Camcorder News

December 11, 2008 – Two JVC camcorders possibly intended for CES release were revealed today through Impress. The GZ-MG880 and the GZ-MG840 are two standard definition hard drive models in the company's Everio line. New features include direct uploading to YouTube (via a PC), increased recording capacity, and a range of body colors. The new camcorders have so far only been announced for the Japanese market, though the timing makes it likely that similar or identical models will reach the US soon.

The GZ-MG880 records to a 120GB internal hard drive, while the GZ-HD840 has a smaller 60GB capacity, but both are significantly increased over their previous models from early 2008. Both feature a 1.07-megapixel CCD and a 42x optical zoom, another boost in the specs over previous models. The new camcorders will also allow for video recording to MicroSD cards.

It appears, according to the pictures on JVC's site (called Victor Company in Japan), that some of the interface has also been updated for the new year. This picture shows a zoom feature added to the Laser Touch, a unique interface JVC introduced last year that received generally positive reviews. The context-sensitive buttons along the bottom of the LCD also seem to have an enhanced prominence in the interface, though there is no indication that actual hardware has changed.

The JVC GZ-MG880 is available in in at least black and blue body colors. The GZ-MG840 comes in red, blue, and silver. No price or shipping date has yet been posted.