JVC GZ-HD3 Camcorder Review
By Michael Perlman
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
October 19, 2007
JVC’s GZ-HD7, released in early 2007, was the most professional-looking consumer camcorder in recent memory, which was half its problem. The impressive array of features drove the price past the comfort zone for many consumers, and the video quality could not match that of truly professional models. In a bid to win themselves back to that vital consumer audience, JVC delivered the GZ-HD3 – a considerably trimmed-down version of the HD7 that nonetheless retains a visual elegance and selection of winning features. But can it stand up against stiff competition from Canon and Sony?
In bright shooting environments, such as the outdoors or a well-lit room, the GZ-HD3 performs adequately. Its three 1/5-inch, 570,000-pixel CCDs churn out an image that is relatively saturated, yet sharper than most hard drive camcorders. One of the big issues with JVC’s HD Everios is their use of the MPEG-2 Transport Stream (TS) codec, which is somewhat of a third stream between the two leading codecs: HDV and AVCHD. Our tests show the compression quality is somewhere between the two – not as clean as HDV, but with fewer artifacts (blocky chunks and motion blurring) than AVCHD. The GZ-HD3’s resolution pales in comparison to Canon HV20 and Sony HDR-HC7, both HDV.
The GZ-HD3 starts to show its flaws in lower lighting conditions, which constitutes most indoor shooting. Without manual adjustments, the GZ-HD3’s image is quite noisy. The dominant camcorder in the consumer HD market, the Canon HV20 is the king of low light. Most competitors, including the Sony HDR-HC7 and Panasonic HDC-SD1, had some advantage over the GZ-HD3, appearing either brighter or cleaner.
For aspiring cinematographers, the GZ-HD3’s manual control suite will not disappoint, even though the step-up GZ-HD7 is equipped with more external buttons, independent aperture and shutter controls, and a manual focus ring – fantastic controls dropped on the GZ-HD3. Remaining controls are focused more on the joystick, and include exposure, Aperture and Shutter Priority modes, and a manual focus control made useful with the inclusion of a peaking tool that casts a false color on all areas of the shot that are in focus. Making manual adjustments takes some practice because the GZ-HD3’s joystick is so small, but it beats Sony’s finicky touch screen.
In Auto mode, the GZ-HD3 is not so solid. Auto exposure and white balance are fairly inaccurate. This means the GZ-HD3’s image will be blown out or display incorrect skin tones in most shooting environments. These can be easily corrected with the manual controls, but this won’t suit the large portion of camcorder owners who have no intention of going beyond point-and-shoot operation. On the bright side, however, the GZ-HD3’s auto focus performs smoothly and accurately. A handful of Scene modes are available to fit a particular shooting environment, such as Snow, Spotlight, or Twilight. Physically, the GZ-HD3 is a beast, easily taking the “bulkiest consumer camcorder” award. The GZ-HD3 is a close second, looming over the Canon HV20 and Sony HDR-HC7.
The GZ-HD3 records 1440 x 1080 HD video to a 60 GB internal hard disk drive (HDD). HDD camcorders are convenient because they do not require fragile, removable media – just hit record and enjoy more than 5 hours of continuous recording. The MPEG-2 TS compression will likely run into compatibility issues with your editing software. Fortunately, the GZ-HD3 offers one shooting mode (called 1440 CBR) that is essentially identical to HDV, which enjoys wide compatibility. The GZ-HD3 ships with PowerProducer and PowerDirector software, which is slow and tedious, but ultimately effective at creating simple home movies and exporting them to DVD or the Internet.
JVC certainly knows how to design a camcorder with looks that kill. This black beauty is solidly constructed, offers a decent gamut of manual controls, and provides hassle-free HDD recording. On the downside, its video performance just can’t ante up to the reigning HDV champion, the Canon HV20. Even Canon’s debut HDD model, the HG10, performs better. The GZ-HD3 is a lot closer to the mark than the GZ-HD7, but the losses sustained in between the two are hard to accept, particularly the loss of optical image stabilization and a viewfinder, two items seemingly required at the $1,000-plus level. The Canon HV20 and HG10 offer better image quality, and the Sony HDR-SR7 and HDR-UX7 offer better ease of use and auto controls. In addition, the Panasonic HDC-SD1 and HDC-SX5 offer an enhanced manual control set. JVC is left in the middle, with a smattering of each. Those loyal to the JVC brand may find its virtues winning, but the GZ-HD3 is not likely to win many converts.
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