JVC GZ-HD7 Camcorder Reviewby John NeelyPublished on Apr 26, 2007 10:00 AM 
|
|
Comparison
Panasonic HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99)
The Panasonic HDC-SD1’s ($1299 MSRP) claim to fame was that it was known as the world’s smallest AVCHD camcorder. But since the announcement of Sony’s HDC-CX7, the latest world’s smallest AVCHD camcorder, the SD1 will have to rely on its good looks and consumer charm to remain on the map. Point and shooters like the SD1 because it’s compact, nice to look at, and records to flash. The SD1 is also equipped with high-end features like three 1/4" CCDs that produce 1680K gross pixels, a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital microphone, and a rear-mounted joystick. The HD7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1529)’s three 1/5” CCDs crank out a slightly higher 1710K gross pixel count, and the image has notably less motion and stuttering issues. However, in low light, the SD1 outperformed the HD7 with room to spare. The HD7 is built like a tank, has a manual focus ring, a professional Fujinon lens, and can record video at a data rate of up to 30 Mbps. You also don’t have to worry about the stubborn AVCHD format. It’s a solid brick of stealth. But is killer handling and a professional component spectrum an equal tradeoff for mediocre video performance and an additional $400? You decide at the store.
Canon HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903)
If you’ve read our review of the Canon HV20 ($1099 MSRP), you know how high the bar has been set. As far as video quality goes, the HD7 can’t even pole vault over it. The HV20 displayed an exceptional image in bright light, and its 24P low light performance proved brighter and sharper than any other camcorder this year, thanks to its single 1/2.7” CMOS sensor. With that in mind, the HD7 churned out a mediocre video performance with a noise-ridden, murky lowlight spectacle—and that’s with three 1/5” CCDs. The HV20 also includes a headphone jack, rear-mounted joystick, video light, and hot accessory shoe. The HD7 can only answer with a cold accessory shoe, and none of the above-mentioned features.
Where the HD7 does excel is in the handling department. We roasted the construction of the HV20—uncomfortable hand strap, feeble LCD, and overall cheap plastic feel. That is not the case with the HD7. The HDD beast looks like a shrunken prosumer camcorder, sporting a smooth manual focus ring, professional Fujinon lens with matte box, and rubberized extendable viewfinder. The body is constructed of burly plastic and metal and feels great in the hand, thanks to its large foam padded handstrap. It just looks badass, plain and simple. JVC is on to something here with the HD7. It will give you 5 hours of record time in the highest quality, and there are no MiniDV tapes to fumble with. However, as covered in the editing section, your options for post production are severely limited without compromising quality. The HV20, like all HDV camcorders, is capable of direct and instant capturing, editing, and exporting.
So what’ll it be? A miniature black beauty saddled with a mixed bag of professional and consumer components? Or a 24P-touting consumer superhero with awkward handling? The HV20’s $600 price shave and killer video quality will most likely be the deciding factors.
Sony HDR-HC7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1128.56)
The Sony HDR-HC7 ($1399 MSRP) shares some essential commonalities with the HD7. Both camcorders are blessed with superb construction, blending solid metal and plastic together, unlike the HV20’s cheap all plastic design. Both camcorders have thick, padded handstraps and rubberized, extendable viewfinders. The road forks after that. The HC7 will offer better video quality with crisp colors and higher low light tolerance due in part to its 1/2.9” CMOS chip. As stated before, the HD7 can only produce a run of the mill video image with an ailing low light display. The HC7 also includes a headphone jack, flash, and hot proprietary accessory shoe.
The HD7 will wow advanced consumers with its manual focus ring, focus assist, professional Fujnon lens with matte box, and LCD-mounted joystick. Sony’s touchscreen menu has been barbequed by us so many times because of its tendency to smudge up and cloud the viewing pane. You’ll really appreciate the HD7’s LCD-mounted joystick. The HD7’s 5 hours of continuous record time appears quite tempting when pinned up against a 1 hour MiniDV tape, but as stated in the HV20 comparison, the hoops you must jump through in post production are absurd.
$300 is not chump change, but it’s not a massive leap to attain a high level of professionalism in a consumer HDD camcorder. If video quality and editing are on the back burner for you, then the HD7 might be the one.
Sony HDR-SR1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99)
The Sony HDR-SR1 ($1500 MSRP) is an HDD camcorder that utilizes the AVCHD format, but has a lot to offer. Because AVCHD video quality has not been ironed out in its early stages, we’d have to give the upper hand to the HD7. The SR1 comes equipped with a 1/3” CMOS sensor with a gross pixel count of 2.1 MP and produces a noisy image in bright light with increased deterioration in low light. The HD7 will display less motion trailing and artifacts in bright light, but in low light noise will explode and the image will sink with the SR1. Although the HD7 looks like an assassin, it is a bit stunted in additional features lined up against the SR1. Sure, the HD7 has a manual focus ring, professional Fujinon lens, killer construction, and everything else we’ve beaten to death throughout these comparisons, but believe it or not, you’ll find more on the SR1.
The SR1 doesn’t have a manual focus ring—it has a multifunction ring, which is even better. The SR1 also has a Sony proprietary hot shoe, headphone jack, deep battery chamber, top-mounted flash, and massive 3.5 inch LCD screen. The HD7 looks like a professional home movie camera compared to the SR1, designed to record hours of fairly decent video and output unedited clips to DVDs. The SR1 is also $100 cheaper. If you can find a way to dissect the AVCHD editing conundrum and are willing to sacrifice some video quality, then throw your extra $200 in the piggybank and get an SR1.
Who's It For?
Point-and-Shooters
The HD7 is for the point and shooter who’s got something to prove. It’s perfect for recording hours of Epcot vacation time and exporting right to DVD. Only Dad will look like one bad mother when he whips out the HD7 by the Morocco booth.
Budget Consumers
If you’re on a budget, the HD7 is not a great match. You can get better video quality and editing compatibility with the Canon HV20, and also save $700 while doing so. Those who purchase an HD7 own, or at one point have owned, an SUV.
Still Photo / Video Camera Hybrid
Well, the maximum still size on the HD7 is 1920x1080. The Sony HDR-HC7 is capable of 2848x1602 stills in 16:9. That solves that mystery. Also, there's no flash. The HD7 has a slot for SDHC cards, which is better than Sony-only MemoryStick compatibility. The HD7 is a video tank, not a digital camera bomber.
Gadget Freaks
Gadget freaks will have a seizure over the manual focus ring, professional Fujinon lens, variable 30 Mbps data transfer, and 60 GB HDD. Other than that, the HD7 is left with its killer looks.
Manual Control Freaks
The manual control palette on the HD7 is fairly bountiful, including the aperture priority button, shutter speed button, manual focus ring, and focus assist button. Manual control freaks will be pleasantly surprised.
Pros / Serious Hobbyists
Not really seeing it here. The ladders to climb in order to capture footage that’s merely acceptable are too high and will take too long for a pro to ascend.
Conclusion
2007 has been an exciting - and confounding - year for consumer HD. It is exciting because never before have there been so many HD camcorders from the big four manufacturers, JVC, Panasonic, Sony, and Canon. Not only are there more HD camcorders than ever before, they record to practically every media type available in several HD compression flavors. But it has been a confounding year, as well, For the first time, just making sense of the plethora of HD models and codecs out there is a challenge. What's worse, many models are so close – yet so far – from delivering the whole package. The Canon HV20 is a stellar stripped-down camcorder that delivers great performance at a bargain price, but its construction feels disconcertingly cheap. The Sony HDR-HC7 is loaded with features and feels great in hand, but toggling between manual control options using the Cam Control dial is too slow. The Panasonic HDC-SD1 is very elegantly designed and performs well, but lacks several features that are standard-issue on HD cams from the competition, including an accessory shoe and viewfinder.
The much-anticipated JVC GZ-HD7 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1529) is another case of so-close-yet-so-far. It is the only consumer camcorder that feels and handles much like a prosumer model, with dedicated buttons for manual controls, an excellent focus ring, and an excellent Focus Assist. It includes a very nice removable lens hood, feels balanced in-hand, and is generally very good ergonomically. On top of all these great attributes, the HD7 is an HDD-based camcorder, allowing for day-long shoots without having to keep track of media, or laboriously digitize footage. Yet, for a device that looks and feels like a mini-prosumer cam, the absence of a headphone jack audio level adjustments is surprising and disappointing.
JVC has also made some compromises in terms of video performance. On balance we like the look of the HD7's footage, but its very saturated and its resolution is lower than any HD camcorder we've tested this year. HD7 owners are also finding that MPEG-2 Transport Stream video is not as easy to work with as promised. That relegates the HD7 to a kind of post-production purgatory like AVCHD camcorders - easy to shoot with, but a bear to edit.
The JVC GZ-HD7 is great in many ways - and its prosumer-like handling is a real pleasure. However, to really take advantage of all it has to offer, you would need to invest in an external audio mixer to allow audio monitoring and level control, the HD Share Station for convenient video archiving, and perhaps an extended life battery. 2007 is the year consumer HD has really arrived - and the HD7 is a big part of that. It is one of several strong contenders out there, including the Sony HDR-HC7, Canon HV20, and Panasonic HDC-SD1, but there's still no clear winner among them for all-around performance, convenience and speed.