ProductCritic: JVC GR-X5 Reviews

DV Guru (85)

The JVC GR-X5 offers both strong video and still capabilities in a small package while still maintaining a good feeling and easy to use design. The camera would be a great fit for an intermediate user who wants to step up to a camera with the improved image quality offered from the 3 CCD’s as well as some form of manual controls. I would definitely recommend the GR-X5 to anyone who is looking for a new camcorder with a small footprint and impressive optics.

PC Pro (83)

JVC may be late to the three-CCD DV camcorder party, but the X5 makes a showy entrance. It offers great video and very good stills in one compact package.

macHOME (80)

While you could achieve better results from other 3-chip consumer camcorders and 5-megapixel cameras, the GR-X5US is just about perfect for anyone with the necessary cash and the desire to combine high-quality video and still images in one very portable device.

EasyCamcorders.com (79)

All in all, we believe the GR-X5 to be one of the best camcorders of the year. It trounced the competition, certainly in the category of cams at $1000 and under. Seeing is believing, so please hurry down to your local retailer and ask to give it a try.

Camcorderinfo.com (75)

This camcorder is unquestionably the best hybrid on the market. When you combine awesome video performance with jaw-dropping still performance, good manual control, and all the right ports, this camcorder makes a killer package. If this is what JVC can do with their first generation of 3 CCD camcorders, I’d be afraid of next year’s models if I were Panasonic and Sony.

PC World (74)

The JVC GR-X5US has an interesting design, but its setup may not be to everyone’s taste, and its poor battery life and lack of a viewfinder are serious problems. At $1300, it’s also the most expensive camcorder we looked at in this roundup. While its video quality and still-image quality are undeniably better than many of the other models, the GR-X5US really isn’t worth the extra cash: Most people would be equally well served by a less-expensive camcorder, and could buy a decent point-and-shoot camera with the money saved.

Videomaker (70)

For most videographers, however, there are plenty of other options that may not look so good on paper, but have an overall better user experience and comparable results.

CNET (70)

The GR-X5 is a capable jack-of-all-imaging-trades and, as the saying goes, a master of none.

Macworld (70)

The JVC GR-X5US has an interesting design, but it may not be to everyone’s taste, and its poor battery life and the omission of a viewfinder are serious problems. At $1,300, it’s also expensive. While it’s undeniably a good camcorder, it really isn’t worth the extra cash: most people would be equally well served by buying a less-expensive camcorder and spending the money they save on a decent point-and-shoot still camera.

SimplyDV (60)

All in all it’s an interesting camcorder to which uncritical leisure users will be attracted. Those requiring better ergonomics might well look at alternative models in the JVC range, however.