/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

JVC

Name

GZ-HM845

HD Everio GZ-HD7

European name ?

GZ-HM845

HD Everio GZ-HD7EX

US name ?

GZ-HM845

HD Everio GZ-HD7

lowest US price

(699) $

On the market since

April 2011

April 2007

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

MPEG2-TS

Recording Medium

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

Built-in hard disk
SD Card

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

HDV 1440 x 1080/50i
HD 1920 x 1080i

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i

HDV 1440 x 1080/60i
HD 1920 x 1080i

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

30 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

MPEG2

on-board memory ?

8 GB

60 GB

Optics

Optics Manufacturer ?

JVC HD

Fujinon

Optical Zoom ?

10 x

Wide Angle 16:9 ?

29,5 mm

39,5 mm

Filter diameter ?

- mm

46 mm

Image Stabilization ?

optically and electronically

optical

ND Filter ?

Exchangable optics ?

Image Sensor

Number of sensors ?

Size of image sensor ?

1/2,33 inch

1/5 inch

image sensor effective pixel count 16:9 ?

530000 Pixel

Image Sensor Type ?

CMOS

CCD

Controls

White Balance ?

auto
manual
presets

Focus ?

auto
manual

Minimum shutter time ?

1/4000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

Infrared recording ?

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off
70%
100%

Histogram ?

Yes

adjustable sharpness ?

Adjustable color ?

Cinegamma ?

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Yes

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

Out

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

Headphones ?

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

Standard

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

330 g

665 g

Weight (with battery)

370 g

750 g

Battery type

JVC BN-VG114E

JVC BN-VF815

Battery capacity

1400 mAh

1460 mAh

Charger ?

internal

Remote control

Yes

Size

Height

54 mm

91 mm

Width

62 mm

77 mm

Depth

121 mm

186 mm

Relative Size ?

Viewfinder

Viewfinder available ?

Yes

Color Viewfinder ?

Color

Viewfinder format ?

16:9

Viewfinder pixels ?

269000 Pixel

Display

Display available ?

Yes

Color display ?

Color

Display size

3,5 Inch

2,8 Inch

Display format ?

16:9

Display pixels ?

920000 Pixel

207000 Pixel

Touch Screen ?

Yes

External controls

Manual Zoom ?

Rocker

Manual Focus ?

Ring

Manual Aperture ?

button

Focus switcher ?

Yes

ND Filter ?

Exp Lock ?

Gain ?

White balance ?

Push AF ?

Yes

Audio Levels ?

Custom Keys ?
synonymous: User buttons

Audio

Audio Formats ?

Dolby AC-3 Digital 2 channel 48 KHz

MPEG-1 Layer2

Microphone ?

Stereo internal

Audio Control ?

auto

Audio levels ?

Still

Recording Medium ?

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

SD Card

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

Resolutions ?

3968 x 2976 - Max

1920x1080
1440x1080
640x480
1024 x 768

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

Sufficient

Resolution ?

Very good

Sufficient

Color performance ?

Good

subj.Picture impression ?

Good

Satisfactory

Optical Zoom ?

Sufficient

Wide Angle ?

Excellent

Sufficient

Configuration / image ?

Satisfactory

Configuration / sound ?

Poor

Handling ?

Satisfactory

Good

Portability ?

Very good

Photo function ?

Satisfactory

Sufficient

Optics ?

Good

Sufficient

Dynamics ?

Good

Satisfactory

Conclusion slashCAM

slashCAM rating ?

Good

Sufficient

Total score ?
(maximal 570)

378

252

Pros

+ Lowlight
+ wide angle

+ HDV-compatible disk recording
+ High color resolution
+ good manual settings

Cons

- few manual control options
- Complicated operation

- No FullHD
- Bad low light performance
- small wide angle

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.

The JVC GZ-HD7 provides full 1920x1080 pixels for recording, which does not result in a visible improvement in recording quality, though.The recording mode 1440x1080 suffices for a full image performance with a good color resolution.The subjective image impression is satisfactory; when recording images with low contrast the details diminish due to the significant contour.In terms of color the GZ-HD7 is quite rich, the white balance on the other hand is often slow.With little light, the image grows quickly gloomy despite of the three CCDs, which combined with the relatively small wide-angle makes it less suitable for interior shots.Our test pattern also showed significant blurs and aberrations on the right border, which might suggest a not quite correctly built-in lens.

More information

Reviews and Forums