Reviews for JVC GR-DF550US MiniDV Digital Camcorder

GR-DF550US Mini DV - Best for the Class and price!

Strengths: Very good quality video, good Optical Zoom 15X, nice Image Stabilization even on Digital zoom, Backlight Compensation, Built-in Light, Fader Function, A/V+S-Video in/Out, i.Link, remote, all you need!

Weakness: Original battery works for an hour, USB is only for SD card access, no firewire cable included, still pictures a little grainy, included software is useless, cold Accessory Shoe, warms up a lot!

I bought this camcorder on Dec 2005 from CircuitCity for a final price of $349.99, after months of searching and testing different models from Sony, Canon, Panasonic and JVC. I was considering many models with 1 and 3 CCCD and 10X to 30X optical zoom and prices from $250 to $600, with joystick, buttons and screentouch menus, so I counted many options and performances, read all the reviews I could find, and more, I tested a few models myself. With all ups and downs, this is the best Camcorder for the money paid for it!

The camcorder is easy to handle as soon as you learn its features, easyer than Touchscreen Sony, not so easy as Joystick Panasonic, it has all the nice analog to digital passthrough features even mic input for dubbing. Very small size, nice clear LCD sceen.

I was very content with the low light video quality, this is one of the highest reason in favour. The AGC is great also combined with Backlight Compensation. Image Stabilization is great, although I would recommend a tripod for any hi-zoom activity.

Battery is good for an hour, but power101.com has a good 5 hour replacement.

Still images are kind of grainy, but I rather use a good digital camera for that.

Conclusion: This is the best consumer camcorder I found up to now. For a better one you have to look at professional level.

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Pretty good grdf 550

Strengths: Good video quality in daylight and low light (on manual settings), beautifull shape and very small compact size

Weakness: Very low quality mpeg videos, short battery life

Overall the JVC GRDF 550 is a very good camcorder. The video quality is good. Worth the money. No recording indicator - the little red LED in the front that will be automatically turned on when recording. Recording time on orginal battery only about 50 min so I would reccomend to buy another one with bigger capacity.

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Accessible for novices with nice selection of...

Strengths: Nicely sized and good value

Weakness: Short battery life for the included battery

I’ve had this camera for around a month now. As a fairly novice user who nonetheless likes the possibility of using more advanced features as time to learn them permits, this camera seems just about right. One great feature is the “quick review” – a simple press of a button replays the last few seconds of recording on the tape, stopping the tape right where you last left off.


I’ve read some “professional” reviews that aren’t entirely enthusiastic about the image quality but it looks great to me (although I haven't tested it in low light yet). Some also say it is a bit “boxy” but it fits very nicely in my hand and I'm not sure I would actually want anything smaller (I’m an averaged size 6 foot male – perhaps it is too boxy for someone with smaller hands). This model seems best suited for someone looking for a good, if not “top of the line” camcorder with a nice variety of features.


My only complaints thus far are a fairly short battery life (1 hour, which makes buying an additional, longer-lived battery a must) and the “beeps” when the unit turns on or off. I haven’t read the manual from start to finish yet, but at least using its index I cannot find guidance for how to turn the beeps off (if it is even possible). They aren’t overly loud and won’t make those around you angry, but I’d still prefer to turn them off if possible.

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Jvc 550...... Mixed Bag?

Strengths: Good Video in Daylight. Decent low light video. Analog to digital pass through. Nice compact size.

Weakness: Stills not really that good. mpeg video only at 160 X 320. Very small resolution. View finder image very small and not eay to see.

Although not a bad camcorder, I really dont find it to be particularly good. It has a good size and fits into the hand pretty good. The viewfinder is very small and kind of grainy. Video shot in daylight is good. In low light it is alright, although no video camera is really that good in dark areas. It seems that digital camcorders require a lot of brightness to record decent video. the analog to digital pass-through should be standard on all camcorders. It is great to digitize old vhs video. The build of this camcorder is good, it feels pretty solid in your hand. overall a decent camcorder, but not as good as certain reviewers would have you believe. There are better choices for less money. Canon zr400??

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Good beginner's cam with lots of advanced features

Strengths: Small & light, 15x optical zoom, excellent low-light performance (with AGC on), analog-digital conversion, built-in light

Weakness: small size (for those with large hands), low-light performance (with AGC off)

Overall, a great value for the money. I did a lot of research before purchasing this camera. Comparing it to the Sony DCR-HC42, I thought the JVC was a better value for the price and options it offered. Since most miniDV cams suffer from bad low-light performance, the included features of the JVC that drastically improve it was the clincher. One note on this: you must get out of full auto mode to enable the AGC (Automatic Gain Control) of the camera and benefit from the exceptional low-light performance of this camera; otherwise the low-light performance will be pretty bad. The rest of the features were just icing on the cake. I especially liked the idea of being able to use the camera to convert my analog VHS tapes to digital format. I like the small form factor, but that may be a negative for someone with large hands as the camcorder would be awkward to hold. Again, a great cam for this price.

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jvc gr-df550 mini dv digital camcorder

Jvc Gr-df550 Mini Dv Digital Camcorder receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 2.66 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #66 MiniDV camcorder of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market...

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