Nice one JVC... Real Nice... But...

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great price ($360). Great video. 1.33 megapixel stills up to 1600x1200. Lots of options.

Cons: Too small for large hands. LED "headlights" are practically useless. "Night Alive" is totally useless.

The Bottom Line: 
This is my first foray into digital photography, and I'm feeling more, and more disillusioned with my purchase.

Author's Review
This is my first digital camera/camcorder. I wanted to shelve my bulky JVC VHS-C camcorder (GR-AX730U), and also put away my old 35mm camera, for a unit that combined the features of both. Though each performed reasonably well, it just became a hassle trying to take them both to family events. What would invariably happen is I’d settle on taking stills and the camcorder would never be used, or vice-versa. After a couple of weeks of research on digital photography I chose this model, even though at the time of my purchase (2APR05) there were no reviews for this model ANYWHERE. It’s not "top of the line" by any stretch, but I didn’t have $1,000 - to $1,500 to sink into a camera, and this offers everything I felt I needed to get started.
Now the good stuff:

There was only one local retailer offering the GR-D94 in my area: HHGregg with an advertised price of $399. (They went on sale the next day for 10% off and I was able to get $40 back.) I went in and checked it out and was informed by the salesman that although these cams were new they'd proven to be very popular. I bought the camera and it was equipped with:
AC power adapter/battery charger
16MB SD card (for still photos)
Lithium-Ion battery pack
A/V cable (3 RCA to 1 3/8" mini-plug
4ft USB 2.0 cable
2 software CD's w/ ImageMixer 1.7 & USB drivers & JVC Video Community programs.
*Please note that you'll NEED Firewire ports & cable to transfer high resolution video to your pc.

HHGregg also had a special offer where if you got a JVC digital camcorder, they gave you a free "starter kit" which included a carrying case, 1-60min MiniDV cassette, and best of all a 5 HOUR battery pack. This alone saved me a bundle of $$$ because I'd gone there planning to buy a camera bag, and an extra battery.

After getting the camera home and charging the battery I was ready for my first adventures in digital photography.

And I was at first incredibly disappointed.

The first thing I noticed was that even though I'd handled a display model at the store, this camera seemed tiny now. It's only about 4 1/2 inches (11.5cm) from lens to viewfinder, and the palm of my hand measures the same across. My hand threatened to fold around the camera while my long fingers felt like they would wrap over the camera twice! It makes it somewhat difficult to manipulate the controls on top when you have to fold your fingers so far back against themselves to do anything. Stills can be taken in the following resolutions: 640x480, 1024x768, 1280x960, or 1600x1200, in "Standard" or "Fine" quality. I took the first stills of my wife indoors at night under incandescent light. They emerged with a very orange color, and were all quite blurry. I tried using the LED lights but they turned everything blue, and were only good up to a few feet directly in front to the camera. After switching from "Auto" to "Manual" mode and tweaking the settings a bit (Manual white balance; Auto Gain; and Manual exposure up a notch) I was able to get good colors. The blurriness remained until I realized this wasn't my 35mm Canon, so the shutter speed is much slower. With this in mind I made it a point to steady the camera with both hands while taking stills. Also instead of pressing the shutter button on top of the camera (which just seems to add to the camera movement) I use the snapshot button on the remote. There's also the issue of a pronounced "lag" of about 3-5 seconds after you take a still as the picture is written to the memory card. (The camera displays a preview of the picture as it's being saved.) But after asking about this at the local RadioShack I was informed that this is common among digital cameras. I've since replaced the included 16MB multimedia card with a 256MB SD memory card to store more stills.

The video features were actually why I got this particular cam with the ability to link directly to my pc via Firewire being a plus. You'll need to supply your own Firewire ports & cable (Get a PCI card for your pc if you don't have them) to transfer video from this camera though you'd have to delve deep into the JVC website to find this little nugget of information. They really don't make it clear that if you want to transfer video YOU MUST use Firewire. I was able to get a 4-port PCI Firewire card complete with 4to6-pin cable at CompUSA for $30 (Saved me $40 from buying the cable separately.) You can use USB to transfer low quality VCD video (352x240; 1150Kpbs bitrate) using the ImageMixer software, but really what's the point? The camera captures in DVD quality 720x480; 28,000Kbps with 48k sound. Colors are rich and the picture is sharp though I did notice some blockiness during quick sweeps, or instances of camera shakiness. The image stabilization wasn't turned on during my initial test so I'm not sure whether it would make a difference or not.

The biggest selling point of all for me was the issue of analog pass through. I can connect my VCR or another camcorder to this camera using the included RCA cables and record VHS and VHS-C tapes to digital cassettes. I've since copied a small collection of VHS-C tapes to MiniDV cassettes to be captured to my pc, edited, titled and burned to DVD without the scanlines, audio hiss, or poor picture quality that I get when I capture them using my WinTV capture card. You can also use the included RCA cables to attach the camera to a TV or VCR to playback or record your video & stills.

Another issue is the battery "charger". My camera came with an A/C adapter that can plug into the camera and allow you to save battery power, however the cord is very short, (only 5ft) while the camera itself is the battery charger. To charge you need to turn off the camera with the battery attached and the A/C cord plugged in. But doing it this way doesn't allow you to charge your backup battery while using another.

As to the durability: I once dropped my old JVC VHS-C camcorder from a height of about 5ft. The eyepiece's ring cracked and the eyepiece itself popped off, but I was able to snap the eyepiece right back on & continue recording as if nothing had happened. The GR-D94 seems a bit too delicate to stand up to that kind of punishment. But I had my VHS-C camera for 6 years before dropping it. I'll make it a point to hold on tight to this new one.

All in all I'm pleased with the purchase of this camera. Sure there are some negatives, but I feel that the camera's pluses outweigh them.

On edit (5JUN05):

After using this camera for two months I must admit that I'm not so enamored with it now that two BIG issues have surfaced. The BIGGEST:

(1) The "Night Alive" mode which is supposed to allow filming and photos in low light situations is absolutely atrocious. Activating this mode results in terrible "strobing" or "ghosting" in the viewer which is also present in the recorded video. I would NOT have purchased this had I known that recording in low light would result in videos with a capture rate of 2fps(!) Photos snapped in "Night Alive" are dark, grainy, and blurry though the manual does recommend the use of a tripod for taking pics in this mode.

(2) The still photos really leave a lot to be desired. I know I probably shouldn't expect much from a 1.33 megapixel camera, but jeeze! Why is it that I can snap 20 pics, but only 2 of them are in focus?? Surely, I'm not expected to carry a tripod everywhere I go to use this thing.

I'm going to see if I can remove two stars from my orignal 5-star rating. Wish me luck!