JVC GR-D70 Camcorder Review

Video Performance
The video performance of the JVC GR-D70 in normal lighting conditions is pretty bad. The camcorder seems to produce an excessive amount of grain even when a subject is fully lit. The camcorder also lacks the ability to portray a wide array of dark and bright colors in one scene - many very light or very dark objects appear washed out even when there is clear detail visible to the human eye. It's really too bad that the video performance of the GR-D70 is so poor - it's certainly the weakest feature of this camcorder.

The Front
The front of the GR-D70 includes the lens at the top with the JVC logo below it. Right below the JVC logo is the on-camera microphone. Along the left side of the front of the camcorder is the IR receiver and below that is a recording tally light.

The Right Side
The right side of the camcorder towards the lens includes the Mini-AV in / out port with the S-Video port covered up by a small piece of rubber right below that. Towards the back of the camcorder is the focus auto / manual button with the menu and control dial behind that. Below these is the mode selection dial where you can select from manual shooting mode, automatic shooting mode, off and VCR mode.

The Back
Located at the back of the camcorder towards the top is the black and white viewfinder. Below that is the battery comparment. Half way down on the right side of the back of the GR-D70 is the record button and below that is the DC in button.

The Left Side
The entire left side of the camcorder is taken up by the 2.5 in. LCD screen. Located inside the LCD are the video playback, the video / still card switch, the night shoot button and thebackglith button, as well as the USB and Firewire ports. JVC did a really good job of choosing what features to place inside the LCD and which not to. All the buttons and ports inside the LCD are non-esential or playback buttons - meaning you won't have to open up the LCD screen while shooting - unlike the Sony DCR-TRV19. I also think it was a great idea to place the USB and Firewire ports inside the LCD screen. These ports are only used during playback when the camcorder is typically pluged in so you don't have to worry about conserving battery life or shaking the camcorder while shooting from opening up the LCD screen.

The Top
The zoom control is located on the top of the camcorder, with the focus button to the right of it. Behind the zoom control is the snapshot button and behind that is the menu / control dial.

Picture & Manual Control
The JVC GR-D70 has two video shooting modes 'A' - or automatic throws the camcorder in full automatic mode where you can start and stop recording and adjust the zoom but that's it. The camcorder also has a 'M' - or manual mode where you can adjust various picture elements. I like having an easy switch between automatic and manual control - it's a nice feature that makes it easier on the user.
Zoom
The 16x optical zoom on the GR-D70 is controlled by a nice rocker switch. The rocker is raised slightly and is about medium size. I would say that it is just big enough to get good control. One complaint I have is that the zoom rocker is a little too loose and you can only get what seems like three different zoom speeds.
Focus
The focus, as with other picture control is controlled via a dial towards the back of the camcorder. Pressing it in pops a small icon on the bottom portion of the screen which indicates whether or not you are focusing towards objects that are close or far away from you. The dial has some resistance so it 'clicks' into place each time you rotate it slightly. It's a little odd getting used to adjusting focus this way - I used to having a smooth dial - however it isn't too bad. It makes making minute focus adjustments quite easy.
Exposure
The exposure control of the GR-D70 is pretty dissapointing. You can toggle between automatic and manual exposure by clicking in the jog dial, which popus up a menu. You scroll down the menu to select exposure - where you can pick from automatic or manual. When you are in manual you have only 13 steps (compared to 22 on Sony models and around 20 on Canon models) of exposure control. 13 may seem like enough, however when you are trying to get that perfect image you want as many steps of exposure as possible.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed control is not great - but it's certainly better than other models out there. Using the same system as the exposure control, you can select a shutter speed of 1/60th 1/100th or one of four automatic exposure modes. Why JVC did just include manual shutter speeds up to the camcorder's maxium I don't know.
White Balance
The JVC GR-D70 offers a nmice five white balance modes. Automatic where the camcorder controls it, manual where you as the user can set the white balance, fine for brightly lit situations, cloud for darker situations, and halogen especially set for halogen lighting. The halogen white balance preset is a great idea - I can't tell you the many times I've messed up pictures because I was shooting under halogen lights and forgot to set my white balance.
Gain
Suprisingly, the JVC GR-D70 offers the user a little control over gain, something that is not typically afforded to camcorders in this price range. You have three options, off which completely turns the image gain off, AGC which throws the camcorder into full automatic gain control, and Auto A which is somewhat like a color night shot. This mode throws the camcorder's shutter speed to 1/30th of a second, which makes your video look slightly jittery but allows you to shoot in ultra dark situations.

Still
The GR-D70 can shoot up to 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution stills to SD cards via it's SD slot. The stills suffer from the same quality problems as the video does. You can transfer your stills from camcorder to computer using the attached USB port and USB cable.

Low Light Performance
The low light performance of the JVC GR-D70 is pretty terrible. Even in candle lit situations, where there is some light presense the camcorder fails to produce an image other than that of the brightest, most reflective objectes in the room. The GR-D70 lacks the dB gain to even produce a grainy image, which is better than no image at all. I feel that the low light performance of the GR-D70 is worse than that of the similarily priced Sony DCR-TRV350 - a $500 Digital8 camcorder. The GR-D70 includes JVC's Night Alive feature. Similar to Sony's color night shot, the Night Alive feature throws the camcorder shutter speed to ultra slow, providing very jittery and unwatchable video - I wouldn't recomend using this feature.

LCD / Viewfinder
The GR-D70 includes a 2.5 in. color LCD screen and a nice, crisp black and white viewfinder which extends outward from the camcorder. I really like the inclusion of a black and white viewfinder. The only reason I see for including a color viewfinder on camcorders is that it must market well - however I always prefer a color LCD and a black and white viewfinder.

Audio
As with any camcorder, the on-camera microphone of the JVC doesn't produce great audio. The problem is, JVC doesn't provide you with any other audio options. There is no hot or cold shoe for attaching an external microphone and there is no microphone in jack or headphone out jack. I can possibly understand this on a sub $500 camcorder, but at this price range it seems a little ridiculous. This is a major weakness in the GR-D70 in my opinion.

Handling
The GR-D70's is a light weight camcorder but most importantly it feels light and is well balance in your hand. Unlike most of today's camcorders, I could easily conceive holding this camcorder one handed for a long period of time. One bad part about the handling of the GR-D70 is that it is very round, almost too round making it very hard to get a tight grip on the camcorder. My hand kept slipping off the the top of the camcorder, JVC should really have included a gripped surface here.

Other Features
Other features that the camcorder includes is audio dubbing ability, a bottom loading tape mechanisim (though this is really a negative), insert editing, playback zoom, and wipes and fades.

Comparisons
The poor video quality of the GR-D70 is it's biggest weakness. I certainly feel that it does a much worse job of shooting video, both in low it and normal lit tconditions, than similarily priced models such as the Canon ZR60. The zoom is smaller than the 20x on the Canon. The JVC also lacks any extrenal audio options. It's too bad this camcorder really fails in the core area of shooting good video. In the end, I would go with the Canon ZR which for the same price delivers a better picture and better control with much better handling. If you're looking for a good point and shoot camcorder, look to spending $100 more for the Sony DCR-TRV19.

Conclusion
Reviewing the JVC camcorder really made me long for a Sony or a Canon. It's too bad. The video, low light, and still quality of the GR-D70 is really terrible for a camcorder in this price range. The camcorder also lacks the audio options that a camcorder costing $600 should have. The ideas behind good manual control are there, however JVC failed to take it to the extra step that would put the manual control of the GR-D70 on the same level as the Canon ZRs. Many camcorders that do poorly in the more professional features areana sometimes excel in the point in shoot area. However, besides including a nice fully auto mode, I can't say the GR-D70 is a good point and shoot camcorder. Besides a nice weight, the handling is terrible and the video quality in auto mode is just terrible. I really have to recomend against the GR-D70. It's a nice effort however there are much better camcoders The MiniDV JVC GR-D70 retails for $500, however at that price tag the camcorder doesn't perform as it shood. Combining poor quality video and low light performance, with bad handling and other weak features make the GR-D70 a hard camcorder to recomend that doesn't stand up to the competition.

Video Performance
The video performance of the JVC GR-D70 in normal lighting conditions is pretty bad. The camcorder seems to produce an excessive amount of grain even when a subject is fully lit. The camcorder also lacks the ability to portray a wide array of dark and bright colors in one scene - many very light or very dark objects appear washed out even when there is clear detail visible to the human eye. It's really too bad that the video performance of the GR-D70 is so poor - it's certainly the weakest feature of this camcorder.

The Front
The front of the GR-D70 includes the lens at the top with the JVC logo below it. Right below the JVC logo is the on-camera microphone. Along the left side of the front of the camcorder is the IR receiver and below that is a recording tally light.

The Right Side
The right side of the camcorder towards the lens includes the Mini-AV in / out port with the S-Video port covered up by a small piece of rubber right below that. Towards the back of the camcorder is the focus auto / manual button with the menu and control dial behind that. Below these is the mode selection dial where you can select from manual shooting mode, automatic shooting mode, off and VCR mode.

The Back
Located at the back of the camcorder towards the top is the black and white viewfinder. Below that is the battery comparment. Half way down on the right side of the back of the GR-D70 is the record button and below that is the DC in button.

The Left Side
The entire left side of the camcorder is taken up by the 2.5 in. LCD screen. Located inside the LCD are the video playback, the video / still card switch, the night shoot button and thebackglith button, as well as the USB and Firewire ports. JVC did a really good job of choosing what features to place inside the LCD and which not to. All the buttons and ports inside the LCD are non-esential or playback buttons - meaning you won't have to open up the LCD screen while shooting - unlike the Sony DCR-TRV19. I also think it was a great idea to place the USB and Firewire ports inside the LCD screen. These ports are only used during playback when the camcorder is typically pluged in so you don't have to worry about conserving battery life or shaking the camcorder while shooting from opening up the LCD screen.

The Top
The zoom control is located on the top of the camcorder, with the focus button to the right of it. Behind the zoom control is the snapshot button and behind that is the menu / control dial.

Picture & Manual Control
The JVC GR-D70 has two video shooting modes 'A' - or automatic throws the camcorder in full automatic mode where you can start and stop recording and adjust the zoom but that's it. The camcorder also has a 'M' - or manual mode where you can adjust various picture elements. I like having an easy switch between automatic and manual control - it's a nice feature that makes it easier on the user.
Zoom
The 16x optical zoom on the GR-D70 is controlled by a nice rocker switch. The rocker is raised slightly and is about medium size. I would say that it is just big enough to get good control. One complaint I have is that the zoom rocker is a little too loose and you can only get what seems like three different zoom speeds.
Focus
The focus, as with other picture control is controlled via a dial towards the back of the camcorder. Pressing it in pops a small icon on the bottom portion of the screen which indicates whether or not you are focusing towards objects that are close or far away from you. The dial has some resistance so it 'clicks' into place each time you rotate it slightly. It's a little odd getting used to adjusting focus this way - I used to having a smooth dial - however it isn't too bad. It makes making minute focus adjustments quite easy.
Exposure
The exposure control of the GR-D70 is pretty dissapointing. You can toggle between automatic and manual exposure by clicking in the jog dial, which popus up a menu. You scroll down the menu to select exposure - where you can pick from automatic or manual. When you are in manual you have only 13 steps (compared to 22 on Sony models and around 20 on Canon models) of exposure control. 13 may seem like enough, however when you are trying to get that perfect image you want as many steps of exposure as possible.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed control is not great - but it's certainly better than other models out there. Using the same system as the exposure control, you can select a shutter speed of 1/60th 1/100th or one of four automatic exposure modes. Why JVC did just include manual shutter speeds up to the camcorder's maxium I don't know.
White Balance
The JVC GR-D70 offers a nmice five white balance modes. Automatic where the camcorder controls it, manual where you as the user can set the white balance, fine for brightly lit situations, cloud for darker situations, and halogen especially set for halogen lighting. The halogen white balance preset is a great idea - I can't tell you the many times I've messed up pictures because I was shooting under halogen lights and forgot to set my white balance.
Gain
Suprisingly, the JVC GR-D70 offers the user a little control over gain, something that is not typically afforded to camcorders in this price range. You have three options, off which completely turns the image gain off, AGC which throws the camcorder into full automatic gain control, and Auto A which is somewhat like a color night shot. This mode throws the camcorder's shutter speed to 1/30th of a second, which makes your video look slightly jittery but allows you to shoot in ultra dark situations.

Still
The GR-D70 can shoot up to 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution stills to SD cards via it's SD slot. The stills suffer from the same quality problems as the video does. You can transfer your stills from camcorder to computer using the attached USB port and USB cable.

Low Light Performance
The low light performance of the JVC GR-D70 is pretty terrible. Even in candle lit situations, where there is some light presense the camcorder fails to produce an image other than that of the brightest, most reflective objectes in the room. The GR-D70 lacks the dB gain to even produce a grainy image, which is better than no image at all. I feel that the low light performance of the GR-D70 is worse than that of the similarily priced Sony DCR-TRV350 - a $500 Digital8 camcorder. The GR-D70 includes JVC's Night Alive feature. Similar to Sony's color night shot, the Night Alive feature throws the camcorder shutter speed to ultra slow, providing very jittery and unwatchable video - I wouldn't recomend using this feature.

LCD / Viewfinder
The GR-D70 includes a 2.5 in. color LCD screen and a nice, crisp black and white viewfinder which extends outward from the camcorder. I really like the inclusion of a black and white viewfinder. The only reason I see for including a color viewfinder on camcorders is that it must market well - however I always prefer a color LCD and a black and white viewfinder.

Audio
As with any camcorder, the on-camera microphone of the JVC doesn't produce great audio. The problem is, JVC doesn't provide you with any other audio options. There is no hot or cold shoe for attaching an external microphone and there is no microphone in jack or headphone out jack. I can possibly understand this on a sub $500 camcorder, but at this price range it seems a little ridiculous. This is a major weakness in the GR-D70 in my opinion.

Handling
The GR-D70's is a light weight camcorder but most importantly it feels light and is well balance in your hand. Unlike most of today's camcorders, I could easily conceive holding this camcorder one handed for a long period of time. One bad part about the handling of the GR-D70 is that it is very round, almost too round making it very hard to get a tight grip on the camcorder. My hand kept slipping off the the top of the camcorder, JVC should really have included a gripped surface here.

Other Features
Other features that the camcorder includes is audio dubbing ability, a bottom loading tape mechanisim (though this is really a negative), insert editing, playback zoom, and wipes and fades.

Comparisons
The poor video quality of the GR-D70 is it's biggest weakness. I certainly feel that it does a much worse job of shooting video, both in low it and normal lit tconditions, than similarily priced models such as the Canon ZR60. The zoom is smaller than the 20x on the Canon. The JVC also lacks any extrenal audio options. It's too bad this camcorder really fails in the core area of shooting good video. In the end, I would go with the Canon ZR which for the same price delivers a better picture and better control with much better handling. If you're looking for a good point and shoot camcorder, look to spending $100 more for the Sony DCR-TRV19.

Conclusion
Reviewing the JVC camcorder really made me long for a Sony or a Canon. It's too bad. The video, low light, and still quality of the GR-D70 is really terrible for a camcorder in this price range. The camcorder also lacks the audio options that a camcorder costing $600 should have. The ideas behind good manual control are there, however JVC failed to take it to the extra step that would put the manual control of the GR-D70 on the same level as the Canon ZRs. Many camcorders that do poorly in the more professional features areana sometimes excel in the point in shoot area. However, besides including a nice fully auto mode, I can't say the GR-D70 is a good point and shoot camcorder. Besides a nice weight, the handling is terrible and the video quality in auto mode is just terrible. I really have to recomend against the GR-D70. It's a nice effort however there are much better camcoders The MiniDV JVC GR-D70 retails for $500, however at that price tag the camcorder doesn't perform as it shood. Combining poor quality video and low light performance, with bad handling and other weak features make the GR-D70 a hard camcorder to recomend that doesn't stand up to the competition.

Video Performance
The video performance of the JVC GR-D70 in normal lighting conditions is pretty bad. The camcorder seems to produce an excessive amount of grain even when a subject is fully lit. The camcorder also lacks the ability to portray a wide array of dark and bright colors in one scene - many very light or very dark objects appear washed out even when there is clear detail visible to the human eye. It's really too bad that the video performance of the GR-D70 is so poor - it's certainly the weakest feature of this camcorder.

The Front
The front of the GR-D70 includes the lens at the top with the JVC logo below it. Right below the JVC logo is the on-camera microphone. Along the left side of the front of the camcorder is the IR receiver and below that is a recording tally light.

The Right Side
The right side of the camcorder towards the lens includes the Mini-AV in / out port with the S-Video port covered up by a small piece of rubber right below that. Towards the back of the camcorder is the focus auto / manual button with the menu and control dial behind that. Below these is the mode selection dial where you can select from manual shooting mode, automatic shooting mode, off and VCR mode.

The Back
Located at the back of the camcorder towards the top is the black and white viewfinder. Below that is the battery comparment. Half way down on the right side of the back of the GR-D70 is the record button and below that is the DC in button.

The Left Side
The entire left side of the camcorder is taken up by the 2.5 in. LCD screen. Located inside the LCD are the video playback, the video / still card switch, the night shoot button and thebackglith button, as well as the USB and Firewire ports. JVC did a really good job of choosing what features to place inside the LCD and which not to. All the buttons and ports inside the LCD are non-esential or playback buttons - meaning you won't have to open up the LCD screen while shooting - unlike the Sony DCR-TRV19. I also think it was a great idea to place the USB and Firewire ports inside the LCD screen. These ports are only used during playback when the camcorder is typically pluged in so you don't have to worry about conserving battery life or shaking the camcorder while shooting from opening up the LCD screen.

The Top
The zoom control is located on the top of the camcorder, with the focus button to the right of it. Behind the zoom control is the snapshot button and behind that is the menu / control dial.

Picture & Manual Control
The JVC GR-D70 has two video shooting modes 'A' - or automatic throws the camcorder in full automatic mode where you can start and stop recording and adjust the zoom but that's it. The camcorder also has a 'M' - or manual mode where you can adjust various picture elements. I like having an easy switch between automatic and manual control - it's a nice feature that makes it easier on the user.
Zoom
The 16x optical zoom on the GR-D70 is controlled by a nice rocker switch. The rocker is raised slightly and is about medium size. I would say that it is just big enough to get good control. One complaint I have is that the zoom rocker is a little too loose and you can only get what seems like three different zoom speeds.
Focus
The focus, as with other picture control is controlled via a dial towards the back of the camcorder. Pressing it in pops a small icon on the bottom portion of the screen which indicates whether or not you are focusing towards objects that are close or far away from you. The dial has some resistance so it 'clicks' into place each time you rotate it slightly. It's a little odd getting used to adjusting focus this way - I used to having a smooth dial - however it isn't too bad. It makes making minute focus adjustments quite easy.
Exposure
The exposure control of the GR-D70 is pretty dissapointing. You can toggle between automatic and manual exposure by clicking in the jog dial, which popus up a menu. You scroll down the menu to select exposure - where you can pick from automatic or manual. When you are in manual you have only 13 steps (compared to 22 on Sony models and around 20 on Canon models) of exposure control. 13 may seem like enough, however when you are trying to get that perfect image you want as many steps of exposure as possible.
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed control is not great - but it's certainly better than other models out there. Using the same system as the exposure control, you can select a shutter speed of 1/60th 1/100th or one of four automatic exposure modes. Why JVC did just include manual shutter speeds up to the camcorder's maxium I don't know.
White Balance
The JVC GR-D70 offers a nmice five white balance modes. Automatic where the camcorder controls it, manual where you as the user can set the white balance, fine for brightly lit situations, cloud for darker situations, and halogen especially set for halogen lighting. The halogen white balance preset is a great idea - I can't tell you the many times I've messed up pictures because I was shooting under halogen lights and forgot to set my white balance.
Gain
Suprisingly, the JVC GR-D70 offers the user a little control over gain, something that is not typically afforded to camcorders in this price range. You have three options, off which completely turns the image gain off, AGC which throws the camcorder into full automatic gain control, and Auto A which is somewhat like a color night shot. This mode throws the camcorder's shutter speed to 1/30th of a second, which makes your video look slightly jittery but allows you to shoot in ultra dark situations.

Still
The GR-D70 can shoot up to 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution stills to SD cards via it's SD slot. The stills suffer from the same quality problems as the video does. You can transfer your stills from camcorder to computer using the attached USB port and USB cable.

Low Light Performance
The low light performance of the JVC GR-D70 is pretty terrible. Even in candle lit situations, where there is some light presense the camcorder fails to produce an image other than that of the brightest, most reflective objectes in the room. The GR-D70 lacks the dB gain to even produce a grainy image, which is better than no image at all. I feel that the low light performance of the GR-D70 is worse than that of the similarily priced Sony DCR-TRV350 - a $500 Digital8 camcorder. The GR-D70 includes JVC's Night Alive feature. Similar to Sony's color night shot, the Night Alive feature throws the camcorder shutter speed to ultra slow, providing very jittery and unwatchable video - I wouldn't recomend using this feature.

LCD / Viewfinder
The GR-D70 includes a 2.5 in. color LCD screen and a nice, crisp black and white viewfinder which extends outward from the camcorder. I really like the inclusion of a black and white viewfinder. The only reason I see for including a color viewfinder on camcorders is that it must market well - however I always prefer a color LCD and a black and white viewfinder.

Audio
As with any camcorder, the on-camera microphone of the JVC doesn't produce great audio. The problem is, JVC doesn't provide you with any other audio options. There is no hot or cold shoe for attaching an external microphone and there is no microphone in jack or headphone out jack. I can possibly understand this on a sub $500 camcorder, but at this price range it seems a little ridiculous. This is a major weakness in the GR-D70 in my opinion.

Handling
The GR-D70's is a light weight camcorder but most importantly it feels light and is well balance in your hand. Unlike most of today's camcorders, I could easily conceive holding this camcorder one handed for a long period of time. One bad part about the handling of the GR-D70 is that it is very round, almost too round making it very hard to get a tight grip on the camcorder. My hand kept slipping off the the top of the camcorder, JVC should really have included a gripped surface here.

Other Features
Other features that the camcorder includes is audio dubbing ability, a bottom loading tape mechanisim (though this is really a negative), insert editing, playback zoom, and wipes and fades.

Comparisons
The poor video quality of the GR-D70 is it's biggest weakness. I certainly feel that it does a much worse job of shooting video, both in low it and normal lit tconditions, than similarily priced models such as the Canon ZR60. The zoom is smaller than the 20x on the Canon. The JVC also lacks any extrenal audio options. It's too bad this camcorder really fails in the core area of shooting good video. In the end, I would go with the Canon ZR which for the same price delivers a better picture and better control with much better handling. If you're looking for a good point and shoot camcorder, look to spending $100 more for the Sony DCR-TRV19.

Conclusion
Reviewing the JVC camcorder really made me long for a Sony or a Canon. It's too bad. The video, low light, and still quality of the GR-D70 is really terrible for a camcorder in this price range. The camcorder also lacks the audio options that a camcorder costing $600 should have. The ideas behind good manual control are there, however JVC failed to take it to the extra step that would put the manual control of the GR-D70 on the same level as the Canon ZRs. Many camcorders that do poorly in the more professional features areana sometimes excel in the point in shoot area. However, besides including a nice fully auto mode, I can't say the GR-D70 is a good point and shoot camcorder. Besides a nice weight, the handling is terrible and the video quality in auto mode is just terrible. I really have to recomend against the GR-D70. It's a nice effort however there are much better camcoders