DO NOT BUY A JVC EVERIO!!!!

Question

DO NOT BUY A JVC EVERIO!!!!

I own a bunch of cameras so I have a educated opinion.
I purchased a JVC Everio GZ-MG130 and the camera is not worth the money they want for it. I purchased it brand new and I tried it once. Had formatting problems, in the middle of recording it told me there was trouble with the hard drive and it need to be re-formatted!!! But after TWENTY times of doing that it became frustrating. Add to that that about 2 hours of critical footage is now lost and gone forever. No, I didn't delete it, it just is not there. Great Camera huh? I knew better than to go with JVC. Shame on me. Hopefully I can return it and get a better one. I'm torn between the Panasonic (good company) or a Sony. I already have 2 MiniDV cams, I want a HD Cam. Can anyone give good advice on them? Hopefully my JVC disaster will save others from wasting time and money.

2.66 Dual Core Intel Mac, Mac Book, Mac Book Pro, G5 dual 2.0, G5 dual 1.8, G4 dual 1.5, G4 iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Jun 17, 2007 1:07 AM

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Answer 1

Zak Ray

Level 4

3,469 points

Jun 17, 2007 4:00 AM in response to Richie Hofherr

Sorry, but....

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4719805&#4719805

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Answer 2

Jun 17, 2007 5:25 AM in response to Richie Hofherr

You'll need a tape-based camera anyway if you want get into non-lineair editing.
I should change that camera for a more suitable one.
All the best,
Robbie V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands

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Answer 3

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Jun 17, 2007 5:36 AM in response to Richie Hofherr

fwiw - the forum to post an item like yours is:

Getting Started with video production on a Mac

Problems using HDD and miniDVD cameras with most NLEs have been well documented on the forums.

x

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Answer 4

Jun 17, 2007 5:29 AM in response to Zak Ray

Ow, excuse me: I just noticed you already gave a better answer than mine.
So long,
Robbie V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands

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Answer 5

BarryV

Level 1

10 points

Jun 17, 2007 10:18 AM in response to Applerobbie

You'll need a tape-based camera anyway if you want get into non-lineair editing.

Not sure what you mean by that, but we're using the Panasonic P2 cameras and loving it. Record to P2 (PC card) media and transfer the files right into Final Cut. No tapes needed. How much more non-linear can you get? 😉
Check out the Panasonic HVX200, at around $5300, it's a revlution in producing HD on a budget.

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Answer 6

Jun 17, 2007 10:40 AM in response to BarryV

Ok, that's interesting to hear... Working with a disc-based camera I 've once had about the same trouble as described here above. Asking around I heard it was no good.
But I have to admit: it's already some time ago and I didn't make a study of it then.

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Answer 7

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Jun 17, 2007 10:45 AM in response to Applerobbie

The p2 system is nothing like the the HDD or miniDV cameras the OP is trying to warn people about.

The file format on the cards is HDVCPro HD, not some strange unsupported variant of mpeg2/4.

x

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Answer 8

Jun 17, 2007 10:59 AM in response to Studio X

Hehe, now that you mention it... It wasn't the most expensive of camera's that gave me trouble then.
I think I have a clearer picture of this whole item now.
Thanks very much.
Robbie V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands

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Answer 9

Tech2

Level 1

15 points

Jul 4, 2007 4:41 AM in response to Studio X

I have a JVC Everio HD7

It works fantastic!!!!!!

Converting TOD files to Prores is fast and looks great..

You just had a crap model.. **** happends.. warranty ?

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Answer 10

Aug 15, 2007 1:39 AM in response to Tech2

Hi Tech 2
I have a new everio and i plugged the docking station in and it is not recognised. I really like the camera but FCS1 does not seem to see it. How did you do it, shall i bung the dock?
Matt

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Answer 11

Aug 26, 2007 1:19 PM in response to Richie Hofherr

Well, I bought a JVC Everio after reading so much about Camcorders and the MAC. I need the hard drive for my trip to Africa, tapes and DVD's just aren't practical. My problem is that after I connect my Everio to the MAC, the still images seem to be okay in that they open in iPhoto. However, in order to open the video clips I was testing out, seems like I had to open iMovie 8, but when I do and try to import the clips they are grayed out, yet they don't show up in iPhoto so I can just drag them over. Any ideas what to do. I'm a novice and am just trying to make sure I can do it and then learn more about iDVD and perhaps build something from there. I cannot take the camera back nor do I want to - it is a great camcorder and easy to use and will work for my purpose. I just need to find out what to do to import the clips. Everything is recognizable, the icon shows up on my desktop, the clips are there etc. Anyone with any good ideas, I'd be happy to hear them.

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Answer 12

Aug 26, 2007 3:41 PM in response to kmactravel

I bought an Everio and had trouble with it. The Mac wouldn't recognize the docking station via FireWire but would use the USB. The movies were in a .mod format that FCP wouldn't recognize. After surfing the net in frustration I found that you could simply rename the .mod files from the Everio to .mpg and they were then usable on the Mac. Not in FCP, just the mac could play them now. To get them into FCP I found a free software called MPEG Streamclip that basically takes the .mpg and converts it to any of a number of formats. I found if I had it "demux to m2V and aiff" it created two files of which the m2v was directly usable by FCP. Kinda convoluted but made the camera usable. Gotta say I'm pleased with the Everio footage just not it's interface with the Mac/FCP.

Will Wingfield

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