JVC Everio S GZ-MS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom

This is my third one of these camcorders. I do not recommend the Hard Drive version as I previously had 2, as the hard drives are much more vunerable to failure and even if you are careful with it you don't know how much it was thrown around whilst bein shipped to you or a store. The SD card is much less suseptible to shock and you can now get SD cards up to 32 GB. This is also lighter than the HDD version and slimmer which is a bonus if size and lightweight is important. Battery life is still only around an hour, which is not great but comparable with many similiar camcorders. I'm not a cineamatic genious or a moviemaker so I consider the recording quality to be very good, better than my aging digital tape camcorder (although that is very reliable), those who are, or prefer HD may not consider it adequate, but I've played back my videos on my 26 inch flat screen TV and PC and the look good.
The camera is easy to use. You must delete photos and video on the camera though, not on your computer after downloading them or you will get a message saying "Video management file Broken" everytime which may cause further problems later on.

I spent hours looking for a replacement to my 2 failed HDD versions of this camcorder and most reviews I read recommended for this price JVC Everio would give you the best quality picture. The still picture taking capabilities are not very good, later models are much better, but for still I want very good quality so I carry a seperate digital camera for that. Overall I think this is an excellent camcorder, but as in the case of this one being an SD card model, I recommend this over the HDD version.

Pros:
Very convenient-- Flip open the viewfinder, open the shutter, and you're ready to record in no more than a couple seconds. I've found that most of the things I tend to record are short and happen on the spur of the moment. Having a camcorder that's ready that fast means that I'm much more likely to use it.

Outdoor picture quality-- I suppose that any camera will do better when there's more light available, but the videos shot outdoors, particularly on sunny days come out sharp and clean.

Built-in LED light-- For subjects that are close at hand, you can (with only a couple buttons, but still via the menu) turn on a bluish white LED that seems to improve the picture quality.

Good sound-- Not that it's a major innovation, but the sound tends to be very clearly recorded, and the microphone is quite sensitive. So sensitive that if you're clumsy or hurried in ending a shot, every video will end with the sound of you hitting the record trigger to stop the clip.

Lightweight-- Partly because it uses SD cards for storage and I guess just partly because of the design and materials, this is a very light camera. You can hold it for extended periods without any wrist fatigue and it doesn't feel like you're smuggling lead when you drop it in bag or pack.


Cons:
Non-standard recording format-- Movie files are saved in a .MOD format instead of MPG. You can either use the JVC software that comes with the camera to "back up" the videos to a hard drive which converts them to MPG if you select the right options. Or you can obtain a freeware program called SDCOPY that mass converts the files directly. Either way, it's less than ideal that you have to take this extra step.

Indoor Color-- Videos recorded indoors using normal (i.e. ambient artificial) light tend to be sepia-shifted in color. The image is only slightly "softer" in these cases than the razor-crisp edges you get in full sunlight, so it's not a matter of picture quality per se. But you should expect that most of the videos you shoot indoors will have a moderate to severe orange-sepia-brownish color tone.


Overall I am pleased with this purchase, particularly for the $180 I paid for it. There are presumably other models out there that avoid the sepia invasion that this one suffers during indoor shooting, but probably not for the price.

We had avoided spending money on a new camcorder since the one we have owned for several years seemed to still be in working order. After helping record a school event using an earlier version of this JVC Everio, I was hooked. Not only is this extremely easy to use, the fact that you don't have to mess with mini tapes or anything else is a joy. The larger memory cards are worth the additional cost and very easy to use likewise. We're glad we bought the new camcorder!

it's good for the price.
The photos have very low definition(don't buy this if you want a camcorder and photo camera all in one)
but the video is ok,
The format of the video files is rare but it can easily be converted to avi for editing/recording.
the advantage is that it doesn't have mobile parts(disks, cassettes) and that you don't need cassettes.

The camera is very lightweight and generally easy to hold and operate. Although it does not fit in a shirt pocket,it is easy to carry but use of the strap is essential. The controls are simple and easy to use without needing instructions. Video and picture quality is very good for most normal applications but since it doesn't have a built in light, video taken in very low light or at night appears grainy. Battery life is very good and with the memory card it is very easy to find scenes and delete unwanted video. After using a flash memory video camera I cannot imagine going back to using any camera using tapes or even mini-dvds. It is a very good camera for the price.