Performance

The JVC GZ-MG37 has made no improvements from last year’s MG30 specs – a 1/6" CCD with 680K gross pixel count. The camcorder shoots in four image qualities; the highest, Ultra, records at a variable bit rate with a maximum of 8.5 Mbps (quality vs. bit rates are discussed in more detail in the Compression section below).

At 3000 lux, the MG37 proved to be just as bad as its last incarnation. We dug in fairly hard against the MG30 for the simple fact that an $800 camcorder should not have such terrible picture quality. We hate to hammer the point too much further, but the MG37 shows all the same problems, and we have all the same complaints.

Actually, it’s not the same problems exactly. The focus and blue noise issues of last year have been replaced by color fringing and patterned noise issues. Even a casual glance at the MG37’s chart is enough to notice the fringing. The MG37 has a very hard time preventing the red pixels from flaring up along the contrasty areas of the yellow, magenta, and blue portions of the spectrum.

The sharpness has improved, but it has come at the cost of a lot of noise. The noise is not limited to a fine grain, and it appears as groupings of horizontal lines, almost like stretch marks, across all portions of the image. Last year, the same noise issues were limited to areas of darkness and areas of high contrast.

*A 200% close up shows the fringing along the high contrast lines more clearly. *

One problem that has not been resolved at all is the Moiré patterns, evident in the trumpets outside of the color tiles. Moiré occurs when scene detail is too fine for the imager to handle. In this case, it caused some distracting yellow color to appear in what should be a grayscale area. Last year the problem looked even worse, with green and blue tones appearing. But the problem has still not been solved and points to some serious internal flaws for a camcorder this expensive.

Finally, the colors look unhealthy, with too much saturation and not enough color balance. It made for some vivid, though inaccurate, colors.

By comparison, the Sony DCR-HC26 MiniDV camcorder, which has the same size imager, produced an image that was not as sharp and with a lot of noise problems, but avoided the fringing and Moiré. That camcorder only sells for an MSRP of $350. The top of the line MiniDV from Sony, the HC96, has the same $800 price point as the MG37. Its 1/3" imager produced an image far, far superior.

The Panasonic VDR-D100, a DVD camcorder, has similar specs to the MG37 and sells for about $300 less. It too had noise problems, but the color balance was much better. It did not have the neon appearance in the reds, magentas, and greens that the MG37 has.

Panasonic also produces a hard disk drive camcorder, the SDR-S100, with the same size imager. This camcorder produced a very sharp looking picture. The colors were also over saturated, but balanced better overall.

In short, you’d really have to like the convenience aspect of this camcorder over its image quality, because the picture does not match the price point by any stretch.

Video Resolution*(11.0)*

The JVC GZ-MG37’s video was tested for its resolution by shooting a standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and running stills from that video through Imatest imaging software. In 4:3 aspect ratio, the GZ-MG37 produced 358.4 lines of horizontal resolution and 308.6 lines of vertical resolution, yielding an approximate resolution of 110663.96. In 16:9, the GZ-MG37 produced 430.0 lines of horizontal resolution and 276.7 lines of vertical resolution, yielding an approximate resolution of 118981.0.

Low Light Performance*(1.75)*

The JVC GZ-MG37, like most JVC camcorders, has a feature called Automatic Gain Control (AGC). This is not a special feature in itself; all camcorders have some sort of automatic gain. What distinguishes JVC cams is their ability to operate with the AGC disengaged. While you would be unwise to disengage it, this sort of control is appreciated, and could come in handy. The AGC is turned on by default when you take the camcorder out of the box, and we score the camcorder’s low light performance based on the images with the AGC on.

At 60 lux, the GZ-MG37 lost a great deal of sharpness and resolution and gained a good deal of noise in the process. The fringing that occurred at 3000 lux darkened from a reddish tone to a blackish one, and spread to new parts of the image. Blue noise spread throughout the picture as well.

The 60 lux image with the AGC off demonstrates the power of the auto gain to shape the image. Obviously, the picture with the AGC on is brighter, but the patterns of the noise change as well. With AGC off, the picture has the same horizontal striations of noise. With AGC on, the noise become more of a general fuzz across the image.

By comparison, the low light images from last year’s MG30 were blurrier, but the amount of color and luminosity were about the same. The Sony DCR-HC26 had darker noise, but less patterned and less distracting. The HC26 was also sharper.

The Sony HC96 was much brighter and richer in color tone, thanks in large part to its 1/3" sensor, which has more room to capture light. The Panasonic VDR-D100 retained much more color, and its auto gain control seemed to boost saturation without costing too much in the way of sharpness. Finally, the Panasonic SDR-S100 showed better colors and less noise.

At 15 lux, the noise went through the roof on the GZ-MG37, though the AGC was able to scrape some color information together from what is, we grant, a very low light level for a camcorder to be performing at. As you can see from the image beneath it, one cannot even make out the label at 15 lux with the AGC off.

JVC GZ-MG37 at 15 lux with the Auto Gain Control (AGC) off

The MG30 was largely the same, though again, not quite as sharp or in focus. The Sony HC26 had even less color information, though the image was brighter. The HC96, on the other hand, was still able to produce some fairly bold colors, though the saturations levels were obviously pushing their capacity. The Panasonic D100 had a fierce torrent of noise but was brighter than the MG37. The Panasonic SDR-S100 had an almost identical image to the MG37.

In summary, the MG37’s low light performance is par to slightly below par for a camcorder with a 1/6" chip. It doesn’t help that the image wasn’t that good in bright light to begin with.

Wide Angle* (9.4)*

The JVC GZ-MG37 was tested for its wide angle field in both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and produced quite impressive results that should appeal to the consumer who is looking to shoot footage in both formats. When shooting in 4:3 aspect the camcorder had a 47 degree field, which is fairly standard. When shooting in 16:9 the GZ-MG37 had an impressive 55 degree field of vision, which will definitely provide a noticeably different frame. There was a slight amount of cropping on the top and bottom of the frame when the camcorder was switched into 16:9.

Format

Compression* (5.5)*

The GZ-MG37 compresses video into the MPEG-2 format, with 2-channel Dolby Digital audio. There are four quality settings for video, which correlate to the maximum data transfer rate. All bit rates are variable under their maximum rate, which saves disk space if the picture has few moving objects in it. At Ultra Fine, the highest setting, the maximum data rate is 8.5 Mbps, the same as DVD camcorders. In Fine mode, the maximum is 5.5 Mbps; Normal is 4.2 Mbps; and Economy is 1.5 Mbps. All JVC HDD camcorders have similar specs in this regard, and all DVD camcorders share the same 8.5 Mbps ceiling. MiniDV, by comparison, has a fixed (non-variable) rate of 25 Mbps.

The video, when copied directly from the camcorder’s hard drive via the Hi-Speed USB cable, has a .MOD file extension. If seeing the video is your only concern, playing these files in any media player is simple: manually change the file extension to .MPG. The problem with this process is that the audio portion of the clip is lost.

Stills are saved in the JPEG format in two qualities, Fine and Standard, at one resolution, 640 x 480.

Media* (4.0)*

The GZ-MG37 records video and stills to a 30GB internal hard disk drive. With this enormous capacity, the camcorder can store about 430 minutes (7 hours) of Ultra Fine video, 640 minutes (11 hours) of Fine video, 850 minutes (14 hours) of Normal video, and 2250 minutes (37 hours) of Economy video.

The HDD can be connected to a computer via a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable (included), and accessed like any other external hard drive. In this way, it could potentially serve double duty as a portable storage device for files.

The HDD itself is protected by a floating suspension system and a special drop detection system that shuts the camcorder down in less than a second when it detects a falling motion.

We had quite a bit to say about the HDD last year when JVC took an aggressive step forward into the solid state camcorder world. For a recap, we’ll just say that camcorders will obviously become a tape-less, DVD-less technology at some point in the near future. The technology is growing at both ends. On the high-end side, you have P2 cards, which can hold extremely high quality video, but only in small increments. And on this side, you can record 37 hours of really, really bad video. The history of technologies tells us that the twain shall eventually meet.

For now, the upper limit of 8.5 Mbps bit rates are too binding. The video quality on this camcorder is poor, even by DVD standards.

Editing* (4.0)
*The GZ-MG37 comes with four software programs: Digital Photo Navigator v1.5, PowerDVD 5 NE, PowerDirector Express NE, and PowerProducer 3 NE. 

The first program, Digital Photo Navigator, is a still photo management program. As this camcorder has virtually no still features, you probably won’t need much in the way of a photo management program.

The PowerProducer welcome screen.

For an in-the-box editing program, PowerProducer is a very good program. It allows you to produce a movie disc, transfer video from the camcorder directly to disc, or edit a disc. The disc production is a simple process that would allow even the least experienced user to navigate the channels of DVD authoring. First you select your final medium: DVD, VCD, SVCD, or VR disc, and the capacity. Unfortunately, you are limited by having to choose the aspect ratio from the beginning. The program then allows you to import clips from the camcorder (audio intact!), as well as other sources. It even offers a capture feature to grab footage from a DVD. Simple Menus and chapters can be added, but don’t expect it to look like a Hollywood product. 

*Output options in PowerProducer. *

PowerProducer's content management page. *

**

PowerDirector Express NE should look familiar to anyone who has used a nonlinear editing (NLE) program. There is a window for clips, a monitor, and a timeline. That’s not to say that PowerDirector can match an Avid system, but it beats what most manufacturers ship with their camcorders. For those unfamiliar, clips are dropped into the timeline, where you can re-order them, change the duration, and other edits. You can also adds transitions and titles. First timers: beware. Your audience’s patience for terrible transitions is limited. Use them sparingly. 

*PowerDirector has all the familiar NLE features. *

**

PowerDVD is a DVD and media player similar to Windows Media Player or RealPlayer, but with more limitations.

Tour

**The Front ***(8.0)*

The front of the JVC GZ-MG37 positions the 32x zoom lens in the upper corner. The zoom lens has a filter diameter of 30.5 mm and a focal length of 2.3 mm to 73.6 mm. This camcorder comes with an accessory lens cap that can be tethered to the hand strap on the right side of the camcorder body. The in-camera stereo microphone is located directly beneath the lens. A video light is positioned to the left of the stereo microphone directly beneath the remote and camera sensors. A large metal eyelet for the right hand strap is located on the edge between the right and front sides, near the bottom of the camcorder body. It's a small body, but they could have found room for a flash.

**The Right Side ***(9.0)*

The right side of the JVC GZ-MG37 has a hand strap that runs slightly downward from front to back and has the standard Velcro pad to allow users to adjust the feature for comfort. A DC-in port is located on the back edge near the top beneath a hard rubber port cover that has two fragile hinges connecting it to the camcorder. The right side has a slight horizontal bulge that tapers from back to center and is otherwise devoid of features and controls, since the hard drive of the camcorder is contained beneath. The body is very small, and smaller hands might have found a camcorder that fits them just right, but larger hands will be palming this like a baseball.

**The Back ***(6.0)*

The back of the JVC GZ-MG37 has a massive battery pack which is nearly as wide as the squat body of this camcorder. The battery pack extends out from the body by about 3/8ths of an inch, which would normally be more of a problem if there were a viewfinder on this camcorder. However, the MG57 has no viewfinder. Above the battery pack is another port cover, which is opened via a small tab on its left side. This port cover masks the 2.0 compliant USB port as well as the A/V-out port. There is an immense amount of room between ports and users shouldn’t be concerned about jostling or unplugging cables when switching between these two options. To the right of the battery’s upper edge is a Rec. Start/Stop button that is poorly positioned and forces the thumb of the right hand to readjust itself between shooting periods to compensate for its placement.

**The Left Side ***(8.5)*

The left side of the JVC GZ-MG37 features the 2.7-inch LCD, a 16:9 display. This LCD is opened via a tab on the center of the back edge, which bulges out from the LCD rectangle in a half-circle. When the LCD is opened the user will find that there is a joystick on the outer edge along with an index/data batter/and remaining memory button directly beneath. Both the control and the joystick are miniscule and positioned in the area of the LCD frame formed by the half-circle. The joystick has dual features that allow it to not only navigate onscreen controls but to also engage the backlight compensation feature and spot exposure control (up arrow/reverse), switch screen size (right arrow/forward search), Manual Set (down arrow/forward skip), and NightAlive (left arrow/reverse search) features. The joystick has no texture and barely extends past the surface of the LCD frame, making this feature less than functional when sweaty fingers engage this control.

In the cavity covered by the LCD are a number of other controls. In the lower front corner of the cavity is the in-camera playback speaker. Directly behind the speaker along the bottom edge is an S-Video output port with the inset Reset feature directly above. Behind the S-Video port are the delete and menu buttons, both well labeled. Above these two buttons are two other controls, the Auto button and the Light/Info button. All four buttons are the same color as the camcorder body and in poor lighting they get lost. Above the Light/Info button and the Auto button is one final control, which switches the camcorder between still image and video modes. This switch though small is luckily bright blue and should be locatable even in low light.

The Top* (7.5)*

The power switch is centered on a slight incline between the top and left side of the camcorder. This switch allows the camera mode to be set to off, playback, and record. At the back of the camcorder on the same incline are three LEDs to inform the user when the camcorder is engaged in power/charge, access, or auto mode. Three ridges comprise the grips for the right hand and run the length of the camcorder body on another incline between the right side and the barrel of the camcorder. These ridges would be great if it weren’t for the fact that my fingers extend at least an inch beyond them. Forcing my fingers back onto these ridges was uncomfortable and made the camcorder flap in the palm of my hand in a position that forever restricted the possibility of getting a firm and resolute hold on the camcorder body.

The zoom toggle for the GZ-MG37 is located near the back of the camcorder and doesn’t provide neither the control we’ve come to enjoy with Sony camcorders or the size of the less responsive toggles on Panasonic models. The JVC GZ-MG37’s zoom lever is a small slender sliver of a control that was too thin for such an essential feature. Add a little finger sweat on a hot day in July and you can pretty much kiss the functionality of this feature goodbye. The zoom lever works fine if the user is slamming through the 32x zoom range, but nuanced zoom control and variable speeds is something that this control just can’t produce.

The Bottom*(unscored)*

The bottom of the JVC GZ-MG37 is being included in this review since the SD memory card slot is located on the right side of the camcorder on the bottom’s face. To the left of the SD card slot is a tripod mount, and the battery release is located along the back edge of the camcorder body.

**** 

Auto/Manual Controls

Picture & Manual Control
Automatic Control (5.0)

The GZ-MG37 allows you to shift between automatic and manual control via a small button located in the LCD cavity labeled Auto. The camcorder has decent automatic control, responding for focus, exposure, shutter speed, gain, and white balance. None of them were as outstanding as the upper-end Sonys, but they would suffice for a point and shooter. The strongest control is probably the exposure. It’s not a fine control, per se, but it does an excellent job working in tandem with the gain in low light. For instance, a room with mixed lighting and some darker areas will give the exposure a hard time, but an all-dark area allows the camcorder to kick up the gain into high gear and create a relatively bright, though noisy, image.

Auto white balance was not very good. Thankfully, manual white balance is readily accessible in the manual control menu (more on that in the section below). There are presets for white balance: Halogen, Cloud, and Fine (sunny). These controls tended do little in their corrections; the Halogen setting still gave everything the sickly blue-ish look that halogens lights tend to do. The Fine setting only seemed to boost reds and oranges, rather than creating a healthy color balance. You’ll be much better off doing a manual balance.

There are also a host of automatic controls that you can turn on and off, "hybrid manual controls," you might say, that allow you to give some input in the picture process, but not too much and without a fine measure of control. These controls include Backlight Compensation, which boosts the exposure overall to accommodate a subject that is too strongly backlit. Spot Exposure Control is a simplified version of Sony’s Spot Metering. In the Sony version, you touch the area of the screen that you would like to meter the exposure by. In the MG37, there is a small round target that can be shuttled either left, right, or center by the joystick. While the Sony control gives you anywhere from 4-9 zones from which to choose, the JVC gives you only three.

The MG37 also has four auto exposure modes, which are settings that target exposure and shutter speed settings for specific shooting environments. Here, they include Twilight, Spotlight, Snow, and Sport. Sometimes they work, but you’ll usually find that your shooting needs do not match up perfectly with these presets. The picture might still be too dark, or the shutter speed too slow to capture the movement. We always recommend that you try to set the manual controls yourself. It’s fun, and you’ll have video you can be proud of.

There are, of course, a set of cheesy effects as well, as you’ll find with all consumer camcorders. On the MG37, they include Strobe, Classic Film (a slower shutter speed), Monotone (black and white), and Sepia.

Overall Manual Control (5.5)

The manual control set on the JVC GZ-MG37 is good. JVCs typically place right behind Panasonics in this category. With this camcorder, you get shutter speed, white balance, focus, and exposure (in EV steps). All of these controls are independent, meaning you can set the shutter speed, and then adjust the exposure, rather than having to choose (as with Canon’s priority modes). The only element that’s missing is aperture control, in F-stops (which Panasonic does have), a measure of greater exposure control than EV steps.

The menu system is split into two parts, the administrative menu and the manual control menu. The administrative menu is accessed by pushing the Menu button located inside the LCD cavity. Here you’ll find all the controls you do not typically need on the spur of the moment: recording quality, image stabilization on/off, clock settings, etc. To exit the menu, just push the menu button again.

The manual control menu are the controls you do want close at hand; these include exposure, shutter speed, and the other controls mentioned in the first paragraph. To access this menu, push down on the joystick. A horizontal row appears at the bottom of the LCD. Toggle through these with the joystick to make your adjustments.

The joystick itself is the best of all possible joystick controls on a consumer camcorder. Doubtless, this is a vast improvement over last year’s G series camcorders, which had a miniscule four-way touchpad, at the center of which was an Enter button so small it could only be touched with a fingernail. We’re pleased that JVC has borrowed from Panasonic’s good design and moved on to the joystick control. Canon made a similar move on their new ZR camcorders, so the industry must know a good thing when they see it. Also like Canon, JVC has placed the joystick on the LCD panel. While this makes one-handed operation impossible (something you can do on most Panasonics), JVC has probably found that most users tend to have a hand on the LCD anyway, either to steady it or to tilt the screen as they move to adjust for glare. Sony obviously feels this way, as their LCD touch screens are the sole means of manual controls. They’ve even placed a second set of zoom controls on the LCD panel. We’re not a fan of the touch screens, but Sony, JVC, and Canon surely do their market research. While we like one-handed operation, it may not be for everyone.

In conclusion, the MG37 has great manual control options with a simple, effective feel, and is one of the stronger points in favor of this camcorder. Does it do enough to compensate for a fundamentally poor video quality? Not quite. The same controls are also on their MiniDV camcorders, which are cheaper and deliver better quality.

Zoom (6.5)
The zoom toggle on the JVC GZ-MG37 is on the top of the camcorder on the right side for access with the index finger of the right hand. The zoom toggle is barely a sliver of a silver which stands out from the carbon-colored body of the camcorder.

The slender zoom toggle didn’t really allow for fast and articulate engagement of zoom levels, and there was a tendency for the camcorder to jump from still to fast without a transition when shooting on the go. It tends to give the overall video a fun-ride sensibility that can be done without. If users have both time and some patience they will be rewarded with a number of variable shooting speeds from a slow crawl to the aforementioned light-speed option.

Focus (4.0)

There is a manual control option for focus on the JVC GZ-MG37, although your sheer excitement at hearing this should be greatly tempered. The focus control is entered by placing the camcorder in manual mode so the MSET manual control menu can be accessed. Once within this menu the focus submenu can be selected by using the left and right arrows on the joystick. Finally, the user can select the mountains/bust icons to begin shooting with "manual focus." This is where things get tricky. All other manual controls listed within this menu allow the user to make alterations to their settings without having to leave the manual menu.

Zoom Power/Ratio* (32.0)*

The JVC GZ-MG37 has an optical zoom of 32x, which is possible in part due to the small 1/6" imager. There is also a maximum digital zoom level of 800x. The footage captured with a zoom rating of 800x is going to be hardly legible, and if image quality is already suffering from high compression levels, the digital zoom isn’t going to help matters. There is a digital zoom cap of 64x, which can be set by the user for a more reasonable digital zoom scale. Even with a level of 64x the user of the GZ-MG37 should definitely expect to see degraded image quality that is inferior to anything captured with optical zoom alone.

Focus, for some unfortunate reason, is different, although this difference is not intuitive and users will stumble for a while before either dismissing this feature or compromising their manual control integrity. To actually control the manual focus, the user will have to press the joystick inwards again when the manual control options are selected. This action will close the manual menu and display a minute sliding scale at the bottom of the screen that displays the bust/mountain icons on either end of it. If users wish to exit manual focus control they will have to press the joystick again, then press the joystick downwards to re-access the manual menu, which (don’t forget) was closed when manual focus was selected. This is unnecessarily circuitous and ruins an otherwise well designed manual control menu—which was the perfect foil to the atrocious (no exaggeration) administrative menu structure. Why it was not possible to provide at least one menu structure that was logical, well designed, and consistent is a mystery.

Exposure (Aperture) (4.5)

Exposure compensation is a feature included with the JVC GZ-MG37 and it, like all manual controls, is listed within the MSET manual control menu, which can only be entered when the camcorder is placed in manual mode. The MSET menu can be accessed by pressing the joystick inward and navigated through with the cardinal directions of the joystick control. The exposure control is the first setting encountered when this menu is opened and can be switched into manual exposure compensation by pressing the up arrow twice. The exposure compensation has a range of +/- 6 with a center setting of 0. The exposure setting is positioned on the bottom of the LCD as an overlay on the continual live view.

*Shutter Speed (6.5) *

To access manual control over shutter speed the user of the JVC GZ-MG37 must have the camcorder in manual mode. Once in manual mode the joystick will need to be pressed down to display the onscreen manual control overlay that is presented horizontally along the bottom edge of the LCD. The shutter speed manual control is represented by the acronym Ssp and must be highlighted by scanning with the right or left arrows on the joystick. When the shutter speed is highlighted the joystick can be pressed to open the control option for this feature. Press the up arrow to open the shutter speed range and navigate it with the left and right arrows. The shutter speed range for the GZ-MG37 is impressive in its breadth and the number of options with settings ranging from 1/2 second to 1/4000 of a second. When the shutter speed is being manually reset, the camcorder continues to provide users with a live view for visually gauging the adjustments made to manual control levels.

White Balance (7.0)

White balance controls are manually adjustable and listed within the "MSET" manual control menu, entered by placing the camcorder in manual mode and pressing the joystick inward. The white balance submenu can be accessed by scanning the manual menu via the right and left controls on the joystick. Once it’s open, the user will need to push the up and down arrows to scan this submenu. The preset options for white balance are settings of Auto, Halogen, Cloud, and Fine (which is apparently intended for outdoor shooting on a sunny day). The manual white balance option is activated by highlighting the setting and pressing the joystick inwards until the indicator starts and then stops blinking. This can be somewhat problematic since the small size of the joystick often caused fingers to slip and slide off the control in the midst of setting it. The white balance controls are a minimal menu overlay that will only obscure a slight portion of the LCD when being adjusted so that users still have a clear live view of the alterations made to white balance in real time.

Gain (1.0)

There is an automatic preset control over gain levels, located within the menu structure of the JVC GZ-MG37. However, the Gain Up feature suffers from heavy amounts of noise. This low light quick fix has neither the control, the dexterity nor the success of manual gain controls on Panasonic camcorders. If possible, skip this control and find better lighting. If it must be used, just be aware that your image will be as noisy as a Gwar cover band contest.

Other Manual Control (0.0)

There are no other manual controls on the JVC GZ-MG37.

Still Features

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Still Features* (5.0)*

The still features on the GZ-MG37 are extremely limited, and this camcorder should not be considered by anyone interested in the hybrid camcorder / camera market. The MG37 shoots stills in two qualities, Fine and Standard, but only one size, 640 x 480, which has an approximate resolution of 0.3 megapixels. Needless to say, the very cheapest dedicated still camera can shoot several times that quality.

Stills can be captured to either the hard disk or an SD card. The 30GB hard drive can hold 9999 stills in either quality, so also needless to say, JVC does not include an SD card in the box. There is an option for continuous shooting, sometimes called burst mode by other manufacturers. The interval between shots is about 0.3 seconds. The LED light can also be turned on if more light is needed, but there is no flash. All the same manual controls – exposure, shutter speed, gain on / off – as well as the automatic controls like NightAlive, are available in still mode. The camcorder is PictBridge compatible, so it can be connected to certain printers without an intermediary computer.

Still Resolution* (1.8)*

The JVC GZ-MG37’s still photos were tested for resolution by shooting a standard ISO 12233 resolution chart and importing the stills into Imatest imaging software. The camcorder produces only one still size, 640 x 480. We found the approximate resolution to be 117612.0. This is a very low resolution in relation to $800 camcorders, but completely on par with camcorders that max out at 640 x 480.

Still Performance* (2.75)*

The sole still resolution option of the GZ-MG37 is 640 x 480, which typically does not make a good-looking still in the first place. But couple this with bad video performance, and you won’t be likely to use the still features on this camcorder at all. This is not too much of a dig at the MG37. Camcorders in general are not suitable substitutes for dedicated still cameras. This is the rule, and the MG37 is definitely no exception.

At 3000 lux, the stills of the GZ-MG37 were pale and noisy. The bad fringing issues that occurred in the video are not as apparent, but there are still some dark fringes appearing along lines, giving them a "wobbly" look. Thankfully, the stills also avoided the Moiré patterns in the trumpets. There were however significant issues with blue noise.

Comparatively, last year’s MG30 had a more saturated look. The blue noise was still apparent, but the yellows and greens reported better. Line fringing was about the same. Last year’s top G-series model, the GZ-MG70, had a larger imager and more still options. At 640 x 480, the image was much sharper, with better color balance and far less noise.

The Panasonic SDR-S100 also had a much sharper still, though it came at the cost of some fine grain black noise.

The Sony DCR-HC96, which has a much larger imager, had only slightly better still results at 640 x 480. Overall sharpness looked better, but the color balance was off, and saturation levels were uneven. There were also some halos from too much in-camera sharpening. The only camcorder to arguably perform worse than the MG37 was the Sony DCR-HC26, the bottom-end MiniDV camcorder, which also maxes out at 640 x 480. The HC26 had just as much of a problem with noise as the MG37. The colors were over-saturated and hence "more vivid," but less accurate. Also, the HC26 had a harder time focusing.

Handling and Use

Ease of Use* (7.0)*

In addition to portability, ease of use is one of the top features of this camcorder. It’s not just that the manual controls are easy to maneuver through, and have a simpler layout than Panasonic and Sony. It’s the fact that HDD camcorders are simple to use by definition. There is no tape of DVD to change, lose, or mislabel. There is no mechanism to open, increasing chances of breakage or dust entering the body. HDD camcorders are entirely self-contained. When you want to record, hit record. When you want to obtain the footage, either connect it to a computer via the USB cable, or to the new JVC DVD burner, designed especially for the Everio camcorders.

Everything about this camcorder seems to be designed for ease of use. When you put the camcorder in auto mode, you have access to even fewer features than a Sony. This is a sort of idiot-proofing that many users will appreciate. The battery info feature tells you exactly how much battery time and recording capacity you have left. The auto mode takes over all image quality concerns.

The major problems occur after shooting. If you’re interested in editing, MPEG2 files are not the way to go. We go into more detail in the Compression section below, but in short, they present a number of issues. Also, archiving footage is a problem. When you record on a tape or DVD, the physical remnant is still there. You work from the permanent archive. But is this hard drive is damaged, you could lose everything. Sure, you can burn them directly to DVD with the Everio Share Station CU-VD10, but at an extra cost of $200.

Handling* (4.5)*

The GZ-MG37 handles well for an ultra-compact camcorder. Last year’s G series had a poorly designed four-way touchpad that was too small to handle well. This year the control has been replaced with a joystick. Also, this control has moved from the LCD cavity to the outer edge of the LCD panel, keeping up with a trend the Canon has chosen as well. The outcome is a control that is easier to handle in all regards.

Ultra compacts camcorders are not everybody’s ideal design. Folks used to larger body, or prosumer designs, will balk at the way their index finger completely overshoots the zoom toggle. Also, the body on our test model has a tendency to make a squeaking sound when we grip the top, something that will end up on your audio track.

An animated graphic above shows the administrative menu.

Last year’s models had a tendency to heat up, but the MG37 did not exhibit the same problem. The battery info button, carried over from last year, is an extremely useful tool, giving you the exact battery time and recording capacity, in minutes, remaining.

There was one very peculiar and frustrating problem that might affect handling. It seems that if the camcorder is left alone to record for more than five minutes at a time without any manual control engaged, it will automatically shut off. This is no simple battery saving device, a common feature which will shut off a camcorder in stand-by. In this case, even if the camcorder is recording, it will completely shut down and stop recording. This quality will curtail certain kinds of shooting, including anything where you need a long, steady, uninterrupted shot.

Portability* (9.5)*

The MG37 is undeniably portable. In fact, this is one of the top reasons to purchase this camcorder. It’s slim, short, and completely self-contained – no tapes, no DVDs, no memory cards. Of course, this sort of portability has its drawbacks. If the camcorder is lost, stolen, or damaged, and you haven’t downloaded your footage, it’s all gone. This is a relatively unlikely scenario (if you’re diligent with your downloading or DVD converting), so it’s hard to knock the G-series in the portability category.  

LCD/Viewfinder* (5.5)*

The JVC GZ-MG37 only has an 2.7' LCD, so consumers who rely upon and need an electronic color viewfinder should look elsewhere. When well designed, an electronic color viewfinder can be a valuable asset; when the cam is low on power the switch from LCD to viewfinder will lessen battery consumption and allow for longer periods of shooting. Another advantage of an included viewfinder comes when shooting in lighting situations that aren’t conducive to using an LCD, such as under harsh sunlight that causes solarization, or places where a low profile is essential and a bright glowing LCD is unwanted.

Battery Life* (8.3)*

The included BN-VF707 battery was tested for endurance. It seems that that the battery test would have been quite easy for the MG37. With 7 straight hours of recording capacity for the highest quality video, we should have been able to simply hit record and stop the clock when the battery ran out. Instead, our efforts were frustrated by the camcorders insistence that a manual control be engaged every five minutes, or it would automatically shut off.

This runs contrary to our testing standards, where we put a camcorder in constant record and run the battery down, with no manual controls engaged. In order to accommodate this quirk, we simply set the zoom to 1x and tapped the zoom toggle to the left every few minutes. This registered as a "manual control" with the camcorder, but did not actually change the zoom and tax the battery.

In total, the battery lasted 82 minutes and 57 seconds (1 hour, 22 minutes, and 57 seconds). This is slightly below average, but rather poor when considering that of the seven hours of HQ capacity, you’ll only have enough time to capture a fraction of that.

Audio/Playback/Connectivity

Audio* (4.0)*

Audio on the JVC GZ-MG37 is limited, which is unfortunate considering that it has an MSRP of $800. This should ideally warrant a mic jack or other audio in option, but there is nonr. Instead users will have to rely on the stereo microphone beneath the lens. The GZ-MG37 does come with a wind cut option, listed in the hazy administrative menu. The wind cut feature will filter out low tones that are caused when wind hits the face of the microphone during recording. There is also no manual audio levels, which would be good to include on a camcorder at this price.

VCR Mode* (5.0)*

The VCR or playback mode is entered by moving the power switch on the top of the camcorder to the playback mode icon. Switching between video and still image playback is accomplished by moving the mode switch in the LCD cavity to the appropriate mode icon. Moving back and forth between review modes will take a few seconds. Users can view images in both single and 9-image thumbnail multi-up format when in review mode. The user can also press the index button directly beneath the joystick for two other additional playback interfaces. The JVC GZ-MG37 also allows users to view images in a three image up date index screen or an even screen that allows users to personalize their video storage to reflect shooting periods of importance. The still image review mode only allows users to choose between the nine-image multi-up index screen and the date index screen.

When viewing single video clips in playback, the joystick on the frame of the LCD doubles as the control for navigating individual clips. The joystick is unlabeled and undersized for this task and it tended to frustrate instead of navigate. Pressing the joystick inwards will play/pause the footage, while the left and right control scans playback footage, while the up and down arrows skip to the beginning and ends of footage. If the footage is paused, the left and right arrows engage frame-by-frame or slow motion playback. With the joystick controls displayed in the center of the LCD for only two seconds when switched into playback mode, convenient use of these options seems unlikely. There was also a considerable amount of delay experienced when switching between VCR actions but it is certainly faster than scanning MiniDV tape for desired footage. The slow response time and poor external control design makes this camcorder less successful in playback when compared to DVD camcorders by Sony like the DCR-DVD405.

When playback is paused or when viewing still images, the user can engage up to 5x of digital zoom.

When viewing still images in playback mode the user can rotate images via the up and down arrows on the joystick. The up arrow will rotate images counterclockwise while the down arrow will rotate images clockwise.

Ports* (4.0)*

There are four locations for ports on the body of the JVC GZ-MG37. On the bottom of the camcorder on the right side is the SD memory card slot, covered by a stiff rubber port cover that snaps cleanly closed and displays a well designed hinge. A second port cover on the back of the camcorder directly above the battery is opened via a tab on its right side, and it is tenuously connected via some rather flimsy rubber hinges. This port cover when opened will reveal a USB 2.0 port and an A/V out port. A third port is located on the left side of the camcorder body at the base of the LCD cavity in the center of the camcorder. This S-Video out port does not have a cover, although this isn’t a huge concern since the closed LCD will protect this port from damage during travel. And finally, on the right side of the camcorder in the upper back corner is a DC-in port for connection to wall power.

*The A/V and USB ports on the rear of the GZ-MG37, and the DC power jack on the right. *

Other Features

Widescreen/16:9 Mode* (6.75)*

With a 2.7-inch LCD intended for 16:9 display, the JVC GZ-MG37 provides users with a true widescreen functionality. Switching between 4:3 and 16:9 modes is simple with a tap to the right on the joystick.

The camcorder produces some odd discrepancies between the two aspect ratios, however. When switching form 4:3 to 16:9, information is definitely added to the left and right, normally a sign that the camcorder possesses true widescreen. However, information is also lost at the top and bottom. Not quite as much as is gained on the side, but still a fair amount.

Don’t worry, the 16:9 ratio shots will still fill up your widescreen TV, but you’ll get more vertical information in a 4:3 shot. Just something to consider.

Scan Rates/24P* (0.0)*

The JVC GZ-MG37 has a fixed frame rate of 29.97 frames per second, which is the standard rate of capture for most consumer camcorders currently on the market.

Other Features* (7.5)*
Digital Image Stabilization - With an optical zoom range of 32x, the JVC GZ-MG37 definitely needs an image stabilizer. And while the digital image stabilization will function with a fair amount of success, it will never be able to produce the same quality or consistency that would come with a camcorder that has an optical image stabilization system. If hand-shake is a particular concern this camcorder should be overlooked in favor of an option by a manufacturer like Panasonic, which provides optical stabilization on their camcorders in 2006.

Battery Info - The battery info feature can be accessed by pressing the small silver button located directly beneath the joystick on the outer edge of the LCD screen. When activated, the opaque split-screen battery info will be displayed to inform users of maximum recording time left on the hard disk drive in all four quality settings in the first screen, while the second screen displays the battery level in terms of both percentage and maximum remaining time.

Direct to DVD burning - JVC announced that the GZ-MG37 will be compatible with their new Everio Share Station CU-VD10 that allows direct to DVD burning via a USB 2.0 cable. This burner will convert .MOD files into DVD video format on either DVD-R or DVD-RW discs. An hour of video footage will be recorded in an advertised forty-five minutes, although the speed of burning will most likely vary. Recording to DVDs will be accomplished at a read speed of 8x for DVD-R and 4x for DVD-RW. CDs will be burned at a read speed of 10x for CD-R, CD-RW, and CD-ROM. The Share Station comes with its own 2-inch LCD screen for monitoring footage and can be connected to a PC.

Drop Detection - The drop detection system helps protect the hard drive of the JVC GZ-MG37 from damage that can occur if the device is dropped. When this feature is turned on, the camcorder automatically shuts off when it senses that it is in the midst of being dropped. The response for this feature was quick and should help to protect the hard drive, although damage to the body will not be minimized when the drop detection is turned on.

NightAlive - NightAlive is JVC’s name for their night shooting mode, which drops the shutter speed rate considerably, to a range of 1/2 to 1/30 seconds. While this may prove useful for shooting immobile object in the dark, any moving object or a moving camcorder, will cause severe blurring.

Comparisons/Conclusion

Comparison
JVC GZ-MG30
The JVZ GZ-MG30 is the predecessor to the GZ-MG37 and for the most part consumers will find that there is a marked improvement in some of the basics when it comes to the latest model. They both have 30 GB hard disk drives, poor still mode offerings, no viewfinder, limited out ports, no analog to digital pass through and still image recording to SD memory cards. The GZ-MG30 did have a smaller 2.5 inch non-widescreen LCD as well has having a terrible four-way touch pad that has been replaced by a questionably better joystick nub. Continuing to expand on an already ultra-zoom of 25x on the MG30, the MG37 comes equipped with an optical zoom of 32x. Further improvements with the MG37 include the ability for the GZ-MG37 to shoot in true wide screen mode without the loss of visual information experienced when shooting with the 2005 model.

The biggest improvement from last year is the new Direct to DVD burning with the Everio Share Station CU-VD10. It allows for instant archival, something that we felt was missing from last year's G series camcorders. The Share Staion tacks an extra $200 onto the price, though, so you'll have to ask yourself if a camcorder with this level of quality is worth $1000. We think not.

JVC GZ-MG27

The JVC GZ-MG27 was released simultaneously with the MG37 and will be able to provide its users with the same 1/6th inch, 680 K CCD with F1.2 lens, a 32x optical zoom, digital image stabilization, a lacking still image mode, and the same problems plaguing all hard disk camcorders made by JVC. This camcorder will have a smaller hard disk drive of just 20 GB although it will logically also have a lower price of $700. This camcorder will also have a 2.7 inch LCD screen for 16:9 monitoring and like the MG37 this camcorder doesn’t have a viewfinder. Other identical options between the two models are the ability to engage in Direct to DVD burning, an SD card slot, and USB 2.0 connection.

JVC GZ-MG77

The JVC-MG77 is a step up in comparison to the GZ-MG37 with improvements being made to imager size, still image size, as well as a potentially superior ability to handle low light shooting. The JVC-MG77 will come with a 2.2 MP, 1/3.9 inch CCD which is a drastic improvement in terms of imager capabilities over the MG37. With this improved CCD size comes some real possibilities for still image capture, something that is laughable with the MG37 which maxed out at 640 x 480. The MG77 is capable of producing still images with a maximum resolution of 1632 x 1224. In addition to these vast upgrades the MG77 will also be shooting with a Low Light Plus setting that will use the 3D Noise Reduction feature with the f/1.2 lens with results that will lower noise by an advertised 30 percent and minimizes edge flicker. The likelihood of there being this drastic an improvement is pretty slim, although it would be great to see at least one of these hard disk camcorders to shoot in low light with minimal success. The GZ-MG77 has the same 2.7 inch LCD, 16:9 video capabilities, 30 GB hard drive, SD card slot, USB port, and Direct to DVD recording. With a larger CCD consumers will have to accept a smaller 10x optical zoom, but honestly, with all these improvements and a mere $100 increase it’s about time the ultra-zoom fetish died a timely death.

Sony DCR-HC96
The Sony DCR-HC96 is a MiniDV format camcorder that retails at around $800 and will provide quality video with auto mode that emphasizes ease of use. This camcorder does have its setbacks, with a poorly designed menu structure that barely performs better than the GZ-MG37 and a touch screen interface that doesn’t stand up to the joystick control of the JVC camcorder. The ports on the GZ-MG37 have all been moved to a HandyCam Station which is aggravating and necessitated constantly searching for the port whenever viewing or transferring footage onto computer. The DCR-HC96 does have an electronic color viewfinder and a proprietary hot shoe for audio and video/flash attachments which provide two a distinct improvement over the MGG37. The DCR-HC96 has a similarly performing wide screen option as well as a 2.7 inch LCD for widescreen display during shooting. With these setbacks and improvements, it will be important for viewers to weigh what is most important in their camcorder.

Sony DCR-SR100

This 1/3 inch CCD camcorder is Sonys foray into the hard disk market which includes a 2.7 inch LCD screen and the same four-channel in-camcorder microphone system that is translated into Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound. The camcorder has a 10x optical zoom, a touch screen interface, and proprietary hot shoe for audio and lighting. This camcorder has a still image mode with far better options as well as an in-camcorder flash positioned above the lens of the camcorder. In addition to these features the camcorder has a 30 GB hard disk drive and analog-to-digital pass-through which is a great feature not found on the GZ-MG37 which only has out ports for analog signal. The Sony website is currently pricing this camcorder at both $999.99 and $1099.99 so check back for the full review of this camcorder to find out the actual price as well as performance with video and still images. If the price increase is acceptable the DCR-SR100 will definitely be providing a compelling alternate to the MG37 with its questionable video quality and more limited layout, features, and overall controls.

Panasonic SDR-S100
Shifting away from the bulky solid state body of the JVC GZ-MG37 and right into the arms of a super-compact camcorder, the Panasonic SDR-S100 was released as the first generation of tape-less camcorders for Panasonic. This camcorder records its footage to 2 GB SD card and while yes, that is limiting and will require the purchase of multiple memory cards in all likelihood. While there is an automatic shut-off feature to protect the hard disk drive of the MG37 this isn’t going to protect the drive from the detrimental and perhaps ruinous physical damage that will come with a single drop on a hard surface. With the SD card recording SDR-S100 this problem won’t be present and even if the camcorder is damaged the SD card should, in most reasonable circumstances, remain in tact and usable. The SDR-S100 is vastly smaller and will mean portability will be a breeze even if handling takes some getting used to. The SDR-S100 records to MPEG2 format like the GZ-MG37 and with no expandable battery will necessitate the carrying of the power supply for longer shooting periods. While containing many of the flaws and problems that plague first generation camcorders, the SDR-S100 provides a compelling and compact alternative to the GZ-MG37.

Panasonic VDR-D100
The VDR-D100 is Panasonic’s lowest priced DVD camcorder and will be retailing for just under $500 dollars while providing tepidly similar video capabilities to the far more expensive GZ-MG37. Like the GZ-MG37 users are limited to a USB port for transferring images to PC although unlike the JVC GZ-MG37 users won’t have to purchase an additional $200 DVD burner to transfer video footage onto DVD. The GZ-MG37 does have the advantage when it comes to true widescreen, with the VDR-D100 engaging a crop and zoom feature that actually reduces the amount of visual information on the LCD. The camcorder has a smaller 2.5 inch LCD screen although this is improved upon with the inclusion of an electronic color viewfinder as a secondary viewing device. While both camcorders record footage in MPEG2 format, the VDR-D100 does not have the ability to capture still images and does not have an SD card slot.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters *(6.5)*

For the point-and-shoot user, the JVC MG-GZ37 provides an Auto mode that is straightforward and point-and-shoot friendly, but the overall menu structure is terrible and will probably terrify the beginning user into never opening it.

Budget Consumers* (2.5)*

For the budget consumer the $800 price tag, high compression levels, lack of a viewfinder, and terrible menus are just the tip of the iceberg of reasons why reasonably priced, well structured MiniDV format camcorders are still far better options compared to the GZ-MG37.

Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid* (1.0)*

The still photographer may be surprised to find themselves limited by the vastly underwhelming photo mode found with the JVC MG-GZ37. The still mode only allows images to be captured at 640 x 480 resolution.

Gadget Freaks* (8.0)*

The true gadget freak should feel some hesitation at running out and buying the first or second generation of a new camcorder format, and in the case of the JVC GZ-MG37 this is a wise decision. High compression, poor menu structures, and minimal hybrid options all limit this hard disk camcorder from performing at a level that would garner jealousy from your fellow video-makers.

Manual Control Freaks* (4.0)*

The manual control freak will find that there are a number of manually alterable areas on this camcorder, including gain up, white balance, exposure, focus, and shutter speed, although the slight inconsistency with the focus submenu and design of the interface is an unfortunate drawback for the GZ-MG37 that could stop manual control users from purchasing this camcorder.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists* (2.0)*

The JVC MG-GZ37 isn’t a camcorder for the pro or serious hobbyist for a number of reasons, such as the 1/6-inch CCD, poor image quality, limited still options, manual control snafus, lack of viewfinder, terrible menu system, and a host of other setbacks that make this camcorder a non-entity for this section of the camcorder market.

Conclusion

The JVC-GZ-MG37 bears few differences to the MG30 that is replaces. The MG30 was not a well-liked camcorder here, and scored very low in areas of performance. How can we do anything to applaud the MG37, then?

These new features center largely around convenience. The Direct to DVD feature requires the additional purchase of the Everio Share Station CU-VD10 for $200. It’s a good feature, but if you want DVDs so much, maybe you should buy a DVD camcorder in the first place. If you put that $200 towards a purchase of the Panasonic VDR-D300, you’d be buying an immensely better camcorder and ending up with DVDs as well.

As stated earlier in this review, we believe that HDD, or something like it, will eventually dominate the camcorder world. MiniDV tapes, despite their superior quality, are being surpassed by DVDs for the sake of convenience. HDD and flash media are even more convenient because of greater compatibility and reusability. And while JVC is at the forefront of the consumer end of this technology, we recommend holding off for now. This technology needs time to develop.

The GZ-MG37 is the ultimate in convenience. If this sole selling point is enough to attract you, the camcorder may not disappoint. But if you’re just looking for something more convenient than MiniDV, there are plenty of DVD camcorders that deliver the same or better quality, and plenty more camcorders at the same price that can deliver vastly superior quality.

 

 

Specs/Ratings

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