JVC GZ-HM400

Video Sharpness (12.53)

Like the JVC GZ-X900 before it, the GZ-HM400 produced stellar video sharpness results in our testing. The camcorder managed a horizontal sharpness of 1000 lw/ph and a vertical sharpness of 650 lw/ph. The horizontal sharpness in particular is incredibly good and bests the Canon HF S11 and Panasonic HDC-TM300 by a significant margin. We did notice some aliasing and blurring in our vertical sharpness test, which is why the camcorder measured so much lower in that arena. For some reason, the GZ-HM400’s image started to break-up around 650 lw/ph, which is the same thing that happened on the GZ-X900, Panasonic HDC-TM300, and Canon HF S11. More on how we test video sharpness.

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.

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.