Following its introduction of the triple-CCD
Everio GZ-MC500E last year which relied on 4 GB MicroDrives for storage, JVC is yet again breaking new ground in the realm of hard drive based camcorders. Announced today, the company's Everio G series will be available in three models including the GZ-MG20, GZ-MG30 and GZ-MG50, and will feature a generous 20, 30 and - also - 30 GB of storage, respectively.
The lead-in model, the GZ-MG20, will house an 800,000 pixel CCD, F1.8 lens with 25x optical zoom and a 20 GB hard drive to let users record up to four and a half hour of video at the camcorder's highest quality setting. In comparison, the GZ-MG30 version incorporates a 30 GB hard drive to offer up to 7 hours of highest-quality video, yet otherwise remains identical to the GZ-MG20.
Breaking off from the two lower-end models, the most feature-packed model in the series is the Everio GZ-MG50, which tweaks the combination to offer a 30 GB hard drive, 1.33 Megapixel CCD and a F1.2 lens with 15x optical zoom. What all models have in common is a 2.5-inch rotating display, built-in photo light, an SD Card slot for memory expansion, USB 2.0 for PC connectivity and composite video out for connecting to a TV, VCR or DVD recorder.
Relying on the MPEG2 codec for video recording, the highest quality video delivered by the Everio G series is 9 Mbps at a Constant Bit Rate (CBR), which is close to the maximum bit rate for DVD movie quality recording. In contrast, the lowest quality setting records at 1.6 Mbps at a Varying Bit Rate (VBR) for up to 37 hours on the GZ-MG50.
Courtesy of its hard drive based approach, the Everio G series will let users delete and rearrange materials on-device, and also quickly access scenes via thumbnail navigation. The hard drive in Everio's G series has been mounted in a floating suspension system which dampens vibrations through polymer shock absorbers, and is also fitted with a gyroscope to initiate a spin-down of the hard drive in case of free fall situations.
In addition to recording video, the GZ-MG50 is also capable of shooting still shots at up to 1,152 x 864 pixels, whereas the GZ-MG20 and GZ-MG30 offer a maximum of 640 x 480 pixels. Due to built-in PictBridge support, the camcorders also support direct-to-printer output over USB, and also come with software to enable compatibility with both Windows and Mac OS X based computers.
The JVC Everio GZ-MG20, GZ-MG30 and GZ-MG50 hard drive camcorders are expected to ship in the UK in September at an estimate of £600, £650 and £700 GBP or €900, €975 and €1,050 EUR, respectively.
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