Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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JVC Everio HD Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom
$119.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: Refurbished

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

Same $119.99 last August, but now black is a 4th color choice:

http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4610295

Here they were in the last woot-off But you get more color choices this time

My comments last woot:

Product page:

http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028832&pathId=171&page=10

with your choice of manuals, the full one for example:

http://resources.jvc.com/Resources/00/01/49/LYT2257-001C-M.pdf

and 2 reviews:

http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028850&pathId=171&page=10&review=read

obselete, as far as i'm concerned.
your current smartphone will have you covered for video recording needs most of the time.
in the coming years it will replace the camcorder and camera all together i think. At that point, this becomes nothing more than a relic.
who wants to fumble around with a video camcorder anymore?

less than stellar reviews on amazon. one reviewer p.o'd that mac wasn't supported; another about clunky software and poor battery life (tho' s/he said video quality was decent).

No Mac, no Woot. (and it sounds like the battery life is not good, and uses the stinking .mts file BS, which really sucks to edit on any program - PC or Mac)

http://www.amazon.com/Everio-Flash-Memory-Camera-Blk/product-reviews/B004L54EQG/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

I bought one of these last time around from Woot! ... great little camera. Good quality.

gtmaster303 wrote:obselete, as far as i'm concerned.
your current smartphone will have you covered for video recording needs most of the time.
in the coming years it will replace the camcorder and camera all together i think. At that point, this becomes nothing more than a relic.
who wants to fumble around with a video camcorder anymore?

Yea but can you spy on someone from the town over with your puny smartphone? I think not!

joebrooks wrote:Yea but can you spy on someone from the town over with your puny smartphone? I think not!

erm... ok. excluding the creepers, not worth it, IMO.
not unless you can get one of these for a disposable price. I'm talking around $50.
oh, and you have to tack on some extra cash anyway to buy a big enough memory card for some good recording time. at least 8 or 16gb. which can run anywhere from 15-30 dollars if i'm not mistaken. has to be a higher speed card

"No Mac, no Woot. (and it sounds like the battery life is not good, and uses the stinking .mts file BS, which really sucks to edit on any program - PC or Mac)"

I can edit mts or ADVC,etc. real time on my PC with GrassValley Edius NEO2. Look it up. Neo is not the pro vesion, Edius 6 is. 90% of us have PCs, so your out of luck. I also know a lot of guy's that use Bootcamp on their macs, cause they know mac sucks for not having the software they really need.

gtmaster303 wrote:obselete, as far as i'm concerned.
your current smartphone will have you covered for video recording needs most of the time.
in the coming years it will replace the camcorder and camera all together i think. At that point, this becomes nothing more than a relic.
who wants to fumble around with a video camcorder anymore?

At least two reasons. Most non-video cameras, especially DSLRS, cannot continuously autofocus during video. On a cheap camera or on a phone, you just forget about the image being sharp and live with it. Or on a DSLR you learn the arcane art of manual focus pulling, which in a lot of cases is not practical.

Another is recording time. Most quality non-video cameras, especially DSLRs, won't let you record very long before the card must be changed. This is a big problem for concerts, plays, interviews, and other long form recordings where you can't plan on an optimal dead time for a card change. A camcorder like this one has long continuous recording options.

If you fall into those two groups you still want a camcorder.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/jvc-everio-gz-hm30sek_Camcorder_review

I have an older model Everio and I love it. By older model, it is at least 5 years old and still goes strong. Easy to take the vids off the camera and edit with Roxio or Adobe. Can't say much about this Woot camera, but no doubt I would buy a JVC again. They are superb cameras. I'm thinking about buying this to have around as an extra. Only thing is I'd need to buy a video card and there is the same model, new, with a 4 gig card, case, tripod for 184 on a web seller.
JVC is an excellent camera. I can't seem to break mine.

User guide

Detailed video demos

Specs comparison

gtmaster303 wrote:obselete, as far as i'm concerned.
your current smartphone will have you covered for video recording needs most of the time.
in the coming years it will replace the camcorder and camera all together i think. At that point, this becomes nothing more than a relic.
who wants to fumble around with a video camcorder anymore?

I would never rely on a smartphone for capturing special moments be it video or photography - most obvious noted is weddings, babys first steps, school plays, family reunions, etc. Smartphones do not have the higher zooms and megapixels that a camcorder does. Not to mention if you have a wife and dare to whip out the smartphone for any special video moments (not those moments - well - maybe those moments - lol) - youre likely to get smacked.

When looking at the mfg website, this model does NOT have any built in memory. YOU WILL NEED TO BUY AN SDHD MEMORY CARD BEFORE YOU CAN USE IT.

Quote:
Use a Class 4 or higher compatible SDHC card (4 GB to 32 GB) for video
recording.

You can also use a Class 10 compliant SDHC/SDXC card.

Use a Class 4 or higher compatible SDXC card (Max. 64 GB).

Using SD cards (including SDHC/SDXC cards) other than those specified
above may result in recording failure or data loss.

Class 4 and Class 6 are guaranteed to have a minimum transfer rate of 4
MB/s and 6 MB/s respectively during reading or writing of data.

the battery life on these is ridiculously short. i own one and do not recommend it. fully charged battery may last you 15-20 minutes. not worth it

I have an older version of this i got for around 400 dollars a few years ago. The hd quality is amazing. Although yes smart phones can record they lack the resolution this offers. If you make homemade movies or even just film your kids for sports i'd get this.

I bought one of these in August from the last woot deal. I have to say that I enjoy it a lot. It has good quality film, fits nicely and comfortably in my hand, and has a good smooth zoom. You do have to be extremely steady when zoomed in all the way, or else you are going to get dizzy watching the footage. I haven't had any problem with short battery life, but I don't use it for long periods at a time. So far I use it mostly to film my newborn at around 10mins max on a clip. For me, I would choose this over flip camera or my phones cam just because I like the fluid zoom and hand strap. All in all, this is a pretty sweet cheap little camcorder.
Hope my two cents helps in any way.

Just my two cents...I have an older Everio and am pretty satisfied. Video and audio quality are good. Being a relative technophobe, I like not having to transfer video in real time-ie tape drives- and with the requisite software so I can send videos to the grandparents. For someone who grew up with various forms of video tape, technology like the Everio is appreciated.

However, I will say my experience with the Everio has not been completely positive. The touchscreen controls are not entirely intuitive. Although easier than transferring videotape to the computer, the Everio isn't quite point, drag, and click. Also is the matter of battery life. Based on the few comments, it would seem poor battery life is something which spans more than just one model of Everio. I would have thought that a device which doesn't run a tape drive would have a longer battery life than about an hour.

Having said all that, I would recommend the Everio at least as an entry point for the beginner or someone who doesn't want to risk losing their more expensive equipment on a family vacation.

GeekyOne wrote: Smartphones do not have the higher zooms and megapixels that a camcorder does.

Or more to the point, the lenses. A cheap point & shoot has a much better lens than a phone and a DLSR can be way better than that. You can't compare the glass on a $120 camcorder to a Nikon or Canon SLR lens but it's still WAY better than the lens on my android phone.

The best thing about the phone is that it's always with you but you're kidding yourself if you think the quality can compare if you're looking to do anything even remotely serious.

Have one of these and got it at Best Buy for $150. Its a great camera. We bought an extra battery that extends the life to 4 hours.

I must say, I was almost expecting something kooky from Woot today, being Halloween. Oh Well! Happy Halloween!!!

Some CONS

1) Unfortunately, the Advanced Image Stabilizer appears to be purely digital and not optical. A clue is this footnote on its website: "*Especially effective when shooting bright scenes at wide angle." Optical stabilization is generally not affected by the available light. On the other hand, digital or electronic stabilization adds a lot of noise in low light.

2) Note that the output is not true 1080p. The image is upconverted (via interpolation?). For true 1080p output, get the GZ-HM450 or GZ-HM440.

3) Shockingly, this doesn't do still photos.

4) Unlike conventional camcorders, you can't pause while recording. The result is a lot of small snippets. That can be a problem for some people. For example, it's harder to organize and play. During playing, you may need to manually forward to the next snippet despite the fact that all the snippets are of the same session or event. I don't believe there is an auto-advance like one would do for slideshows. This is especially annoying since the camcorder has no remote control so you'll find yourself holding it when playing through the TV. Each snippet also has overhead which means wasted memory vs one continuous file.

Do you really want to have to go back to your computer to join all the snippets before you have a usable video? Not only is that time consuming, but joining the video and then saving the resulting degrades the quality. That's because lossy compression occurs on each frame as well as BETWEEN each frame. Even if the computer cannot compress any more, it will still attempt to do so, degrading the quality. Many people have also said that this JVC uses a proprietary format which will make it hard to join the snippets.

The lack of pausing during recording is unfortunately common in cheaper camcorders and most digital cameras. A notable exception are Samsung digital cameras. Even their cheap $70 models can pause while recording video.

Can anyone explain what is Advanced Image Stabilizer? Is it sensor shift or built-in lens stabilizer? Anyway, electronic stabilizer sucks.

dforbis wrote:I bought one of these last time around from Woot! ... great little camera. Good quality.

this may seem like a silly question but can you take regular pictures too or only video?

quangmsc wrote:Can anyone explain what is Advanced Image Stabilizer? Is it sensor shift or built-in lens stabilizer? Anyway, electronic stabilizer sucks.

See my post, right above yours. Everything on its website and manual suggests Electronic Stabilization. Yep, that means lots of video noise in low light (so turn off the feature if you're using a tripod!!!).

This camcorder is a very basic model that lacks common features including Still Photos and a remote. In fact, if you look on the Comparison Chart, this is the worst model.

ANOTHER NEGATIVE:

The sound is monaural, not stereo. That's pretty shocking since many digital still cameras and palmcorders (i.e. Flip), in this price range record stereo sound.

About the only advantage this Everio has over a good digital still camera is the high optical zoom and time lapse video. But its surprising omissions make it a poor choice for the price.

ageras32 wrote:this may seem like a silly question but can you take regular pictures too or only video?

I looked at the manual and specs, and don't see anything about Still Photos. I couldn't believe it.

Woot staff wrote:
"(12:42 AM, today) sdc100 returns with a list of cons. Wait... where's the pros?"

It comes in pretty c☺l☺rs.

I own this one and I am heppy with it but it REALLY depends on your expectations and needs. This is good for a middle school baseball game but I wouldn't say hand it to your buddy to capture your wedding. ;-)

Can I ask an unrelated question?

I'm looking for a reliable bluetooth set of audio/stereo headphones. I simply want to bluetooth connect to my audio source (iPad, laptop, etc) and roam around the house with a good connection and a few hours play without quick battery drain and constant recharge.

I'm considering the Subjekt PLS-9400 because I'm simply not an audiophile. Does anyone own these? They're only about $50 and they look fairly manageable. If not, any other bluetooth audio/stereo recommendations would be very much appreciated.

http://www.amazon.com/Subjekt-PLS-9400-Bluetooth-Headphones-Integrated/dp/B0046SLA4M

Thanks!
Jim

:-)

gtmaster303 wrote:obselete, as far as i'm concerned.
your current smartphone will have you covered for video recording needs most of the time.
in the coming years it will replace the camcorder and camera all together i think. At that point, this becomes nothing more than a relic.
who wants to fumble around with a video camcorder anymore?

Probably someone who takes a video of something more than 5' away.

is there any way to multitask this as a webcam?

Comes with a battery that says it lasts 40 minutes but really lasts less than 20. Bought one last time around and ended up returning it. JVC customer service was horrible. $80 extra bucks for a battery that works turns this into a $200 camcorder. A $199 Samsung Q10 HD would be a much better choice with better features.

The JVC Everio is garbage. I bought it last time and returned it since the batteries did not hold a charge. It is also NOT HD. It's upconverted and not great quality. Pass on this one.

I have this, I love it.

gtmaster303 wrote:obselete, as far as i'm concerned.
your current smartphone will have you covered for video recording needs most of the time.
in the coming years it will replace the camcorder and camera all together i think. At that point, this becomes nothing more than a relic.
who wants to fumble around with a video camcorder anymore?

If cameras/camcorders in general are obsolete, why would they be such a staple commodity for woot!?

I mean, why would woot! base such a huge part of their business on an obsolete item?

OOOOOOooohhhhhhh... Never mind.

If you ever watch or show videos on anything bigger than your iphone/pad then you might find digital zoom to be near worthless - especially in low light. This is why I have both a mini HD vidcam with optical zoom in addition to convenience of my pocket Zi8 (Flip or smartphone like option).

Just received the Woot Panasonic HD cam a couple weeks ago and pleased with it thus far - holidays are coming.

Bought a refurb JVC MiniDV based camcorder from woot way back in '07. Was indistinguishable from new when I received it, except for a 'refurbished' sticker that was on it. Still works fine to this day, I use it all the time.

Maybe time for an upgrade to move away from tape.

JohnnyDD wrote:"No Mac, no Woot. (and it sounds like the battery life is not good, and uses the stinking .mts file BS, which really sucks to edit on any program - PC or Mac)"

I can edit mts or ADVC,etc. real time on my PC with GrassValley Edius NEO2. Look it up. Neo is not the pro vesion, Edius 6 is. 90% of us have PCs, so your out of luck. I also know a lot of guy's that use Bootcamp on their macs, cause they know mac sucks for not having the software they really need.

Don't even go there Johnny! Macs still set the standard for video editing & multimedia machines, no contest. I work with both platforms in a university lab with 300 machines and the stability of the Mac Pros is far better than the PC's. We've even replaced 150 Dell PC boxes with iMacs that run Windows 7 for those who prefer Windows.

The bottom line with this camera is that the propitiatory file packages are just frankly a pain in the rear compared to working with DV & mp4 files. Whenever you use the converter programs, it degrades the quality.

Unfortunately, we do not have the latest version of FCP "X" which can handle .mts http://www.iskysoft.com/topic-mts/import-mts-m2ts-files-to-final-cut-pro-on-mac-os-x.html