JVC Everio GZ-HD40 – good quality but confusing menu system
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Great video quality, full manual controls, two options for recording.
Thumbs Down:
Menu system is confusing, the design has some issues, like strap is placed a bit low, no optical image stabilization.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
JVC Everio GZ-HD40 is a 1080i camcorder, with 200x digital zoom, Effective Sensor Resolution is 2.68 mega pixels, video storage format options are MPEG- 1 & 2, H.264 and AVCHD. Images are stored in JPEG format. Camcorder Sensor Resolution is 2.68 mega pixels, image storage resolution options are JPEG 640 x 480, JPEG 1440 x 1080, JPEG 1824 x 1368, JPEG 1920 x 1080, JPEG 2432 x 1368. For storing content, the camcorder comes with 120 GB hard disk and the microSDHC card slot can take up to 8 GB of cards.
The camcorder has zoom lens – 4.5 mm – 45 mm – F/1.8-2.2, the focal length is 4.5 mm – 45 mm, lens aperture is F/1.8-2.2, optical zoom is 10x, minimum focal length is 4.5 mm, maximum focal length is 45 mm, filter size is 43 mm. Additional features include Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording, PRINT Image Matching, DPOF support. Bundled software includes JVC Digital Photo Navigator, CyberLink PowerProducer, CyberLink PowerDirector, CyberLink PowerCinema, CyberLink BD Solution, Drivers & Utilities, Cyberlink PowerDVD. The camcorder comes with a shoulder strap. The display screen on the device is 2.8 inches big.
Connectors on the device include 1 x Docking station, 1 x Headphones, 1 x DC power input, 1 x Microphone, 1 x Component video output, 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x USB, 1 x HDMI output. Supported operating systems are Apple Mac OS X 10.4.4 or later, MS Windows Vista, MS Windows XP. System requirements are MacOS X 10.4.4 or later – PowerPC G4 – 512 MB, Windows Vista – Core Duo – 2 GB – 750 MB, Windows XP – Core Duo – 1 GB – 750 MB. Included cables are Component video cable, USB cable, A/V cable. The battery supported is JVC BN-VF815 and the unit is powered by JVC BN-VF815 Li-ion rechargeable battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
We appreciate the fact that JVC has managed to keep the device compact in spite of the presence of a 120 GB hard disk in the body. The gadget is 2.9 inches wide, 4.9 inches deep, 2.7 inches high and weighs about 1.2 pounds.
Inside Dope:
This camcorder is really a great device from JVC. It costs about $1299.99 and supports AVCHD along with MPEG-2 TS, JVC’s traditional format. There is a single CCD sensor unlike previous models which had three. The quality of video is good and on par with competitors like Sony and Canon. On the front, there is a 10x f1.8-2.2 50-500mm-equivalent lens but there is no optical image stabilization, all you get is Electronic Image stabilization. A stereo microphone is located on the top of the devices’ body. The shoe cover is not attached to the camcorder and hence it can easily fall off and get lost. The strap is also located too low and hence gripping the GZ-HD40 is not as comfortable as other camcorders, it easily flops to the side with a little relaxation of the grip.
The GZ-HD40 has a 2.8 inch LCD display and opening it will give you a host of buttons in the cavity. There is Direct DVD which lets you write the content on to discs without a computer, Play/Rec for toggling the Playback mode and back, Focus Assist, Power button and Delete. Rest of the controls are located on the left side of the screen like Index and menu buttons and the navigation button.
Connectivity ports include AV, HDMI and there are also component outputs behind the device which include headphone and mic input. Finally there is a USB miniconnector beneath the LED lamp. There is a switch on the left of the lens for manually opening and closing the cover. On the bottom of the camcorder, there is a microSDHC card slot for putting in stills and videos. Cards up to 8 GB are accepted and you can only put AVCHD videos in it. For MPEG-2 TS videos, you will have to use the internal memory.
The Everio HD40 has plenty of manual controls for brightness, aperture priority, shutter priority, sharpness, exposure and white balance. There is manual focus too; it is controlled by a stick located on the left side of the display screen. JVC also gives you Focus Assist feature that lets you see what’s in the focus.
We dread the confusion that usually comes with camcorders when you want to change the settings. HD40 belongs to one of them. For instance, if you want to change between AVCHD and MPEG-2, you will have to go to the Basic Settings from the Menu, and then choose either SD video which is AVCHD or MPEG-2. Then you will have to come out of this, go to Menu, then Video Quality and then select the recording speed. You probably won’t be changing this system too much often but this gives you an idea about how convoluted the system is.
For AVCHD, the speed recording options are 5 Mbps EP mode, SP mode at 12 Mbps and the most expensive 17 Mbps XP mode. The other format, MPEG-2 TS records 26.6 Mbps .TOD files variable bit rate at full HD setting or 27 Mbps in 1440 constant bit rate. The hard disk inside, can store 15 hours of compressed AVCHD video format at XP level or 10 hours of FHD MPEG-2 clips.
Video quality of the HD40 was really impressive. Colors aren’t natural, they look saturated but it enhances the HD video quality and look pleasing. When in Auto mode, the White balance was dull and warm, we will recommend you to use one of the three presets (Halogen, Cloud or Fine) or use the Manual white balance option. Low light performance too was good and even though we noticed some off-color noise, we won’t complain much because this is not uncommon in dim light situations.
Photo quality of this device isn’t impressive; it is just like a camera phone.
Nitty Gritty:
Looking at the price, the JVC Everio GZ-HD40 is really worth it considering the features it has to offer. We would have liked Optical Image Stabilization in the device but we will still recommend this camcorder if you are not too intimidated with the convoluted system for changing the settings.
