JVC GZ-HM200

Compression (6.50)

The GZ-HM200 records video in the AVCHD format, which uses the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec. This is the same compression system used on all of JVC’s consumer HD camcorders (with the exception of the Picsio pocket cams). AVCHD is very common amongst consumer HD camcorders that record to memory cards, internal flash memory, or internal hard drives. The format was developed by Panasonic and Sony, but it has since been adopted by both Canon and JVC as well. Only Samsung and Sanyo stand out as major manufacturers who do not use AVCHD. (They use generic MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression without the AVCHD container.)

As we say in all our reviews of AVCHD camcorders, AVCHD footage captured by the GZ-HM200 can be very difficult to work with. AVCHD clips hold a lot of information, which means they can run sluggishly on any operating system and can take a while to transfer from the camcorder to a computer. Also, AVCHD files must be imported using special software or an editing program that is compatible with AVCHD. Most new editing programs can handle AVCHD, however, so you shouldn’t have any trouble as long as your software is up-to-date.

The GZ-HM200 has four quality options for recording HD video, but the camcorder has no standard definition recording option. Each quality setting uses a different bitrate, with the camcorder topping out at 24 Mbps—the maximum bitrate allowed for AVCHD. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various high definition compression types.

Media (6.00)

The GZ-HM200 features two SD/SDHC memory card slots that can both be loaded with memory cards simultaneously. The camcorder only records video to one card at a time, but you can arrange the HM200 to automatically switch over to the second card once the first one fills up—with no loss of data or stoppage of recording in between.

This is a very smart feature for JVC to include, since it increases the maximum storage capacity on the HM200 to 64GB (with two 32GB cards loaded at the same time). Camcorders that only offer one memory card slot have a maximum capacity of just 32GB. This also means you can save some cash by purchasing lower-capacity SD/SDHC cards and doubling them up (i.e. going for two 16GB cards rather than one 32GB card might save you some money). Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.

Still Features (8.45)

Compared to any dedicated still-image camera, the GZ-HM200 doesn’t offer much. The camcorder takes photos at a maximum resolution of 1920 × 1080, which is just over 2 megapixels. This isn’t very impressive, even for a mid-range camcorder. The HM200 also has no built-in flash (as well as no accessory shoe to mount an external flash), no ISO control, and very few photo size options.

The GZ-HM200 does have a self-timer function that can be set to 2 seconds, 10 seconds, or Face Detection. The Face Detection timer automatically snaps a photo when the camcorder registers a new face within the frame. The function works surprisingly well and it is useful when you’re trying to take a large group photo. The HM200 also has a continuous shooting mode that lets you take photos for as long as you hold down the shutter button. JVC doesn’t list any specs about how many shots per second the camcorder will take in this mode, but, in our testing, it seemed like the camcorder took about 4-5 photos per second.

Most of the manual controls that are available in video mode can also be used in photo mode. Scene modes, focus adjustment, exposure control, shutter speed, white balance, digital effects, backlight, photometry area, and tele macro are all functional in photo mode. You can also use the video light in photo mode, although it doesn’t work very well (and isn’t nearly as helpful as a built-in flash would be).

The GZ-HM200’s still color scores weren’t bad, but we expected much better considering the camcorder did so well in our video color testing. The HM200 measured a color error of 4.53 with a saturation level of 115.7% in its still images. These numbers are average for a mid-range camcorder, but the Panasonic HDC-SD20 and the JVC GZ-HM400 both did better on this test.

This isn’t to say the HM200’s still photos didn’t look good. They certainly did, and the colors rendered by the camcorder were very strong and vivid (perhaps a bit over saturated). The camcorder had better color accuracy than the Canon HF20, which captured neon-like blue tones, and the colors looked stronger than the what the Panasonic HDC-SD20 managed.

The GZ-HM200 didn’t do too bad in our still noise testing either, though it had higher noise levels here than in our bright light video test. The camcorder measured 0.82% noise, which is better than the Canon HF20 and JVC GZ-HM400, but worse than the Panasonic HDC-SD20.

With a maximum photo resolution of 1920 × 1080, we didn’t expect the GZ-HM200 to do much with our still sharpness test. The camcorder measured a horizontal sharpness of 898 lw/ph with 14.4% oversharpening, and a vertical sharpness of 720 lw/ph with 4.6% oversharpening. In reality, these numbers aren’t that bad for a camcorder that offers such a low maximum photo resolution. These are better numbers than the Panasonic HDC-SD20 was capable of and that camcorder also tops out with 1920 × 1080 stills. Of course, this is nothing compared to some of the supreme photo/video hybrid models out there. The JVC GZ-HM400, with its 8-megapixel photo capability, captured much sharper still images (2329 lw/ph horizontal, 1800 lw/ph vertical). You’d also get a much better still performance by simply purchasing a cheap, low-end, digital camera instead of using the GZ-HM200 to snap photos.