JVC Picsio GC-WP10 Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Blue) NEWEST VERSION

I recently noticed that true HD was making its way to the pocket video camera market. There were two others that came out very recently that I was looking at (a Panasonic and a Kodak) before I decided on this JVC. The deciding factor was that this one is waterproof and is capable of time lapse.

Upon what must have been a delayed release, I finally got mine today and must say I am glad I went with this one. There's a little weight to it as you hold it in your hand and cosmetically, well with all the ugly gadgets out there I have to give the designers at JVC props for making this an attractive, even sexy unit, one that I would not be ashamed to take home to Mother. I want to call this a matte finish or something... look at the high res pics and you'll see what I mean.

The quality of the video is as good as you would expect. I am hoping that future software updates will be more feature rich. You can record audio but there don't seem to be any options or settings with regard to the quality. I'm assuming it's recording in mp3 format and if it is, I'd prefer to be able to select the bit rate (320kbps). The time lapse feature is cool and I'd love to see the ability to shoot at a very high frame rate so as to be able to capture a water balloon popping. Overall, the user interface is simple and will not take long at all to get used to.

If you plan to do a lot of time-lapse you'll want to purchase the optional power adapter which will cost you about $35 (Ouch!). Get yourself a 32gb SDHC card and a 2tb external hard drive and you'll be good to go. I won't be able to test the waterproof feature until next Summer. Finally, I can't comment on the on-board editing software because I use a professional editing suite. I'm sure it'll suit most basic needs.

Peace

UPDATE: I had a chance on Monday to shoot some video at our local Zoo. I learned a couple of things worth noting. The battery fully charged does not last long. We weren't at the Zoo for even three hours and I ran out of juice before we left. It makes me wish the thing ran on batteries. The second point is the zoom...I'd advise against using it. If you watch this video, you'll see some outdoor/indoor stuff, and the use of the zoom. I'm noticing what is common among digital zooms, clarity is drastically sacrificed. The indoor shot of the bird is most obvious. I assume that both of these issues are similar to other cameras in the same category. Hopefully in ten years the battery life will be greatly improved. I can't help but wonder if a simplified interface wouldn't help conserve the battery power. Still, not a bad camera for the price.

I'm not sure how anyone could write a review for a WATERPROOF video camera without actually testing it in WATER. I bought this camera to take white water rafting last weekend.

Forget the touch screen; you don't even need to use it. Once you have the camera set up how you want it, hit the Screen Lock button. Then you just use the big red stop/record button. You can even use the video/picture button to quickly switch between videos and photos. I left the camera turned on for the entire 3-hour trip, strapped to my life vest. I could quickly lift it up, hit record, and catch some great videos. I was able to take some nice snapshots before and after the trip too.

The sound quality is about what you'd expect for this kind of camera, but you can clearly hear everyone in the raft, including the guide who was all the way in the back. I can't imagine why you would need much better sound quality than that.

The battery lasted for the whole trip, no problem. As far as charging it, it just uses a standard USB-mini connector, which you can find on just about every device manufactured these days. If you don't have a computer (seriously?), you can get a car adapter or a wall adapter for about $5, or you can get a USB battery backup pack for about $10 to $20.

This was $99 at Costco, and it came with a 4 Gb memory card which is good for about 45 minutes of HD Video. I swapped it out for a 16 Gb card for $20, which gave me 3 hours of recording time.

NOTE: The original video was shot in 1080p at 12850kbps. Amazon downsamples their videos to about the 700 kbps range and 480p resolution. Even YouTube cuts the bit rate for HD video in half. So, unfortunately, there isn't really a practical way to highlight the full quality of any HD video camera online. It does, however, accurately demonstrate the audio quality, and the waterproof functionality.

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GREAT video, either 1080P 30 FPS, or 720P 60 FPS (the faster frame rate is better for moving subjects). It also has modes for YouTube and Apple that I haven't tried yet and don't forget it does time lapse sequences as well!

The color touchscreen controls are very intuitive. You won't need the written manual.

I was disappointed by the stereo audio which sounds thin and phasey. (Perhaps I have a bad unit?)

It does a credible job of shooting stills, although they are not as sharp, nor do they have the dynamic range available in most $100 digital still cameras. But the submersible Picsio fits in your pocket and shoots great HD video!

Picsio also will record mp-3 stereo audio, but the audio quality is marginal in my unit. (I am talking myself into exchanging mine to see if the audio should really be better. Good audio should be technically easy to achieve compared to HD video.)

As an all-in-one camera, this waterproof Picsio is perfect except for the audio deficiency. The softer still shots are acceptable considering everything else this very well-made camera does.

Post script: I have discovered that I cannot return or exchange the unit due to my own ignorance of the Amazon 30 day return policy on electronics. My fault. Now I must send the unit to the JVC factory warranty repair center in Texas. This I will do since I think the audio on my unit is surely not up to specs. More later.

Later post script on 12JAN2011: I sent my Picsio to the JVC Repair Center in McAllen, Texas. About 10 days after sending it, a technician from the JVC Repair Center telephoned me to ask more specifically about the audio problems I had described. Being a retired radio and television broadcast engineer with some 50+ years experience, I described in scientific detail the audio problems my unit exhibited. The technician obligingly said that he would confer with JVC engineers on site and compare my unit to others known to be working properly. The next day the technician called back with the news that "all of them worked the same". He said there was nothing more he could do but to send it back which he did.

Now I again have this well-made camera with excellent video and the same very poor audio.

JVC has either screwed up in the design or in the repair of the Picsio.

My advice: Don't buy the JVC Picsio unless you're looking for a video only application. My Picsio is going to be relegated to duty as an overly expensive video-only security camera.

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There just wasn't anything in this offering from JVC that made us (or anyone we gave it to) actually want the PICSIO GC-WP10. The operating system makes the touch interface sluggish, unresponsive at times and unintuitive to use. If you are using to your iPhone, iPod Touch or Android device by now, going to this device to take pictures or video will be a step back.

As for the optics and resulting video or pictures (regardless of the resolution 1080p, 720p or otherwise), they looked on par with a totally average cell phone camera. We have seen higher quality (albeit lower resolution) video come out of our iPhone 4s or Android 2.2-enabled smart phones. We have certainly seen better images come out of our digital cameras with HD video recording support.

Given that the JVC PICSIO GC-WP10 is only waterproof to 10 feet and is currently retailing for $180, we strongly recommend you either look at buying a waterproof digital camera for the same money, or if you have a very nice point-and-shoot like the Canon S95, using that money to buy a waterproof housing for that camera to get superior quality pictures and video instead.

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There's a reason the price has dropped on this this $70 since I bought it less than three months ago: It's not very good, the reviews are tepid and it was overpriced for what you get.

The PRO's:

1) It is waterproof.

2) Attractive onscreen interface.

3) Big screen for viewing

The CON's:

1) Short battery life.

2) Touchscreen is problematic. Is the camera recording? Did I touch it hard enough to effect a change?

3) Screen is big, but only a small portion of it is used for monitoring while recording. And even worse, it's virtually impossible to see in bright light. You need to go indoors or find shade to see it while recording or to share those recordings with others. (A common problem, it would seem, with these glossy screens.)

4) Stereo recording, yes, but very low fidelity. Tinny and unappealing.

5) Poor performance in low light. Images get grainy and color fades quickly as the sun goes down.

6) Bulky compared to most flip cameras.

I really wanted to like this camera--spent $199 to get it last October. Then I sold it for $50 less a few weeks later on ebay. I don't know what the other waterproof flip cameras are like, but this one needs some serious work. Sorry JVC.