Home > Consumer Reviews > JVC GR-D20 Digital Camcorder [Mini-DV 16xOptical DV-out]

i got this little gem about two years ago, and it is still working absolutely fine! I can catch all the memories on the miniDV tapes and put in a little sceene transition. Using the fire-wire link, i can easily hook it up to my MAC and make the most amazing quality video, the GR-D20 never gives me dodgey static, never gives me error messages, and never fails to impress.

There is one thing that some of you potential buyers out there might like to know though, that is that the "night vision" function that this offers is not what it sounds like, it is not that super-cool green sight that they use in all these films, all it does is slow down the exposure to allow more light into the lense, this gives off a very blurry set of images and i would think, from what it looks like, that in this mode, it has about 4 frames per second, which looks really bad, and all you get is dim, blurred images, however the sound is not affected at all, and still remains super high quality.

The look of this is nice, it fits perfectly moulded to the hand, and is very sturdy and feels solid and tough, however, as with every surface, i doubt that dropping it on a concrete surface would do it any good!

The zoom is impressive, the 16x optical zoom can really go somewhere and the 700x digital is mind blowing.

The buttons are very easy to use and and quite easy to figgure out, but if you do get stuck, then you can always refer to the handy manual!

Battery life as always is good, i can get about an hour of recording on a full battery, with the LCD screen opened up, but if i close it, and use the view-finder, i guess i would be able to get about 1 and a half hours of recording.

Overall, i would definately recommend this camcorder, it was my first camcorder, and i think i will be sticking with it for a while.

I bought this as an entry-level camcorder for general home and holiday use. Having looked around, this appeared the best, even since purchasing the price has dropped again and again!
For the money, it has good features, very good optical 16x zoom, usable digital zoom up to around 40x (the zoom to 700x is a gimmick, as with other camcorders!!!) Easily plugged in to the PC and compatible with pinnacle studio.
Cons? Indoors, the auto white balance can be slightly poor, but manual correction is easy. The zoom makes noticeable noise, and I would say the sound sensitivity is the worst part of the camera. While not "bad", it can sometimes be a strain to hear everything, there can be a certain amount of background noise. Otherwise, a perfect camera - good performance and battery life.
Would I buy it again - YES YES yes, several times!!

u cannot get a camcorder that has so many listed features,very good picture quality and the sound is so accurate and clear.I bought an exact one from a catalogue but paid much more than the prices on amazon it's a bargain.An ideal present for a guy now also that xmas is comin up.So get buyin it's all alot of fun!!!!!!!

This manufacturer is world renown for providing the engines for high class brand names and there is very little to say other than; spend your money on this little gem and when you have got it home, you will realise the value of the diamond you have just bought.
P.S; Amazons' QC Team ensure you never see junk products within these pages anyway, and if I may impart an awesome tip:- Amazon is the "Maybachs" of on-line shopping, including after-care.