Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 23 May 2008 08:00
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
JVC’s YouTube mode is operated by a dual-function ‘Upload’ button on the camcorder, and through CyberLink software you install on your PC.
If you want to record a video to upload to YouTube, you turn on the camcorder, and press the Upload button. What this does is to specifically limit video recordings to 10 minutes in length, which YouTube’s press release ‘matches the YouTube file size limit’.
Actually I thought it was just a 10 minute limit, whatever the file size, but either way, this camcorder ensures your video clips won’t be rejected by YouTube for being too long, especially if you don’t need to do any editing first.
That said, if you do need to do some subsequent editing, you’d have to first learn how to do that, and if you did, ensuring your videos were under 10 minutes would be a simple process, so it really is a mode for true novices that want an ultra simple way to upload to YouTube.
Ok, so you’ve recorded some videos, all of which are either under or at that 10 minute limit. Once you connect your Everio to your Internet connected computer, you need but press the Upload button for the Cyberlink application to pop up, letting you automatically upload some or all of those clips direct to YouTube.
While that’s unquestionably a handy feature, we’re in novice territory again, although if you are a novice, it couldn’t be simpler, and that’s likely the very point of this camcorder.
So, with YouTube out of the way, it’s time to further explore JVC’s claim that this camera “provides an impressive array of full-fledged camcorder features that give it the versatility to do more than shoot short Internet videos.”
Like most digital cameras, it’s very light at 270g including the battery, and its camcorder like barrel-shape couldn’t be more different from your pack-of-cards sized traditional digital camera.
Because it’s an Everio camcorder, it’s compatible with the existing DVD burner add-on that is available for other Everio camcorders, so once again, if you’re a novice, and buy this camera to upload videos to YouTube, you can also buy a DVD burner attachment to easily burn DVDs to share with your non-Internet connected friends who are still interested in your video adventures. As with other Everio camcorders, you can re-arrange order of the video clips on the camcorder’s screen before burning them to DVD.
Another camcorder feature is the auto power on/off. This lets you flip open the LCD screen and start shooting within a second if the ‘Quick Restart mode’ is enabled, although how long does it take you to turn on your digital camera and put it into video recording mode?
Unlike traditional digital cameras, the Everio GZ-MS100 has different battery options for longer record times. The included BN-VF808 rechargeable battery lets you record for 2 hours and 5 minutes, while the option BN-VF815 goes for 4m 15, and the even higher capacity optional BN-VF823 records for 6h 25mins.
JVC also tout their proprietary Gigabrid Engine [which] also contributes to quality by incorporating six digital noise reduction systems to improve the S/N ratio by about 30 percent (3dB) over previous models, and integrating the MPEG-2 encoder to help
reduce block noise and mosquito noise”.
There are also “other full-fledged camera functions include Programme AE with shooting modes to accommodate a variety of situations (Night, Twilight, Portrait, Sports, Snow, Spotlight), Digital Image Stabiliser to minimise camera-shake, and much more.”
So, after all that, is this camera really worth it? Can’t your existing video camera or digital camera give you the same results? Please read on for my final conclusions.
