JVC Introduces First 3 CCD Non Tape Digital Media Camcorder

At the Photo Marketing Association Annual Convention in Orlando this morning, JVC officially introduced the Everio GZ-MC500 camcorder. The new Everio GZ-MC500 includes three 1/4.5 in. CCDs and records MPEG-2 video to Microdrive CompactFlash hard drives. The new camcorder provides still functionality at a large 5.0 Megapixels through JVC's pixel shifting technology. The GZ-MC500 had been teased at a dealer event earlier in the month.

"The GZ-MC500, the Everio all-in-one solution, is now emphasizing performance by adding 3 CCDs to increase the video performance and increase the digital stills to 5 Megapixels," stated Alan Holland, Product Manager for JVC Consumer Video.

Along with a similar MiniDV model, the Everio is JVC's first consumer 3 CCD camcorder. The JVC Everio GZ-MC500 includes three 1/4.5 in. CCDs, each with 1.33 gross megapixels, 1.23 effective megapixels for still and 691K effective pixels for video on each CCD. JVC is using what they call "advanced pixel shifting technology" to produce 5 megapixel stills with a resolution of 2560 x 1920 pixels. It is clear the company is emphasizing the video performance of the new model, a natural selling point of 3 CCD camcorders. JVC's press release describes the increased dynamic range of the 3 CCD system. Dynamic range is a measurement of how dark the blacks, how bright the whites and the amount of contrast that a video image can have. It is a complicated aspect of video technology that only the most advanced users would understand, the very audience which JVC is targeting with this new model.

The Everio GZ-MC500 joins a growing number of consumer 3 CCD camcorders introduced this year. Today JVC also announced the GR-X5, a MiniDV 3 CCD camcorder with similar technology as the GZ-MC500. The new JVC 3 CCD camcorders join models by Panasonic and Sony which also deliver 3 CCD technology to consumers for under $1,500. Before Panasonic's ground-breaking introductions two years ago, 3 CCD technology could not be found for under $2,000. Panasonic has been a pioneer in the consumer 3 CCD market, first breaking the $1,500 barrier, then the $1,000 barrier, then the $700 barrier, and with their 2005 lineup, finally breaking the $600 barrier. While Sony has offered 3 CCD camcorders at the top of their consumer line in models costing $2,000 and $3,000 for years, their new DCR-PC1000 delivers 3 CCD technology for just $1,300.

In addition to the 3 CCD technology, JVC has placed advanced features on the JVC GZ-MC500 which have not been found on other JVC camcorder models. The GZ-MC500 includes a focus ring, manual shutter speed control, manual aperture control and manual white balance control. The camcorder's body color is a dark black, most likely an appeal to the aesthetic preferences of prosumer users who seem to prefer the dark color over the silvers of consumer line models.

The GZ-MC500 is positioned to compete with Panasonic's MiniDV 3 CCD PV-GS400. The PV-GS400 offers three 1/4 in. CCDs and 4.0 Megapixel stills. The PV-GS400 records to MiniDV tapes and has a much bigger body than the GZ-MC500. The PV-GS400 has excelled at providing users with very high levels of manual control as well as general control over audio and other camcorder functions. While it appears the JVC will win on size, the PV-GS400 offers a microphone input, manual audio control and manual gain control, features which some prosumer users require. The lack of a microphone input could be the biggest downside for the new Everio. The prosumer users who the camcorder is aimed at look not only for the superior video quality produced by 3 CCDs, but also superior audio quality which can only be provided through an external microphone, which requires a microphone input on the camcorder.

Panasonic had to aggressively market the benefits of 3 CCD technology in 2003 and 2002, trying to educate consumers on the benefits of 3 CCD camcorders over single CCD camcorders. While every professional camcorder uses 3 CCD technology because of its superior video performance and color reproduction, consumer camcorders in the past have relied on single CCD technology.

The tapeless technology allows the Everio to have a unique design similar to the GZ-MC200. The camcorder's LCD is located in the back and the model is broken down into two lobes. One lobe contains the lens and processing elements while the other contains the handle. The handle lobe makes an L shape that covers the back of the viewfinder lobe. One downside of the GZ-MC500's small size is that the LCD screen measures only 1.8 in. The camcorder's zoom is small as well, measuring in at only 10x optical.

JVC is also stating that the Everio GZ-MC500 has good low light performance - the biggest drawback of the first two Everio models. While JVC officials declined to state whether or not the GZ-MC500 has better low light than its less expensive single CCD predecessors, they did state that the camcorder uses JVC's 3D Noise Reduction technology. The press release also specifically states that the camcorder has "good low light performance."

Like its other Everio brethren, the GZ-MC200 and GZ-MC100, the GZ-MC500 records MPEG-2 video to CompactFlash Microdrives. The new GZ-MC500 comes with a 4 GB Microdrive which can hold up to an hour of what JVC states is "DVD quality" video. The Everios have received praise from this publication for their video performance which has performed significantly better than any other hard drive or flash-based camcorder on the market. The Everios are considered by many industry watchers to be the first "true" flash or hard drive-based camcorders that can compete with existing MiniDV models.

The Everio records 5 megapixel stills which place it as the camcorder with the second highest resolution stills on the market, falling only behind Samsung's latest Duocam model. According to the press release, "JVC's advanced prism optics and filterless 3-CCD pixel shift technology quadruple the pixel count to record 5 megapixel-class stills. Simply put, the pixel shift technique, used also in JVC professional cameras, captures double the 1,228,800 pixel information in both the horizontal and vertical directions, creating a real full color image pixel count multiplied by four for stills."

In addition, the Everio includes JVC's Megabrid image, which processes digital still pictures and video separately. Because of the large capacity of the Micrdoive, the GZ-MC500 can record up to 1,800 pictures in its highest quality setting.

The Everio has four recording quality levels for the MPEG-2 video. The highest quality setting provides 60 minutes of video recording time while the lowest quality setting provides 300 minutes. One issue with MPEG-2 video is difficulties in editing it and transferring it to a final product which can be viewed on the typical home theater. Because of their high price, Microdrivers are not a practical means for long term storage of video. JVC is including PowerProducer DVD authoring software with the GZ-MC500 so users can export their video to a more manageable medium.

The JVC Everio GZ-MC500 will be available in March for $1,799.95