Review JVC GZ-MS230 Camcorder Introduction:
If you’re thinking about buying a new camcorder for you to record important events in your life, consider the jvc gz-ms230 camcorder. There are many reviews about this product which can be accessed online and you’ll see that people actually have good recommendations on this gadget. The standard-definition JVC GZ-MS230 Everio may seem like quite the deal. Unfortunately, it's a deal you'll probably want to pass on. The camcorder boasts features a lightweight body, laser touch operation, and a built-in still camera-all of which miss the mark. This device comes with an 8 GB built in flash memory that allows you to film up to 1 hour and 50 minutes of videos. That might not be much for you, but watch out for all the other features it offers. It has a 45x dynamic zoom for you to obtain excellent magnification of far-away sceneries you would like to capture. You don’t have to worry about the quality of your videos or photos because they will still turn out great despite the distance.
JVC GZ-MS230 Camcorder Features:
The MS230 is designed so it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. While the construction is great if you want to hang on to the camera, it also means you have to either use your other hand to operate the controls which you may want to do if you're using the touch controls on the LCD or hold the camera exceptionally awkwardly to get to the buttons. I have fairly small hands and found one-handed operation exceptionally awkward if not impossible using the camcorder. The body is made out of thin plastic, which while great for the weight of the camera, also makes it feel like the camcorder would easily shatter should it ever be dropped on a hard surface. While I didn't go throw the camcorder on my sidewalk to test this theory, I think durability is a definite issue.
The MS230 also has a manually controlled lens cap. In general I'm a huge fan of lens caps that can be taken off manually, simply because automatic lens caps tend to have issues over time where they either stop opening, or pieces of them get stuck or break off of a camera. The MS230 has a lens cap that is designed exactly like an automatic lens cap, but requires you to turn a manual switch on the side of the camera to open and close it, leaving you with all the pain of having to take the lens cap off yourself with none of the gain of having a lens cap that isn't going to fall apart over time.
The MS230 records video and takes still pictures, saving them either onto the camcorder's 8GB of built-in memory, or onto an SD card. Inserting a card and recording video is exceptionally easy to do, with a record button both on the back of the camcorder and on the LCD screen. Video I recorded with the camera was always clear and in focus, but the coloring was off from what it should be. For instance, this video was recorded on full auto in my front yard on a cloudy day after a rainstorm. Standing water on the ground had a bluefish tint to it, and the sky was exceptionally bright and blown out despite the dark cloudy weather.
I particularly had a difficult time taking still pictures with the MS230. While it was easy to physically take pictures with the camera, getting one that was clear and in focus seemed like a literally impossible task. Photos taken with the zoom looked the worst, but even photos taken up close with no zoom were not in focus and had difficulty showing any sort of detail. The image quality reminds me a lot of early camcorders with the “Photo Capture” feature that would simply save a still frame of video rather than actually taking a picture.
One huge disappointment for me was the zoom touch controls on the LCD. The zoom is controlled by a large blue bar that runs the length of the side of the LCD screen. At first glance I thought the zoom could be controlled by running a finger along the blue bar, which would make for very easy and smooth zooming. Unfortunately, the zoom is only controlled by the top of the bar, and is controlled more by a tapping on the screen than a gentle glide of the finger making zooming more jarring than if it was being controlled by a typical zoom button.
Another great feature many users love about this equipment is the auto recording function. With this feature, the device can easily detect anything that comes within its detecting area and once movement is detected, recording automatically starts without the user pressing on anything. This makes the jvc gz-ms230 a good surveillance camera which can be put on a certain spot for security purposes. At the same time, it automatically shuts down after 5 seconds of not detecting any movement within the detection zone. Probably one of the best features of this camcorder is its ability to record great videos even in places where lighting is low and not so good. This is because it has the Super Lolux feature which makes the device super sensitive to poor lighting. Even when you use the camcorder indoors, you are assured of having videos and photos which are of super good quality.
