I think most everyone out there that will read this would agree with me when I say that memories, especially ones involving your children, are among the most precious, as well as important, possessions that a person can have in their lives. It is not important though to just capture them, but also to be able to retain them. It was with this mindset that my wife and I set out on a quest to find a camcorder that would do just that. Sure we own cameras and have plenty of pictures of our kids, but there is nothing quite like being to play back the moments of their lives on a TV screen for all to see. We settled on this JVC Everio GZ-MG360B. Was it a quality purchase though, or were our memories fleeting. Let us take a look and see.
I am always a straight shooter in these reviews, and this one will be no exception. There are some aspects to this camcorder that I have really enjoyed thus far, but there are some drawbacks as well. I will give it to you from both ends then let you make your choice as to whether you want to secure one for yourself.
First thing I noticed about this little camcorder was just that. It's little! Gone are the days when my arm use to get sore from holding up my father's old early 90's camcorder that compared to this one seems like a TV camera. This JVC was so lightweight that I was able to capture plenty of lasting memories on tape, instead of hoping to catch that one important moment while I could still hold the camera up.
Another feature that it had an advantage on other cameras on, and far outpaced my old camcorder, was in the area of battery life. With this camcorder I could finally say goodbye to those days when I prayed that the kids would get done with what they were doing before I saw the blinking battery life rear its ugly head on the display screen. Now I start taping with the battery fully charged, doing it with the confidence that I can go for hours without having to worry about battery life. Just like the energizer bunny! What a concept!
For those that are known for doing a lot of recording, this camcorder has something especially important for you as well. Within its walls, this camcorder houses a very nice size 60 GB hard drive. Personally I am not going to fill up anything of that much size, because I quickly try to convert things to discs or on to my pc, but for those of you that might travel across continents to foreign lands, this might just be the ticket for you. You can probably shoot footage all over Europe and still not fill this little guy up.
One final piece that I found to be very helpful was the built in light within the camcorder. This was a great help during that period at dusk on the beach when the boys were tossing the football, or catching the tide as it gently rushed in against the sunset. The extra bit of lighting helped to capture the moment in all its glory.
Well I have given you all of the features that I find brilliant about this little device, but I also feel responsible to tell you the features that I was not so enamored with as well. In the case of this camcorder there is one facet that I do not care for, but it is more of a nuisance than it is a deal breaker.
When you shoot your video, instead of the file being given a typical extension you would find for video clips, this JVC gives it its own extension, .MOD to be exact. The problem with this is that it adds extra steps to the process you go through of trying to move your home movies on to DVD's. Instead of being able to burn them by simply dragging and dropping them on to your DVD with your burn software, you have to use software furnished with the camcorder. This of course must be first loaded on to your PC with the burner software, and then you can start the process. Like I said, not a deal breaker, but going the way of proprietary software extensions really was not the smartest way to go in my estimation.
So in conclusion, yes I highly recommend this camcorder to you for purchase. I think its advantages far outweigh its one detraction, especially when the company does provide the software to make the conversion rather easily. I think it will preserve your memories safely and soundly for years to come.
