JVC GR-DVM90U Camcorder Review

by Robin Liss
Published on Dec 11, 2001 12:00 AM



JVC's GR-DVM90U is another key member of JVC's more upscale line of sleek, lightweight camcorders. It weighs only 1.2 pounds and measures 2.06 in. x 4.94 in. x 3.88 in. It retails at $1699.95 but is available on the market now for around $1100. The DVM90U is well-loaded with features, some of which may be useful to you, depending on your specific needs and desires. In particular, JVC advertises this as a camera specially designed to facilitate connecting it to a PC and editing your video and digital stills.

The DVM90U features JVC's exclusive new Progressive 1000 technology, which claims to use the 680,000-pixel CCD processor to provide a horizontal resolution of 520 lines and a vertical resolution of 480 lines. It also features JVC's NightAlive low-light shooting feature. It has digital image stabilization and a built-in 2.5" LCD color monitor, along with a color viewfinder and S-video output on a docking station. In addition to the 10x optical zoom, the DVM90U has a 200x digital zoom. It also comes with a multi-brand remote control, which comes in handy during playback. Also, it offers the ability to shoot stills in two different image sizes (VGA and XGA) and to shoot video at two different speeds (XP and LP).

Like most other new camcorders, the DVM90U also has digital-still capabilities and includes software and lots of hardware, like a USB driver and FireWire cables, to facilitate transfer to your computer (which is why JVC is particularly proud of this aspect and considers it a selling point of this camera). It also features a ton of snazzier extras, like snapshot modes, an animation mode, and wipes, fades, and scene transitions to accessorize your video. It also has the ability to use MP3 sound effects stored on its MultiMediaCard card. Lastly, the DVM90U functions in Dual Shooting Mode, meaning that you can shoot video and take still photos at the same time.

Although this camera seems like a solid specimen, it's worth noting the few areas in which it could improve. First of all, the optical zoom is only 10x, which is the minimum generally featured on camcorders today. The 200x digital zoom is worth little when the optical zoom is so limited. The battery that comes with the camera has a fairly limited life before it needs to be recharged, and the camera's impressive list of extras may make it confusing to operate. The DVM90U's manual controls are limited; only focus, exposure, and white balance have manual options. Everything else is automated. For a beginner, this may be a good thing, but for a more advanced videographer this may be limiting.

Like the DVM75U, the DVM90U features removable Flash Memory. The 8MB card is included and is compatible with MultiMediaCard and SD Card. This is a great improvement because you can store your digital still photographs onto this computerized memory card, rather than saving them on your tapes. This improves the quality and the quantity available to you in your digital stills. On the DVM90U you can also store sound effects on this card and use them in your videos.

Overall, the DVM90U gives good-quality video and sound, and it's small and portable (although some people worry that its small size makes it too hard to handle). It has a lot of snazzy extras, but it also has a few serious drawbacks. Be sure you know exactly what your needs are in a camcorder – and whether or not the DVM90U fulfills them – before purchasing it. Otherwise, you may just be paying a lot more for a bunch of extras you don't need or want.