JVC GZ-HD3 Camcorder Reviewby David KenderPublished on Sep 17, 2007 5:35 PM 
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Still Features (7.0)
Still Photo mode is accessed by shifting the mode dial down while in Video mode. The GZ-HD3 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1279.00) can capture stills in fine or standard quality in the following sizes: 1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480. These low resolution sizes are reason enough to look elsewhere for a dedicated still camera substitute. Images can be stored to the 60GB HDD or an SD/SDHC card. Up to 9,999 images can be stored to the HDD, which is more than enough for almost anyone in existence. SD cards are portable and quick, but hold far less data.
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The bottom-mounted SD/SDHC card slot. |
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Still Photo mode offers ISO control with options for auto, 100, 200, and 400. There is also a Continuous Shooting mode for shooting a series of pictures without taking your finger off the photo record button. Continuous Shooting also includes bracketing, which snaps a series of three images at varying exposures to eliminate manual exposure adjustment. In Video mode, exposure is measured in whole numbers ranging from -6 to +6. In Photo mode, exposure is measured a bit differently in the following 1/3 EV stops: -2.0, -1.7, -1.3, -1.0, -0.7, -0.3, 0, +0.3, +0.7, +1.0, +1.3, +1.7, +2.0. A self timer is also available at 10 or 25 seconds.
The Canon HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903) offers a lot more in the still photo department. Its maximum image size is 2048 x 1536 and images can be captured in Video mode at normal, fine, or superfine qualities. A histogram accompanies each image with exposure, date, time, and extensive EXIF data. The HV20’s SD card slot is located within its LCD cavity, allowing cards to be swapped while the camcorder is mounted to a tripod.
Still Performance (7.28)
The still photo performance of the JVC GZ-HD3 was tested by shooting a GretagMacBeth Color Checker chart and running the stills through Imatest imaging software to gauge color accuracy, noise, and saturation. At best, the camcorder was able to produce a color error of 8.24, with a noise level of 0.8575 percent and a saturation of 106.4 percent.
In order to get these best scores, we had to lower the exposure a little, which is typical with camcorders and point-and-shoot cameras. In this case, we dropped the exposure by three increments (which the EXIF data revealed to be a -0.30EV).
The GZ-HD3’s scores are average to slightly worse than competing camcorders. The impressive aspect of the performance here is the low noise score. The color accuracy is statistically identical to the GZ-HD7. The Canon HG10 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1299.99) was not quite as good in any of these measures. The Sony HDR-CX7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $882.95) (Review, Specs, Recent News, $882.95) had more accurate colors, but higher noise.
Still Resolution (6.93)
The still resolution of the JVC GZ-HD3 was tested by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 still resolution chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. At best, the camcorder produced a horizontal resolution of 624.2 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) – with a 2.09 percent clipping and a 11.1 percent oversharpening – and a vertical resolution of 657.5 lw/ph – with a 1.1 percent clipping and a 18.1 percent oversharpening.
Because the maximum resolution setting of the GZ-HD3 is only 1920 x 1080, the resolution score is much lower than stills produced by competing camcorders with larger, single chips. As a result, the GZ-HD3 is not much of a substitute for a dedicated still camera.