JVC Everio GZ-MG630 60GB Standard Def Camcorder (Red) (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

Nice camera. It was just as described. Easy to hold. Once you read the manual, it all becomes clear and is easy to operate. Installing the software was also easy. I'm used to doing that so I suppose it's possible that it could be intimidating if you're not used to it. I like the way this camera turns on and off easily. The buttons are small so I do need my glasses, but everything works as described. The camera size is perfect for easy travel. You can spend alot more and get many more features that are desirable. But I have specific uses for this camera. There was no need to spend $800. For my money, this was a good deal. Now a word about Amazon: Do not buy this camera from them if careful packing and shipping are important to you. The camera box is about 6x6x3. It was packed in a shipping box three times that size with one small piece of packing material (the pillow-like clear stuff). When I picked up the box from my front door, I could feel the box sliding around. Imagine how many times this box had been handled from the time it was packed to the time it was delivered. If it was not transported in a way that prevented it from moving around, then the camera box inside the packing box bounced around all over the place. I was nervous that the camera would even work. I emailed Amazon. Their response was that my concern would be forwarded to the shipping/packing area. It seemed an afterthought. I've bought things from Amazon before that were not packed adequately and left subject to damage during shipping. It's pretty clear they have no intention of properly packing a $340 movie camera. My advice is to get it elsewhere, either in person at a retailer or from an online company you trust.

I'm very happy with this device. It does everything I wanted it to do. I don't do broadcast, but I do post video to iTunes for use on my college campus. The good video quality and the included software make file conversion and uploading to iTunes very painless. I really like the hard drive; I doubt that I could ever go back to tape storage. It seems to have good picture stability when zooming. If I could change anything about it, I would consider two things. First, I would make the documentation a bit more understandable. I have a PhD and it still took me quite a while to understand the conversion and uploading process. There are two sets of documentation, one print and one on the CD, and both continually refer you to the other. I eventually got where I needed to get by trial and error. The other thing I would change is that I think it would be nice to have an input for an external microphone. In general, I am pleased with this product.

I bought this camera after comparing many customer reviews of this and competing products. The reviews of this camera were consistently high, and I must say that mine is no different. I am really enjoying using this camera so far. I have had it for only a month, and everything is working as advertised. Even the included software loaded onto my Vista operating system (Gateway laptop) without a problem and appears to be working perfectly. The video is pretty crisp for a non-HD machine and I am happy with the sound. The best thing about these hard drive-equipped machines is that there is no card to change and the 60 gig drive on mine seems to be plenty big, even for long vacations. At "ultra" quality, I get almost 15 hours of recording time! I have taken a lot of video footage so far, and still have plenty of space left for more. I would highly recommend this camera.

*I rarely write a one star review, but I strongly felt that purchasers should be warned about this camera. I am a satisfied user of the Flip Mino and a novice video maker on YouTube with 95 videos; I felt ready to upgrade to something better, so we eagerly anticipated our JVC Everio camera. It was a breeze to figure out how to use, and resulted in very high quality videos as seen on the camera itself. I was delighted! My husband was very excited to use it as well, since he wanted to add a video component to his business.However, once we tried to upgrade the video clips for editing, we had problem after problem. We spent hours individually trying to get the camera to work and to search out solutions on the Internet to no avail. Increasingly frustrated, we finally called JVC. They said that this Everio will not work on computers without Vista! We were astounded as this was not mentioned anywhere in their promotional material on Amazon. They also said that we could buy more software from them from $39 to $99 to get it to work if all else failed; this was a bit of bait-and-switch we thought, so we declined.We were able to procure a Vista computer and were hopeful about being able to keep the camera, since it is just what we needed. Unfortunately, neither of us were able to get it to work even then. It was especially frustrating and even infuriating because all of JVC's literature refers to the software as easy and states that you "simply follow the prompts". It was not easy. Not. Easy. My husband is very tech saavy; we are both professionals. We simply couldn't do it. Today we gave up the struggle and are relieved to be returning it.You may be able to get this camera to work, but unless you're willing to gamble with that, I would strongly advise against purchasing this product. Of the more than a thousand reviews I've written, I have never so vehemently panned a product.Strongly not recommended.*

I received the camcorder in the set time. The camcorder works fine it did however have missing accessories. I know this because I have the exact same model that I bought new the year they made them. The remote for the camcorder is missing and the audio/video cable is missing also. The cable that was sent with it had a red and white male RCA and standard head phone jack (MALE), no yellow video RCA. ( WRONG CABLE). The truth is I bought it for the AV cable since nobody has correct one that works aftermarket. So I got screwed by the seller trying to make a buck, and not ensuring all correct products were with the camcorder. Plus the camcorder still has photos and videos from previous owners on it. I may recommend with caution to friends, but not likely or as a last resort.

You can't use this camera on OS systems.