I had a GR-dv500US, but I was looking for a more prosumer camcorder. I found in GR-dv400us an excelente camera for a relative low price. It has a F1.2 briliant aspherical lens, a 1.33M pixel CCD with a high grade, high band image processor, a 3.5? lcd viewer you can use simultaneously with viewfinder, an inteligent inbeded flash for its photo feature. Its also small footprint - not so small as a mini camcorder - and fits weel on hand. If you do not have a tape on hand, thats ok, you can always use a sd card (included). The image is sharp, briliant and show true color. So, you can have almost a pro cam for the price of a amateur camera. Besides that, JVC is simnonimous of quality and inovation. I love my camera.