JVC Everio GZ-X900 Camcorder Review

Color & Noise Performance Summary
• Color accuracy was acceptable, but not as good as other JVC models (like the GZ-HD300). • Bright light image was quite dark in our testing. • Average noise levels for a camcorder of its class.
	Product Tour	(Page 3 of 17)	Motion & Sharpness Performance

Color (9.78)

JVC has done a very good job with bright light color accuracy this year, but the GZ-X900 isn't among its best performers. The X900 registered a color error of 3.58 with a saturation level of 75.33%. While this is a good score, it pales in comparison to the excellent numbers achieved by the JVC GZ-HD300 (2.13 color error, 98.14% saturation). The X900's scores more closely match the results from the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Panasonic HDC-TM300.  (More on how we test color.)

Color Accuracy Performance
Color Test Chart (above), Color Error Map (right)
The JVC GZ-X900 produced a color error of 3.58 and a saturation level of 75.33% in our bright light color testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.)

The color error map above shows that the GZ-X900 had trouble with purples, greens, yellows and most of the color spectrum. It did very well with skin tones and some reds and blues, however. The main problem with the X900 is its dark image, which likely contributed to its poor color error. Still, the colors on the X900 look quite good. They are strong, vivid, deep, and clear. The only problem is its aforementioned darker-than-average image.

JVC GZ-X900 Color Sample
Auto	100% Crop

The above image is a frame pulled from our bright light video testing. The GZ-X900 has no color modes or image settings, so there isn't really any way to adjust the color on the camcorder (you can manually adjust exposure, shutter speed, and aperture, however). The comparison images below will give you a better idea of how the X900 looks against the competition.

JVC GZ-X900 Color Comparisons
JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Panasonic HDC-TM300	JVC GZ-HD300

In the images above, you should be able to see how the X900 has a slightly darker image than the rest of the camcorders. It isn't much, but the white portions of the chart have less pop and don't jump out as much as the VPC-HD2000 or Panasonic HDC-TM300. The X900 also doesn't have the saturation level that the HD300 has. The color patch samples below do an even better job of showing off the difference in saturation and brightness.

	Close-Up Color Comparisons
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-TM300	JVC GZ-HD300
Red
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-TM300	JVC GZ-HD300
Green
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-TM300	JVC GZ-HD300
Blue
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-TM300	JVC GZ-HD300
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-TM300	JVC GZ-HD300
Skin Tone 2

The GZ-X900 is clearly a notch darker than every other camcorder in this set. Now, keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It gives images more contrast and can make colors look more pleasing to some people. You can also boost the exposure manually if the camcorder's auto mode produces too dark an image for your liking.

Color Performance Scores

Noise (9.91)

The GZ-X900 kept the noise levels quite low in our bright light testing, but its numbers weren't any better than the competition. The X900 averaged 0.595% noise, which is slightly better than the GZ-HD300, and roughly on par with the VPC-HD2000 and HDC-TM300. The GZ-X900 ran into far worse problems with noise in our low light performance testing. (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparisons
JVC GZ-X900 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-TM300 100% Crop	JVC GZ-HD300 100% Crop

The crops above show off each camcorder's sharpness capability. Notice how crisp and fine the X900's image is, even though it is a bit dark. Its sharpness actually rivals the HDC-TM300, which has an exceptionally sharp picture as well. Also, take a look at how much clearer the X900's image is compared to the GZ-HD300. We'll go over sharpness more in the Motion and Sharpness section of this review.

Noise Score Comparisons