JVC GZ-MG505
July 20th, 2006 | by David Elrich
Full Review
The GZ-MG505 measures 2.9 x 2.9 x 4.9 (WHD, in inches) and weighs 17.6 ounces with battery, strap and lens cap. It’s hardly pants pocket-sized but it’ll fit it an outer jacket--no problem. There’s an easily adjustable Velcro wrist strap on the right hand side. Sadly, this supposedly sophisticated camcorder has a lens cap that connects to the wrist strap and dangles in the breeze. How lame—especially when the Sony HDD model has a built-in lens cover. The front is dominated by a 10x optical zoom JVC Video Lens with a removable square-shaped lens hood. There are optional accessory lenses if the 10x doesn’t do it for you. It also has a 300x digital zoom but just as we don’t like the quality of digital zooms in digital cameras, we suggest you disable here as well. You’ll find a flash for stills, a stereo mic and sensors for the supplied remote control and camera. Next to the mic is a compartment to connect an external microphone in case you want to play TV reporter and interview your relatives at the next BBQ bash. The right side is fairly plain with an embossed HDD logo and a DC input to charge the battery. The cover hinge seems a bit flimsy as is the hinge on the rear above the battery. That one hides the A/V out and USB ports. Also on the back is the record/snap key for taking videos or stills. The top is fairly clean with a wide/telephoto zoom key, the main mode switch (power on/off/playback) and a cold accessory shoe. The left hand side is dominated by a 2.7-inch widescreen LCD monitor rated a so-so 112K pixels. The screen has a small joystick control on the far left that lets you access menus and easily make adjustments. I really liked the battery-time indicator that shows how much juice is left to the minute rather than a bar graph. Unlike the Sony DCR-SR100, there are no zoom controls on the monitor. On the body are a number of controls and an S-video output. Alas, you’ll have to dig an S-video cable out of your drawer in order to enjoy the better quality video on your TV since it’s an optional accessory. You’ll find the mode key (camera/camcorder), menu, delete, auto/manual and flash/info keys. A tiny speaker is nestled in here as well. The bottom has an SD card slot and a tripod mount. All in all, a logically designed and understandable control layout with no head-scratchers forcing you to run screaming for the owner’s manual. The Everio GZ-MG505 comes with a good-enough kit—even though JVC cheaped out on the S-video cable. You get a rechargeable battery (50 minutes), A/V and USB cables, lens cap, strap, remote, a 72-page owner’s manual and software CD ROM. The disc is loaded with PowerDVD 5, PowerDirector Express and PowerProducer for editing and burning discs as well as Digital Photo Navigator V1.5 to handle stills. There’s no SD card or other media since the 30-gig hard drive holds it all.
The GZ-MG505 looks very cool with its thin body, black finish and pro-style lens hood. Old-time camcorder hands—circa 2005—will recognize the shape and styling since it’s very similar to the three-chip GZ-MC500. That camcorder featured a 4GB removable Microdrive for storage while the new GZ-MG505 uses a non-removable 30GB HDD. The price of the MC500 was a ridiculous $1799 while this new baby is $1299 list. Gotta love it! As an aside, take JVC MSRPs with a very large grain of salt. The company has a history of tacking high prices from the factory so its retailers can say they’re giving you a deal when you pay what everyone else is charging! That said this new model has a price closer to reality since it goes for around $1200. By comparison the 30GB Sony DCR-SR100 with a single 3.3MP CCD costs $999; the three-chip DVD-based Panasonic VDR-D300 is $750 or so.
Image Courtesy of JVC
RSS Feed
by beyond on December 6, 2007:
“Last week I played with an HV10 at an Electronics retailer here in Tokyo, along side the MG505 and Sony HC3. The JVC cam did not impress me, except for its form factor. Considering you can get an HDV cam for not much more money, the MG505 seems a hard sel...” More...