Home > Consumer Reviews > JVC Everio GZ-HD6 3CCD 120GB Hard Disk Drive High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Excellent image quality, good color and contrast, amazing resolution. Very easy to use and setup. I have owned Sony cameras almost exclusively and wondered how the joystick control would work over the touch screen - it worked very well - if fact I liked it better. My largest concern and the reason I returned this unit was because of the wind noise. No matter what the setting, the slightest breeze would create an awful muffling sound - drowning out important sounds - even kids screaming and having fun at the pool. However, to be fair, the indoor audio quality is right up there with best in my opinion.

If you want to edit videos created by this camera consider this -- the iLink (IEEE 1394) firewire connection does work however you must record in the lower quality 1440 CBR (Constant Bitrate Mode) in order to get the video over the link and into popular capture software such as Adobe Premier, Sony Vegas and Apple's Final Cut Pro. I found this to be a little confusing and not well documented. Moreover, the camera will NOT stream video over this link - only playback previous recording footage.

Batter life is remarkable and the included software works great. You can create DVDs and Video CDs right over the USB cable using the supplied software.

Also, I read a ton of reviews about the awful image quality when taking video in low light conditions. I have to disagree with these prior reviews. I found it to perform about even with the Sony HDV-A1U - a professional HD camera.

Times have changed since I first hoisted fifty pounds of camera onto my shoulder and trudged around shooting. Technology has made it possible for anyone to compete with the professional in terms of quality.

As a professional who has worked in the industry for a while, I've invested a lot of money into equipment over the years. Recently, I took a look at my stock of standard definition prosumer cameras and compared them to the prosumer HD rigs out there. I found that I just couldn't stomach dropping another $3K to $10K on a rig that would likely be obsolete in a month. So when I needed an HD solution for a small project, I decided to buy a consumer-grade camera and "make do."

I had no idea at the time that I'd be able to find a camera that can not only shoot full frame HD but do so in a sleek, compact package that has almost all of the features I would look for in a professional rig.

Don't get me wrong ... there are features missing here, or buried in menus when they should be a button on the camera's body. But overall, I have to say that I am very impressed with this inexpensive HD solution. The 120GB hard drive means I can shoot 10 hours of full-frame HD, and the three CCDs mean I get the full range of detail, color, and data that I would expect. Two options for transfer--USB 2.0 and Firewire--are handy. And the simple fact that it has both a mic input and headphone outputs already puts it in a league above other consumer cameras.

This camera is an indie's dream. Cheap, outstanding quality, and plenty of room to shoot without worrying about tapes or other expendable media. And with 120GB onboard, you don't even have to worry about transferring! I could shoot an epic trilogy on this thing.

I highly recommend this camera to anyone who wants HD at an affordable price.

I own this camera for 12 months now. I agree to the positive reviews about the video quality and light handling. However when it comes to PC connectivity this camera simply - don't! The only way to get your videos on your PC is through the supported software. You can't stream live video and you can't use common software such as Movie Maker or Windows Media Encoder to capture live video or to immediately edit the recorded video (on the HD). The computer seems to recognize the camera as an AVC compliant device - but nothing more than that. And when it comes to using the supported software - is sucks! The software is very cumbersome to use, it uses a quite rare video format (some MAC type of TOD files) and the video editor software has very limited options for even the basic edits. If you need to edit your videos on your PC - be prepare to for a tedious job.

I am very happy woth this product. The picture quality is excellent, the controls are more intuitive than my last camera... making changes in the settings is far easier. This was the least expensive 3 CCD camera I could find but it was about half the price of the the mini dv 3 CCD camera I bought a few years ago. It's rather amazing.

I had used this camera for about three months. What I like best is the clarity of the picture -- when there's enough light. Nature scene look very nice and realistic. The 120GB hard drive is very nice because all the clips are arranged in a similar screen like a digital camera so all the scene look like individual digital photo

What I wish is better support for low light settings. But you get what you pay for.