Not Happy

I bought this camcorder to replace an old Panasonic MiniDV recorder. After reading the reviews I decided to give it a try. My first issue was volume, if the people in the video did not speak very loudly, you could not hear them during playback mode. This improved once the video was downloaded to the computer though. My second issue was with the orange tinge that alot of my video took on. Unless I was in direct lighting, everything came out an orange and tan color. My biggest issue was the fact that the included software did not work with Vista - the movies played ok in Microsoft Photo Gallery but I could not use the software. I contacted JVC who directed me to the software's website, and I would have to pay at least $35 for the Vista version of the software. Next problem I had was after taking only about 5 minutes of video, the battery light flashed red and the camera turned off. The battery had a full charge and died after 5 minutes!! Ok, it could have been a defective battery  more

Good Value

JVC GZ-MG355 is a good value camcorder. The price paid was about $30 less at retail stores plus there was no tax charged. All I wanted was a camcorder to capture vacations and home activities with family. High definition was not needed. Video quality is very good in daylight and indoor lighting. Have not had a chance to do any night scenes. Controls are relatively simple to use. The laser touch along the side of the screen is much better than touching the screen itself like on the Sony model. I would hate dirty screens or scratched up screens. If you need an extra battery, buy a JVC battery on line and save some money. There are two complaints I have about this product. One is that it might be too small for people with big hands or fingers. The "on" button is small and may be a little awkward for big fingers. The other thing is the lens cover, which is manually operated rather than automatic so sometimes you forget to close it up. Other than that, I would say go buy this model.

great little camcorder

great product, easy to use and handle, plenty of on-board recording time. easy to connect to computer or dvd/vhs recorder. First bought a panasonic of the same size, but the jvc was much easier to use. Very satisfied.

The dock is great with a Mac

I love this camcorder. It is lightweight, easy to use, and I especially love the HDD. If you have a Mac, make sure you buy this version with the dock. I originally purchased the GZ-MG330 only to discover that it does not have a firewire port. Only the dock can connect to a Mac via firewire. With the firewire cable, your video clips are easy to import to iMovie. I haven't had a chance to use it too much, but so far it's great. The "laser touch" feature seems to work well and I like how it turns on and off when you open the screen, rather than having to turn a switch so a particular mode.

Happy

I spent considerable amount of time researching on the camcorder. It was a tough choice with available choices ranging from MiniDV camcorders to HDD camcorders and varieties within these two categories. I finally narrowed down to HDD camcorders for two reasons. No messing with tapes so operating cost goes down, and easy transfer to PC and create your DVD within minutes. In HDD I had a choice between Panasonic SDR-H40, Sony DCR-SR45 and finally JVC GZ-MG335. Panasonic has a bigger CCD resolution (800 K Pixels) but had a annoying problem, you need to remove the battery to download videos. Sony DCR-SR45 has a smaller CCD (1/8) and touch screen LCD is a big no for me. That left me with JVC GZ-MG335 and was newest product on the market. Read through many good reviews on JVC GZ-MG330. JVC GZ-MG335 is same as 330 but with an additional dock. I am happy with the outdoor performance, pictures are DVD quality (Ultra fine setting), low light resolution is ok, but for me it does not matter. Burnt a  more

Nice Small Camera with Easy Controls

I had a hard time deciding between this camera (JVC Everio GZ-MG335), and similarly priced new Sony (DCR-SR45) and Panasonic models (SDR-H40). I finally went with the JVC and I'm glad that I did. A couple of the things i like about this one were it's compact size, durable feel, the laser touch controls, remote control and the dock. I went to a local best buy and played with all the cameras before finally buying on amazon. The menus are easy to navigate although admittedly it can be hard to find things sometimes...but that's always been my experience with digital camera menus. The software has been easy to use and makes transferring the videos to my computer very easy. I've owned the camera now for a week and have not regretted my purchase. I'll write another review if I end up changing my mind later.