JVC GRDVL725U MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD and 8MB SD Card

The JVC GR-DVL725U is a top-flight digital camcorder, capable of snapping 1-megapixel digital stills. Plus, it's chock-full of enough features to satisfy just about any amateur videographer, including a 10x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD, manual focus ring, and a whole slew of digital effects and faders.

Lens
JVC put a 10x optical zoom into the GR-DVL725U, which is a good compromise of image quality and zoom power, and should be more than adequate for just about any situation. The digital zoom pumps up the total magnification to 700x, but we recommend using as low a level of digital zoom as you need, as zoom erodes image quality, particularly at high levels.

Digital Stills
We were quite pleased with the digital-still capabilities of the GR-DVL725U. Many camcorders these days come with some sort of digital still mode. The DVL725U records 1,280 x 960 stills, which is a 1.2-megapixel resolution. This particular resolution is relatively good for a camcorder, and matches more expensive offerings.

Inputs and Outputs
The DVL725U comes with the standard IEEE 1394 port for lossless transfer of digital video to a computer, or another IEEE 1394-equipped device, and a USB port for still image transfer. Additionally, the 725 has an S-video output for duping your footage onto tape.