JVC GRDV800 MiniDV 1.33MP Camcorder with 3.5" LCD, 10x Optical Zoom, and 8MB MMC Card

Elegantly styled with an easy to use design, JVC's GRDV800 takes full advantage of the MiniDV system and provides a sharp 540 horizontal lines of resolution, ensuring outstandingly vibrant images. Some of the features of the camcorder include a huge 3.5-inch LCD screen, 10x optical zoom, accessory info shoe, the ability to record MPEG4 clips, and remarkable still camera performance.

Lens
The 1/4-inch CCD sensor captures images with detailed accuracy so that images will be sharp and defined. The optical zoom magnifies up to 10 times while the digital zoom, which works by electronically enhancing the optical image, reaches up to 300 times. The digital image stabilization system keeps the picture steady and solid throughout zooms and camera shakes. You can shoot visible video at night using the night shot function, which allows the camera to shoot full-spectrum video in little or no light situations. Manual controls such as focus, exposure, and white balance give the user greater flexibility in shooting.

Digital Stills
The CCD sensor has a 1.33 megapixel rating, which creates images with resolutions of up 1600 by 1200 pixels. There are three lower quality settings (1280 x 960, 1024 by 768, and 640 by 480) that you can use to save memory. The DV800 includes an 8MB MultiMedia card and is also compatible Secure Digital memory cards.

Inputs and Outputs
The DV800 comes with the standard DV IEEE1394 port which provides a lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines, as well as a USB port for image transfer. The common RCA AV connections are used for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.

1 Poor focus, bad in low ligh
I purchased this camera for $800 about a year ago and it should of been worth $400-500.
This camera is horrible at focusing and is pathetic in low light.
There area plenty more cameras that are better.
Dont get this camera.

2 I think this is a Terrific Camcorder
I've had my JVC GR-DV800 for close to 2 months now, and I'm extraordinarily pleased. It's my first camcorder, and I don't regret in the slightest the choice I made, having tested much of the major functionality, especially interfacing with a computer. Although it appears this model is getting harder to find new, I would recommend it unequivocally to anyone considering buying it. I'd like to address some of the specific aspects I've seen downgraded by other reviews here and elsewhere on the web, as well as passing along my experiences with the more advanced capabilities, in particular, operation in conjunction with a computer.

I haven't tried using the camcorder in especially low light situations, and I guess my expectations are lower than many other users. I don't really expect to be able to take video in the dark. Without going into details, I would say the camcorder has met my expectations for shooting without a video light, although I don't doubt that some camcorders may do better in low light.

I've seen mixed reports on the supplied battery, which is a 400 mA-hr lithium, with some claiming the battery is useless after a few charging cycles. I haven't pushed it, but I seem to be able to get at least an hour of recording out of the battery (but I also bought a 2500 mA-hr model for flexibility).

Many reviewers have severely criticized the 3.5" LCD for low resolution/sharpness. It's true that it isn't "stunning", but it's extremely useable, with sort of a matte appearance, rather than the glossy appearance of, say, a Sony. Unless you're trying to do a precise manual focus, however, I don't see the LCD as a liability, and I don't assume most users sit around watching their videos on the LCD.

Most others have also criticized the still image capability of this, and all camcorders, stating that they are far inferior to digital cameras. The DV800 has a 1.3 MP CCD, and the Sony digital camera I've been using for several years is also 1.3 MP, and I've yet to be tempted to upgrade to a higher resolution camera for our family usage, since I typically don't crop and blow up my pictures. I use both the Sony and now the JVC DV at 1280 resolution, and aside from the camcorder not having a flash (standard), I've yet to notice any difference in the pictures from the two, in good light, other than a slightly different aspect ratio. Since my Sony camera only has an LCD, and no viewfinder, I'll probably tend to use the JVC DV through its viewfinder outside in bright light, where the Sony LCD is nearly impossible to see.

As far as operation of the camcorder with a personal computer, I've found the JVC to work extraordinarily well in all modes with Windows XP, after an initial intensive debugging of the FireWire (IEEE 1394/i.Link) capability. (I have a very long thread on the Dell Community Forum documenting this process.) JVC supplies Pixela USB drivers and an application (ImageMixer) that makes good use of those drivers, within the limitations of the program. JVC, like most DV manufacturers, relies on supplied Microsoft drivers for operation over the 1394 bus.

In still camera mode (Memory mode), with a memory card installed, and when connected to a computer via USB, the JVC requires no custom drivers. It looks like a removable USB disk drive, and all images are accessible as JPEG files for copying from or to the camcorder. For retrieving video or using as a webcam over USB, the Pixela drivers must be installed, and they present a separate Video Capture and Audio Capture device. With Image Mixer, I could capture 320x240 video (Video CD) from the camcorder, either by playing back a DV tape (in Video-Play mode) or as a webcam (in Video-Auto or -Manual mode). I couldn't get the camcorder to work reliably for video over USB with the other applications I had available, so I don't know if resolution above VCD is possible over USB. DVD resolution is 720x480 @ 30 frames/second, for a data rate of almost 30 megabits per second (Mbps). USB 1.1 is limited to 12 Mbps, so unless the JVC USB implementation is 2.0, DVD-quality video transfer isn't possible over USB.

Moving on to operation over the IEEE 1394 bus (FireWire), here is where the full video capabilities of the camcorder are possible. It is possible to download still images from the memory card over 1394, but it's much more convenient to use the USB disk mode for still image operations. Contrary to another review on this site, I don't believe there is any inherent limitation in the JVC 1394 implementation that limits it to working with particular 1394 interfaces. That limitation appears to be in the Windows XP drivers, and isn't particularly specific to given camcorders, as documented in many places on the web, including my thread elsewhere. After switching to using the Microsoft 1394 bus drivers, instead of those supplied by the interface manufacturer, my JVC has worked flawlessly with my 1394 interface, which has a Texas Instrument chipset, and it also worked flawlessly with a Dell laptop with a built- in 1394 interface with TI chipset, as well as with the built-in DV interface of a Macintosh iMac.

After the initial debugging cycle, I have downloaded lots of video from my camcorder's DV tape over the 1394 interface, produced video that I burned to DVD, which played back and looked great on my 27-inch TV, and copied the edited video back to a DV tape in the camcorder (all using Ulead Video Studio 8.0, which I will be reviewing in the software section of this site shortly).

In short, the JVC GR-DV800 has done everything I've asked of it thus far, and with its flexible input and output connections, and availability of useful accessories, including lenses and filters, I consider it to be a great product.

3 Great Camera...But....
The JVC GR-DV800U is a lot of camera for a modest amount of money, but, as other reviewers have pointed out, it suffers in poor lighting conditions as do many other camcorders. I'm giving it two stars because 1) JVC tech support personnel are a bit numb and less than helpful; and 2) although the product is advertised as being compatible with OHCI compliant IEEE 1394 (Firewire) inputs, it will only work with Pinnacle, Belkin and Orange Micro Firewire PCI boards. Otherwise you can't transfer it to your computer. So you may have to cough up a PCI slot and another $45 to make it work. (I have an onboard Asus IEEE 1394 and a separate PCI Texas Instruments OHCI compliant board and neither would accept and install the camera connection. My wife's computer wouldn't take it, either, getting us only a big yellow question mark in Device Manager in Windows XP.

JVC is a bit dishonest in its claims to be compatible with OHCI-compliant connections, but the camera's good and (best part) it has a MIC IN jack, which is the main reason I bought it.

4 The Inventor JVC w/ 21st Century technology
the "palm of your hand" has also mastered an amazing piece of technology here with the GR DV800U. Companies followed the lead of JVC and competition generated fantastic graphics/pixel imagery. This camcorder delivers a must in everyone's home. It picks up details you have never seen. So versatile not only is this mini-digital a camcorder it is a VCR, a Computer Cyber-Cam, a digital camera, a television, an e-mail capable device that has enough plug-in features such as s/video stereo sound 540+ lines of resolution digital still as high as 1600x1200 with a super high band processor this camcorder is thus far the most amazing one I have seen. The software and features combined will easily have you set to tape load edit and produce your own pro movies!!! This is 21st Century technology in the palm of your hand............undoubtedly underrated due to their lack of advertising. However, with such perfected leadership in the video industry there is little reason to advertise. This keeps cost low as competitors like Sony charge for their marketing costs . JVC charges you simply for the GR-DV800U technology and it is superb!!!!

5 Great in good light, amazing battery life
I bought this camcorder late last year and travelled a lot over Christmas break - this camera satisfied my needs perfectly! Its charger is multi-voltage capable, the battery charges quickly and lasts forever (I still purchased a large additional battery for those situations when I didn't have access to a power plug for days!)

I agree with the reviewers saying the low-light mode is kind of strobe-like. However, it is in True Color,/b>! If you move your hand gently (use a tripod for low light!), or focus on a scene and don't move the camera much, you will like the results. I, for one, hate the fake, green tint (infraRed-based) that Sony and some other manufacturers incorporate into their night mode. Yes, it increases overall light sensitivity by absorbing more rays from outside the usual visible spectrum, but the video looks (green!) unreal and ugly. NOT an option!

The remote has a few nice features as well, and the photograph mode is quite impressive for a digital camcorder. I took over 300 pictures at the native resolution of 1.33 MegaPixels 1280x1024 (2 Megapixel photos at 1600x1200 are produced through interpolation, don't bother with it!). I got some beautiful low-light, dawn and dusk shots, including sunsets and sea shots.

The lack of a flash forcues you to use good photography principles like keeping the subject's face well lit, but the BackLight mode is a nice semi-fix for video or pictures taken with a bright backlight (eg sun behind subject).

BE AWARE that most versions of this camera do not like LARGE SecureDigital (SD) cards. You will be able to use cards over 128 MB, but can't preview the photos or the amount of space left because the camera doesn't fully support that card size (256 and above). Stick with a 128MB card, which can hold well over 250-300 photos at the highest native resolution, and you should be satisfied!

It would have been nice to have a lens with more optical zoom, because digital zoom is an absolute joke, just like any other camcorder - the graininess introduced into the video makes it quite worthless. 10X isn't bad, though, and the clarity of video and images shot with this camera rival anything I've had a chance to compare it to (mostly similar priced and similar featured cameras from other manufacturers, owned by friends). I've made a few DVDs and amny VCDs of video captured with this camcorder, and the quality is great.

The software included isn't too bad for quick and dirty image and video capture using the USB port and included cable (half resolution video) or Firewire (you need to buy a cable, but can capture full resolution video only with Firewire). However, I strongly recommend using something nicer like at least ULead Video Studio or Sonic MyDVD or Pinnacle's Studio products, or perhaps even Adobe Premiere to make truly 'prosumer' video! Its a pity a Firewire cable isn't included, but make sure you get one.

The video (composite) output cables are excellent, and dubbing video from the DV tapes to VHS or DVD/VCD recorders couldn't get easier. I haven't played with the scene transitions on the camera, because I edit in software, but I'm sure they'll be satisfactory if you want to make VHS tapes or DVD/VCDs directly using the (cable included) RCA composite AV output.

A note on DV tapes - stick to one manufacturer, because others (like Sony) use a different technique to make their tapes and camcorder heads apparently don't like frequent switching. I have had great luck with JVC tapes (duh!) which are re-labelled Fuji tapes. I bought well over a dozen.

The camera's pass through function for analog video lets you convert it to DV which you can capture on the fly (using pass-through) on a computer to convert your old VHS tapes into flawless (as good as the original VHS at least) VCDs or DVDs. I've used this a lot as well.

The large flippable LCD screen is good for those videos when you want to be in the shot but still occasionally monitor what the camera is capturing, from a distance. It doesn't get grimy or dirty and is easy to clean anyway.

6 Good for the right price
Overall this is a fairly good camcorder. It has a lot of nice features. For example, if you are far sighted, you can adjust the color viewfinder for clarity without reading glasses. I also like the fact that you can use the remote, when dubbing onto video or DVD, to briefly display the date and time the video was recorded. The side LCD is nice and large, which compared to the DV500 I think is worth the extra cost.
One thing to be aware of, though, is that the Nightvision feature is absolutely worthless. This camcorder is horrible and useless in low light situations. In bright light, the images are great. I have a cheaper, Sharp VLNZ105U, that beats this JVC hands down for low light shooting. So, if I am in a night shooting situation, I take the Sharp camcorder, not the JVC. I have ordered a light to mount on the JVC camcorder, which is a significant additional amount of money over what I paid for the camcorder in the first place. Maybe that will help. When you use the Nightvision it looks like special effects, everything moves in a strobe light effect, very jerky and jumpy. I don't see why they even bothered to put this "feature" on the camera.
Except for that one issue (low light shooting), so far it has been a great little camcorder.
7 Be careful of this JVC Camera....
When I first saw this camera and its features I was highly impressed (but looks can be desieving). I played with this camera in the store, I compared it to about 10 different camera's in the same price range, I was convienced, and I bought it. When I got it, it worked fine from the charging unit, after it was unplugged and ran off the batter it completely shut off after about 10 seconds (this is not an exageration). I thought I had charged it wrong and luckly had a second battery, once again the same issue. So I called JVC, and they told me I had to have it serviced (let me remind you people that this camera was only 2 days old out of the box) and then they told me that the camera's battery was not covered. So, even if the camera had worked and the battery was bad JVC would not cover a replacement battery. Luckly I was able to return it. But the video that I was able to capture (all indoors since i was confined to a plug) seemed to be pretty grainy and even with ample light it was still poor quality, maybe if I was able to take this camera into the sunlight I might not be as harsh. But to all those who are going to purchase a new camera....go and play with it in the store before you buy it. It will save you a lot of headache. GOOD LUCK if you own it and it breaks down, cause JVC's answer to everything is take it to the shop. And by the way, to those who do own it, JVC never responded to emails or return phone calls, I had to bombard their system in order to get in touch with someone, and finally about 2 weeks after I returned the camera there customer service department finally sent me an email stating that I needed to call. I WILL NEVER BUY A JVC PRODUCT AS LONG AS I LIVE!!!!!
8 Good Camera but go with the gr-dv500
This is an excellent camera, but not worth the price. I say this because the gr-dv500 has all the same features except the 800 has a bigger LCD screen by one inch. In my opinion its not worth $100 for 1 inch of LCD. So just go with the 500, unless you want that extra inch.
9 Great Camcorder and Digital Camera
Nice camcorder/camera. Easy to use. Very nice features. Be carefull of the SD cards though. ...
10 Limited on the SD/Multimedia Card
I bought one last week and I love it, but one word to the wise. The camera is not compatible with a 128mb card. The camera can't read pictures you take using a 128mb media card. This means you have to drop down to a 64mb card. You still get 120+ pictures on the 64, but its something you might want to know.
11 Pleasantly Surprised
Compared to all the new, old-fashioned looking MiniDV and 3rd generation camcorders out there, I love the look and feel of the JVC GR-DV800. It's silver with blue trimmings and has that old-school elongated look versus the vertically built ones coming out of late.
Right out of the box it felt substantial. I thumbed through the manual while charging up the battery (can't do it off the camera) and was a little dismayed at the large amount of instructions. However, as I found out later, it's all pretty simple once you get the hang of it.
The LCD is nice and big. Others have complained that the clarity isn't great, but compared to the Sony and Cannon, I don't have a problem with it.
The controls are pretty well-oriented, although I did get a little bit of a hand cramp from using the one-finger menu dial. But that's probably just because it's new and I'm trying everything.
The 300x zoom is pretty useless above 100x. Anything that close is just too grainy. Whether that's from the lens itself or simply because things weren't intended to be viewed at 300x their normal size, I don't know. Right now, I can't imagine ever zooming that far unless I'm looking at the moon or distant landscapes.
One problem I've had is using the camera in low light using AGP or JVC's NIGHTVISION. Basically, like any camera, light collection takes time. Meaning, if you want to move the camera and you are using AGP (Automatic Gain) or the highly-vaunted NIGHTVISION, you have to move the camera very slowly to keep a focused picture. In fact, I have to use a tripod to take snapshots to prevent my pressing the button from making fuzzy pics.
I installed the included USB software on my XP system and hooked the cables up and I was able to e-mail out a picture in about 2 minutes, start to finish (including cable installation).

However, I've since tried to copy over video using the USB port and it doesn't work. I've installed the software that comes with it, but it still doesn't work. JVC website is basically no help with anything, but I've been told by some camcorder forum experts that you HAVE to (HAVE TO) use the Firewire port to txfer video instead of the USB. JVC doesn't include a FireWire cable so I've yet to try that fix out.
All in all I'm glad I bought this particular camera. It looks good, it feels good, and so far it takes good pics and video.
12 Awesome Camcorder !!!
I bought this camera for a Winston Cup race I was going to. And let me tell you...this camcorder amazed me with the video and still images I was able to get. I was disappointed with the outcome of the race but I loved the video I got. If you buy this camera look into buying a longer-life battery because the battery that it comes with drains pretty quickly. Overall I would have to say that this camcorder was the best [$$] I have ever spent. Good Luck next week Jeff Gordon !!
13 excellent camera
Before getting this camera I've done an extensive research and tryed differnt digital camcorders. I found that the main advantage of this unit is 1.3 meg. resolution still pictures, 3.5 inches LCD, good filming at low light conditions and stereo microphone. I also liked the way this camera looks -- "professional look".
Do not expect that you will get quality snapshots printouts -- none of the camcorderds (with exeption above [money amount]in price)produce enough resolution for printed pictures, but if you want snapshots to be watched on your TV or Computor Monitor, this cammera gives you more then enough resolution for the snapshots.
Controls are easy and self-explanatory. Has its own speaker,I did not like that it is pretty weak, not much louder then my cell phone. Good thing you can plug in your headphones and get a good STEREO sound. Also there is a socket for an external microphone. Highly recommended unit.
14 So Much For So Little
My JVC GRDV2000U was stolen last week and this one offers even more features for much less.
15 JVC GR-DV800U
I've had this camcorder for about 2 weeks now. I had a JVC analog camcorder before this one.
This camcorder is very good! Only thing I see that needs "fixing" is that it needs a seperate battery charger (like my older JVC had.) This built charger restricts you from using the camcorder while charging.
To begin with I will use it mainly to copy my old analog tapes to digital, then to DVD.
It is an awesome camcorder, especially for the price I found at Buydig.com