JVC Everio GZMG255 (30 GB) HDD Camcorder Review

We bought this camera about a year ago to record our 2 little kids. I researched quite a bit before making my seleciton because I was looking for a camera that could handle various lighting situations. I have to say I'm more than a bit dissappointed - especially given the cost of the camera. It works GREAT outside - and it's certainly easy to use, but unless you have mega-watts of light in your house, expect blurry pictures. It takes a long time to focus, and if your children move around (like most do - ha! ha!) you'll end up with a series of in-focus, then blurry, then in-focus again images.

But...it works great outside.

As for the software - it's constantly crashing our computer (Windows XP). However, I'm not 100% sure that this isn't because our computer is buggy. But it is a little frustrating, and it means that we haven't been that diligent about putting the videos onto DVDs for the grandparents (who live far away).

So I guess my feelings about this camera are probably weighing more negative than positive. Sure, it's easy to use, but when the images aren't clear in low light, what's the point?

I found a tech comment about one of the settings for low light (I can't remember the remedy, it was about 6 months ago). I changed the setting and things improved, but it's still not as great as I would have expected given the brand, price and available technologies.

The docking station is great and easy to use - we often just hook it up to the TV and watch the videos there versus putting them on a DVD.