My first camcorder experience is a good one

Bought this for a trip to southern Africa. It is my first camcorder - I was always turned off by the idea of lugging around tapes or blank DVDs. I have used ultrazoom digital cameras for all my other trips, so I am familiar with making manual adjustments for different situations.

I was amazed at:
1) how easy the Everio was to learn and use
2) how small and light it is, and
3) the large storage capacity of the HDD.

I had to set manual adjustments for lighting and exposure a lot of the time. The AUTO setting is best when it's bright sunlight and fairly even brightness of objects - other times of the day, or when there are dark AND light objects in the field of view, you're better off using MANUAL. Video I shot at sunset and sunrise came out good with very little grain, but it is best if you use MANUAL setting and keep the camera stable.

The zoom control is pretty sensitive - takes some getting used to being careful about how fast you zoom the lens. Would have liked this model to have a light for night video rather than just a flash for still photos. The battery recharged quickly and I bought a second one from a third party. The battery life is as advertised, which isn't bad considering the power it must take to run the big LCD display and the hard drive.

I think the video quality is excellent. Incorporated the video along with digital stills into a travel DVD we produced. The quality when displayed on my large LCD flat panel TV is great. (Remember though that this is NOT an HD camcorder.)
On my trip, I ran into a fellow who had the new Everio model with the 3CCD sensors. Our videos of the same scenes looked very similar in quality.
It's simple to edit the video files with the supplied Cyberlink software. Upgrade to the full version is reasonably priced compared to buying Adobe Premiere Elements.
Overall, I thought this was a good first camcorder purchase. I'll carry it along on other trips

JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom
From: JVC $631.99
The GZ-MG77 Everio Hard Drive Camcorder you can record all the stuff that makes life more fun. Whether you're recording the family football game or your child's first play, the 1//3.9" 2.1 MegaPixel CCD gets every part of the action. The 32x optical & 800x Digital Hyper Zoom lets you record every event, and the 2.7" LCD monitor lets you preview while you record. The built-in 30GB hard drive lets you record everything without having to carry tapes or memory cards; you can then transfer directly to a computer through the USB port, at an incredible 12x transfer rate. Share the highlights of your life more easily with the GZ-MG77 Everio Hard Drive Camcorder. 30GB hard drive 540 lines of resolution 16 - 9 video mode (high-quality) Digital still capture (1600x1200) Built-in DVD control (share station) SD card slot USB 2.0 12x transfer rate Auto illumination light Power-linked operation Includes remote control Built-in flash PictBridge compatible Data battery (VF714) Multi-language controls (4 languages) Stick controller button MPEG editing, Cyberlink & Photo Navigator software included