JVC GZ-HM200

Video Sharpness (8.89)

Even though the JVC GZ-HM200 is a mid-range camcorder, it was able to capture a good amount of detail and a fairly sharp image in bright light. In our testing, the camcorder measured a horizontal sharpness of 500 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of 600 lw/ph. These numbers are slightly better than average for a camcorder of the HM200’s class, and they are better than what the Panasonic HDC-SD20 earned in the same test. Of course, high-end models like the JVC GZ-HM400 can get you a significantly sharper image—as can the Canon HF20, which put forth one of the best video sharpness performances we’ve seen this year. More on how we test video sharpness.

Stabilization (8.25)

The JVC GZ-HM200 is equipped with a digital image stabilization system (DIS), which is the same system found on all of JVC’s mid-range models (the GZ-X900 and GZ-HM400 feature optical image stabilization). The problem with digital stabilization is that it can result in degraded image quality when used because it uses a digital pixel-shifting process to reduce the shakiness of your video. Nevertheless, we found the system to work quite effectively on the HM200. The camcorder’s DIS reduced 54% of the shake in our low shake testing and 56% in our high shake testing. More on how we test stabilization.

The charts above show the HM200’s stabilization effectiveness quite clearly. The blue lines represent the camcorder’s motion without DIS engaged, while the more condensed orange lines show its movement with stabilization turned on. You can see the camcorder managed roughly a 50% shake reduction in each of our tests. Also notice how little the camcorder shook even with DIS turned off. This means the HM200 is weighted quite evenly and is a rather stable camcorder to begin with. Below is a video of the GZ-HM200’s stabilization system in action:

For those who have a strong dislike of digital stabilization systems, you should check out the Panasonic HDC-SD20. It did slightly better than the JVC GZ-HM200 in this test, but it is equipped with an optical stabilization system (OIS). This means turning the SD20’s stabilization on shouldn’t result in any loss of image quality. The Canon HF20 also has an optical stabilization system, but we didn’t find it to be very effective. The GZ-HM400’s optical system was quite good, although it produced similar results to the HM200’s digital stabilization system.