Selecting a winner from the 11 cameras in the lab was not an easy task. While there was a $1300 variation between the cheapest and the dearest, the difference in quality and features was not as obvious.

For example the Samsung D701i, which was the cheapest of the cameras, had more features than some of the cameras that were several hundred dollars dearer. The only problem was a question of reliability because the first unit to arrive at the Labs was inoperable.

The eventual winner -- the JVC GR-DX77 -- was selected on a combination of factors including price, ease of use, features and quality. Some of the telling factors it had in its favour, apart from price, were the quality of the LCD, its size and its superior USB drivers.

The new JVC GR-DX77 is the most compact -- although not the lightest -- digital video camera we've tested these Labs.
It is so compact that at first we weren't sure where the mini DV tape slotted in, until closer examination revealed that the camera is essentially a tape bay with lens attached.
Its slim Lithium-Ion battery sits on the side of the camera as opposed to just under the viewfinder and it is pressed against your right hand while you're filming. Although the battery does get warm during use, it is not uncomfortable.

The LCD screen on the GR-DX77 is a gem and is on the same level as the Sony DVD201E, which had the best LCD in the lab, and is easy to see even under intense lighting or bright sunlight. The screen is backlit to give extra clarity to the picture in extreme conditions.

But the greatest benefit this camera offers home and business users alike is its ability to stream video from DV tape over USB to your PC. This sets it apart from all but its fellow JVC D230 and the DVD cameras, which have the advantage of bundling each video sequence as a separate file for easy transfer.

The GR-DX77 is packed with a later version of ImageMixer than the Sony DVD201E camera and once you have the USB streaming driver installed it's a breeze to transfer your video footage onto the PC.

The only negative to this camera is the audio recording capabilities. Video playback has an audible hum sounding almost like static, caused by the sound the tape unit makes as it is recording. Because of the compact design of the camera the microphone is too close to the tape mechanism, however this can easily be avoided by plugging an external microphone into the auxiliary microphone jack.

Its hard to imagine how they packed so many features into such a compact design, but the GR-DX77 has night mode, an extensive manual filming mode, sepia and black and white filming capabilities, takes SD cards and can snapshot digital still images at 1024 x 768 resolution (just good enough to get a small print).