/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

JVC

Canon

Name

GZ-HM845

HV40

European name ?

GZ-HM845

Legria HV40

US name ?

GZ-HM845

VIXIA HV40

lowest US price

(699) $

585 $

On the market since

April 2011

April 2009

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

MiniDV
HDV

Recording Medium

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

MiniDV/HDV-Cassette

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/50i
MiniDV 720 x 576/25F
HDV 1440 x 1080/25p

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HDV 1440 x 1080/24p
HDV 1440 x 1080/30p
MiniDV 720 x 480/60i
720 MiniDV x480/24p

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

25 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

DV
MPEG2

on-board memory ?

8 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

JVC HD

Canon

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

29,5 mm

43,6 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

43 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

optical

ND Filter ?

Yes

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2,33 inch

1/2,7 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

2070000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

auto
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/4000

1/2.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Adjustable color ?

Cinegamma ?

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

DV / HDV (FireWire) ?
synonymous: ILink / IEEE-1394

In
Out

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack
Cinch

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

330 g

535 g

Weight (with battery)

370 g

Battery type

JVC BN-VG114E

Canon BP-2L13

Battery capacity

1400 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

54 mm

82 mm

Width

62 mm

88 mm

Depth

121 mm

138 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

123000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

2,7 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

920000 Pixel

211000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Manual Aperture ?

Focus switcher ?

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

MiniDV: 2x48kHz 16bit PCM
MiniDV: 4x32kHz 12bit PCM
HDV: 2x48kHz 16bit MPEG 1

Microphone ?

Stereo internal

Audio Control ?

auto

manual

Audio levels ?

Still

Recording Medium ?

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

MiniSD

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

3968 x 2976 - Max

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
2048 x 1536

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

Product Shots

View 1

View 2

Test results

Test pictures

luminance resolution

chrominance resolution

lens distortion

test small ISO image

noise / internal microphone

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode ?

Test image 12 lux optimized ?

slashCAM rating

Lowlight ?

Very good

Resolution ?

Very good

Color performance ?

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Excellent

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Poor

Handling ?

Satisfactory

Portability ?

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Optics ?

Good

Dynamics ?

Good

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

378

Pros

+ Lowlight
+ wide angle

Cons

- few manual control options
- Complicated operation

Conclusion

The JVC GZ-HM960 is a very sharp camera with a solid technical foundation, but unfortunately it doesn´t recommend itself for ambitious videographers.Too little manual control is offered along with the otherwise very up-to-date technical specs.Rather, the GZ-HM960 will appeal to users who are interested in technical gadgets.The 3D mode, however, is no comparison to real 3D camcorders and should be seen more as a gimmick.The similarly constructed but cheaper GZ-HM845 on the other hand, would be a pretty interesting device in its price class, if only JVC would have enabled more manual features.In its 1000 Euro price class the competition by now allows more manual control.

More information

Reviews and Forums

Canon VIXIA HV40 with live stream over Firewire / 1394?

slashCAM Review

external reviews/tests

Forum posts

Without Cam I feel "naked"! ... Reservecam as HV40 vs SD707?

Canon HV40 drive problem