JVC GZ-HM400

Ease of Use (6.00)

Although the JVC GZ-HM400 is very similar to the GZ-X900, we found the HM400 to be a bit easier to use. The menus on the HM400 are less cluttered because features like aperture, shutter speed, focus, and exposure have been replaced on the body of the camcorder as dedicated buttons. This may confuse some people who cannot find these features anywhere in the camcorder’s menu, however, but it does make them easier to access on the fly. That is, once you figure out what each button controls. JVC doesn’t do a very good job helping beginners with the GZ-HM400—its instruction manual is terrible and the information box that appears in the menu is helpful, but limited.

The addition of the adjustment dial makes it easier to precisely adjust things like focus and exposure—and it is great for people who don’t like using the Laser Touch system. This makes the GZ-HM400 a much easier camcorder to use for advanced videographers who are accustomed to using control rings, dials, etc. The Laser Touch system is definitely unique and takes some getting used to no matter what your experience level is.

The HM400 does have a dedicated Auto mode, although it isn’t as easy to find, nor as cut-and-dry as some of the ‘easy’ modes found on other camcorders (we’re thinking of Sony here). The only way to access most manual controls is to enter manual mode and then go into the camcorders Manual Settings menu (which isn’t available in Auto mode). The great thing about this setup is that in Manual mode you can select what features you want to control manually while keeping other features in automatic control.

The ‘one-touch’ features touted by JVC as being able to upload to YouTube or Export to iTunes aren’t as easy to use as they sound. The fact that you have to press these buttons before you start shooting make them unintuitive and more of a hassle than they need to be. See the Editing section of this review for further information about these features.

JVC organizes its menus all under one heading, which is accessed by pressing the Menu button the LCD panel. The problem with this setup, is that the camcorder has multiple submenus and the controls are all displayed in very long lists that must be scrolled through using the Laser Touch system. It is an easy setup to understand, but it can be frustrating to use if you have to get to an option quickly. The main menu is organized very similarly in both video mode and still image mode. A Manual Setting submenu is at top, followed by a number of features, with more Settings submenus located at the bottom.

The Manual Setting submenu only appears when the camcorder is in Manual mode. This submenu is a bit less cluttered on the GZ-HM400 than on other JVCs because options for focus, shutter speed, aperture, and exposure are not located here. They are instead activated by dedicated buttons and switches on the camcorder’s body (and can be controlled using the adjustment dial). This system may confuse first-time users, especially if they spend time looking through the menu for things like focus and aperture control. Still, by providing dedicated buttons, JVC has made it possible to quickly switch between two manual controls without ever having to go into the menu system.

Also new on the GZ-HM400 is one user-assignable button (labeled with a ‘U’). This button can be programmed to activate a variety of different controls—and it is up to the user to decide what works the best. Unfortunately, there is only one user-assignable button on the camcorder, but it can be set to perform different tasks in video mode and still mode.

At the very bottom of the main menu are four Settings submenus: Display Settings, Basic Settings, Connection Settings, and Media Settings. Most of the options in these menus are things you won’t have to adjust all that often. Things like LCD brightness, video output options, and switching between internal memory or memory card recording. However, there are a few options, like continuous shooting mode speed and focus assist color, that don’t make much sense being buried in these Settings menus.

The main menu in video mode	The User button can be set in video mode, and programmed to a different function in still image mode.

Auto Mode (8.80)

Like all JVC models you can set the GZ-HM400 to be either in Auto mode or Manual mode. In Auto mode, the entire Manual Controls menu is unavailable, so you cannot make adjustments to aperture, shutter speed, exposure, or even choose a scene mode to shoot in. The cool thing about Manual mode is you can still pick and choose what controls you want to adjust manually when you are in the mode. This means, if you only want to turn manual focus on and leave everything else under auto control, you can.

The HM400’s main auto controls aren’t bad. Autofocus worked well, albeit sometimes it was slow when we moved from close-up shots to wide angle shooting. Still, the camcorder worked quickly with focusing most of the time, and it had no problem making an image crisp as long as it was at least 6.7mm away (the minimum focal length for the camcorder). The camcorder is also equipped with face detection and it works in both video and still image mode.

The auto exposure was even better. The camcorder worked quickly to provide accurate exposure levels and it did so with a smooth response system. The HM400 has a backlight compensation feature that can be turned on to help expose subjects with a strong light illuminating them from behind.

The camcorder’s auto white balance was its weakest auto feature. Working with LED lights (used for our low light testing) the camcorder’s auto white balance gave the image a cool, bluish tint. The HM400’s white balance presets worked a bit better than auto WB in many conditions.

Low Light Modes – The GZ-HM400 doesn’t have any dedicated low light modes. It does have a few scene modes that are applicable for low light situations (Twilight and Night), but it doesn’t offer a specific low light shooting mode. You can turn the camcorder’s auto slow shutter on by setting the AGC to Auto. This allows the HM400 to drop to 1/30 of a second shutter speeds in low light situations. This slow shutter, however, does produce choppy footage and motion trails that may be undesirable.

Scene Modes – In Manual mode you can access a variety of scene modes on the GZ-HM400. The scene mode options include: Portrait, Landscape, Twilight, Night, Snow, Beach, Sports, Spotlight, Fireworks, and Sunset. Oddly, the JVC GZ-X900 had all these scene modes, but they could only be used in still image mode. We applaud JVC for making them available in both video mode and still image mode on the GZ-HM400.