Canon Vixia HF S10

The JVC GZ-HM400 is an interesting foil to the Canon lineup. It offers significantly better video performance than the HD300, which we reviewed earlier this year, and has a lot more bells and whistles than the GZ-X900. This is JVC’s offering for more serious videophiles and it is definitely tough competition for the HF S10.In fact, the HM400 proved itself to be a powerhouse of color accuracy and sharp, smooth footage—outpacing the HF S10 in all the bright light testing.

Unfortunately, the HM400 couldn’t keep up with the excellent performance in dimmer lighting conditions. Footage was incredibly dark and there are no alternate frame rates to help boost sensitivity. If you plan to do a lot of shooting in darker environments, the HF S10 isn’t exactly a champion, but it’s a better choice than the HM400.

The HF S10 also excels in manual controls. Aperture and shutter speed cannot be controlled independently, but there is a wealth of extra color and image controls.

Where the HM400 does come out on top is in the stabilization department. Even the HF S11’s new Dynamic stabilization mode can’t match the testing results of the HM400, which showed significant improvement with its single optical stabilization level activated. If stabilization is important to you, the HM400 is certainly an interesting model to consider.

And, of course, there’s one thing that will really compel users to select the top-of-the-line JVC over its Canon counterpart: price. You get a lot of camcorder for just $1000 (or less, if you shop around). This is why we awarded the HM400 our runner-up for best value. A savings of $200 is considerable in this day and age. For people less interested in the bells and whistles offered by the HF S10, that may be $200 you can’t turn down.