JVC Everio GZ-MS120 Dual Flash Camcorder (Blue) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this little camcorder about a month ago along with JVC BN-VF815US 1460 mAh battery. Overall I am very impressed with this little camcorder. I have been using a Panasonic DV Tape camcorder for 9 years and it was time to get away from those darn tapes. With the JVC there is no moving parts (no hard drives, no tapes, no DVD) just a couple of flash cards.
In addition to the camcorder, I had to upgrade my video editing software. I was using Pinnacle Studio 10.8 for my old Panasonic but I could not import the MOD file format from the new JVC. I purchased Corel Ulead VideoSutdio 11.5 plus from Amazon for only 40 bucks and I am very impressed with it as well.
Here are the pros of the JVC:
1) Low cost (under $275)
2) Solid state - no moving parts - records to flash memory.
3) Great color and low light performance compared to equivalent Panasonic, Canon and Sony. Check out the review on camcorderinfo.com (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/JVC-Everio-GZ-MG670-Camcorder-Review-36240.htm). Its for a slightly higher model (MG670) than the MS120 but they share the same lens, sensor, user interface and body.
4) Can see the screen in sunlight. With no view finder I was worried about seeing the screen outside but with this screen its not that big of an issue.
5) 16X9 windscreen native (can also do 4X3)
6) Auto lens cap. Lens cap automatically opens and closed with screen.
7) Auto on and off. Along with the lens cap, the power automatically turns on and off with open and close of the screen. No more videos of the ground (or my wife's feet) because you forgot to power off the camera after the last shot.
8) Instant on - Once you open the screen, you can start taking video within a second or two.
9) Low power consumption - No moving parts means less power and longer battery life.
10) Each video is saved and managed like a file on the camera. Its easy to delete or view these files right on the camera. No more hunting through the tape.
Cons -
1) Difficult to hold - the hand strap is very thin and does not have much support. You need to use two hands to hold it still enough.
2) No optical image stabilization - The digital stabilization is decent but you need to keep this one steady. Maybe that why they put that thin strap on this thing. Again two hands.
3) Like other camcorders in this range, they take decent but not good still photos. You still need to keep you digital camera near by.
4) MOD format. Works with most newer video editing SW but did not work with my 3 year old version of Studio 10.8. Words great with older version of Ulead VideoStudio 11.5
5) Low light performance - while low light performance is good compared to competitors, it does not have an IR filter like my old Panasonic.
6) No hot shoe - I never used the one on my Panasonic so not a big deal.
7) No viewfinder - Can still see well in sunlight so not a big deal.


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The JVC Everio GZ-MS120 has a dual pair of SD/SDHC card slots and offers continuous recording: when one storage medium fills up, recording automatically switches to the other. When recording with the dual-slot GZ-MS120 in the highest quality mode (Ultra), recording capacity ranges from 3.7 hours using a pair of 8GB cards to 15 hours using two 32GB cards. In the lowest quality mode (Eco), recording time ranges from 20 hours to 80 hours.

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