|
JVC GZ-HD7EK HD Everio Camcorder | 
 enlarge | Brand: JVC
Category: CE
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 43681
Media: Electronics
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.4
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 7.3 x 6.1
MPN: GZ-HD7EK
Model: GZ-HD7EK
EAN: 4975769342233
ASIN: B000S84KLY
Release Date: June 19, 2007
|
| Features:
| » | 60GB Internal Hard Disk Drive for up to 5 hr. of Full HD recording | | » | 10x Optical Zoom / 200x Digital Zoom | | » | Memory Card Slot for SDHC/SD | | » | Remote Control provided | | » | Software provided for Windows |
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
JVC expands its award-winning Everio hard drive camcorder family with the addition of the JVC HD Everio GZ-HD7, a new high definition camcorder that provides full HD 1920x1080i video quality combined with the convenience of hard drive recording. This camcorder is the first Everio to shoot in full 1080i and the first JVC consumer camcorder to adopt a Fujinon lens. Designed to enable consumers to conveniently capture and share their memories in full high definition without the need for removable tapes or discs, the HD Everio offers consumers the simplicity of a point-and-shoot camcorder combined with the features, technology and manual controls that appeal to the serious videographer.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Better than the reviews - BUT NOT FOR APPLE MAC USERS..... December 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Looks great, professional styling, nice to hold and feels much better than average build quality for this level of camera. Easy to use. Optical stabilisation is weak, but perhaps you shouldn't expect it to do too much when zooming in. Good range of easily accessed manual controls. Down side is that none of the accessories are available in the UK at present - eg: external mic, carrying case, lense adaptors etc. Also, the TOD file system is a bit of a pain by not allowing file transfer in full HD mode direct into Final Cut Express or iMovie 08 on a Mac - but there are workarounds and image quality is still impressive - but I'm judging it simply as a user rather than an enthusiast..... For me it certainly does what I want and notwithstanding naff reviews in the specialist magazines I would still recommend it. Prices do vary tremendously though, so shop around!
IMPORTANT UPDATE: When Apple updated Quicktime to v7.4 this camera overnight ceased to be compatible with Apple Macs and the JVC support desk show no interest in the plight of existing users who can no longer use their camera.
 My first camcorder October 9, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I did a lot of research and soul searching before parting with my pound notes for this camera. I am new to the Camcorder arena so I guess my comments are true lay-terms as opposed to other experienced users on this page. Delivery was right on the button, thanks Amazon. The Camcorder is stunning stuff, great build quality compared to other makes in the price range and it works 'just like it says on the tin' The picture quality is great, the instruction manual gets nine out of ten for accuracy and the software that's supplied works fine even on my old cranky laptop.(a bit slow though.) I took time to read some of the help files in the software suite and the .tod issue is not a problem if you use the JVC software, so I haven't found the need to buy other editing software to produce DVDs etc. Everything I need was in the box except an iLink/firewire cable to download the pics to my recorder. I went to the camera shop and they wanted fifteen quid for one (Dick Turpin rules)so I got one on Amazon for under five quid. Happy filming.
A good first attempt - next year's will be better July 17, 2007
21 out of 24 found this review helpful
I took advantage of the exchange rate (thanks, again, DM) to pick up one of these for 750 and ordered it in April just before the 'it's not quite as qood as we thought it was going to be' consumer feedback started to come from the US.
Having had it for six weeks, I can say I love the build quality, the balance and the size. It's a well-made product. And the image quality is just great. Not the best, (apparently that's the tape-based Canon HV20) - but a million miles better than DV and more than good enough for my needs.
I had wanted an high-def Hard Disk camcorder for visualising scenes/general filming and this seemed a reasonable bet. I had looked at the Sony hi-def hard drive model in January (SR1?) - but decided to wait because none of the editing packages at the time supported the new AVCHD format the Sony used.
To deal with the OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) issue which is taking a lot of time on the US Amazon review boards... Yes, the camera is skittish at high-zoom and there is shake. But, remember, this is a prosumer model camera with lots of manual features; so, if buying it, you should be also considering investing in a tripod. Additionally, using the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen, helps steady the camera.
The .TOD issue is fairly easily dealt with by manually renaming the files .mpg. I edit in Sony Vegas, which pulls the files in very happily. Vegas is multi-core capable (uses all four processors on my machine) so editing seems pretty smooth. Even the cheaper versions of Vegas are pretty capable beasts.
So, all in all, I'm very happy with this as a buying choice. Canon HV20 sounds very nice - but there's that tape issue. With this, I can shoot, select, watch, delete - fast. I'll be happy with the Everio for the next couple of years.
NB: A key thing to consider, when buying an high-def camera, is the need to have a computer powerful enough for editing. The no-brainer is a Mac. By comparison, I picked up a 2x dual-core Xeon 2Ghz on ebay (Precision 690) for just over a grand. And a Dell 24" A03 screen for 400. Which makes the Mac an expensive no-brainer.
 Excellent picture, worthless PC software & OIS July 12, 2007
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
I originally purchased this camera following a review in T3 magazine and as an ex-display model however returned it and replaced it with a new one the following day without fuss due to a dead pixel on the CCD directly in the middle of frame.
The image quality on the HD7 is excellent, if not slightly over saturated and dull & noisy in low light levels (common on 3chip consumer / prosumer cameras), manual controls are pretty good with a decent focus ring and manual shutter & aperature buttons though no external audio input control and is lacking any headphone monitoring which, for the pricetag, is pretty bad to be honest. Build quality is good as is the resulting footage (though no timelapse feature?!) however that's pretty much where the good stuff ends.
Now for the really bad parts.
Unfortunately JVC deem it necessary to record the footage in it's own ".tod" file format, which is in essence simply a renamed .mpg file (in mpeg2 format) which is accompanied with another file for timing. Problem is that getting this footage into any pc editing system is nigh-impossible to say the least. The bundled cyberlink software is absolutely useless for the camcorder with this pricetag; you can simply copy the .tod files and view them, or convert the footage to .mpg format by using the "advanced editing" feature which copies and renames the files to you computer and spits them into its own editing software which is basic to say the least... I mean what's the point in having a HD camera when the software you're given only spits out the footage at SD?!
Premiere CS3, while it support mpeg2 import, has a nightmare trying to import any footage taken. I had to install numerous mpeg2 codecs sourced from the net to try to get one that would support it.. finally managed it, but not before i suffered from severe hair loss.
After speaking to JVC about this I was informed that the software wasn't supported by them, only by cyberlink themselves which seems like a case of "delegating the blame". However saying all that, I've been informed that mac users aren't having so much of a problem as there's a plugin for final cut that brings the footage straight in without any hassle. The advice from JVC? "Buy a mac". Pitiful. I was also informed that to get around any problems like this I could capture the footage via firewire. Yeah no problem, provided you have shot the footage at HDV res using a constant bitrate, which I hadn't... I'd shot footage at full HD (which uses a variable bitrate)
However the worst thing is the Optical Image Stabalisation (OIS). This feature is virtually non-existant with pretty much no difference between the OIS feature being enabled or disabled which is bad especially at full HD on a tight zoom.
All-in-all i was pleasantly surprised and heavily disappointed with this camera and the support from JVC, especially as my last JVC camcorder worked a treat. The HD7 has now gone back to the shop for a refund. Many users are complaining about the OIS issue, a quick google search will prove this.
|
|
|
| |
