This camera is a piece of Junk. Battery was gone after 60 days. Spent 8 months trying to locate a battery. Now unit stays in unusable "Unit in Safeguard Mode". If anyone out there has an answer for this problem, please let me know. hosdoc@mynewroads.com

Crisp image, good sound. The SD pictures are also decent. Battery life has been good. Two months of use, so long term durability still an unknown. I live in a dry climate, so no humidity problems. So far, I have been very pleased with what this camera produces.

my name is kevin, and i am a 16 year old skateboarder. originally i asked for this camera to film skate videos of my friends and i skateboarding. for a while, it worked well, the resolution was excellent, it was easy to use, and everything seemed to work as it was supposed to. after about a half a year though, the camera gave me a humidity error report. i also noticed that many screws and bolts were loose and falling out. this was strange because i treated the camera well, and made sure everyone who handled it did so with care. but, i live in louisiana so i figured it was just the region. so, i got the camera fixed for what turned out to cost around 200 dollars. well, after only a month, the humidity report returned, but after placing it by a fan for 2 days, it resumed working. it is then that the top peice fell off. i put it back in, but lacked any screws to secure it. finally, a few weeks ago, the camera stopped working entirely. this camera has wasted enough of my time and money, i'm now moving to the higher quality panasonic models. i warn everyone who plans to use this camera on a regular basis DO NOT BUY JVC, especially this model. i would recomend the superior sonys or the also superior and more cost friendly panasonic models.

I purchased this model in the June of 2003 and by May 2004 it is in Safeguard mode. I was extremely careful with it and used it a moderate amount. After researching in google a bit, I found hundreds of others complaining about the same problem not only for this camera but for other JVC models - some people are even organizing a class action lawsuit. The camera - without this problem, was decent, but I recommend getting a removable mic because all of my footage has recorded the camera whir - a problem you'll have with about any built in mic. I highly recommend staying away from JVC!

I am telling you people this camera was a waste of money. I urge you please consider a sony or some other brand. This camera has really nice features when they work. I keep getting this condensation message that comes up and will never go away. Also the tape always get stuck our and cannot automatically retract. This camera has went for service 3 times and THEY CANNOT FIX IT!!!!! Please condiser a sony. Dirt can record better video then this camera.

I owned a JVC GR-D33US camcorder for a little over a year and the CCD sensor just went out on it and it gives a "lens cap" error message even with lens cap OFF. Not a good product if it only lasts for a little over a year!

I have had this camera for about 2 years. Worked great until about 6 months ago. When i would turn the camera on I would get a message that said "STOP CONDENSATION" it would last for a little while then the camera would work OK. As time went on, the message appeared more often and lasted longer. Now, it's hard to even use the camera, it works 1 out of every 25 times i turn it on. JVC won't respond to e-mail's and i have done everything to fix it that i have read on the internet. I cannot take it to a service center because they want $100 to just look at it and i think I can get a brand new one that hopefully will work for about $200. But you better believe it won't be a JVC.

Don't waste your time on this junk. Mine blew up just out of warranty with a tape loading problem. Repairing is almost as expensive as purchasing a new model.

I've checked other JVC problems on the net; broken CCDs, reset problems, etc. Stay away from JVC; I wish I did.

By the way, JVC is terrible in low light compared to my 10 year old Sony 8mm.

Low light image is sub standard, but what can you expect for the price. Sadly the CCD blew up 30 days after 1 year warranty expired. It will be cheaper to replace than fix.

I'm not buying another JVC to be sure!

I got mine on sale for really cheap a few years ago, about $250. At the time, it was a steal for a mini dv camera. After about a year, it had a problem loading/ejecting the tape. Then it completely stopped working. It is frustrating to buy something that breaks. Also, it was terrible in low lighting situations. I would recommend saving your money for a better camera. In other words, the cost vs quality isn't worth it in the end.