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Top JVC Everio GZ-MG505 Camcorder Reviews
SimplyDV.co.uk wrote a review of the
JVC Everio GZ-MG505 and said: "Given that current HDD
video technology is very much in development, the pictures
produced by the 3CCD MG505 compare favourably with many single-CCD
DV camcorders - perhaps not wholly surprising. At the MG505's
highest “U” quality setting its MPEG-2 compression produces
excellent results with static or near-static close objects,
though definition drops off with the more distant objects in the
image – especially foliage in a landscape or a scene with lots
of detail."
JVC Everio GZ-MG505 News Release Summary:
GZ-MG505 Fuses High 30GB Capacity with High Quality
3CCD+5-Megapixel Performance
WAYNE, NJ, May 9, 2006 – JVC Company of America today announced
the launch of a hard drive camcorder that combines a 3-CCD
imaging device for superior quality video with the long
recording time made possible by an internal 30GB (gigabyte) hard
disk drive.
The new JVC Everio G Series GZ-MG505, like all Everio G Series
camcorders, eliminates the need to carry tapes, discs or any
media at all, yet can record up to seven hours of DVD
movie-quality video or more than 10 hours at DVD
camcorder-quality. To put this storage capacity in context, it
would take 22 single sided DVD camcorder discs (8 cm/20-minute
discs) to hold just seven hours of video at camcorder quality.
In Eco mode, over 37 hours worth of video can be shot without
any need to eject or reload recording media.
The GZ-MG505 sits at the top of the Everio G Series line because
of its superior image quality, made possible by a 3-CCD imaging
device that uses pixel-shift technology to deliver 5-megapixel
quality. In addition to native full resolution 16:9 (1173 x 660
x3 effective pixels) and 4:3 DVD movie quality video with
superior color rendition, this high-performance image sensor
enables shooting of high-resolution JPEG photos of up to 2560 x
1920 pixels. And best of all, the hard disk’s high capacity
means that nearly 10,000 photos can be shot without a second
thought, with plenty of room left for hours of video, even at
the highest quality settings. To take this many snapshots would
require 416 rolls of 24-exposure film on a film camera, making
the GZ-MG505 the ideal camcorder for vacations where travelling
light is the priority.
Despite the enormous storage capacity, the GZ-MG505 weighs-in at
barely more than a pound (510 grams) including the battery and
lens cap. It’s small enough to easily take anywhere. Its classic
camcorder-style design is topped off by a 2.7” widescreen 16:9
LCD that accurately displays native 16:9 videos while they are
being shot, as well as during playback. A microphone input and
accessory shoe provide flexibility to capture sound and attach
lighting. And with multiple interfaces, high speed 12x USB 2.0
data transfer, and supplied software (Macintosh and Windows®),
it’s easy to view and share all those wonderful memories.
3-CCD/5-Mega Class Performance
The Everio GZ-MG505 creates sharp and vivid images by dedicating
a 1.33 (1.23 effective) megapixel CCD to each color – red, green
and blue. JVC’s advanced prism optics and filterless 3-CCD pixel
shift technology quadruple the pixel count to record 5 megapixel-class
stills. Simply put, the pixel shift technique, used also in JVC
professional cameras, captures double the 1,228,800 pixel
information in both the horizontal and vertical directions,
creating a real full color image pixel count multiplied by four
for stills. (In photo mode, the Everio GZ-MG505 uses 1280 x 960
effective pixels for each RGB color.) The broader dynamic range
delivers videos with bright realistic colors and photo-quality
digital stills up to 2560 x 1920 pixels for beautiful A4 prints.
Other Image-Enhancing Features
To fully capitalize on the camera’s inherent picture
performance, JVC’s Megabrid Imaging Engine separately processes
video and still signals, providing optimal processing for each.
Megabrid technology assures high sensitivity and a high
signal-to-noise ratio for moving pictures, and clear, high
resolution progressive still images.
Also present is JVC’s 3D NR (3-Dimension Noise Reduction).
Conventional 3D noise reduction offers limited accuracy since to
compensate for noise it compares field A and field B that make
up a frame with different sets of odd and even scanning lines.
JVC’s 3D NR technology compares field A to field A, and field B
to field B across two frames so that the scanning lines are
identical and noise can be reduced more accurately. As a result,
the signal-to-noise ratio is improved by 2 dB and noise reduced
by about 30 percent. Flicker is eliminated and color
reproduction is improved, enhancing overall picture quality.
The Everio GZ-MG505 also features a high resolution 10x optical
zoom (8x for stills) JVC lens, with one of the widest 16:9
angles available for video – 35mm equivalent to 41.2mm (43mm for
4:3 stills). To achieve high-resolution images, the zoom lens is
a seven group, 10 element system developed originally by JVC.
Chromatic aberration is decreased by using low dispersion glass
lens materials. A combination of ultra-high-density and
miniaturization was achieved with three aspheric elements. In
addition, highly accurate 3CCD registration and multi-angle
glass fixation technology developed by Fujinon for broadcast
cameras are also used.
MPEG-2 Video Recording for DVD-Movie Quality Footage
JVC is a leader in MPEG-2 encoding technology for both
professional and consumer camcorder applications. The Everio G
Series GZ-MG505 offers seven hours storage at 9 Mbps, which is
close to the maximum bit rate for DVD movie quality recording,
or 10.5 hours at 6 Mbps, comparable to DVD camcorder recordings.
Either way, the high quality MPEG-2 recordings are in the same
format used in DVD so there will be no quality loss when burning
them to DVD, and no time- and quality-wasting conversion. Two
more modes are available for even more recording time, offering
sufficient quality for normal TV-connected viewing or for
uploading to the Internet.
Recording mode Shooting time Bit rate
Mbps*
Ultra (DVD Movie) 7 hours 9
Fine (DVD) 10.5 hours 6
Norm (TV) 14 hours 4.5
Eco (Internet) 37 hours 1.7
*Combined A/V rates.
Easy Access to Recordings
The benefits of recording video to a hard disk are the same
benefits that have made hard disk-based audio players so popular
— random access to quickly locate desired material, the ability
to effortlessly delete unwanted material, and easily rearrange
the playback sequence. What’s more, there’s no danger of
mistakenly recording over something you want to keep.
A new feature for this year’s Everio G Series is Event
Selection. In addition to accessing video clips by thumbnail
image or date, with Event Selection the user can pre-assign
while shooting, or later assign, a convenient topical category
with icon. Simply calling up the event type, like “Birthday”,
brings up all events associated with it. Event categories can
also help make playlists for “in camera” video programs or for
burning to DVD. And with remote control operation, it is
possible to connect the Everio G camcorder to a TV and operate
it from a distance, just like a DVD deck.
Hard Disk Protection and Stability
A challenge in designing and building a hard disk camcorder is
protecting the disk from shocks and vibrations. One way this is
done in the Everio G camcorders is through a unique floating
suspension system that effectively dampens vibrations through
advanced polymer shock absorbers. Another security measure
familiar to notebook PC users is its gravity force sensor system
that automatically senses sudden acceleration such as in a free
fall situation, and turns off the power to defend the hard disk
so that a head crash can be avoided even when the unit is
dropped.
Make Full-length DVDs Easily, With or Without a Computer
The Everio GZ-MG505 offers built-in DVD burner control allowing
it to be directly connected to an optional JVC DVD burner, the
CU-VD10 SHARE STATION. The camcorder connects to the burner via
a USB cable and the burner is easily controlled by the
camcorder. The Everio converts its .mod video files to DVD Video
format so the SHARE STATION can create long playing full size
12cm DVD-R discs that play on most DVD players.
Advanced Interfaces for PCs and Printing
For use with Windows®, the GZ-MG505 comes with CyberLink’s
PowerProducer™ 3 NE for authoring DVDs, PowerDirector™ Express
NE for editing, and PowerDVD 5 NE for playback. For Macintosh
users, JVC provides PIXELA’s Capty MPEG Edit EX for simple
editing and file conversion to popular editing formats, and Mono
DVD for easy DVD authoring. An available option is Capty DVD/VCD
2 for enhanced function DVD authoring.
For quick downloading to a PC, simply connect the camera via its
USB 2.0 interface. All transfer is digital-to-digital so there
is no quality lost in the process. The accelerated transfer
speed for this year’s Everio G Series, including the GZ-MG505,
is 12-times real-time speed, so a top-quality Ultra mode
60-minute (4GB) video clip can be transferred in about five
minutes. And since the camera supports PictBridge, it can be
connected by its USB terminal to a compatible printer for easy
printing of stills directly from the camera. This model also has
an SD memory card slot for direct transfer of digital still
image data. DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) support allows the
menus on the camera screen to be used to conveniently select
images and quantity before giving removable media to a printing
service. The JPEG images themselves conform to DCF, PIM 3 and
Exif 2.2 for optimized print quality.
The JVC Everio GZ-MG505 will be available in July and will sell
for approximately $1,300.00.
About JVC Company of America
JVC Company of America, headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, is a
division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Victor Company of Japan Ltd., and a holding company for JVC
companies located in North and South America. JVC distributes a
complete line of video and audio equipment, including high
definition displays, camcorders, DVD players and recorders,
satellite systems, home and portable audio equipment, mobile
entertainment products and recording media. For further product
information, visit JVC’s Web site at http://www.jvc.com or call
800-526-5308.
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