JVC GRDV800 MiniDV 1.33MP Camcorder with 3.5" LCD, 10x Optical Zoom, and 8MB MMC Card

Lens
The 1/4-inch CCD sensor captures images with detailed accuracy so that images will be sharp and defined. The optical zoom magnifies up to 10 times while the digital zoom, which works by electronically enhancing the optical image, reaches up to 300 times. The digital image stabilization system keeps the picture steady and solid throughout zooms and camera shakes. You can shoot visible video at night using the night shot function, which allows the camera to shoot full-spectrum video in little or no light situations. Manual controls such as focus, exposure, and white balance give the user greater flexibility in shooting.

Digital Stills
The CCD sensor has a 1.33 megapixel rating, which creates images with resolutions of up 1600 by 1200 pixels. There are three lower quality settings (1280 x 960, 1024 by 768, and 640 by 480) that you can use to save memory. The DV800 includes an 8MB MultiMedia card and is also compatible Secure Digital memory cards.

Inputs and Outputs
The DV800 comes with the standard DV IEEE1394 port which provides a lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines, as well as a USB port for image transfer. The common RCA AV connections are used for direct viewing on a television or VHS dubbing.

I haven't tried using the camcorder in especially low light situations, and I guess my expectations are lower than many other users. I don't really expect to be able to take video in the dark. Without going into details, I would say the camcorder has met my expectations for shooting without a video light, although I don't doubt that some camcorders may do better in low light.

I've seen mixed reports on the supplied battery, which is a 400 mA-hr lithium, with some claiming the battery is useless after a few charging cycles. I haven't pushed it, but I seem to be able to get at least an hour of recording out of the battery (but I also bought a 2500 mA-hr model for flexibility).

Many reviewers have severely criticized the 3.5" LCD for low resolution/sharpness. It's true that it isn't "stunning", but it's extremely useable, with sort of a matte appearance, rather than the glossy appearance of, say, a Sony. Unless you're trying to do a precise manual focus, however, I don't see the LCD as a liability, and I don't assume most users sit around watching their videos on the LCD.

Most others have also criticized the still image capability of this, and all camcorders, stating that they are far inferior to digital cameras. The DV800 has a 1.3 MP CCD, and the Sony digital camera I've been using for several years is also 1.3 MP, and I've yet to be tempted to upgrade to a higher resolution camera for our family usage, since I typically don't crop and blow up my pictures. I use both the Sony and now the JVC DV at 1280 resolution, and aside from the camcorder not having a flash (standard), I've yet to notice any difference in the pictures from the two, in good light, other than a slightly different aspect ratio. Since my Sony camera only has an LCD, and no viewfinder, I'll probably tend to use the JVC DV through its viewfinder outside in bright light, where the Sony LCD is nearly impossible to see.

As far as operation of the camcorder with a personal computer, I've found the JVC to work extraordinarily well in all modes with Windows XP, after an initial intensive debugging of the FireWire (IEEE 1394/i.Link) capability. (I have a very long thread on the Dell Community Forum documenting this process.) JVC supplies Pixela USB drivers and an application (ImageMixer) that makes good use of those drivers, within the limitations of the program. JVC, like most DV manufacturers, relies on supplied Microsoft drivers for operation over the 1394 bus.

In still camera mode (Memory mode), with a memory card installed, and when connected to a computer via USB, the JVC requires no custom drivers. It looks like a removable USB disk drive, and all images are accessible as JPEG files for copying from or to the camcorder. For retrieving video or using as a webcam over USB, the Pixela drivers must be installed, and they present a separate Video Capture and Audio Capture device. With Image Mixer, I could capture 320x240 video (Video CD) from the camcorder, either by playing back a DV tape (in Video-Play mode) or as a webcam (in Video-Auto or -Manual mode). I couldn't get the camcorder to work reliably for video over USB with the other applications I had available, so I don't know if resolution above VCD is possible over USB. DVD resolution is 720x480 @ 30 frames/second, for a data rate of almost 30 megabits per second (Mbps). USB 1.1 is limited to 12 Mbps, so unless the JVC USB implementation is 2.0, DVD-quality video transfer isn't possible over USB.

Moving on to operation over the IEEE 1394 bus (FireWire), here is where the full video capabilities of the camcorder are possible. It is possible to download still images from the memory card over 1394, but it's much more convenient to use the USB disk mode for still image operations. Contrary to another review on this site, I don't believe there is any inherent limitation in the JVC 1394 implementation that limits it to working with particular 1394 interfaces. That limitation appears to be in the Windows XP drivers, and isn't particularly specific to given camcorders, as documented in many places on the web, including my thread elsewhere. After switching to using the Microsoft 1394 bus drivers, instead of those supplied by the interface manufacturer, my JVC has worked flawlessly with my 1394 interface, which has a Texas Instrument chipset, and it also worked flawlessly with a Dell laptop with a built- in 1394 interface with TI chipset, as well as with the built-in DV interface of a Macintosh iMac.

After the initial debugging cycle, I have downloaded lots of video from my camcorder's DV tape over the 1394 interface, produced video that I burned to DVD, which played back and looked great on my 27-inch TV, and copied the edited video back to a DV tape in the camcorder (all using Ulead Video Studio 8.0, which I will be reviewing in the software section of this site shortly).

In short, the JVC GR-DV800 has done everything I've asked of it thus far, and with its flexible input and output connections, and availability of useful accessories, including lenses and filters, I consider it to be a great product.


Great Camera...But....   May 3, 2004
Confederate (Bethesda, MD)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

The JVC GR-DV800U is a lot of camera for a modest amount of money, but, as other reviewers have pointed out, it suffers in poor lighting conditions as do many other camcorders. I'm giving it two stars because 1) JVC tech support personnel are a bit numb and less than helpful; and 2) although the product is advertised as being compatible with OHCI compliant IEEE 1394 (Firewire) inputs, it will only work with Pinnacle, Belkin and Orange Micro Firewire PCI boards. Otherwise you can't transfer it to your computer. So you may have to cough up a PCI slot and another $45 to make it work. (I have an onboard Asus IEEE 1394 and a separate PCI Texas Instruments OHCI compliant board and neither would accept and install the camera connection. My wife's computer wouldn't take it, either, getting us only a big yellow question mark in Device Manager in Windows XP.

JVC is a bit dishonest in its claims to be compatible with OHCI-compliant connections, but the camera's good and (best part) it has a MIC IN jack, which is the main reason I bought it.