Design
Even though the GZ-MS130 is a compact flash memory camcorder, it's very comfortable to use and looks and feels nice, despite being entirely plastic. The battery takes up most of the back, but there's just enough room for the record start/stop button to the right of it. On top are the zoom rocker and a snapshot button. You can take stills while shooting video, but there's also a tiny switch on the left side of the body that gives you access to more snapshot features.
To the left of that switch sits a button to flip between play and record, and a power button — the camcorder can also be set to turn on and off when you open and close the 2.7-inch LCD screen. There is a row of one-touch buttons — Upload, Direct DVD and Export — that work in concert with the bundled software. So, to utilise the camera's YouTube direct uploading feature you need to install this software first.
What is nice is that if you know that a clip is destined for YouTube, you can press the Upload button before you start shooting and the GZ-MS130 will automatically limit the movie to 10 minutes, meeting the site's length requirements. Also on the top left side of the body is the SD/SDHC slot.
The only weak part of the design is the strap. It's an interesting design, functioning as both a wrist strap and grip belt, but it's thin and low on the body, so you're always fighting to keep the camcorder upright.
Interface
JVC's Laser Touch controls are not for everyone. JVC has tweaked the system on the GZ-MS130, and now it's easier to use, has more features attached to it and, combined with a slightly reworked menu system, it's actually more pleasurable to use. We still wish, though, that we could just tap the strip to select things instead of needing to finger a separate OK button.
New elements include using the strip to the left of the screen for controlling the zoom and a Record button below the screen. This makes it possible to comfortably control the camcorder while holding it overhand when shooting subjects like small children and animals.
Features
Shooting options are actually a bit better than expected for what's essentially an entry-level camcorder. While the GZ-MS130 performed well in full Auto mode, at the push of a touch-sensitive button you can switch over to manual control for focus, brightness, shutter speed and white balance.
You also get a few recording effects including Classic Film, which skips frames to give video an old movie look and Strobe that makes recordings look like a series of consecutive snapshots. Other options include a handful of scene modes and backlight compensation.
Performance and video quality
The GZ-MS130 records MPEG-2 video (MOD) of which the Ultra Fine version comes in at 8.5Mbps. That gives you a little less than 15 minutes for every 1GB of storage — therefore the 16GB of built-in memory should be good for about four hours of video. Honestly, it's the only setting you'd want to record at with the GZ-MS130, but there are three more options going down to Eco at 1.5Mbps for up to nearly 40 hours of built-in recording time. Should that be insufficient, the camera can also record to SD/SDHC cards.
If you stick to the intended use of sharing video on the web and you plan to shoot primarily outdoors during daylight, the MS130's 0.8-megapixel sensor and 35x optical zoom lens will produce satisfying results. However, our low-light videos were above average quality too. Save for some purple fringing that's typical of this class of camcorders, the results are good enough to view on larger TVs; just don't expect high-definition detail and clarity.
Colours were pleasing with acceptable white balance in natural light. There are no incandescent or fluorescent presets for white balance, but a manual option is available and there's a halogen setting for use with the built-in LED lamp up front.
Photos are 640x480 and are of characteristic quality for standard-def camcorders — good enough for the web or very small prints.
Conclusion
The JVC Everio GZ-MS130 is a fairly typical standard-def camcorder. If you're in need of a simple, small camcorder for web-ready videos, this'll get the job done and give you more flexibility than a pocket camcorder can offer.
1%
1%
