Camcorder Reviews

While this is a decent Analog camcorder, don't expect much from the USB streaming feature. The maximum frame rate over USB is 320x240, which is half the minimum recommended for creating a DVD out of a home movie. If you want to get the video from your tapes onto a computer or DVD, expect to purchase a separate video capture device or card.

To make matters worse, the bundled software doesn't let you capture more than thirteen minutes of video at a time before it crashes and claims the drive is out of disk space. regardless of how much disk space you really have avaliable. This happens even when recording to NTFS volumes, which do not have the 4 gig file size limit of Fat32.

Most third party programs will also have issues using the camcorder's USB streaming features. The drivers create an eclectic audio device that many video capture programs can't see, so you'll have to use a separate audio cable unless you like the idea of not having any sound. Roxio's products are among the many that can't find use audio driver.

In short, it's a decent camcorder, assuming you compare it to other devices as though the USB streaming feature didn't exist, because for all practical purposes, they doesn't.

This overall is a great camcorder. I used it for a year and had very little trouble with it. I've made a list of good and bad things about this camcorder that will hopefully help you in your decision.

First the good stuff

1.It has a nice big LCD screen for easy viewing when recording

2.There are plenty of different features for recording in different lights

3.It has OK sound and picture quality

4.It is good for families, groups, teachers or anyone else who just needs a good quality camera for a cheap price that they can use to to record family outings exc...

Now for the bad stuff.

1. The size of the camera is a little big. it is hard to hold for long periods of time and somewhat heavy (if you have a tripod and you use it this shouldn't be too much of a problem).

2. the battery life could be better (only about 50-60 minuets with the LCD screen).

3. the sound is a bit metallic, and the picture doesn't show reds or yellows well.

4.if you have the need to edit your recordings it will be very hard and somewhat expensive with this camera. If you want to edit, I would definitely recommend a digital camcorder instead because it will be much easier for you to edit your videos (this was my big mistake and I had to sell it for a Sony digital).

If this review has helped you or if you want to ask me any technical questions, e-mail me at dave_lancer@hotmail.com

This is my first camcorder of any kind. i have used other types, VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, but this is probably the best that i have used. It's easy to learn the basics with and takes really great videos. The USB streaming capability is really easy to use and works great. Pixela seems to pixilate(spelling?) the movies, but it's nothing that really hurts and it's that severe. The NightShot is great, the lamp is really good, and the camera has a few little effects for the pictures. No big complaints except a remote would be nice for playback, and a colored viewfinder. But with a 3" color LCD screen, the chance that someone will use the viewfinder is small. i recomend this camera to anyone who doesn't want to spend a lot on a good quality camera.

I just opened my TRV-460 and after charging the FM-30 battery that Sony sent along, I set the date and shot about 7 minutes of video and the battery died! The Sony Manual doesn't even recommend an FM-30; but they chose to send it along anyway. I replaced the battery with another FM-50 (Off-brand from nations largest store) and the camcorder powered up, gave a message that the battery was not a Sony and powered down. Appears you need to use a Sony battery only, as their is some new chip technology that won't let others copy their over-priced batteries anymore. The 3-Watt, LED light does nothing for the video. The video does look bettter than HI-8 when played back on a 32" TV. There is no media shipped with the unit. Be prepared to spend alot on batteries, memory stick and tapes.

First off, I can state without hesitation that while the name SONY typically equates with expensive, it always equals QUALITY. What's great about this camcorder is that you have the QUALITY without the expensive price tag. I paid $399 at Circuit City.

I almost bought a JVC MiniDV which was a few bucks cheaper, but since I have never had a problem with any SONY product I have ever owned (cd players, TV's, etc), I went with the Sony. Plus, I am by no means a video buff, so the reality is IF there truly is a difference between MiniDV and Digital 8 picture quality, I am sure I would not be able to notice. A plus for 8mm camcorder owners, you can use/view those tapes on this model!!

That being said, the beauty of the product is it's ease of use. My wife is completely confused by technical gadgets, and she was able to use the camcorder using the EasyCam setting out of the box. There are enough video tricks and editing features to satisfy the most creative amateur videographers.

Also, contrary to what other reviewers have stated here, the battery life of the InfoLithium battery has been pretty good for me. I get about 1hr on a full charge, though I have not filmed for 1 continuous hour, just a few minutes here and there.

So allow me to move on to my only CONS:
- SIZE - if this is an issue for you, go with MiniDV, however the smaller you go, the more hand shakiness becomes an issue, even with image stabilizing technology. The size of the TRV460 is a tad large for today's camcorder, but definitely not bulky or too heavy. Mainly due to tape size.

- MOTOR HUM - When recording or playback, there is a distinct hum that comes from the camcorder. I hadn't noticed in Circuit City, so I went back, checked a few other models and soon realized most camcorders make a slight hum when the tape is active. I learned to live with it as the "hum" sound does not get picked up by the microphone when recording.

Overall, I highly recommend this VERY affordable QUALITY Sony camcorder as it more than capabale of fulfilling any family's video needs. I am very happy with my purchase!

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i've owned the Sony TRV-340 for a few months now and so far have no complaints whatsoever. i've taken quite a few videos with it in various circumstances and light situations and have been very pleased with it's over all performance.
the menus and controls are very user friendly and easy to handle.
it shoots with amazing brilliance and picture clarity.
it's unfortunate that others find that the built in microphone picks up some motor noise because i have not experienced any of it. infact, the sound quality was one of the first things that i found remarkable about this camera. the mic is very sensitive and yet free from any unwanted hum you normally get from a camcorder recording. and believe me, having worked as a proffessional in the advertising industry, i am not easily pleased.
perhaps my only regret is that they didn't include a built in backlight or pop-up flash with it. but, you can always buy one put it on the provided intelligent shoe. oh and the software that comes with it is useless. it's horribly primitive!! if you want to maximize use of this great camera, i suggest you buy software that will give it justice!
if you are thinking on getting the TRV-340, don't hesitate. it's a wonerful camera that's priced just right!

I purchased the trv340 about two weeks ago and couldn't be happier with the camcorder. Although I was initially concerned about shooting in low-light settings with a 1/6" CCD, my fears were quickly put to rest. The camcorder shoots beautifully in low light settings, and compared to other camcorders in a similar price range, the picture quality on the trv340 is outstanding. Additionally, the menus on the 340 are incredibly easy to maneuver through. Sony included several ports on the camcorder (most notably a usb port, so those without a firewire card can still view and edit video and pictures on their computer). Although the mic does, as the other reviewer noted, occasionally pick up tape drive noise, I haven't found it to be a problem in filming. If you're in the market for a camcorder, be sure to take a look at the 340. You won't regret it.

Thist is the best camera ive ever purchased and arguably the best Digital8 Camera ever.The TRV-340 has all the features u need. And it beats a MiniDV because it has a Super Night Shot Mode and 700 Zoom wich works great, 25 Optical Zoom too! Believe me u will not be dissapointed if u buy this camcorder!

Mr.
I bought a Camera two years ago JVC DVF31 that I have used so far without problem. One month ago it began to have a problem that doesn't already allow me neither to reproduce a tape. When putting a tape in the videocamera it leaves me a legend: "different formated type! ". At the beginning this problem began to make it intermittently and it was solved taking out and putting again the same tape into the camera.
Now already it makes it permanently and it doesn't allow me to use it.
In the JVC official service of Argentina they answered me almost without to revise it that the problem is the motherboard and an the cost of repair [was a lot of money]!!!!!
This legend that appears in the finder "different formated type! " it cannot be for another cause? Help me.
I don't want to leave this camera like old museum piece and to think that it was a very bad purchase.
Excuse my not well written English.

This is my first and only camcorder. I wanted to get good quality still shots, which is one reason I went with the JVC. From what I read it had the best suite of software. I had no problem installing the software and getting the camera connected to the computer with the provided serial cable.

Capturing pictures is easy and fairly quick. (If you would like to see some sample pictures, go to www.pipeline.com/~vtfcu/car.htm). The tape does not start in the same spot after a frame capture, I find this annoying.

The playback controls on the camera do not allow slow motion play. The remote does, but it is at their preset speed. If you have your computer connected, you can also advance one frame at a time. This is necessary to get the exact frame you want to capture on the PC. The camcorder will only play back in slow mode for 2 minutes (I assume to protect the tape).

The camcorder has to be turned off when going from play to record. I find this makes it difficult to queue the tape to the exact spot for recording.

It seems the tape does not disengage when in one of the record modes. In other words, the tape is engaged when monitoring or leaving the camera on and ready to record. I don't know why this would be if you can only watch in slow mode for a short period of time. But it also seems to stay in pause mode for a long time, so maybe the head is not wearing away the tape when in pause during playback or record.

The snapshot mode is not what I expected. When the snapshot button is pressed, the tape continues to run and record the same picture for about 5 seconds then taping continues as normal. I was very impressed with the ability to focus up close. It even focused on the lint on the UV filter attached to the camera.

I'm not too sure about the sound volume yet. The quality seems quite good.

First, the 1-hour battery supplied will last only 20 - 25 min, if you are using a lot of zooming or built-in light. So, if you don't want to be interrupted by "battery low" messages, purchase 2-hour battery (BNV214U), which is compatible with the supplied AC adapter/charger. Still the better investment will be buying 8-hour battery, the only two problems: it's very expensive. . . and needs a special charger.

They included the editing cable to capture your video on computer, however, it connects to COM1 port, which might be already in use (by your mouse). Besides this, the COM ports are the slowest ports on computer systems, so the quality of editing process is questionable.

If you hope to do a lot of editing, purchase a video capture card with all cables supplied (Pyro ProDV will do fine, Pinnacle DV200, 500 are also cool, but much more expensive).

Unfortunately, JVC doesn't supply any tapes with this GRDVF-31 unit, which means you should purchase them yourself, especially if you wish to test your camcorder immidiately after shooting.

The technical manuals are not very good (and surely the worst I've ever seen). All text is printed, using almost the same typefaces and sizes, so it's very hard to extract information you need quickly and switch between general instructions and technical details. It's also very poorly organized (description of all dials and buttons on your camera is at the end of the book!)

The reason I gave this camera five stars is that all problems stated above are easy to solve. Just purchase additional batteries, tapes and capture card, and you have pro-style video studio right at your apartment for the lowest and most reasonable price ever.

We purchased this camcorder specifically because of its dual function as a camcorder and digital camera. I'm not really going to comment on the camcorder aspects because I agree with most of the other positive comments that people have made.

As for the digital stills, pictures taken outdoors look fine, but indoor pictures are VERY grainy and pixelated, even in a very bright room. In my opinion, the quality is just unacceptable. The Memory Stick with USB output is an incredible technology that makes downloading pictures to your computer so EASY, but this benefit can not make up for the bad pictures that it takes. (I did not try to capture stills from the tape because I do not have the ieee adaptor needed to do this, so I do not know if stills taken in this way may look better than those taken on the memory stick)

If you are just looking to take video, then this camcorder is probably fine, but I see no need to pay for the extra memory stick capabilities because they are not worth it.

My fiance and I just purchased this camera and boy was I impressed! This is our first camcorder but not the first one I have used. It's light weight make it easy to handle. And the steadyshot works quite well. My hands are quite shaky but you could never tell by watching something I taped! The picture quality is good, but I am only using the standard A/V cables. Once I get the S-video cables I should see a dramatic upgrade in picture quality. The battery it comes with isn't the best, only about 90 minutes fully charged. I particularly liked the nightshot feature. Although the images come out in a green tone the picture quality is outstanding. I was fooling around with it in a pitch black room and you could see everything clear as day(green of coarse). The LCD is exceptionally smaller than the 530 but it is still big enough to fit most people's needs. Of coarse if you want to save battery power just don't use the LCD. The only thing I can't comment about is the still picture option. I just spent a large sum of money on a straight up digital camera so I don't need to use that option. So I am sorry I can't help you out there! Overall the camera is excellent and I would suggest it to anybody looking for a new camcorder.

I've been looking around at prices and i'de say this is the best price I've found. I was checking out other cameras and found one for $500. It was not as good as this one and cost more. Its worth your cash and the specs are nice! Like the 25x optical zoom is crazy. The digital zoom doesn't really make a difference after u get over 200x zoom on that. So dont think that 700x zoom makes much of a difference. I'de say buy it asap.

I think it's only fair for potential buyers to know about the bad/poor things about PC100e : 1) If your travel a lot and do not need a digital camera function, this one is not for you 2) Most buttons are too small. Function such as fading/overlaping arent easy to activate once you are recording. They will cause you to shake the camera. Sony should design bigger button or allow pre-defined function before recording begins. 3) Photo capturing button is so small and next to yet another button. It is confusing and you will need to use your index finger to press, which will tilt the camera. Unless you use 2 hands...but why shall we? Sony should have designed to use the same button as the camcoder REC button, afterall when you switch to "Memory"=Digital Camera mode, one can only capture digital still image. This design will also allow them to save production cost for the extra buttons. 4) Should allow direct PC/Camcoder connection for still images ether using UBS/Serial connection like the Panasonic. Instead, Sony gives us bulky serial adapter for the memory stick which requires yet another separate power supply. Imaging that many things to carry. 5) When you use the DV tape to record still images, it only allows you to store 640x480 resolution. This is no mega pixels. Sony never mentions that until you buy the unit and read the one liner in the manual. BEWARE! 6) Lousy manual. First the terms Sony uses for each function are so confusing. Then Sony combines English and Greek (I think) into one manual. Sometime you can see 1 page with 2 languages sharing the same diagram. I wonder why they want to save a couple of pages. 7) A cheap camera these days come with a bag. Why Sony does not give a less than ($) bag with their top rage DV Cam? 8) The power supply for the camera is so big it's amusing to me. Sony should know people travel with at least the AC Adaper! Though light but size still matters.

May be all the rest of the DV Cams will have the similar problems, but my advise is if you travel a lot and do not care about the "still" image resolution at 1 Mega (Sony PC100's 1Mega offer so so quality anyway), save your money but the cheaper Sony 5E or Panasonic DC55/99 which offer 0.8 Mega Pixels still image camputuring capability. They offer just the best quality of video images at a much cheaper price.

My general comment on Sony is they have good engineers to design quality solid built products, but once come to design for ease of use or see what people really need, .... My fitt Sony is a DVD player which comes with almost similar problem. After this Camcoder, I swear there will not be another Sony in my life. Life should be easy!

the Camcorder Box and Spec says it is good for 1 MegaPixel photos. It is a lie. The image quality is like magnifying a 640 x 480 to 1 Megapixel. The result is coarse pixelation of the photo... I called the Sony customer support and they told me, "if it looks good on the view finder, then Sony's job is done." What [a lie]. Sony, wake up and don't tell lies!

Nine months ago, I had to upgrade my old (but clunky) Video-8 camcorder. After a lot of research, I almost didn't settle for this camera, because although most owners loved it and it seemed to have the best image quality in the class, it is rather expensive. Looking at my savings account, and remembering that the Video-8 didn't get used much because of its heft, I took the plunge.

The small size makes this an excellent camera to bring with you in a sport jacket pocket, briefcase, or even jeans pocket (if you're into those large raver-style pockets, that is). While many of the buttons are small, I don't mind much, because the few I use (start/stop, exposure control) are logically placed and easy to push. I don't use any of the digital effects or fade functions, because I transfer the video digitally to my computer and edit tape there -- something I never got around to with the old clunker.

I also don't use the still image capture much at all, because I have a separate Kodak digital camera for that, and the memory stick reader that comes with this camcorder is S-L-O-W (because it's serial-only). If you have one of those VAIO machine with a built-in memory stick reader, I suppose it would be OK. Transfer of video using the built-in FireWire (1394, i-Link, DV-gate, ...) port works very well, and I haven't had any problems getting this camera recognized by my computer.

The battery life is also amazing. The standard (slim!) battery lasts for more than two hours -- the larger medium-sized battery (which I use most of the time) gives you FIVE HOURS of running time. If you can *at all* afford this camcorder, and don't need the extra image quality of an (expensive, bulky) three-CCD camera then get this one.

April 2002

I found this camera ...on Amazon six months ago and was amazed with the picture quality and comfort of use of this camera at the price. I am giving the camera a full thumbs up after more than 6 months of use!

I like the no viewfinder concept... (I wear glasses and it is a pain to look thru viewfinders!) You also center the frame well - what you see in the LCD is what you get!

The camera has a IR remote and a reversible viewscreen which allows me and my wife to take our pictures without anyone elses help. Just turn the camera towards you and you can see yourselves on the small LCD screen and use the remote even to zoom upto 10X. (It has digital zoom, but a purist like me cannot use digital zoom!)

I bought a Inland Firewire Card (which came with a ULead videosystems Videomaker software)...and am very pleased with the quality of the home VCD that I made from it. Of course, I had an old AMD K6-350 Desktop running Windows 98 - which meant downloading patches for DV editing from inlandfaq dot com site and buying a Maxtor 40GB Harddrive ... to upgrade my old and shaky compaq PC!

I am finally happily creating great home movies with lots of special effects at a premium price .. and recommend everyone to do the same. Do not waste money when you can save! DV quality is within your reach...P>As for still pictures, I find grabbing the DV frames at 780x640 resolution using the DV software is the best way. You really donot need a memory stick or more resolution, it prints upto 5x6 prints, even 8x10s look great if printed on a laser printer... Your pictures look great as 10x zoom lets you take great closeups of just the face! I find my pictures better than ones taken on 2megapixel still cameras as the closeup really makes up for lower resolution esp in natural light conditions.

Happy DV editing!

My wife and I were having our first child. My father-in-law said I should have a digital camera and a video camera. I wanted a product that would combine the two (...). I didn't know much about them when I started my hunt. I was aimed at the Sharp product from the start because of its style, no viewfinder, a simple LCD screen acts as viewfinder and monitor, also I liked how the screen and camera can twist 270 degrees from each other. Here are some things I really liked: mini-DV format; 660,000 pixel CCD, this is very important for the image size; manual control of focusing, color, etc.; ability to shoot single images (9 or 16 in group) at 1/10 second separation for fast moving sports; digital image stabilization; ability to brighten forground objects against a bright background; ease of use if you read the instruction manual; and availability of Sharp developed software and cable for image transfer to the computer. A few tradeoffs: basic battery is short lived, longer life battery is available, and AC/DC adapter provided and charging is quick; slight motor hum/whine that is picked up by microphone when recording, not serious problem because the frequency is such that any voice or other sound will cover it up and if you do not think about it you will probably not hear it; and I could not find it in any store and had to purchase over the internet (this turned out very easy and great). Conclusion, buy this camcorder and the software, for the features and the money you cannot lose. P.S.: be careful not to compare pixels in camcorder to digital camera, a $150 digital camera, 1.3 mega pixel will beat a $700 camcorder, 0.7 mega pixel. An important question to ask is what resolution will the camcorder create images at for sending on the internet? An average I found was 640 x 480, about 0.3 mega pixel.

small enough to take everywhere.....it's been all over the world and through some tough climates and still works great! Large LCD for viewing eliminates the need for a view finder, which most people don't use with todays DV camera. Functions easy to access. Takes 37mm filters. Suggest purchase of two batteries so you can cut back on down time when shooting. Liked it so much....getting one for my son in the military!! Looking for underwater case...if available.

i use this camera on win98 exclusively. you can't install it on an NT or win2000 machine (the software won't install, nor will the updated drivers); on win98, very easy to get working. you can use it with any popular videoconferencing program that you like. the included software is nice to organize photo albums or make video movies. you can also use software to create web pages, and even a web cam (download the new software from intel.com); the focus wheel is on top of the camera, which makes focusing hard if you aren't right next to it....the lens cover is nice if you want to close it and protect the lens. the base is pretty stable, and comes with a bit of sticky tape so you can firmly mount it. if you don't use the sticky tape, i recommend velcro for easy mobility to different angles, otherwise the weight of the usb cable will cause it to tip a bit if it's not firmly seated. there are two lense settings for indoor and outdoor, but i've never used the outdoor option. (it's really a setting for light balance); update your drivers from intel.com and you get the pan and zoom features, as well as fixes to some of the hue and colour balance options.

I compared this camera with the Creative Labs Web Cam 3. Intel Pc Camera shows a better and a superior image quality. The software is A+ plus, you can create videos, take photos or send cards through the internet. Dont forget the video conference capabilities (the package include two licences of Intel video phone software). But before you install this camera in your PC, go to tech customer support site to get the correct software ID number, (this is incorrectly labeled in the package). A special note; many friends are reporting configuration problems with pcs equiped with ATIs video cards or ATIs video software.

My dad left crap on my front steps, this was one of the items, it works great...

I bought this camera for the trip to Europe. The whole idea was trying to find something small for under...By holdding it, this camera feel perfectly small. All control buttons seems logical and user friendly. The monitor is bright and clear. The camera egonomic is exellent ( fit perfectly in my palm). The camera use the Digital Video recording system, so I just assume that the picture quality is exellent. That all the good things, but here the downfall. This camera has the worst picture quality I of all the camcorders I have ever own, the image stablelizer is useless, download to the computer was the nightmare . The kits came with the USB cable but you can use it to download still photos only (no memory card is supplied). To download video to the computer you have to use the firewire cable and Video capture software (not suplying with the kits). Not a lot of choice, I use the old fashion way to dubb to my VHS tape using the VCR. The result is...my old Sony analog camcorder has better picture quality than that thing. I sold my Sony TRV720 to get this thing , well bad mistake!!! It would be a great deal if this camera had the Sony brain and picture quality. Well make your wise decision...

First time leaving a review, but thought it might help buyers...

I was interested in buying a MiniDV and saw a great deal listed on Amazon (...) for the VLZ3U. Unfortunately, only used it a couple of hours before the tape-loading mechanism started acting up and basically prevented the tape from loading even once it finally closed. After returning to Amazon, I bought another (...). The first time I tried to use it (pre-wedding family function), a brand new tape got stuck in it, and it wouldn't let me eject or use it. Needless to say, returned that one as well. Bad luck once, perhaps. Twice, probably not.

Generally, the camera was otherwise good. Low-light wasn't, but it's possible I still needed to master the settings. When I did set them for best results (i.e., backlight,...), some of the settings would reset when I turned it off/on again. A royal pain. The swivel design was an excellent feature that you'll appreciate in actual use -- e.g., shooting over a huddled crowd to see into the middle, or shooting something low to the ground. Very easy on the hand/arm.

Giving it 3 stars because of the problems, otherwise would be 4.

I bought this camera for my girlfriend. I went by the advice of my friends and went right to a MiniDV camera because everything else was becoming obsolete. This looked to be a good deal at the bottom of the price range. What we got was a good deal, but is certainly not the best out there.

Basic functions are intuitive and the overall design is good. I love the way the body of the camera twists. I was able to easily film the Pirate show at TI in Vegas over the crowds! The LCD screen is bright and clear.

Now the bad stuff. The image stabilization is a joke, especially when zoomed in on anything. The picture seems better with it off. Also as mentioned before, low light picture quality is pretty grainy. I was expecting better, but I have to remind myself that this is a low end camera. Battery life is acceptable considering I use the LCD screen all the time. The still photo feature is handy but the picture quality is nothing compared to a regular digital still camera. Don't buy this camera just for this feature!

So overall, this camera pretty much does its job, and I can't complain too much considering the price. We didn't buy it to do professional quality filming. If I did, I'd be disappointed. But as a basic camera, it does its job fine.

Great camera when I first got it, I felt like I had got something really good - so I should have, it cost me a whole load of cash.

Just after the warranty had expired, I find out the hard way that the whole line of Canon camcorders have a serious problem with the tape transport system causing the warning message "REMOVE THE CASSETTE" appearing in big red letters on the LCD. Camera will not function until expensive repairs have been carried out.(...)

Pros: Excellent image quality and color fidelity; 20X optical zoom; two-channel audio control; 1.7-megapixel still image capture; lightweight.

Cons: Too many controls per button; onboard microphone is omnidirectional; mediocre battery life with included cell.

Summary: An ok camera, just not what I expected. I own a Sony VX2000 and PD-150 we use in video production of homes for sale. We bought the GL2 because of the fact it was about a half pound lighter and a little smaller than the Sony cameras. The first problem is when you attache the small 3 watt Canon light, the drain on the battery is too great and shuts down the camer before the battery is one half way drained. Even with the biggest battery that Canon makes the battery life is short with their fill light. The second problem was when the telephoto zoom button failed after 70 minutes of use, making the auto zoom function useless. Now I must send the camera back to Canon only after 20 days of use. The mail order place would only take it back within 15 days. The third problem is the low light noise is a little worse on the camera when compared to the Sony VX2000 or Sony PD-150. It is not a big difference, but it is noticeable. I never had a reason to mail in a Sony camera for repairs, even after years of use. It's a dissapointment to have a new camera fail in so many ways

I own this camera, and it's my best friend. Well not really, but it's the most amazing camera I've ever had. You get what you pay for, and you get a lot from this camera.

This is however, NOT a camera that the general public should buy. It's far to expensive, and really wouldn't be worth it to someone who will be using this for filming say a birthday party. There are many features on this camera, which make it as wonderful as it is, but these features would likely be unused by someone new to video cameras. So if you are in this boat, save your money and get a different camera.

What's great about it? The image quality is better than anything I've seen before. With 3CCD, it's good. Unlike the XL-1S, the GL2 has a 2.5 inch color LCD. However, I rarely use this. It takes up more battery power, and you can't see it when there's sunlight. I love the audio controls, and how it's not only stereo microphone, but you can control the levels of your left and right audio, right there, on the camera. I love to convert analogue video into digitial video, and it's almost too easy using the GL2. It's great for getting your older stuff into a digital format, and being able to easily get it onto your computer.

What's bad about it? Really not a whole lot. The 1.7-megapixel photo mode is really uneeded. 1.7-megapixels really isn't that good. The included 8MB card for these pictures isn't enough. If you're going to want to take digital pictures, then get a digital still camera, and don't use the GL2 as a still camera.

But I can't stress enough that if you aren't going to use this for more professional projects, then you really shouldn't get this camera.