “down” on the navigation pad (be sure that the camcorder is in manual mode first). Here, you’ll find controls for exposure (in EV stops), focus, white balance, shutter speed, Program AE modes, and effects.

 
The manual control menu (left) and administrative menu (right).

Zoom (6.5)
The zoom toggle, well-placed for the index finger, is one of the best features of the GZ-MG70’s control set. Unlike many ultra compacts that miniaturize every aspect of the body, JVC has at least spared the zoom toggle. The action is very loose, allowing for slow, controlled zooming. And unlike the sliding switches that you find on most Canons, this particular toggle does not rock the body of the camcorder when you move it, which saves the picture from getting rocked. 

Focus (4.0)
Manual focus on the GZ-MG70 is bad, but this should come as no surprise. Manual control on most consumer cams is bad, and this camcorder is not bound to exceed expectations. Here, you are presented with icons of a mountain and a person. Touch the pad on the left side if you want distant focus, and right if you want a closer focus. Its simplicity is matched only by its ineffectuality. Without so much as a scale to tell you where you are in the focus range, you must rely solely on the LCD’s picture, which is not necessarily an accurate assessment of the final product. Ideally, we look for a focus ring around the lens barrel. That luxury, however, is typically reserved for the pro and close-to-pro cams.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.5)
Exposure control is also found in the manual control menu. Like the setup on most Canons and Sonys, control is measured not in F-stops, but in EV steps, which are a combination of aperture and shutter speed. The scale ranges from -6 to +6, giving you thirteen stops total. As a means of brightening or darkening the picture, it works. But the system seems a little crude compared to F-stop control, and prevents you from making truly independent aperture and shutter speed adjustments. Also, there is some lag time (1-4 seconds) between the changing the setting and seeing the results.

Shutter Speed (6.5)
Shutter speed values range from 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/100, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, and 1/4000. This is a great range of options, and should satisfy the needs of most users. NightAlive mode, JVC’s night mode, drops shutter speed to 1/2 of a a second. Lower shutter speeds can be great for low lit environments, but anything below 1/15 will blur most moving objects.

White Balance (7.0)
The manual white balance is effective, which you should be thankful for, because the automatic white balance is so bad. Given that, white balance should have gotten a dedicated button on the panel under the LCD. Instead, it’s placed smack in the middle of the manual control menu, which means a lot of button pushing to make an adjustment. Once you target your white surface and select “MWB” it may be difficult to tell if the change stuck. Unlike many cams, where the icon flashes several times and it’s easy tell an adjustment is being made, this icon blinks only once or twice. Most times I felt compelled to set it a second time just to make sure. The colors always looked much better after a healthy balancing, but that doesn't make up for hiding this control so far in the menu.

Gain (1.0)
Gain control cannot be adjusted by a matter of degrees on the GZ-MG70. The Automatic Gain Control (AGC) can, however, be turned on and off, something that Canon and Sony do not offer. Why might you consider turning it off? Perhaps you want to cut down on the noise in a picture you are sure has sufficient lighting. The factory preset turns the AGC on, and we recommend leaving it that way. It makes a huge impact in low light performance.

Other Manual Control (0.0)
There is no other manual control on the GZ-MG70.

Ease of Use (3.0)
The GZ-MG70 seems to be an odd clash of sometimes-welcoming sometimes-frustrating operation. Simple, point-and-shoot operation is no problem at all. If you were to leave this camcorder in automatic mode the whole time, and only edit using the software bundle, you might never see a problem. But problems arise when you try to alter the camcorder’s choices through manual control. Aside from figuring out how to even get it to shift to manual mode to begin with (a task detailed above in “Automatic Controls”), manual adjustments must be made with painfully small navigation buttons. It will take a few runs through the manual control menu before the novice understands how JVC has labeled the contents. Fortunately, the administrative menu (accessed plainly via the “Menu” button on the left side) is much clearer. The interface is so good that JVC has chosen to make it an advertising point. It's a rare gem in a camcorder that might otherwise be a complete dud.

I should make a brief mention about editing, as JVC is intent on pitching the software bundle as a part of the total G-Series package. The software, which includes PowerDVD 5 NE, PowerDirector Express NE, and PowerProducer 2 Gold NE, does streamline the process of getting the footage onto DVD. If you wish to edit in a more advanced program, however, you’ll have to manually change the file extension of each clip in order to import them. This is not what I would call an “ease of use” feature.

Still Features (7.0)
An upgraded still feature set is one of the primary distinctions between the equally priced GZ-MG30 and MG40. The MG70 seems to combine the best elements of both. It records stills in four resolution sizes (1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480) and two qualities (Fine and Standard). Either the hard drive or a removable SD card can be selected as the storage media, though no SD card comes included. The 30GB built-in hard drive allows for an enormous number of stills: 9999 images of 1600 x 1200 Fine quality pictures, according to the manual. Is this more than you would ever want to store on this device? Probably, but it’s good to know you’ll never be hard up for space while traveling. There is a table in the back of the manual that indicates how many stills you could expect to hold on SD cards of various sizes.

 
A flash comes included (left). The SD card port (right) is located inconveniently on the bottom.

Most of the manual controls available in video mode are also found here: white balance, focus, shutter speed, exposure, Program AE, and digital effects. You do lose out on some options in still mode, such as a maximum shutter speed of 1/500 (instead of the video mode’s max of 1/2000). Also, aperture control is in EV steps rather F-stops, and the range of control has been lessened. In video mode, you are offered a range of +/- 6 EV. In still mode, the range is only +/- 2 EV. One notable feature included in the MG70 is the ISO settings. With controls for Auto, 80, or 160, adjustments to the ISO approximate those of the Gain control in video mode. A change in the ISO boosts the overall signal, which brightens the picture, but also increases noise. This is a standard feature on most digital cameras, but a bit of a treat on a camcorder. See below for an example of what changing the ISO can do.

  
Left is a crop of the color chart at ISO 80 and a resolution of 1600 x 1200. Right is the same crop at ISO 160. Note the difference in noise, the graininess of the image, as well as sharpness and color.

Other features in the GZ-MG70’s still mode include continuous shooting, with a fixed interval of approximately 0.5 seconds. Backlight Compensation, Spot Exposure Control, and TeleMacro are carried over from video mode. There is a flash, with options for Auto, Auto Red-Eye, always On, and S Slow Syncro, which slows the shutter speed. If you want to get yourself in the picture, the MG70 offers self-timer settings of 2 or 10 seconds.

Overall, we actually expected more from the MG70. With this many features, JVC is clearly suggesting this as a replacement for a dedicated still camera. Compared to the GZ-MC500, however, it pales: a max 1600 x 1200 vs. the MC500’s 2560 x 1920, ISO settings of 100, 200, and 400, aperture control in F-stop values, and exposure bracketing. While no one should consider any camcorder as an equal of a dedicated still cam, this year has proven that the gap is closing. JVC's GZ-MC500 is perhaps the best hybrid to date. The MG70, of the same Everio family, fails to deliver on the promise of its vastly superior sibling.

Still Resolution (5.7)
We were very unimpressed with the tested still performance of the MG70. Stills were captured of a standard resolution chart and exported to Imatest Imaging Software in order to determine the GZ-MG70’s best possible still resolution. The camcorder’s maximum resolution setting is 1600 x 1200. At its best, this model generated a still resolution of 568980.75 (0.6 MP).

Still Performance (5.5)
The GZ-MG70, at its highest resolution of 1600 x 1200, produced a much better looking picture than it did in video mode. The colors are still a little dull, particularly the yellows and greens, which seem to be without a pulse. The picture was, as you might imagine, much sharper with the resolution increase. The colors looked remarkably similar to those in the GZ-MG30, though the MG30 had a max resolution of only 640 x 480, and had a great deal of noise. The MG70 showed some blue noise in the blue and violet portions of the spectrum.

The GZ-MC500 had a much larger max resolution of 2560 x 1920, and better red-orange, but equally dull colors everywhere else. The Optura 60 had an uneven color palette, just about as dull as the MG70, but with disproportionate boosts in the blues. The max resolution was approximately the same (1632 x 1224) though the picture was slightly sharper than the MG70's. At a max resolution of 2048 x 1512, the SDR-S100 had the best stills in this group. The color representation was excellent, and its sharpness was even more impressive than the video. The picture certainly had some fine grain, but none of the blue noise issues found in the MG70.

Low Light Performance(6.75)
We test all camcorders at two low light levels – 60 lux and 15 lux. Low light performance is a vital aspect to a camcorder's performance overall, and one often overlooked or obscured by the manufacturer. Often, the specs sheets in manuals will list the minimum light levels as 1-2 lux. Take it from us: no camcorder we’ve ever seen will produce a single, recognizable image at that level. Even 15 lux is pushing it for most camcorders. So how did the GZ-MG70 do?

At 60 lux, the camcorder did surprisingly well. The colors definitely suffered from the lack of light and took on an eerie, death-like pallor, but the picture remained very bright and did not seem to lose much sharpness or focus. The noise migrated out from the blue and yellow and began to appear in every color, but did not overwhelm the picture. We should note that JVC cams come with a feature called Automatic Gain Control, which typically gives a big boost to low light images. Because these cams come out of the factory with the AGC defaulted to “on,” we leave it on when testing them.

Compared to the MG30, this is a watershed performance. The MG30 was one of the worst all year, and holding the testing results up side by side, it looks like someone is pointing a spotlight on the MG70's images. The SDR-S100 could not compete, either. It had more noise and a much darker picture. The colors remained a bit richer, however. The Canon Optura 60 looked similar to the SDR-S100, with significant noise but slightly more saturated colors than the MG70. The GZ-MC500, with its AGC on, had a harder time focusing, but produced similar colors.

We also shot the MG70 at 60 lux with the shutter at its lowest setting, 1/4 of a second, and with the AGC off, for comparison’s sake. The slower shutter speed gave it an incredible richness, but things would blur if any object was moving in the picture.

JVC GZ-MG70 at 15 lux with the AGC off.

At 15 lux, most of the color information was lost. Graininess had definitely taken over, though the focus remained very good for the light levels. At this level, the MG30 was little more than a blur. The Optura 60 had lost even more color and had enough grain to build a sandcastle. The SDR-S100 performed nearly evenly with the MG70. It had more grain, but better colors, and equal luminance. The GZ-MC500 had a decidedly brighter picture, with relatively rich colors peeking through from behind a lot of fine grain.

Overall, the GZ-MG70 was a great low light performer.

Zoom Power/Ratio (10.0)
The GZ-MG70 has a maximum optical zoom of 10x. Digital zoom reaches a max of 200x, but can be capped at the more sensible 40x. As we always caution, digital zoom is a digital distortion of the picture, and degrades image quality when used.

Wide Angle (8.0)
In 4:3 mode, the GZ-MG70 is capable of producing a picture 40 degrees wide. This is average for a consumer camcorder. In 16:9 mode, it was capable of achieving a picture 42 degrees wide.

VCR Mode (5.0)
One of the GZ-MG70’s great strengths is the playback functionality. The hard drive makes finding, playing, and deleting clips very simple. Clips are thumbnailed, nine per page, and can be scrolled through using the navigation pad. The pad also doubles as the playback controls, and the zoom toggle functions as the volume control. The administrative menu gives you options for creating playlists using a very cool, animated interface. A number of wipes and fade are also available, though these are options better explored in an editing program.

Still playback is similar. The left and right navigation buttons page through each photo. It would have been nice if holding the button down kept photos scrolling, but as it is, you must push the button each time. The up and down buttons flip the picture at 90 degrees. It’s all simple enough. The zoom toggle can be a bit tricky, and its double and triple functions offered with each tap left or right (image sorted by date, thumbnail view, single view, zoomed in) would only be intuitive to those who are well-acquainted with the playback functionality of many zoom toggles on most point-and-shoot dedicated still cameras.  All this double and triple functioning can get rather confusing, particularly with the tiny graphics next to the zoom toggle and nearly invisible, black-on-black iconography on the navigation controls meant to explain all these tools.

LCD/Viewfinder (5.0)
The GZ-MG70 has no viewfinder, a feature which seems destined for Electronics of Yore in this ever-shrinking camcorder industry. The LCD must suffice. At the standard 2.5”, it should provide adequate viewing for most users. The picture in the LCD seems to be a bit “optimistic” in its appraisal of the footage quality. After looking at the screen for an hour, I was surprised to see that the colors do not look nearly so good on a monitor. A viewfinder is, of course, preferable when shooting in bright sunlight, as this screen has a tendency to solarize when tilted. It’s not as bad as those on some camcorders (Canons suffered particularly badly from this), but the problem has been solved by Sony a long time ago. Get with it, JVC.

Audio (4.0)
Audio options on the JVC GZ-MG70 are disappointing. While audio is recorded in a 2 channel Dolby Digital format, the lack of an audio input jack relegates you to the use of the built-in microphone, thereby curtailing much of the benefit you might receive from Dolby quality sound.

There is a second, more significant problem with audio as well. Video files are saved in the .MOD file type. You can copy these over to your desktop and manually convert them to .MPG files in order to avoid the bundled editing software. In doing so, however, the audio track will be lost. You may be able to find some help with this on message boards, including our own (INSERT LINK HERE), but it seems JVC is forcing their editing software upon you.

Handling (4.5)
As mentioned several times in this review, the GZ-MG70 will be a great camcorder for people who never plan on advancing beyond turning it on and pointing it at something. It’s light; it’s small (though you can certainly find smaller); it has a great grip and feels well balanced.

When you want a little control, however, handling can become less enjoyable. The main problem is button size. The main navigation controls are located inside the LCD panel on the left. This precludes one-handed navigation, but that’s acceptable. At least the controls on the right side and rear are well placed. But the navigation buttons are absurdly small. It’s not like JVC was short on space, either. They’ve left a good 1/3 of the panel empty. Why all the miniaturization? I don’t know. Nor do I know why the buttons are so cryptically labeled. Text and icons are squeezed in around all sides with sundry dots and lines indicating which buttons perform which function. The visual interface in the menus is somewhat better, but maneuvering through options is still impeded by these impractically tiny controls.

Why all the unused real estate?

On the other hand, JVC has included some very handy features. The battery info functions tell you, with the push of a button, how much capacity and battery life you have left. With accuracy down to the minute, you’ll certainly find these to be a treat. It does not quite balance out the frustrations of the navigation controls, but it’s certainly a feature JVC should hold on to in future models.

 
The battery info and capacity info screens.

The last issue is heat. This camcorder heats up quickly and is hot, not just warm to the touch, after 20-25 minutes.

Portability (9.5)
The Everio G-series camcorders are extremely portable machines. While you could certainly find smaller bodies in your local electronics store, the weight (only 1 lb. with battery) is hard to beat. The hard drive media frees you from having to pack tapes or DVDs, which is undeniably convenient. The included battery will power you through a measly 57 minutes, which means the weight you lose from avoiding the tapes will be matched or superseded by the power supply. Still, portability is one of this camcorder’s main attractions.

Battery Life (5.7)
The GZ-MG70 ships with the BN-VF707U battery, which the manual approximates to last for 50 minutes of recording time. We tested it with the LCD open, and avoided any manual controls like zoom or menu operation. The battery lasted 56 minutes and 57 seconds. This is a poor battery time by any standard, but particularly so when you consider that capacity and portability are two of the MG70’s main selling points. With a battery that cannot endure for an hour, even under optimal conditions, you’d better pack your power supply.

Compression (5.5)
The GZ-MG70 encodes its video clips into the MPEG2 format. At its highest quality setting (Ultra Fine), the data rate is 8.5 Mbps. The other data rates include: Fine (5.5 Mbps), Normal (4.2 Mbps), and Economy (1.5 Mbps). Even at its highest data rate, the MG70’s MPEG2 cannot hope to match MiniDV quality, which has a rate of 25 Mbps.

Media (4.0)
The GZ-MG70 records video and stills to a non-removable 30GB hard drive. This allows for a maximum of 7 hours recording time in its highest quality setting and 37 hours in its lowest setting. The 30GB hard drive is also found in the GZ-MG30 and MG50. The MG20 and MG40 both have 20GB hard drives, while the GZ-MC500 has a 4GB removable Microdrive.

While 7 hours of recording time is a remarkable accomplishment, and will catch the attention of a perusing customer, give a moment to think about what you’re losing in order to gain 7 hours. The compression rate, as explained in the section above, is much higher than MiniDV, which means lower image quality.  Archiving also becomes an issue. A MiniDV tape or DVD can be easily removed and stored on a shelf. Footage on a hard disk must be imported to a computer and transferred to a DVD for a physical archive. Many flash memory camcorders, like the GZ-MC500, Panasonic SDR-S100, or even the Samsung SC-X105L have removable media. Not the Everio G-series. If the hard drive is damaged in one of these, you may lose all your footage. JVC has tried to foreshorten the chance of damage by protecting the drive in a floating suspension system and offer “Drop Detection,” which performs an emergency shut-off when it senses a sudden drop in elevation.

Hard disk recording, JVC claims, is the way of the future. Given its video performance, we can surely say it’s not the way of the present.

Editing (4.0)
Editing the GZ-MG70’s footage can be a bit of a process, even with their software bundle, which includes PowerDVD 5 NE, PowerDirector Express NE, and PowerProducer 2 Gold NE. Video files are classified with the .MOD file extension. In order to import them into most editing programs, or even play them in Real Player or Windows Media Player, you need to manually change the file extension to .MPG. Can you imagine not knowing this until you’ve already recorded 7 hours worth of clips?

The software bundle allows you to skip this step, but that benefit hardly outweighs the wealth of options that a true editing program could give you. The Power suite is rudimentary, and its main function is to get your footage to DVD. It offers you some flexibility in changing clip order and basic fade in / fade out, but the clutter of cheesy effects like text fly-ins will strike even beginners as undesirable. While it's not horribly difficult, if you want the ease of use of DVD playback you're probably smarter to go with a DVD camcorder.

 
 
Screen shots from PowerDirector (above) and PowerProducer (below).

The other big editing headache involves audio. If you import the .MOD files and manually convert them to .MPG, the audio track is dropped. You can work with all the silent footage you like in Avid or Final Cut, but including the original audio, at least for now, means using the bundled editing programs.

Here, again, MiniDV is the preferable option. MiniDV footage may take time to capture onto a computer, but the quality and flexibility it offers are usually worth it.

Widescreen/16:9 Mode (6.5)
The GZ-MG70 does not have true 16:9 widescreen. It does offer “16:9 Wide,” which will fill a 16:9 frame and make it appear as though it has added information. In fact, the process it uses reduces the total amount of information. Let’s use Silly Putty to explain this. Silly Putty, as we all know, can copy newspaper ink. So picture our Silly Putty with a standard 4:3 picture on it; this is the size of standard TV. JVC’s wide mode works by cutting off some of the top and bottom of the picture – about 10-15%. Now pull the new top and bottom edges out so they fit the 4:3 frame again. It will look vertically stretched. Now stretch out the left and right sides so the picture looks correct again. This picture is now in a 16:9 ratio frame, which will fill your widescreen TV. But rather than adding info to the sides, it has lost information to the top and bottom. Don’t be fooled.

 
The view from the LCD screen in 4:3 mode and 16:9 mode. Note the loss of information in the latter.

Scan Rates/24P (0.0)
The GZ-MG70 has no alternate scan rates. It records in 60i.

Ports (4.0)
Few ports are to be found on the GZ-MG70. The rear of the body has USB and composite A/V jacks under a rubber flap. The rubber seems study enough, but the thin strap attaching it to the body appears destined for a tear. The LCD cavity houses an S-Video port, a much better way to deliver video to the TV or monitor than the A/V cables. The DC power jack is nestled in the upper rear of the right side. The SD card slot is placed inconveniently on the bottom of the body, making it difficult to change if you have the cam mounted to a tripod. There are no other ports – no audio input, no accessory shoe, and no headphone jack. If you are looking for a camcorder that can grow with you as you learn new techniques and shop for new accessories, this is not the cam for you. No ports make this a “use-as-is” device.

Other Features (7.5)
NightAlive - This is JVC’s night mode, which slows down shutter speed to 1/2 of a second. When engaged, an owl icon appears onscreen. We recommend only using this for still life night scenes or for special effects, as significant blurring occurs.

TeleMacro - This feature allows you to get closeups of subjects within approximately 2 feet while retaining focus. In reality, its help in maintaining focus was negligible. If you get too close, your subjects will still blur.

Wind Cut - Wind Cut reduces high-end noise on the audio track often caused by wind.

Backlight Compensation - This feature boosts overall exposure when your subject is standing in front of a strong backlight, such as a window or a fiery wreckage, to keep them from appearing as mere silhouettes. It works very well, though the Spot Exposure tool might provide even better control. With either tool, you should still expect the subject to have a halo effect around them from the backlight.

Spot Exposure Control - The feature works by placing a small circle in the center of the frame. Whatever that circle is targeting becomes the gauge by which exposure is adjusted. Using the navigation pad, the  circle can be moved to the left, center, or right along the middle horizontal axis.

Drop Detection - The coolest of all the extra features, drop detection automatically and immediately shuts down the hard drive when it detects a sudden drop in elevation. This is meant to protect the data from erasure if the disk is damaged. It’s fun, too. Give it a little scare – a foot or so drop into your hands – and watch it shut off.

DIS - The GZ-MG70 uses digital image stabilization rather than the preferred optical image stabilization. DIS comes at the cost of some video quality.

Comparisons
JVC GZ-MG30
There were many things we did not like about the MG30 – handling issues, short battery life, lack of ports, and editing problems that arise with the file formats – that have been repeated in the MG70. These are Everio-wide problems that will take a lot of work on JVC’s part to improve. Our biggest grievance, though, was the MG30's’ performance, which was one of the worst of the year. Poor in bright light as well as low light, this cam also lacked the ability to take stills larger than 640 x 480. All these deficiencies came at the “benefit” of 30GB hard drive space. Sure, that’s a lot of space, but filling it up with ugly video hardly seems beneficial. Thankfully, the MG70 was a better performer. Bright light picture quality did not show much difference. Both camcorders lack the sharpness you should expect in something this expensive. In low light, however, the differences became more pronounced. The MG70 was better by far. In fact, it gave one of the brightest pictures we’ve seen in a while, due in large part to its 1/3.6” CCD (vs. the MG30’s 1/6” CCD). The MG70’s other distinctions include more still resolutions and still features. Both use the same media and compression systems. At around $170 more, the MG70 is a much better value, but still not nearly as good as comparably priced MiniDV or DVD cams. Avoid the MG30 altogether.

Panasonic SDR-S100
Panasonic’s first foray into the flash media camcorder market resulted in the SDR-S100, an overpriced but promising little machine. About $100 more than the MG70, this SD card-based cam has only a fraction of the capacity (2-4 GB, depending on the card) but a much sharper image. We loved the way the video and stills looked on this ultra slim cam. Low light performance was not as good as the MG70’s, but the grain was fine, rather than coarse, and the colors managed to show through even in very dim light. Because of the capacity issues inherent in card-based media, the S100 lacks some the MG70’s appeal. The S100 can only record 25 minutes of video in its highest quality, versus seven hours in the MG70. But the S100 can record 25 beautiful minutes, with a sharper, richer picture than the MG70, and that counts for a lot. We don’t recommend buying the Panasonic just yet, but given the accelerated maturation periods for new technology in the camcorder market, we expect only good things to come.

JVC GZ-MC500
JVC’s top of the line Everio, the MC500, uses a removable 4GB Microdrive rather than the fixed 30GB hard disk on the MG70. This presents some obvious capacity disparity, but the MC500 easily tips the scale with 3-chip-quality video and stills. The MC500 is also about 2/3 the size of the MG70, with a completely different design. The body has a rear-mounted LCD, and the lens barrel pivots up and down. The still options are fantastic, as is the still picture quality. The video is well-saturated, with a picture slightly sharper than the MG70. Neither match upper-end MiniDV quality, but the MC500 scored higher than any solid state cam to date. The MC500’s price is definitely a deterrent, though it’s dropping quickly. Currently around $1200, this is still at a price point where the camcorder becomes an investment rather than a toy. Try before you buy, and be patient. New technologies mature, and prices drop accordingly.

Canon Optura 60
This MiniDV camcorder is the middle of the road model on Canon’s highest-end consumer line, the Optura series. Priced roughly the same as the MG70, the Optura 60 has a sharper picture and slightly better color saturation. While it doesn’t have a full manual mode, you do get manual white balance, focus, exposure (in EV steps), and Aperture and Shutter Priority modes. The Optura 60 feels more like a pro cam, thanks to its great handling (outside of some poor button placement) and ease in making adjustments. It has a viewfinder and ports for microphone input, A/V / headphones, and an accessory shoe, which greatly expands its potential for accessories and user control. The Optura series also has a great reputation, something that a new line like the JVC Everio G-series simply can’t compete with. We heartily recommend the Optura 60 over the MG70. MiniDV quality can’t be beat, and gives you far more options for editing, as do the plethora of ports.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters (0.0)
The point-and-shoot crowd will love this camcorder, if they can deal with the price. It’s portable, easy to use, and the picture looks good, especially in low light. Just don’t buy it if you plan on experimenting with manual controls later.

Budget Consumers (0.0)
At around $800, this is not what most people would consider a “budget cam.” It’s also the most expensive model in the Everio G-series. But please don’t go to the low end of the road if you like this camcorder. The MG30 was a huge disappointment, and the lowest-priced MG20 does not look much better.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid (0.0)
The still features are good, but the quality is not there. Maybe next year.

Gadget Freaks (0.0)
No doubt, some people will go nuts for this because of the hard drive media. Solid state cams seem to be the way of the future, but we’re still holding our breath for a great one today. If you have to be the first one on your block to purchase a non-tape, non-DVD cam, consider the SDR-S100 first. It has all of the same limitations, but a much better picture.

Manual Control Freaks (0.0)
Definitely not for you. Read “Handling” and “Manual Controls” above for a full run-down, but in brief, manual controls are present but inconvenient.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists (0.0)
Again, no. You’ll miss the lack of ports and freedom to edit that MiniDV gives you.

Conclusion
The GZ-MG70 is, undoubtedly, a step into the future. Solid state camcorders will eventually phase out MiniDV tapes. We are not reluctant to let them go. Tapes require shelf space. They collect dust. They can be lost or damaged, and transferring them to a computer takes time. What we can assure you of, most sincerely and assuredly, is that their obsolescence is not here yet, and the MG70 will not speed it along the path to retirement.

The best possible video quality, we believe, is still the top priority for a camcorder. Portability and ease of use have their place, and if the world of video was judged by point-and-shoot usability alone, the MG70 would do well. Almost anyone could take this camcorder out the box and be recording within a minute. But this is not enough. Consumers should be given the options for control, even if they choose not to act upon them. JVC has, historically, been good about including manual control options. The MG70’s exposure, shutter speed, white balance, and focus (well, maybe not the focus) are all useful, but none of them are readily accessible. In the effort to minimize the size of the camcorder’s body, the buttons were disproportionately shrunken. This leads to some serious handling issues that most users are going to notice.

Adding to, working with, and editing from the video has also been severely curtailed. There is no audio input, so you’re stuck with the built-in microphone, something manufacturers rarely, if ever, put much thought into. There is also no headphone output, preventing you from monitoring the audio track as it is being recorded.

The solid state media creates a host of editing issues. Currently, most editing programs cannot import the file types that the MG70 uses. Manually transferring them and changing the file extension to .MPG allows you to import the video, but the audio track seems to disappear. In order to edit the entire package, you are forced to use JVC’s rudimentary editing software bundle. It has most the basic options (fades, etc.), but you won’t have the advanced capabilities of something like Premiere or Final Cut. The whole editing suite JVC provides is geared towards rushing your footage off the cam’s hard disk and onto a DVD.

The MG70 is a good sight better than the MG30, that’s for sure. Video performance in bright light is only marginally better, but the low light is remarkable. See the pictures above and you’ll know why we called it one of the best performers we’ve seen it a while. If low light and ease of use are enough for you, maybe you’ll find the MG70 sufficient. But the deficiencies, in our opinion, are overwhelming. JVC has begun the road to consumer solid state camcorders, but we all have much ground ahead of us.