JVC Intros Everio Digital Camera with 4GB Microdrive

JVC is moving further into the digital camera/recorder space with the new Everio line – a combo unit that is both a 2MP digital camera and a DVD-quality digital camcorder in one. Plus it comes with a 4GB Microdrive! Read on for the scoop…

There are two Everio digital media cameras, which are essentially the same but come in two form factors to better hit their markets – and because once the ‘guts’ are designed, creating two offshoot models of a base engineering spec is pretty easy. The GZ-MC200 model has a kind of standard camera form with a ‘rotating grip’, while the GZ-MC100 goes after a vertical design and is supposedly the size of an electric razor. Pictures of both, and links to Amazon with street pricing, are to the right on this and the next page of the article (so make sure to read the next page as well!).

The Everio certainly takes quite a stand by coming with a 4GB Microdrive, which seems an unusual but bold move on JVC’s part. It says : “we know how much space people really need, and we bundle it in with the price”. While 60 minutes of ‘Ultra’ DVD-quality video might seem a bit short (that’s MPEG-2 720 x 576 in Ultra mode, with AC-3 audio), you can also capture in Fine, Standard, or Economy to get 90, 120, or 300 minutes respectively – that should more than fit consumer uses.

In addition, you have to think that from the digital camera side, 2MP is maybe a teeny bit lower than desired, but still good enough for average consumer use and with the 4GB of space you can take thousands of shots! Also, the Microdrive fits into a standard CF slot, meaning the camera can use any CF media, plus there’s also a SD slot for complete choice over further media expansion – it also means you can have the Microdrive available for larger recordings, and use removeable SD cards for snapping pictures, if you so desire.

But if you’re going to pay the hefty $1,199.95 for the MC100 or $1,299.95 for the MC200 when they hit the market in October (well, $999 and 1199, if you believe Amazon’s already availble street prices), you want a bit more, right? Well, JVC hasn’t skimped. Both models come with an amazing 10x optical zoom, and JVC notes a 200x digital zoom – though we’re wondering if that was meant to be 20x digital, 200x combined. It also comes bundled with video/DVD creation software, which is a must for such a device. Finally, the Everio lineup comes with an AV adapter for showing off your movies and photos, USB2 connectivity (with 1.1 compatability) for fast direct downloading from the camera to a PC, and PictBridge support for directly printing from the camera to a PictBridge-enabled photo printer.

We can’t wait to see one of these for ourselves! Until then, the full press release, and more pictures, follow on the next page…