In The Zone | JVC Everio GZ-MG680: Digital Camcorder For The YouTube Fanatic

JVC Everio GZ-MG680: Digital Camcorder For The YouTube Fanatic

littlelion | 07 May, 2009 15:50

Certainly, YouTube is one of the most fascinating wonders that the Internet has brought to its loyal netizens. Considering that it is the world’s largest video hosting website with more than 100 million visitors monthly, YouTube has become too influential that even China fears it. Political matters aside, given such a huge market, it is a lucrative prospect in essence, and JVC is grabbing the chance through the introduction of the Everio GZ-MG680.

Together with models GZ-MG630 and GZ-MG670, the onyx black GZ-MG680 is a standard definition digital camcorder under the Everio G series. Pondering that most YouTube buffs are likely easygoing teens and casual consumer types, this camcorder is primarily designed with simplicity in mind. It brandishes the familiar YouTube logo on its side as if it’s talking loud and straight to its audience.

Aside from its easy-to-reach main controls, it has One Touch buttons that support direct YouTube uploading, library exporting and DVD burning as well.

On the left side of its 2.7-inch LCD screen, a finger-sensitive, light-emitting strip allows you to scroll through its uncomplicated menu. JVC dubs this mechanism as Laser Touch Operation. Additionally, just beneath the screen, a set of concave, soft-touch buttons enables you to alter the camcorder’s settings.

For optics, it makes use of a Konica Minolta Lens with 35x optical zoom, 40x dynamic zoom and 800x digital zoom. Since zooming in or zooming out while video recording without a tripod usually ends up with a shaky output, JVC reduces the problem by means of adding corrective features such as handshake reduction and wind cut, which reduces image noise caused by air movement. Dealing with low-light scenarios, this camcorder has a built-in flash and gain up function. Through the latter feature, the GZ-MG680 electronically brightens up a video that has been recorded under poor lighting conditions.

As a standard definition camcorder, the best videos that you could get from the GZ-MG680 should be recorded under Fine and Ultra Fine modes. Produced outputs are in JVC’s proprietary MOD format at 720 x 480p resolution with approximately 30fps frame rate and 4800Kbps bit rate. With these specifications, it is comprehensible that you could see artifacts in the videos, particularly if you would watch them in full screen mode on your desktop monitor. But taking into account that YouTube videos are typically viewed at 480 x 360p resolution or smaller, you should see at least minimal amount of artifacts in the video, if not none, and this is normal. Based on the actual videos that we had recorded and eventually uploaded to YouTube, JVC’s outputs are decent enough as Web content. Furthermore, if you like watching your videos straight from the camcorder through an HDTV, the GZ-MG680 supports 1920 x 1080p upconversion via its native HDMI output as well.

Anyway, if you are encountering some issues when uploading a video in MOD format, you could convert that video into YouTube-friendlier content by simply replacing its file extension with MPG or AVI.

Moving forward, let us see some of the videos we captured using the GZ-MG680. We stress that the quality of these videos has been diminished since uploading.

In the early part of this video clip, you can clearly see short strands of water colliding into one another. That part was taken from a relative distance of approximately 5 meters, in which the camcorder’s maximum optical zoom of 35x magnification was used.

Here’s a clean and clever shot of a flower, given sufficient outdoor daylight. However, the color here is a bit duller than the original subject. We associate this with the presence of the surrounding tall establishments which produced an overcast atmosphere.

Different shades of green precisely captured by the camcorder, thanks to the presence of sunlight that caresses the grasses.

In this video clip, the camcorder has put emphasis on details. You could actually see the droplets of water as well as the texture of the huge bowl that handles the fountain.

What is emphasized here is the camcorder’s interpretation of contrast.

Lastly, the camcorder’s intelligent ambient light compensation mechanism while in action inside a cozy hotel room.

Though JVC primarily positions the Everio GZ-MG680 as a digital camcorder for YouTube users, there are many more video hosting websites out there that you could explore and play around with. Just like YouTube, these sites are rapidly growing as well. If you’re adventurous enough or aiming to be the next Internet star, the GZ-MG680 is always at hand to capture your next exploit.

JVC Everio GZ-MG680's Specifications
Image Sensor	1/6" CCD
Lens	2.2 - 77mm Konica Minolta Zoom Lens
Memory	120GB Hard Disk Drive, microSD Slot
Interfaces	USB 2.0, HDMI Output, Composite A/V, DC Power Input
Dimensions / Weight	118 x 68 x 33mm / 306g

comments

youtube

streamer | 08/05/2009, 10:26

Are there other video hosting websites that can do better than YouTube?

for youtube only?

tegdub | 09/05/2009, 17:33

You shouldn't be wasting 40k for a camcorder and you're just gonna use that for YouTube. If that is your intent, go for a cheaper camcorder instead.

youtube

videographer | 13/05/2009, 22:22

You could try Dailymotion.

sd

cynical | 14/05/2009, 22:39

Even some dirt cheap and generic camcorders can do decent sd recording. I'd rather buy those if my purpose is only YouTube.

sd

flixter2009 | 15/05/2009, 22:33

I agree. Otherwise, if you are too brand conscious, it's hard to ignore a familiar name such as JVC.

youtube

quentin_paredes | 20/05/2009, 22:51

If what all you want is to record content for YouTube, either your mobile phone or digicam is enough to do the job.

noise

tbrokaw | 23/05/2009, 13:33

Is it normal for camcorders to record too much noise?

JVC Everio GZ-MG680: Digital Camcorder For The YouTube Fanatic

comments

youtube

for youtube only?

youtube

sd

sd

youtube

noise

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