JVC Everio GZ-HM400 Camcorder Review

Handling & Use Summary
• The camcorder is easy to use overall, but its dedicated auto mode can be a bit difficult to access. • The zoom rocker and adjustment dial are terrific, but the camcorder's right-side design is oddly uncomfortable and misshapen. • Very good stabilization and superb battery life • The camcorder has no viewfinder, so all shooting must be done with the 2.8-inch LCD. • Options are organized under one main menu with numerous submenus—a simple system to figure out, but does result in a long list of settings.
	Still Features	(Page 9 of 17)	Playback & Connectivity

Ease of Use (6.0)

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.

Handling (7.0)

The GZ-HM400's right side is so oddly shaped it makes us wonder what the manufacturers were thinking. Its right side features a large indentation in its middle, which makes the camcorder feel very uncomfortable in your palm. No matter how we held the camcorder, it was impossible for us to fit the thing smoothly into our hand—there was always some level of discomfort. The entire time we spent using the HM400 we were yearning for the smooth, curved design featured on the Panasonic HDC-TM300, Canon HF S11, and JVC's mid-range models (in particular, the GZ-HM200 has a very good right-side grip).

You must cramp your fingers together to avoid hitting the built-in mic.

Adding to the body design problems on the HM400 is the fact that your pinky comes right up to the edge of the built-in mic when you hold the camcorder. If you have thick fingers, your pinky may rub up against (or even cover!) the built-in mic while the camcorder is in use.

The hand strap on the right side of the HM400 is also not up to snuff. It doesn't have the padding or the comfortable lining we've come accustomed to from high-end camcorders. Canon, Sony, and Panasonic's hand straps are all much more comfortable. Despite these flaws, the HM400 is rather easy to keep steady due to its even weight distribution. We also like the matte finish on the body of the camcorder, as it keeps the surface of the GZ-HM400 free of greasy fingerprints.

The right side of the camcorder is shaped poorly, and the hand strap isn't very comfortable either.

The flashy new zoom rocker on the GZ-HM400 is also a very good component. The rocker is one of the best zoom controllers we've used for making precise zoom adjustments, and it is quite comfortable as well. We also love the addition of the adjustment control dial near the front of the camcorder. This dial is light years ahead of the Laser Touch system when it comes to adjusting manual controls. The dial and zoom rocker are such good additions that they almost overshadow the camcorder's terrible right-side grip.

Somtimes your thumb doesn't always line up with the record button when you grip the camcorder.

An additional benefit of the adjustment dial is the fact that you don't have to go into the camcorder's menu to setup manual control of focus, exposure, shutter speed, or aperture. A little switch behind the dial allows you to control focus or exposure, while dedicated buttons near the back of the camcorder (labeled "A" and "S") turn on aperture and shutter speed control. This means you can easily and quickly switch between controls as you manipulate them with the dial. Another button, also located in the back of the camcorder, can be customized to turn on any feature you desire (this button is labeled with a "U" for user defined).

The adjustment dial is a godsend for people who like manual controls.		These dedicated buttons give you quick access to aperture and shutter speed controls.

Stabilization (7.53)

The JVC GZ-HM400 did well in our stabilization test for a number of reasons. First, the camcorder is quite large and is weighted evenly so keeps relatively steady even without its optical image stabilization (OIS) system engaged. Secondly, the camcorder's OIS does a decent job reducing the shakiness of the image. The graph below shows what we're talking about. In our low shake test (top graph) the camcorder's OIS reduced 48% of the shake. In our high shake test, the GZ-HM400 did even better, reducing 57% of the shake. (More on how we test stabilization.)

JVC GZ-HM400 Stabilization Effectiveness

48% correction at low shake (above) 57% correction at high shake (below)

You should also take a look at how little the camcorder shook with its OIS system turned off. The blue lines represent the camcorder's motion without any image stabilization, while the red shows the motion with OIS engaged. The GZ-HM400 is weighted so well that the camcorder was extremely stable even without OIS. Most consumer camcorders shake a whole lot more when we test them (particularly in our high shake test). The video below is an example of the GZ-HM400's stabilization system in action:

The GZ-HM400 and the GZ-X900 are JVCs only camcorders from 2009 that include optical image stabilization. JVCs mid-range models all offer digital stabilization, which can result in degraded image quality when engaged. The HM400 did a much better job with stabilization than the smaller GZ-X900. This probably has to do with the fatter, more even-weighted design of the GZ-HM400.

Stabilization Score Comparisons		Compare the JVC GZ-HM400 to the JVC GZ-X900
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM400 to the Panasonic HDC-TM300
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM400 to the Canon HF S11

Portability (6.47)

The biggest difference between the GZ-HM400 and GZ-X900 is definitely size. The GZ-HM400 is one of the bulkiest internal memory camcorders on the market, but its size definitely has its benefits. As we discussed in our Stabilization section above, the GZ-HM400 is very evenly weighted, which makes the camcorder easy to balance and keep steady. Unfortunately, you won't be able to slip the camcorder into your pocket as its large size requires it to be transported in a small bag or holder.

The GZ-HM400 weighs almost the same as the Canon HF S11 (500g), while the Panasonic HDC-TM300 weighs quite a bit less (386g). All of these camcorders are too large to carry around in your pocket, but none of them are heavy enough to put a lot of stress on your wrist during a long day of shooting. The JVC GZ-X900 is definitely more portable than the GZ-HM400 due to its smooth, rectangular design and lighter body, but it doesn't have nearly as many features and includes no internal memory.

Battery Life (8.15)

The GZ-HM400 had one of the best battery performances we've tested. The camcorder lasted for 163 minutes in our battery test (2 hours, 43 minutes), which is more than double how long the battery on the GZ-X900 lasted. The GZ-HM400's battery life was significantly longer than any other high-end consumer HD camcorder we've tested this year. It beat out both the Panasonic HDC-TM300 and Canon HF S11 by roughly an hour. (More on how we test battery life.)

Battery Life Comparisons

If a 163-minute battery life isn't enough for you, JVC does sell larger batteries that will give you a longer performance. The camcorder has an open battery compartment, so you can easily fit larger packs back there while you shoot. You could also just get an extra battery from JVC, which will allow you to shoot for roughly 5 hours with two fully-charged packs.

The provided battery lasted for a very long time in our battery life test.

LCD & Viewfinder (8.07)

The GZ-HM400 has a 2.8-inch LCD screen with a 207,000 pixel resolution. As with most LCD panels, the screen can rotate up to 270 degrees so you can do some self-shooting if you want to. The 2.8-inches is a decent size, although there are a couple of consumer camcorders out there with screens as large as 3.2 inches. The resolution of the HM400's screen isn't as high as we'd like, but overall the LCD does a decent job. The LCD has 11 brightness settings and the backlight can be set to Brighter, Standard, or Auto.

The 2.8-inch LCD has a 207,000-pixel resolution.

As with all new JVC models, the LCD panel features a Laser Touch strip on its left side. The strip has a bit of a different design than the GZ-X900, however. The HM400's strip is embedded slightly (like a shallow trench), while the X900 featured a perfectly flat strip that was even with the surface of the panel. The same thing goes with the small buttons on the bottom of the LCD panel. We didn't notice much of a difference between the response and functionality of the Laser Touch on the two camcorders, but we like the embedded buttons on the HM400 more. It makes the buttons easier to find with your fingertips—especially since they are touch-sensitive.

Many traditional videographers will lament the fact that the HM400 does not include an electronic viewfinder. The camcorder is definitely large enough to accommodate one, but it seems JVC (along with Canon) doesn't think a viewfinder is a necessity for high-end consumer camcorders. Sony and Panasonic both include electronic viewfinders on their high-end models.

Menus (4.85)

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 main menu in video mode		The main menu in still image mode

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.

Manual Setting menu in video mode		Manual Setting menu in still image mode

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.

The User button can be set in video mode...		... and programmed to a different function in still image 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 four Settings menus are located at the bottom of the main menu.

JVC GZ-HM400 Comparisons
JVC GZ-X900	Panasonic HDC-TM300	Canon HF S11