Great Little Handy Cam
I am a total novice to video cameras let alone DVD cams. This little camera works great! I love the 1000x zoom feature.

One thing that people in the other reviews had problems with was mini-dvd's not working. Well - if they would have read the little book, they would have seen that the camera only works with DVD-R or DVD-RW discs. Not +R or +RW. Yes! There is a difference.

Still picture feature was a selling point for me. It takes great digital stills.

Great, easy to use, light weight, and user friendly!

Birthday Gift
M boyfriend gave me this a my birthday gift. I was wanted a camcorder since i like making movies and videos and i use to use the long time ago video camera. I LOVE the fact that the camera is small and easier to handle, that its not heavy and does not act as excess baggage. The only thing i dont like about it is that the battery last for less than 4 hours. I enjoy recordering and catching the moments of simple nonsence but most times i cant because when we are in the middle of having fun or something exciting is happening thats when the battery goes died but apart from that i love this camcorder.

Very technical piece of equipment
The camera records great. The problem I had was I wanted to place the recording onto a standard DVD so that it could be viewed by others. I had to read the directions very carefully and then experiment. I bought some Sony DVD RW disk and those were formated in VR,"Video Recording" and then the software provided reconized them and was able to open it up with DVD Movie Album program. Once opened and the video was there I pushed the Export button to save it onto the computer. Once down loaded I closed that program and opened DVD fun studio program. Then I selected the tool button on top and then selected the collect tool from there. A box popped up with an untitled video in it. I clicked the video then selected the arrow at the bottom to move it to the other box. Then I pushed OK and the video down loaded. Then I selected the size of DVD I wanted to put the video on in the lower left hand corner, a standard DVD is "12cm DVD". Then I pushed the burning buttom. With the mini DVD removed and a blank standard size DVD in the player/burner you just watch it work. It takes about 10 minutes to down load to the computer and 10 minutes to burn the DVD. I have tested it and it plays in the DVD player hooked to the TV. There are alot of features to figure out and I'm still working on them a little at a time. It is quite the camera but for awhile I was not sure if I would ever get it to work the way I wanted to. In fact I gave up several times but finally got. I think it will do anything if you work at it long enough. Recording is the easy part, tranferring the video to another product can be difficult to say the least.

Good Purchase
We bought this as a gift for our kids and so far it seems to do a great job. It is easy to use and the picture quality is fine.

Nice, easy to use
This camera is nice and small and is easy to use. We have been happy with it so far.

great camera for the price
good camera for the price. also, lots of features so it may take a little getting used to. the "slide" control for moving from option to option in the menu takes a bit to get used to but that comes wiht a few practices. video is great and the camera is fairly easy to use out of the box. charge it up and go for the most part. have not edited too much with the software so I cant comment on that yet.

Overall good product
Good quality video. No problem viewing on computer, TV or burning to DVD. Still shots are a little difficult - must keep camera very still or picture quality is a little blurry....otherwise, I would buy again!

Great product!
I was very pleased with the JVC camcorder that I purchased! It was is excellent condition and was sent on time as promised. It was a great gift for my son for Christmas!

Nice cam, but with problems.
For all you Mac and Quicktime lovers out there: BEWARE! This camera creates a different type of file that cannot be read by Quicktime. What's worse is the JVC offers no software for Macs or any sort of converter program. Wow, you pay 0 for a cam from a multi-billion dollar company like JVC and they don't bother to help you!!!

Fortunately there is a free program called "MPEG Steamclip" that can export the files to something Quicktime will understand, however very time consuming.

works great for us so far
bought this right before my daughter's first birthday. works great. used it on her birthday, at the zoo, and a little around the house. no complaints.

Awkward to buy -- awkward to use
I think I have normal hands but they just don't seem to get along with this unit. Especially if concentrating on the scene and subject. Inherently, my fingers expect to fall on the most-used buttons: start/stop and zoom in/out. Nope. The zooms are there along with a button to take a still photograph [which should be better done in post-processing, I think]. The start/stop takes a thumb move which for me jars the camera and puts trash at the end of each session.
The unit is light-weight and portable -- positives and the reason it was purchased.

One word for the charger and external power supply -- awkward. Nope, you can't charge and use the power supply at the same time.

One word for the software -- awkward. Or maybe two words -- awkward, clunky. I spent a lot of time learning how Panasonic thinks things should be done and trying to adapt that to doing what I wanted to do. Probably should have searched for a third-party program to do editing [which would up the cost]. I could never figure out how to shorten and compress [ok, degrade if you will] some scenes to get the file small enough to use ordinary e-mail systems. So, one word for sharing -- awkward.

The buying problem involved the supplied battery being dead-on-arrival useless. After charging as instructed, the camera rejected the battery as 'incompatible'. Did it again, got the same result. Bought a second battery with greater capacity -- worked very well; that's probably something to do anyway... One word about getting a replacement for the dud battery -- FAIL [not even awkward] as the parties involved -- Panasonic, J&R -- could not figure out a way to do that and I was not inclined to return the entire kit. Panasonic promised, after a three-way phone conference, to make good; two fax-the-paperwork sessions and four months later, not so. I have given the recorder to a [younger] friend in hopes he can make good use of it. I bought a Flip for my portable video needs.

it's ok
The Camcorder is good. The only problem is the definition is 1080i, not a 1080p HD video.

for the price, its amazing
Got a good deal on this at Costco - since it is last year's model 2009 (I bought it April 2010), the price is great for such a versatile camcorder. Be prepared to sacrifice battery life and storage capacity for shooting in the highest quality HD, which, if you are looking for an HD camcorder, you likely already know.

The bundled editing/burning software is a little quirky but worked fine on my 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo, 3 Meg memory, Windows 7 machine. It is limited in its features, but at least it worked at burning both HD in AVCHD onto a DVD and burning MP4 in SD onto a DVD. Haven't tried editing the content in iMOVIE yet, but hope it will include more capabilities.

Bottomline - if you are looking for an easy to use, easy to edit and burn, easy to playback, fairly cheap (at least it is now) and works with your current HD A/V and computer accoutrements... this is the one for you.

Fantastic
After reading the reviews I was skeptical so I purchased a used one for 279.95. I got the item 3 days after purchase it was in flawless condition. It came in the box with all the accessories. The camera works great I still have not cracked open the user manual to get into more detail of extra settings. Picture quality is vibrant crystal clear and I know it said in the description it was full HD but I admit I was not expecting it to be so. But IT IS! Mine has a 8Gb internal memory also ordered a 16gb sd card for a little extra. Easily swaps from internal memory to external memory with the touchscreen viewer. Yeah it has a touchscreen. I dont remember reading that but I was pleasantly surprised. Other reviews say low light quality is bad, I dont know how little light they were trying to use it in but I disagree. I was filming my sons baseball game at dusk right before the lights came on and picture quality was still great. Definitely recommend buying this product.

Mixed bag: know what you're using it for
First, the two versions of this camera are identical other than the fact that one has built in memory, the other does not. BUT, consider how much you're paying for that memory? Could you just buy a larger card with the price difference? Probably. Considering that for the sake of convenience you will probably be recording to cards most of the time (so you can just plug them into the computer) I would probably go for the internal memory-less version.

I ran several tests on the camera for a few days to try out its features. I am not a name-brand fanboy, nor am I a dedicated videophile. I'm just going to give you an unbiased impression based upon what my eyes saw:

PROS:

1.)Pretty good daylight recording. Considering what I paid for it, I was surprised by the quality. It's not a Canon S10 by any means, but I was pleased.
2.)It is unbelievably small and light. Shockingly so. If you are looking for the smallest possible 1080p capable camera to take on a daylight hike, I'm thinking this is near the top of the list.
3.)Has a few of the bells and whistles of a larger camera, including the ability to swap out memory cards, a decent touch-screen menu interface where you can play with the settings (as opposed to some of these cheap-o cameras), a genuine optical zoom, and an HDMI output right on the camera. Unlike most, I had no problem with the touchscreen.
4.)Quick power-on/off feature works really well, battery life was not a problem.


CONS:

1.)You'll notice I mentioned how surprised I was by the camera's performance in daylight? I was equally surprised by the nighttime/indoor performance. As in, it was atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. We're talking awful pixelation, terrible graininess, significant artifacting and block-iness, and a general inability to see anything. The onboard light provided little help. I'm not talking about near pitch black rooms, I'm talking about normally lit indoor areas. The camera is basically useless for indoor or nighttime recording unless you're using multiple floodlights. I would walk through the house, and even our well lit dining room had significant problems.

I chalk this up to the tiny sensor (less than 2 megapixels) and tiny lens. Sure, it keeps the weight/size factor miniscule, but it really hurts performance. I am not understating this problem, at all. I tried to use the manual shuttings (such as they are) to correct the problem, but playing with frame rates, settings, and modes made little to no difference.

2.)No built-in lens protector. Having a dangling lenscap to annoy you defeats some of the purpose of having such a compact, easy to whip out camera.

3.)Screen tearing/rolling shudder is a problem on quick pans, even more so than other CMOS cameras I've tried. I'm not sure what the issue is, but be forewarned.

4.)The cameras awful low light capabilities make most of the individualized settings useless.

5.)If you want to make that final jump from 1080i to 1080p, you're limited to the "digital cinema" mode that disables the vast majority of the manual settings. A small nitpick, but somewhat annoying.


SUMMARY

Know precisely what you're going to be using this camera for before you buy it. The video quality in daylight for the price is pretty decent, the form factor/size is phenomenal, and the indoor/low light video quality and options are horrendous. Basically, if you're only going to be using it outdoors, and size is of paramount important, it's worthy of consideration.

canon FS300 flash memory camcorder
Appears to be a good camcorder. I haven't used it yet though because it doesn't come with a memory card.

fs300 - just right!
First let me comment on the Amazon services. We first started out ordering a Kodak zi8, a really neat shirt pocket camcorder. Our first attempt to load it into our computer was a bust. Amazon said "send it back, we'll send a new one".....same results trying to load using the Kodak ARCSOFT MEDIAIMPRESSIONS software. Very poor support advice from Kodak, and non-existent from ARCSOFT. So, not to give up we did a little research and came up with the FS-300 Canon. It has been fun, and no problem with the software....thanks Canon, we're not the most savvy computer users, (age 74 dinosaurs). Would now like to make a few comments about our FS-300 that I hope will be useful to others. First, the instruction book and computer info is very abbreviated, needs to be more info for varying situations. Second, I find the camera easy to start and stop, but getting to the features is a little complicated, so its not as simple as some people might indicate, especially for a novice. Third, let me suggest a monopod for really steady recording, the camera is so small that this great little walking stick isn't bothered at all by the FS-300 perching atop it. Again, let me compliment Amazon for there Amazing customer service.....great AMERICAN company. Very respectfully, Ralph Porter, CPO, USN,Ret.

Great For Home Movies
I got this camcorder to replace an outdated compact VHS comcorder I've had for about 7 years. I needed this to record home movies, talent shows, vacations, etc. I was worried about image stabilizing and low light situations. I look at customer web reviews and always look into Consumer Reports reviews any time I buy something I know nothing about. I love it. Technology sure has come a long way. I think the picture is great and the low light situations are better than with a VHS camcorder, so I'm happy. The image stabilizing is a must for me because I am horrible at shaking when I'm recording (really... people would joke about motion sickness while watching old videos I made with the camcorder not on a tripod), and it really helps on this camcorder. I'm very happy with the purchase. One thing you should know... I asked a salesman about taking a photo with it, and he said, "If you want a photo, use a camera." So I never have used it to take a picture.

Good camera for a good price
I have not had problems with this camera. I have made very good movies and some pictures ok. The sw is not sophisticated, but sufficient for my needs. It's a good product to use on weekends (register their children on the beach, shooting a sport using the powerfull zoom), without major pretensions. I recommend the purchase. Good buy with a good price.

Canon FS300 Flash Memory Camcorder (Blue) - 2010 MODEL
It is small and quite fit for me to use in classroom. the quality is good. I like it.

Sony DCR-SX63 16GB Flash Memory Handycam Camcorder with 60x Optical Zoom + 8GB Deluxe Accessory Kit
Bought this product for my wife and daughters trip to Italy. They loved it. Took over a thousand pictures and videos. It was the perfect size, being light weight and small. I also bought the extra battery which gave them more than enough power throughout the day. When they come home, pictures were downloaded and posted on Facebook and everyone loved the clarity of the pictures. Overall my wife and daughter loved the ease of using the camcorder. Would highly recommended purchase of this product.

Great Value
The camcorder works great. The value of the package is very good, we intended on buying most of the items that came in it and buying them all together saved us approx. 0.

The best Sony camera for family use
I love this camera! I used this camera for a year now and in my opinion this is the best Sony camera for family use. It fits easily in a pocket, I just carry it in a ziplock bag to avoid getting it dirty. I carry this camera with me whenever I can, just to document bits of daily family life. I have other Sony cameras, but due to their size I always choose this one. The quality is excellent in good light condition, very good to document family moments. I also like the provided Handycam Station, I keep it on a table, put camera back when I'm home and thanks to this almost never forget to load batteries. I really can't complain about anything. Also, the photos quality are reasonable quality.

What a great little camera!
This camera achieves its goal as a sleek, simple dual function (still/movie) camera with moderate access to advanced functions. It is easy to use, small and lightweight, and has a very high coolness quotient. It has an interesting form factor, which I haven't found difficult to use, although the zoom toggle is sometimes difficult to reach because it's placed too high when you're holding the camera low in front of your body. The video is sharp and clear, and the audio is surprisingly good considering the built-in mic is placed on the top of the camera body. I do wish it had even the smallest of lights to assist with low-light conditions, because the video quality can be average in dim light. I think Sony should either have put a standard accessory shoe on the camera, or they should offer more options in terms of accessories, which are limited to a couple of mics and a light/flash or two. For example, a combination video light/flash and quality stereo or surround mic would be fantastic. Also, there is no external microphone input or headphone monitor jack, both of which should be standard on a camera in this price range. The battery life is limited. At full charge it reads 80 minutes. There is a larger battery available, but even that wont hold up to sustained use of zoom and flash. I suspect Sony chose an enclosed battery compartment to keep the camera sleek, but they should get working on a more potent option.

One of the best features of this camera is that it works quite well as a still camera! I use it interchangeably with my dedicated still for anything that will print 4x6 or smaller. Camcorders are typically regarded as glorified cell phones in terms of their still functionality, but this one breaks the mold. While it's not able to capture the same level of detail and color balance, it IS good enough for small prints and my wife's scrapbooking projects.

As for the computer interface, it's very good over USB, and I'm sure over firewire as well. Connecting the camera couldn't be simpler. It auto-detects the usb connect mode, and is easy to switch from DV capture to DV pass-through or memory stick acces. It can even stream video over USB, though I doubt I'll ever use a 00 webcam. As slick as the hardware is, Sony's software has a long way to go before it is mature. The video capture utility could be great, but they need a usability designer to sort the thing out. For example, it stops every so often at a non-configurable and arbitrary "time limit", making it impossible to simply punch "capture" and walk away from the camera, returning to a single, complete AVI file. I tried some freeware, but it choked on the audio, so I now use Windows Movie Maker. It's a simple solution that can both capture and edit, and it's the software Sony should have produced. They could improve upon it by enabling the ability to install video codecs other than WMA, like DIVX or XVID, or even just plain old MPEG1/2! But it works great for raw AVI capture and edits. I'll use some other tools to convert the video and burn the DVDs.

My overall review of this camera remains 5 stars becuase of:
1) size
2) usability (others have complained, I find it quite good)
3) versatility (camcorder, camera, camcorder - not too bad!)
4) extremely good video quality (in bright light)
5) cool factor

BUT, Sony needs to put out a more powerful battery option, and expand on the shoe accessories. Plus, they need to improve the software profoundly on the next go-around, and they need to add a damn headphone and external mic jack to this thing. Finally, it WOULD be nice to have a more versatile set of manual controls and a simpler mechanical interface to access them (ie a nice control ring), and it would be nice to add a firewire/usb port on the camera to enable direct DV streaming to an external hard disk.

Sweet camera overall, with a few acceptable quibbles...

Great - But Mac Users Need Add'l Firewire Cable
I've only had my pc1000 for a week and it seems to be a great camera. The camera form factor, user controls, and picture/audio quality are all better than I expected.

The one area where it missed the mark was that Sony doesn't adequately emphasize that Mac users need an additional 4-pin to 6-pin IEEE (Firewire/i.Link) cable. This is not included and runs around .

From the product specs, I misunderstood that a Mac with USB 2.0 would work with the supplied USB cable. USB will ONLY transfer Memory Stick data - not MiniDV data, which is where you'll record most of your video. The only place I found this documented was in the "Troubleshooting" section of the manual. In other words, Sony considers their poor OS support to be a user problem.... Feh.

Once you get a 4-pin to 6-pin Firewire cable, however, iMovie effortlessly imports your video. Don't bother with the included Sony software.

Otherwise, the pc1000 rocks.

3CMOS is not a bargain for DCR-PC1000
Iam from Costa Rica, this camera is very expensive I do not recommend you to buy, i t has no night shot or super night shot, the built in Flash has power for close pictures, the picture quality is just aceptable in sun ligth but indoors is very bad, i recommend you to buy the DCR-PC105 or similar from sony, it cost less and is almost the same video quality but this one has more features, the DCR-PC1000 has two modes of picture quality, i do not recommend this device.

Good for consumer, bad for any level higher than "Uncle Joe's Birthday"
As a Handy-cam, it works fine. It has an "idiot" mode button that allows simple point and shoot operation. So, if you're on vacation and shooting outdoors, you're set with the PC1000. It's fine. The resolution and quality are superb.

Anything beyond those lower expectations, however, forget it. Operating the camera in any type of manual mode is a cumbersome method in sub-menu frustration. Low light performance is atrocious and there's NO WAY to get quality audio into the camera.

None.

You can buy an after market cam-mounted stereo mic from Sony, but it's still doesn't provide good fidelity; mainly because there's no way to get the mic close to the subject --save for moving the camera itself. Not an option if image composition is important to you. More mind-boggling is the decision to leave off any kind of audio monitoring whatsoever. Headphones? Nope, no headphone jack. Not only does it capture sub-par audio, it doesn't allow you any ability to monitor possible flaws in audio capture.

Case in point: I bought the external "hot shoe" mic from sony. Well, if has an 'off' toggle switch on it that's hard to discern, thus I recorded a 20 minute interview with the lousy default cam mic and had no way of realizing my dilemma 'til I play-backed the tape in another machine.

Anyway, the cam makes a nice image in good light, no question, so it's good for video novices that just want simple home movies. Don't expect anything else out of it though.

Good video, bad audio
I will not repeat all positive other reviewer have said about the camera's video quality. It is noticably better than 1/6" cameras I compared this camera with (JVC, Panasonic) in both dark an lighted conditions.

However I have the same problem many other people had with other models of Canon camcorder - motor noise. Honestly, it is not very loud itself - about the same as in other cameras, but Optura's michrophones tend to record the engine noise much louder than other cameras. You can hear annoying high-pitch sound all the time during playing back. Using a graphic equalizer I figured out that the noise was aroung 8000 Hz, and theoretically it can be efficiently removed using software without harming voices too much. This approach won't work if you recoded a music concert though.

BTW, a word of advice. If you have the same problem, switching the michrophone from A (automatic mode) to M somewhat helps to reduce the noise because in automatic mode the system increases the ambient noises including the motor noise when there is no other (louder) sound signal.

So, in my oppinion, if picture quality prevails over the sound, or you don't mind spending time and fixing sound with all kinds of software - this is a very good camera for you.

There is very little not to like about this videocamera...
This camera produces excellent image quality for the price, it's very compact, and ergonomic. It's packed with features. If you are a mainstream user, it is more than adequate. There are those who will compare it to 00-00 videocams and it will naturally fall short. But the fact is, it's reasonably priced, has sufficient features for most users, and can be taken anywhere because of its size. I would recommend getting an extra battery since you will only get 45 minutes - 1 hour energy if you use the LCD display and do a lot of zooming, etc. Speaking of zoom, some people think that a 10x optical zoom is less than ideal, but face it -- if you are trying to zoom much beyond that level, you are going to need a tripod. Overall, this is an excellent item, and delivers the quality I would expect from Canon.

Canon Optura S-1 makes the day!
I purchased this through an online wholesale membership site for 9.99 plus tax and shipping (total 9.00) and couldn't be any happier.

As soon as I had the battery charged up I started shooting in and out of the house. While there is remarkable difference between lit and dark background, the S1 did take good videos inside the house. I set the camera to SCN (screen mode) and chose NIGHT mode and it did the trick: less graininess compared to shooting in AUTO mode and video was bright. My PC has firewire and it picked up on the S1 right away as soon as it was plugged in.

I didn't care too much for the bundled software on the driver disc but it worked pretty good as well. My wife and I have been looking for a quality camcorder at a non-exorbitant price tag and we found it all in the S1.

Yes, there is a 10-SECOND DATE STAMP on the Optura S1. Set your camra mode to "P," press menu , press Display, choose lcd and tv....voila!

One other drawback I found, by surprise, was that the S1 takes mini-SD, not the standard size. Oh well, I guess I'd have to fork out another to upgrade the 16 MB that came with it to 1 GB.

Now we can document our kids' growing years.

A bit dissapointed
I don't usually purchase things sight unseen, but this camera was an exception. I had only my past experiences with Canon to go by, which I had been satisfied with.

I wanted something compact, so the size is perfect for me. I like the widescreen mode. And the camera is fairly intuitive, although I've had to reference the manual on a couple occasions.

The boxey shape reminded me of an elph still camera I purchased sometime back, so I naturally assumed it was encased in metal as well. Nope. Cheap plastic feel that I'm concerned I'll end up breaking.

But my biggest gripe is the video quality when shot indoors. Even with the light on the picture is really grainy. I'm going to put it up against my old Sony Video8 camera as a test, but I swear the old camera took a brighter picture.

We purchased this to take shots of our new baby girl. I've been really dissapointed with the indoor shooting since that's where new parents spend a great deal of time.

Excellent device, but only for its market target
I'm not a professional videographer. Still I might well be the pickiest man in the world when it comes to video quality. I'm the one who keeps noticing MPEG artifacts in TV transmissions all the time, because I've been doing my own DVDs for 5 years. In short, I can judge video quality at first sight.

This said, you'll never see me with a big professional camera over my shoulder, because I don't film for a living in the first place and also because I already had many experiences where I had to leave my camcorder behind because it was too bulky to carry. And I'm not talking about big VHS cams, I'm referring to the "small" Hi-8 cameras from Sony: great image, excellent sound, yet too bulky to carry to many wild adventures or long trekkings.

At this point in my life, I came to the conclusion that comfortableness proved to be more important than top-notch quality, especially for a backpacker like me who can't afford to choose between carrying a camcorder or two extra bottles of water. This mini DV camera the size of a digital still camera was worth a try.

So this is the reason why I bought the Canon Optura S1 in the first place: the smaller available camcorder in the market in October 2005 ( FBI/CIA gadgets don't count here ;) and manufactured by my favorite still camera brand. So I bought it with all this in mind. As you will see (and I really knew this before purchasing, so I'm not complaining) such small size has its trade-offs limitations, and it's up to you to decide whether it's worth to buy it or not. What follows is my personal opinion on the camera.

Pro's

* Small as hell, that's my baby!!! Can fit in a still-photo case and attach to the belt.

* Colors are *in-cre-di-bly* accurate. Now, this is a tough one when dealing with NTSC!! By far the best color-matching camcorder that I ever owned.

* Excellent image quality in daylight, and I mean it.

These 3 things said, the camera paid itself and that's enough to make me happy with my purchase. But for the sake of this review, let's move on:

Could be improved's:

* The device can act as a 2 Megapixel still camera as well, but do not expect "Canon quality" at all (and this has nothing to do with the 2 Mpx limitation). The still shots are maybe acceptable for the occasional user, probably could compete side by side with many generic brand 2 Mpx still cameras, but nowhere near a 2 Mpx Canon point&shot still cam.

* There's an included light for night filming. This certainly isn't an halogen lamp, but for something that looks pretty much like a "led", it gives a decent ammount of light, useful to illuminate faces no farther than 1.5 meters (45 feet) and that's about it.

* 10x Zoom: Actually, it's a miracle that such a small device can accommodate as much zoom as 10x. Sure, that's low compared to today's standards, but each of us knows the weight (importance) that assigns to this feature. My Hi-8 Sony TRV-66 has 20x and unless you put it on a tripod it's quite a challenge to obtain a steady frame at the full 20x. For the few occasions that you may be using the full zoom, 10x is fairly enough.

Con's

* Quality degradation is too noticeable when light gets dimmer. I'm not speaking about a dark room illuminated by a birthday candle, I'm referring to an average room at night illuminated by regular bulbs: The picture won't necessarily be dark, but the noise (video noise, for those who dominate the matter) is more noticeable than I would like.

* The "wide" angle is too narrow. Again, a consequence of the small size and lens diameter. To capture an entire scenario in the frame I would have to walk a couple of meters back that otherwise wouldn't be necessary with other camcorders.

* And this last one is really unforgivable: It doesn't include an option to stamp date/time in the frame during recording time. So you either do this during edition time in your PC (most people don't edit their videos BTW) or you have to keep saying e.g. "today is November 29th..." if you want your videos to keep some historical reference 10 years from now.

Well, I tried to be fair enough in my review. As I said, I'm very happy with this purchase because it exceeded what I expected in some aspects, but I also added the not-so-good things for you to judge objectively if this is the right camera for you.
Happy filming!

Excellent LITTLE Camcorder!
I love this camcorder! It is very small - compared to the JVC Mini DV Camcorder that I've used for the last 10 years. I wanted JVC again since my old camcorder still works well, but was looking to downsize and get away from the tapes. The hard drive on this cam. stores over 19 hours of video - which is more than sufficient, and allows for plenty of time to download before you need to clear the memory. I charged it immediately out of the box and about 2 hours later was recording my kids in the yard. The next day, I downloaded the software and burned a DVD which plays on my DVD player (not just the computer!)

The battery life is somewhat short - about 40 minutes of actual recording time, however I usually purchase an extra battery for backup (so one can be charging while the others in use or to take both out an a long adventure) and they do have a couple of extended life batteries available. Not to mention the great price Amazon had on the camcorder! MUCH less than the MSRP :) I had been looking at the JVC flash drive models, but when I figured in the cost of purchasing 2 16GB SD cards - this model came out to be more cost effective and whith more recording time.

As expected
The camera arrived exactly as I was told, on time and great shape. The camera is really light and easy to use. I love the great zoom and it has a good video quality for the price I am paying. I know that I can get better video quality with a different model, but the prices increase exponentially.

JVC GZ-MG750
This seems easy to work,just had a hard time finding out how to burn to a CD or DVD.

battery life short
I like the camera for the fact that I can upload videos I record with ease. What I don't like about it is that the battery life is too short. I would buy extra batteries but they are too expensive.

exactly what I wanted
I did a decent amount of research and found this camera to be the perfect father's day gift for my husband. It is small enough to conveniently take most places, yet gives a great picture and has uber-amounts of memory. Easy to upload to computer and then share videos via email. Only downside... need a dvd burner to actually record to a disc, which most people probably have on their computer, we obviously do not (making it the downside).

Total Review!!!
In Short Words
This Camera Is Awesome!!!
Above my expectations
form quality to shape and size.

Where's my stuff ?
I'd like to review the camera but Bargain Cell have not even shipped it yet even though they state 1-2 day shipping...

The slowest Amazon order ever...

what i expected
i bought this camera for my wife and it's everything we expected, she loves it!!!

Great HD Camcorder!
I love this camcorder! Takes great video in HD. The only thing I wish it had was a mic jack for an external mic. Other than that, it's a great camcorder for the price!

satisfied
i really want to love this product. however, i'm still working on the software for it. i need to upgrade. thinking about upgrading to the adobe premiere sanyo recommends. also, the quality isn't great, but suppose its par for the $. any panning, zooming is a little jumpy. low level lighting is pretty poor too. But outside, with minimal movement. its a beautiful image. plus expandable media, digital files, good improvement over tapes.