gjw@clyde.UUCP (Gregory J. Wroclawski) (04/02/85)
I had recently purchased JVC Videomovie camcorder after evaluating all the current camcorders on the market. My decision to buy the JVC was arrived at after realizing that the JVC was the most elegant solution to the camera/recorder packaging problem on the market. It had all the necessary features needed in the smallest and lightest package, yet its compact cassets could be played back in a standard VHS deck(w/adapter). On several occasions I had borrowed a friends Betamovie BMC-110. The JVC weighs well under 5 pounds with battery and cassette. The Betamovie weighs nearly 7 pounds similarly equipped and its considerably larger size made it quite cumbersome to lug around all day. At that point I also realized that the nearly one hour/charge the Betamovie gave me was more that I need or would ever use. A weekend long school reunion trip I filmed required less than 45 minutes of tape. Upon reviewing the tape I realized I had made many scenes too long. Another glaring deficiency of the Betamovie was the lack of any rewind, fast forward or reviewing capability. The Beta movie also lacked an electronic viewfinder which together with the lack of rewind precluded reviewing any scene one had filmed to see how it turned out. The Betamovie also lacks a tape counter but one can see the remaining tape in a window on the body. I also seriously considered a Kodavision 2400. This camcorder uses the new 8 mm format and cassettes of upto 90 minutes of recording time are avail- able although the battery lasts less than an hour. I was somewhat biased against the 8mm format since it is third uncompatible format added to the Beta/VHS fray. This camcorder has all the all the same features as the JVC: 4 heads, 3x forward and reverse review,fast forward and rewind, electronic viewfinder, digital tape counter with memory. In addition the Kodavision 2400 has auto- focusing. Since I had experience using the Betamovie without auto-focusing I realized that it was not an essential feature. The main deficiency of the Kodak camcorder was the fact that playback required the camera to be placed large playback cradle. Since the idea of a camcorder is portability this was a serious drawback. Playback with the JVC requires a simple cord connecting the camcorder to the TV. Also the Kodak weighs 5 and a half pounds with a battery and cassette and is somewhat larger than the JVC. The built in playback capability of the JVC allows one to transfer all the 20 minute cassette contents to a full size cassette with a negligible loss of quality. At the same time one can do some crude editing (inserting titles). The VHS-C cassettes are about the same size as a package of cigarettes. The standard battery pack gives one 30 minutes of recording time. I also purchased the optional 45 minute pack. This larger battery adds only an eigth of an inch to the end of the camcorder and a couple of ounces in weight. This larger battery allows enough time to fully fill two VHS-C cassettes with some spare time for setup and review. On a recent ski trip my wife and I took the the 45 minute battery along with two cassettes (one in the camera, one in my pocket). This provided more than enough taping time for a whole day of skiing. If one buys the optional 45 minute battery. the AC adapter is not necessary. The recharge time of the standard 30min battery is ~40 min and the recharge time of the 45 min battery is about one hour. This allows almost continuous operation of the camera at home. Another good accessory to get is the shoulder prop. The camera body is too small to rest on ones shoulder and align the viewfinder with the eye. The shoulder prop adds practically no weight and when folded adds only a quarter of an inch to the bottom of the camera body.