Jvc Mg 555

[mapman]

Any thoughts good bad or ugly on the JVC mg 555?
It will replace my still camera and break me into video as well.
Thanks in advance.

 

[sharksdelight]

I went to look it up and wasn't really sure if it was a record to tape or DVD. If it is a record to DVD, it is using a MPEG 4 compression which is really too high of a compression for you to use. In addition, for topside work, this cam is too small to be hand held steadily. That is my biggest complaint about the Sony A-1U.
Never the less, if you decide to go with this one, make sure there is a housing made for it first before you do any buying.
Steve:14:

 

[diversteve]

It's one of those trade-off camcorders imo. I just took a brief look at the camcorderinfo.com review. They didn't seem particularly thrilled about it's performance. Also someone commented that theirs has a focus problem in the user comments at the bottom. Might be important if shooting stills.

It does have a 30GB HDD and Firewire so would be good for editing but otoh it's not HDV. For about $100-200 more you could get into a Canon HV10 or Sony SR series HDV camcorder. And have a lot more choices for housings with the Sony. But neither of them will shoot 5MP stills like the JVC. One thing to ensure is that you can switch between still/video mode when the camera is in the housing.

Ikelite does make a housing for it. http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/jvc_mg555.html

 

[mapman]

Thanks for the replies, I did a good deal of research on it and others, reviews are mixed with more positive than not.
I did look at the Sony and Canon but neither offered as good a still although the Sony came in around 3mp.
Maybe someone will have something new at DEMA.

 

[DaFireMedic]

Thanks for the replies, I did a good deal of research on it and others, reviews are mixed with more positive than not.
I did look at the Sony and Canon but neither offered as good a still although the Sony came in around 3mp.
Maybe someone will have something new at DEMA.

Be careful about using megapixels as the benchmark of still photo quality. That gives you the resolution, but does not tell you the quality of the sensor. My 9 year old 3.1 mp Olympus 3030 produces far better photos than my 6 mp Aiptek and a Vivitar 4 mp camera that I made the mistake of buying, neither of which produce decent still photos, producing far too much noise and grain in the shots. Also, in general, stills from most video camcorders fall short in quality compared to those from digital still cameras, regardless of mp. My Sony HC20 produces very poor stills, my Panasonic PV-GS300 produces mediocre stills, and only if neither the camera nor the subject is moving at all, but my HV20 produces surprisingly good stills for a camcorder.

Take a look at a few stills from a recent vacation trip to Washington taken with the Canon HV20 after I had filled the card on my Olympus:

Mt. St. Helens

Oregon Zoo

Banana Slug in Redwoods National Park

You may also want to consider wear and tear on your camcorder. I am hesitant to use my HV20 as a still camcorder as the on/off control gets used far too often when I do. I would rather get a cheaper digital still camera of a reputable brand in the $100-$200 range that produces equal or better quality and save the wear on my $1200 camcorder.

Regarding the MG-555, I can only go by the reviews as I have not used one, but it seems to have some good features, such as an external mic input (very important to me, anyway), and a decent array of manual controls for a consumer camcorder. The joystick focus would not be the best, as they are difficult to use until you get used to them, and even then they can be tricky. It is compact, which is good even though as pointed by a previous poster that it can make it harder to keep steady, although most all consumer camcorders now have the same problem of low mass.

Being that you mentioned still photo capability so prominently, I would just be concerned about the still photo quality until you see some pics taken with it. Camcorderinfo.com mentioned some noise present in the stills, and they are usually pretty good about their info.