Camcorder News

JVC's 40GB Everio GZ-MG575

January 22, 2007 - Hard on the heels of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which wrapped in Las Vegas on January 11th, JVC announced its new line of Everios for the domestic Japanese market.  The camcorders were announced via press release dated January 15th, though coverage of the releases only hit press outlets today.  The Japanese lineup includes the 40GB GZ-MG575 and 30GB GZ-MG555, the 40GB GZ-MG275 and 30GB GZ-MG255, and the entry-level 30GB MG155.

The GZ-MG575 adds 10GB of HDD capacity over the 30GB GZ-MG555, which was announced at CES in early January.  Both camcorders boast a single 5370K pixel CCD with an effective video resolution of 4 MP, and an effective still resolution of 5 MP. Each camcorder sports a 10x optical zoom lens, a 2.7" 16:9 LCD, an LED video lamp, The GZ-MG575 will retail in Japan for about ¥140,000, or $1,155 and the GZ-MG555 will sell for ¥130,000, or $1,072.  Japanese visitors to the US will find the GZ-MG555 on sale in February for a comparative steal at just $900.

JVC also announced a 40GB Japanese version of the 30GB MG255 which was announced for the US market in Las Vegas.  Other than its larger HDD, the GZ-MG275 shares other specs with the GZ-MG255, including the 2180K pixel CCD, capable of 1.23 MP resolution video, and 2 MP still recording, and features a10x optical zoom.  In Japan, the GZ-MG275 will sell for about ¥120,000 ($990) while the GZ-MG255 is priced at ¥110,000 ($907), considerably higher than the $700 it’s expected to sell for in the states.

All these new Everios support video recording to SDHC memory card, allowing for expandability beyond the capacity of the onboard HDDs, and a new level of media format versatility.  The new Everios can burn footage directly to DVD without a PC using the optional CU-VD20 Everio Share Station. JVC has also enhanced the image processors on its 2007 Everios with their Gigabrid engine.  The company says the new processor will improve signal-to-noise ratio over previous Everios by about 30 percent. The new 40GB Everios beg the question of whether JVC will release the larger-HDD GZ-MG575 and GZ-MG275 camcorders in the US, though the company has made no announcements to this effect.