Is the JVC GRD33US for me?

[absinthecarolinas]

Hi,

I've been wanting to buy a DV cam for some time now. A friend of mine is a manager at ... well, let's just say a certain major electronics retail chain ... and he tells me that they're going to have a really good "doorbuster" deal on the JVC GRD33US the morning after Thanksgiving.

I'm wondering if anyone has a strong opinion on this camera. Price is of course an issue for me (apparently, there will be mail-in rebates), and I really didn't think I'd be able to afford one this year. Anyway, I've got lots of experience with video processing, but have never dealt with DV.

My main purpose for the camera will probably be simple home video use, but I'll also definitely want to use it to capture from VHS tapes.

(Note: I hope I'm not breaking the forum rule on "no analog capture" discussion here. I wasn't really sure what that meant ... no capture of an analog source? ... or no analog captures??)

So I just want to make sure this camera will be acceptable for capturing VHS tapes/movies, etc. with decent quality. Will DV tapes hold a whole 2-hour movie? And, I would just need a FireWire card in my computer to get going, right?

Thanks for any input,

-abs

[absinthecarolinas]

Aw c'mon ... any opinions? I've got about 36 hours to make a buying decision here.

-abs

[choirislife923]

eh....firewire needed ONLY if you plan on going to DVD using your PC, editing the video...thats about it

no, miniDV cannot hold 2 hours. it holds 1 hour per tape.

and if you are planning to export your miniDV home movies to VHS or whatnot, no firewire is needed.

[NightWing]

Spent 30+ hours strate leading up to Black Friday looking for deals. One was that same model. But droped it from the possible list due to seeing a lot of traffice about and error message that said something to the effect of Safemode and would lock up the unit.

[absinthecarolinas]

Well, I didn't see any of these replies before "Black Friday" morning, so I went ahead and bought the sucker

Actually, I did find a database of camcorders that specifically said this particular camera did support analog-to-digital passthrough, which is what I think I'm looking for.

In other words, I could for instance connect a VCR to the camcorder as input, connect the camcorder to my FireWire card in my PC, and capture the analog video from the VCR (passing through the camera, which converts it to DV on the fly) on the PC without ever recording it on the camera . . . right??

Hope so.

Anyway, my FireWire card is on order from Newegg, so I've got a couple more days before I can try my hand at this.

-abs

[choirislife923]

without ever recording it on the camera

i believe so...thats how it works with sony D8s.

[absinthecarolinas]

Hey thanks.

By the way, I've just found some information on this camcorder (yes, I own it but haven't really had time for much hands-on use yet due to the busy holiday season) which says the camcorder does NOT have analog inputs. But the same info. says it DOES have analog-to-digital passthrough.

How is that possible? To have analog-to-digital passthrough but no analog inputs?

Please advise!

-abs

[busterosodd]

Return your GRD33us if possible and buy the GRD72us which does have the desired pass-through feature.
Chas.

[greengate69]

I bought one ridiculously cheap when in the US recently. I am extremely pleased with it performance wise - an absolute steal for what I paid. But I can confirm there is no pass-through.

[absinthecarolinas]

Thanks very much. After much frustration, I did in fact come to the conclusion that there is no passthrough on this model.

What really blows is, the review of the model at camcorderinfo.com, which seems like a very reputable site, states in very plain English and in no uncertain terms that the model does have A-to-D passthrough.

Man, I've been through the ringer. I've talked to two JVC reps who didn't know their butts from a hole in the ground, and even a Best Buy salesman who insisted that there is essentially no such thing as passthrough, that the analog signal must be recorded to the DV tape before passing it on to the computer.

Needless to say, I'm returning the GRD33US tomorrow. I'm thinking of going with the Canon ZR80 or ZR85.

Thanks again,

-abs

[NightWing]

Here are the links to manuals for both the ZR80/ZR85/ZR90.

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=DownloadDetailAct&fcategoryid=326&modelid=9740

See page 84 of this manual. Simple to do.



And for giggles here is a link to the 33...

http://books.jvcservice.com/booklist.asp?Model=GR-D33US

Page 17, 34 and the spects state only 93/73 for vid input.


Had been wondering if spending the extra 100 for the 33 over the Referb ZR60 on Black Friday was the better deal. After finding like you. No passthrough. Glad I saved the 100!

[absinthecarolinas]

By the way, I read some negative things about low-light performance in the Canons, so since I already knew my way around the JVC I simply upgraded to the JVC GRD72US model. I'm very happy with it, and I've used passthrough successfully. They dug one up at Circuit City for me. Best Buy had it about 18 bucks cheaper, so CC pricematched + 10% and I got it for about $340.

-abs