Labs

The GR-D23 is the entry-level model in JVC's range of MiniDV cameras, but you wouldn't guess it from the specification. With its 16x optical zoom, integrated lamp and handy DV-in/out, it can convincingly compete in the same league as many far more expensive models. However, if there's one thing that might give the JVC's low price away, it's the ugly duckling looks.

Compact as this camera is, there's still enough space for the controls to have been arranged more sensibly than they actually are. Just in front of the extremely tactile zoom control is a wheel that makes light work of navigating the menu, and in conjunction with a nearby button, it doubles as a manual focus control. It's a shame the night mode and backlight buttons are tucked away behind the LCD screen, though. These act as fast-forward and rewind controls during playback, so why are the adjacent play and stop buttons redundant during filming? They would have made great exposure shift controls.

The camera feels reasonably comfortable to hold, although it could do with more palpable grip at the top. The viewfinder and LCD are both colour screens and are bright and clear, but the viewfinder is fixed in a horizontal position, which isn't terribly practical.

Image quality was never poor in our tests, but compared to the other cameras' output, the GR-D23's colours looked a little bland. There were plenty of

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positives to make up for this, though. The 16x zoom lens produced sharp images even at the extremes of its range, and although the digital image stabilisation isn't as smooth as Canon's, it still makes a big difference when zooming right in without the aid of a tripod.

Indoor shots showed barely any signs of image noise, but skin tones were a little washed out. Reducing the exposure by a couple of stops helped, and we were also able to fix the problem with video editing software, although this could become tedious if it had to be done routinely. Fortunately, the camera remembers any manual settings you make for the next time you power it up - which is a help. It also has a separate automatic mode, so you can switch between default and custom setups without any hassle.

We have no complaints with the GR-D23's performance in very low light. It did a fine job with or without its built-in lamp switched on, capturing reasonably smooth, sharp video where others struggled. Sound quality was generally excellent too, with plenty of warmth in speech and music tests, although motor noise was more of a problem than with the Canon and Sharp camcorders.

The GR-D23 isn't particularly glamorous, but looks aren't as important as features. What counts is how well the camera performs. On this score, we really can't fault the GR-D23. Its images, though not the best here, are good enough to make viewing a pleasure. It manages well in low-light conditions thanks, in part, to its integrated lamp. Its image stabilisations software was good enough to compensate for the inevitable hand-shakes and the manual controls were well arranged and comfortable to use. Even at a higher price we'd have been pleased with its performance, which was generally excellent. At £250 it was a bargain, and worth every single penny.

If you don't want to pay the extra for the Canon MV700i, the JVC offers you all the facilities you need to make enjoyable home-movies for over fifty pounds less.