/// HD Camcorder Comparison

Picture ?

Manufacturer

JVC

Canon

Name

GZ-HM845

HG10

European name ?

GZ-HM845

HG10

US name ?

GZ-HM845

VIXIA HG10

lowest US price

(699) $

920 $

On the market since

April 2011

October 2007

Manufacturers URL

Test preview

slashCAM rating ?

Good

not yet tested

test picture 1200 Lux

Test image 12 lux auto-mode

Video

Video formats ?

AVCHD

Recording Medium

SDHC card
built-in flash memory
SDXC card

Built-in hard disk

video resolutions EU ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/50i

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/50i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/25p

video resolutions US ?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080/60i

AVCHD 1440 x 1080/60i
AVCHD 1440 x 1080/24p

Max Bitrate ?

24 Mbit/s

15 Mbit/s

Compression format ?

MPEG4

on-board memory ?

8 GB

40 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 ?

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

Focus ?

auto
manual

auto

Minimum shutter time ?

1/4000

1/2.000

Maximum shutter time ?

1/2

Apperture control ?

auto
manual

auto
manual
AE-Shift

Infrared recording ?

Yes

Expanded Focus ?

Yes

Peaking ?

Yes

Signal Processing

Zebra ?

Off

Histogram ?

adjustable sharpness ?

Yes

Adjustable color ?

Yes

Cinegamma ?

Yes

Black Strech ?

Knee ?

Colorbars ?

Misc.

Shot Transition ?

Custom Presets ?

Set Time Code ?

Configuration

Connections

FBAS ?
synonymous: RCA, composite

Out

YC ?
synonymous: S-Video

YUV ?
synonymous: Component Signal

Out

HDMI ?

Out

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

USB ?

USB 2.0

Microphone / Audio input ?

Mini-jack

Headphones ?

Mini-jack

Lanc ?

Time-code interface ?

Genlock ?

Accessory shoe ?

HD-SDI ?

Misc.

Weight (without battery)

330 g

505 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

81 mm

Width

62 mm

75 mm

Depth

121 mm

129 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 ?

Joystick

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

Microphone ?

Stereo internal

Audio Control ?

auto

Audio levels ?

Still

Recording Medium ?

built-in flash memory
SDHC card
SDXC card

MiniSD

Medium included ?

Effective pixels ?

2760000 Pixel

Resolutions ?

3968 x 2976 - Max

1920x1080
1440x1080
848x480
640x480
2048 x 1536

Standard ?

JPEG Exif 2.2

Flash ?

Yes

Misc.

Specials

25 P-Mode

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.

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