JVC GR-D270 MiniDV Camcorder w/25x Optical Zoom
By: JVC Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 25
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 On: 2007-09-14
Excellent product with awesome zoom. Battery that comes with it last a long time as well. I would buy this product again without any hesitation. I have not used thew camera part yet because I have a digital camera. But I will use it sometime.
 On: 2007-06-02
this camera is an excellent camera. i bought it and it took great videos and good still pics. about a year after i got the camera i started getting an error message on the screen. it said that the unit was in safeguard mode eject and reinsert tape. upon doing so, nothing happened. the message still showed up on the screen. i tried everything i could think of to reset the camera. i removed the battery for several hours and tried again and the message still appeared. i have recently sent a message to jvc and am waiting for a reply on how to solve this problem. if you buy this camera make sure you get an extened warranty on it.
 On: 2007-02-14
Good product, had it for a year now. Wish I had bought the one with a jack for an external microphone. Consider that if you are buying a camcorder that will be used for recording teachings or other educational event. It has good sound pick up but not good enough for proper recording of teachings.
On: 2006-12-13
Havent used it A LOT...but so far...easy to use...works in low light...decent sound...great video...
On: 2006-12-12
Havent used it A LOT...but so far...easy to use...works in low light...decent sound...great video...
On: 2006-07-14
Great for those of us who are new at this type of camera and affordable.
On: 2006-07-13
Great for those of us who are new at this type of camera and affordable.
On: 2006-05-20
This camcorder was bought in September 2005 and is still working well. I was talking a film class and didnt want to have the hassle of borrowing my schools $1000+ camcorder. Knowing full well that Canon and Sony, especially Sony, would be the best camcorder for people wanting their shots to look professional, I looked on Amazon and Circuit City to see reviews. I went into Stereo Advantage and well, walked out with a JVC due to the fact that it was a little less expensive then some of the other camcorders. So, the advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
1) It is pretty decent in low light. It does have a light on it and this does help.
2) I never noticed the motor noise mostly because when I film stuff and edit it on my Powerbook with Final Cut, I usually add music. I read reviews with motor noises but I guess that if there is complete silence in a room, youll hear it.
3) Firewire cable and AV cables are easy to find and connect.
4) Easy to hold.
Disadvantages:
1) Firewire does NOT come with camcorder. Youll have to buy this separate. Best place to find firewire cables is online (Amazon, Ebay). Youll play way too much in stores.
**By the way, if you dont know what firewire is here is what it is. Mac computers almost always come with firewire outlet, just like PCs come with USB outlets. For PCs, you can buy a firewire card and insert it in your PC. The purpose of firewire is to transfer video from your camcorder onto your computer. USB plugs(which comes with this camcorder) just transfer photos.
2) Taking pictures on this camcorder does not turn out good at all. I would stick with a digital camera instead.
3) Battery is horrible. It lasts like 50 minutes fully charged. I plan on buying another one.
On: 2006-05-19
This camcorder was bought in September 2005 and is still working well. I was talking a film class and didnt want to have the hassle of borrowing my schools $1000+ camcorder. Knowing full well that Canon and Sony, especially Sony, would be the best camcorder for people wanting their shots to look professional, I looked on Amazon and Circuit City to see reviews. I went into Stereo Advantage and well, walked out with a JVC due to the fact that it was a little less expensive then some of the other camcorders. So, the advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
1) It is pretty decent in low light. It does have a light on it and this does help.
2) I never noticed the motor noise mostly because when I film stuff and edit it on my Powerbook with Final Cut, I usually add music. I read reviews with motor noises but I guess that if there is complete silence in a room, youll hear it.
3) Firewire cable and AV cables are easy to find and connect.
4) Easy to hold.
Disadvantages:
1) Firewire does NOT come with camcorder. Youll have to buy this separate. Best place to find firewire cables is online (Amazon, Ebay). Youll play way too much in stores.
**By the way, if you dont know what firewire is here is what it is. Mac computers almost always come with firewire outlet, just like PCs come with USB outlets. For PCs, you can buy a firewire card and insert it in your PC. The purpose of firewire is to transfer video from your camcorder onto your computer. USB plugs(which comes with this camcorder) just transfer photos.
2) Taking pictures on this camcorder does not turn out good at all. I would stick with a digital camera instead.
3) Battery is horrible. It lasts like 50 minutes fully charged. I plan on buying another one.
 On: 2006-04-05
I bought this, 6 months ago, right before my wedding. Whereas this is not a bad miniDV recorder, it certainly isnt good either.
If you are lucky enough to have perfect lighting in your shots, the image (video) quality is impressive - especially for the price of this machine. However, most of us are not going to consistenly have perfect lighting conditions when taking everyday video. Then, what we get from this camera is dingy images. Clear but dingy - everything has an overcast look.
The camera is attractive, small, and comfortable in my hand. It is also quite simple to use. The menu navigation took a minute to get used to but then it was smooth sailing.
The battery life of 50-60 minutes is average or a little above average for this level of consumer miniDV.
The audio is not good. I read other reviews talking about the motor noise but I bought it anyway thinking, "How bad can it be?". Its not so bad that you cant hear other sounds but its bad enough that its noticeable and distracting - especially in quiet settings.
The LCD on mine is in need of repair. It does not function when flipped out in the normal viewing position, however, if you flip the LCD backwards, it works. Doesnt do me any good when its backwards though. :-)
JVCs customer support is fairly awful. They encourage you to email rather than call. I sent them a detailed email explaing the issue with my LCD screen and listed several different ways for them to contact me. That was 3 weeks ago and today, I finally gave up, and called them.
It took me 5 minutes to navigate their voice menu and I think it was luck that I got a person on the phone. After keeping me on the phone for 15 minutes (ask my name - put me on hold, ask my phone number - put me on hold, ask my serial number - put me on hold, etc), I was instructed to mail the camera to Georgia.
I suggest buying something a little better. I wish I had.
On: 2006-03-17
Yep, we love this camera! Amazon got it to us just in time for our trip to Las Vegas and we got wonderful footage and great still shots of our trip. The still shots are amazing, you can really zoom in close and get great clear shots of things our regular digital camera couldnt. In fact we tested this and have proof, as we had both cameras with us. My son got a great close up of Star Jones from far across the gathered crowd, right up to her face as if he were standing right in front of her, and my photo from the same area is so pixilated and blurry you cant even tell what the subject was! I love that we have two cameras in one, video and stills, so we dont have to carry both. I really like that there is a separate card for the still photos so low battery power doesnt threaten to wipe the memory clean. We eventually got a longer life battery but the one hour did just fine on our trip. It would be nice to have a separate battery charger, but it really didnt get inconvenient, wed just plug it in while we slept and we were ready for the day when we woke up. And the price was excellent for all the features we got. Yep, we love this camera!
On: 2006-03-15
I paid $250 for this thing and didnt expect much, but I love the picture quality----like the local news quality---and it performs well in low-light. Also, pics up voice very well. Fits in hand perfectly.
I really do like this camera a lot and Im going to stick with the JVC brand.
If you dont want to deal with tapes, you can get a 30 Gb JVC camcorder for twice the price of this one.
 On: 2006-03-03
I had JVC product and some of my friends too. These are good at the begining and after an year the motors will have problem and also the tape heads will have problem. Even the cable pins will wearout easaly and will not work properly. Price may be less buy its not worth for long run. I feel Sony and Canon are better than JVC. Even Hitachi is good.
On: 2006-02-27
I purchased this camera from Amazon recently. The FIRST time around, the camera tape door wouldnt shut the very first time I opened it. I returned the camera and Amazon was great about replcing it promptly. The SECOND time around, the DV port worked once, and ONLY once. Theres a short in it. There is a REASON this camera is so cheap. Its J U N K!! I will add that a friend of mine is on her second JVC as well. A fact I did not know until all of this came about.
For two stars, Ill say the video quality is good. The camera battery does hold a full 60 min. charge. I had NO sound issues what so ever. Background noise?? none here.
As for still pictures, if you dont know what youre doing as far as shutter speeds, back light, etc. FORGET IT. The still pictures are very grainy. If you want professional looking stills, do NOT buy a camcorder for this purpose.
JVC tech support is USELESS.
Camcorder comes with a USB wire to upload still only. As on ANY digital camcorders, you cannot upload video in real time on a usb port. You need a firewire. This does not come with one. Also, you need to check if you HAVE a firewire port on your computer.
I paid app. $25 dollars here on Amazon including shipping, for a port and firewire. It took only a few minutes to insert the port into my tower. Its no big deal.
Amazon has just informed me via email that they will not replace my camera a third time, only refund my money. This camera is now listed as $30 cheaper than when I bought it last month.
Overall, AMAZON was great about service and return, however, this particular JVC item is JUNK.
On: 2006-02-24
i bought this camera almost a year ago, but did not use it for about 4 months. when i finally used it, i only recorded about 5 hours of video before playback of video became blocky.
i took the camera to a JVC authorized repair shop, as the camera is still under warranty for parts (not labor). they wanted $300 to replace a $100 part. hello?! anybody home? this is more than the original price of the camera.
JVC tech support would not help, other than to cover the cost of the part. they did not even think it was unusual that the labor for the repairs cost as much as the camera. i said to the tech support supervisor, "i guess you dont stand by your products." her reply was, "we stand by our warranty." huh???
i asked JVC if they would send me the part that i needed, that way i could try to repair the camera myself. (what do i have to lose at this point? the camera is totalled.) JVC said they dont do that. i asked the repair shop to order the part. they said they dont do that either.
i have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but that seems like a lost cause as well.
JVC has made my list. you can keep them off of yours by not buying their products.
On: 2006-02-23
i bought this camera almost a year ago, but did not use it for about 4 months. when i finally used it, i only recorded about 5 hours of video before playback of video became blocky.
i took the camera to a JVC authorized repair shop, as the camera is still under warranty for parts (not labor). they wanted $300 to replace a $100 part. hello?! anybody home? this is more than the original price of the camera.
JVC tech support would not help, other than to cover the cost of the part. they did not even think it was unusual that the labor for the repairs cost as much as the camera. i said to the tech support supervisor, "i guess you dont stand by your products." her reply was, "we stand by our warranty." huh???
i asked JVC if they would send me the part that i needed, that way i could try to repair the camera myself. (what do i have to lose at this point? the camera is totalled.) JVC said they dont do that. i asked the repair shop to order the part. they said they dont do that either.
i have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but that seems like a lost cause as well.
JVC has made my list. you can keep them off of yours by not buying their products.
On: 2006-02-15
after reading other reviews, i decided to buy the higher model. jvc gr-d295u. i didnt have any problem, with the noises that other claims. it has the same functions as the grd270 but it has a sd memory card slot. i havent use it a lot but it works fine.
cons- the zoom in button is so close to the snapshot button.
you accidentally press the wrong one.
also, thinking the higher model will give a great photo
to print out from the sd memory card, not so.
yet, it small light weight, video quality is good on my sony tv.
i give it 3 1/2 star.
On: 2006-02-14
after reading other reviews, i decided to buy the higher model. jvc gr-d295u. i didnt have any problem, with the noises that other claims. it has the same functions as the grd270 but it has a sd memory card slot. i havent use it a lot but it works fine.
cons- the zoom in button is so close to the snapshot button.
you accidentally press the wrong one.
also, thinking the higher model will give a great photo
to print out from the sd memory card, not so.
yet, it small light weight, video quality is good on my sony tv.
i give it 3 1/2 star.
On: 2006-01-25
This junk was advertised as being a milestone in homevideography and therefore I was given this by my family. Well, after using it for a month I have come to that conclusion that this is a utter junk in every aspect. Let me clarify that a bit:
Video quality: 0/10: Its murky, blurred and pixelized.
Audio quality: 0/10: Inaudiable soundrecording and heavy motorsound.
Ease of use: 10/10: Its pretty easy really. Dont use it at all.
From now on I will avoid any products from the JVC corp.
On: 2006-01-06
People, you can buy a 6pin to 4 pin 1394 (firewire) cable from lots of places for well under $10. I got one from acortech for $3.00 delivered (i.e. 1/10 of the jvc one).
On: 2006-01-05
People, you can buy a 6pin to 4 pin 1394 (firewire) cable from lots of places for well under $10. I got one from acortech for $3.00 delivered (i.e. 1/10 of the jvc one).
On: 2006-01-01
This is a good digital camera, but please note that the DV cable required to download the digital video is NOT included. The DV firewire cable is another $30. The cable is model VC-VDV204U
On: 2005-12-31
This is a good digital camera, but please note that the DV cable required to download the digital video is NOT included. The DV firewire cable is another $30. The cable is model VC-VDV204U
On: 2005-12-26
Okay- here is what I did not appreciate concerning the JVC GR-D270 MiniDV Camcorder:
1 - Does not perform well in low light situations.
My old Sony Handicam outperforms this newer digital camera at half the price.
The "Night Shot" setting does not behave like the regular "Infra-Red" type imagry. In a way its really hip because it does not turn everything a weird green negative. Instead it maks everything nice and colorful - BUT - at the expense of fluid motion and audio sync problems. The video gets herky-jerky and overridden with tracers. Good try, but not quite perfected.
I have tried just about every setting and even under manual control, the "lux/lumen" factor just doesnt seem to be enough even after cranking the exposure level setting all the way up in just a medium lit setting.
2. - They provide no other means of digital transfer other than a mini 4 pin Firewire (IEEE1394) port...and guess what?.. They give you no cable! They give you a USB cable for transferring still image photos only, and a cable for analog outputs to a tv or vcr.
3. - It came with a small battery but NO DV Tape and NO Protective case, cover or carrying bag.
Since the camera is so tiny and held in your hand, any zooming of any degree almost requires the use of a tripod stand to keep the image steady enough to view without headache. The "image stabilization" function seemed to only help in moderation...not much help when zooming in close, and again, it slows the frame rate down to a awkward jerkiness.
Most tapes I found are an average of 60 minutes.
4. - The viewfinder eyepiece does not lift or elevate and must be viewed as is.
5. - The lense cap does not fit tight and keeps falling off if the wind should blow ever so slightly.
6. - There is no remote control function. (And just to torment you, they list the "other model" in the manual that DOES have one! - lol!)
There are many cool features and frills coupled with the miniature size such as wipe patterns, a removable media card (still photos only)Smart Battery, 25x optical zoom, nice LCD view screen and a terrific sounding stereo microphone, but these features do not make up for the poor quality and "hard to watch without pain" videography captured by this model.
I received this as a Christmas present and am hoping to return it without offending the giver, and get a better performing video camera, because I simply cannot justify using any footage catured by this camera.
On: 2005-10-15
We have been debating for a while whether or not to upgrade to a digital camera. Since we are expecting another child, we decided to go ahead and purchase this camera based on reviews and price. It all sounded so good. Luckily we tried it out in advance of our trip to the hospital. We were very disapointed. I was expecting a much higher quality picture, but instead it looked like your average webcam shots. Grainy/pixely (is that a word?) and the movement was mechanical. It seemed to be trying to focus constantly. We were inside with all the lights in the room and hall on and the camera light. Realistically, this is the environment the majority of our video will be shot. Pehaps it performs better outside in bright sunlight??? Regardless, it is making a trip back tomorrow. Now we are back to square one and have no idea what to buy! And this baby is NOT going to wait. PS the sound wasnt impressive either. And all the still shots were incredibly blurry. WHY???
On: 2005-09-05
This is a great camcorder and just the size anyone can hold. Really enjoy it and enjoy the end result.
Fun for everyone to use and captures the memories of trips even when someone wants to forget!
They cant forget when you record it with this product. Just the right price for just the right size for just the right product!
On: 2005-09-04
This is a great camcorder and just the size anyone can hold. Really enjoy it and enjoy the end result.
Fun for everyone to use and captures the memories of trips even when someone wants to forget!
They cant forget when you record it with this product. Just the right price for just the right size for just the right product!
On: 2005-09-02
small, easy to use, takes really great quality video. My 16 year old had it all figured it out in no time.
On: 2005-09-02
This is my first Mini DV camera I was very exited intially but I found some of descripancies but overall it is good camera to begin
Pro :
1. Smallest possible
2. Picture quality excellant
3. Easy to Handle.
Cons :
1. Does not support download from Mini DV to PC by USB Note :- This is very important drawback so IEEE is only option if you want to download movie from mini DV to Laptop or PC
2. Sound quality is not 100% I would say 60% good
3. No remote control feature
On: 2005-09-01
small, easy to use, takes really great quality video. My 16 year old had it all figured it out in no time.
On: 2005-08-31
I shopped around for a mid-range camcorder and this one was the best of the best and you cant beat the price. It comes with a separate memory card slot for taking pictures. The pictures are pretty good, but its not a digital camera. The camera allows a good amount of manual operation which is great for taking pictures of strange things (like fireworks). Replay is very good and the screen is a good size for taping and reviewing. All of the controls are pretty easy to access, though the menu system is not as intuitive as I thought it would be.
On: 2005-08-22
Im no camcorder expert, but i definitely argue that the JVC GR-D270 is a great camcorder. For my trip to Japan i was looking for a small camcorder that could fulfill the basic requirements. and this one does, and more.
Pros: First off, it is as small and compact as it looks, and it fits very comfortable into ones hand. When recording, all operations are able to be performed with one hand, which may not seem like a big deal except when youre having to hold onto a moving bus or fumble around with bags of souvineers. Next, the zoom works suprisingly well and the picture keeps its focus when zooming in and out. The playback is also very easy to use. playback can either appear on the LCD, viewfinder, or through an included camcorder-to-TV cable.
Cons: The battery life was a bit of an issue for me. I preferd to use the LCD screen instead of the viewfinder and the camcorder does use more power when recording through the LCD screen(about 60 mins of battery life). I frequently had to charge the battery to ensure i had enough battery life. Unfortunately, taking still pictures is not the camcorders strongest point. While it does allow the user to store pictures on a small memory card, the user muct first change the setting from video to memory which is a bit of a pain. I also discovered that while you can take pictures in video mode, the camcorder includes the sound and noise of the location as well as the still picture(which ends up feeling like a slide show).
Extra Tidbits: the LCD screen can rotate 90 degrees one way and 180 degrees the other way; the camcorder uses Mini DV cassettes for video; also comes with a shoulder strap;
I highly recommend this camcorder for its small size, easy usage, and its relatively nice look.
On: 2005-07-26
This camera has a lot going for it...especially for the price. The video quality is good, it interfaces well to a PC over firewire, small size, decent controls, etc., etc.
But, I am returning it.
The motor noise on the audio is a killer drawback.
I have been taking videos of my 4 month old son but during playback it sounds like there is a locust invasion preparing to bounce during any break in his cooing.
I was wondering if I was being too picky so I compared the audio with that of the Canon miniDV I bought in 1998 (yes, 1998) and the Canon was sooooooo much quieter.
Too bad....cos this cam was otherwise very nice.
On: 2005-03-10
I spent hours on-line trying to select a camcorder from an overwhelming multitude. The important considerations for me were:
- PC connectivity
- Price
- At least decent video and audio quality
- Battery life, size and everything else
This JVC is a success in all these parameters.
- I had no trouble at all connecting to a wintel PC. I have a cheap no-name lash-up desktop box, a $15 firewire card, a generic $5 firewire cable, and XP. I am relieved to report it all worked first time, because connectivity problems are apparently common with all camera brands (including JVC).
- This is one of the cheaper miniDV machines, so the price was right.
- Video quality, for an uncritical amateur like me, is plenty good enough. And there is apparently wide-spread opinion that JVCs are better than average in low-light conditions.
- Audio quality, again good enough. There is definitely some motor noise breakthrough with the built-in mike that interferes with quiet pastoral scenes.
- Battery life with the supplied battery is approx 1 hour. Since JVC batteries are upwards of $80, I will be buying cheap generic knock-offs in the $30 range.
- The supplied USB cable is for downloading pictures from the snapshot and webcam mode. It is worthless for transferring video. Snapshots are inferior to my aged Canon Elph.
If a buddy could have told me here was a camera that worked OK with my computer, and was otherwise decent and affordable, I could have saved hours of research.
EDIT 1: Still 4 stars, but I would have exchanged some of that 25x tele for some more wide-angle. Also, the zoom mechanism is a bit abrupt, it is difficult to get a smooth zooming action.
On: 2005-03-09
I spent hours on-line trying to select a camcorder from an overwhelming multitude. The important considerations for me were:
- PC connectivity
- Price
- At least decent video and audio quality
- Battery life, size and everything else
This JVC is a success in all these parameters.
- I had no trouble at all connecting to a wintel PC. I have a cheap no-name lash-up desktop box, a $15 firewire card, a generic $5 firewire cable, and XP. I am relieved to report it all worked first time, because connectivity problems are apparently common with all camera brands (including JVC).
- This is one of the cheaper miniDV machines, so the price was right.
- Video quality, for an uncritical amateur like me, is plenty good enough. And there is apparently wide-spread opinion that JVCs are better than average in low-light conditions.
- Audio quality, again good enough. There is definitely some motor noise breakthrough with the built-in mike that interferes with quiet pastoral scenes.
- Battery life with the supplied battery is approx 1 hour. Since JVC batteries are upwards of $80, I will be buying cheap generic knock-offs in the $30 range.
- The supplied USB cable is for downloading pictures from the snapshot and webcam mode. It is worthless for transferring video. Snapshots are inferior to my aged Canon Elph.
If a buddy could have told me here was a camera that worked OK with my computer, and was otherwise decent and affordable, I could have saved hours of research.
EDIT 1: Still 4 stars, but I would have exchanged some of that 25x tele for some more wide-angle. Also, the zoom mechanism is a bit abrupt, it is difficult to get a smooth zooming action.
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