JVC Everio GZ-VX700 Camcorder Review

Motion

Motion recorded by the JVC GZ-VX700 looked similar to our test footage from the JVC GX1, except the VX700 showed more signs of artifacting and had a slightly duller image overall. The camcorder's motion results are pretty good for a mid-range model, however, but the fact that the VX700 offers no high-quality alternate frame rate options (it just records 60i) is a disappointment. There is a low-quality slow motion mode on the camcorder, though, but we don't recommend it unless you don't mind the look of low-res video. It should also be noted that the camcorder offers 1080/60p video output, but the camcorder doesn't actually record video using this frame rate. The camcorder itself "upconverts" the video signal to 1080p when played back on the VX700 itself via HDMI connection. More on how we test motion.

See below for a full discussion of the available resolution and frame rate options for the GZ-VX700

Resolution & Frame Rates

Technically, the VX700 offers more than its basic 60i frame rate for recording video. The camcorder also has a 300fps high speed record mode, but the video captured with this setting is extremely low quality so we don’t recommend it for general use. All of the camcorder’s regular record modes use a 60i frame rate, although the signal is upconverted to 60p during playback on the camcorder (and connected to an HDTV via HDMI).

Slow Motion Modes

Yes, the VX700 has a single high-speed record mode that records at 300 frames per second. If you don’t want to do the math, that’s five times slower than the normal 60i frame rate used for the camcorder’s HD and SD record modes. So, the resulting video image for the VX700’s slow motion mode will be five times slower than that of the other record modes. Hence, a 12-second clip will turn into a 60-second slow-mo video.