I totally agree with the above review. Likewise, my last camcorder was a DV approximately 5 years ago (at almost twice the price) and this camcorder out performs it in evey respect. So far, I'm delighted with it!
This JVC has been purchased for school students to use, and I couldn't think of a better choice -it is almost unbelievably easy to use.
As there were no English instructions included in the box (not the fault of JVC I hasten to add; it was purchased outside of the UK) I had little choice but to just 'go for it' straight from the box. This posed absoloutley no problem at all. Date and time set, and away you go. A lack of unecessary advanced controls for everyday use actually encourages you to 'fiddle' with it without the fear of ending up in the depths of unreturnable 'option' and 'setting' hell! It's very intuitive indeed.
Any issues? Early days, but so far none at all! it's an absolute breeze to use, with crystal clear images, it deals with difficult lighting very well once the white balance is manually tweaked and is fantastically portable and at a great price.
I considered a HD camcorder at some length and very nearly purchased a superb Canon HD HF100. I'm sure that one will be purchased in the future once the prices have dipped a little (justifying an expensive HD camcorder for school students to use is a tricky one!) so for now, this is just perfect! Im really looking forward to seeing it put through its paces.
I shall post another review once that has happened! If initial impressions are anything to go by, I'm sure I will have plenty of positive things to say about it.