JVC GZ-HD7 Camcorder Reviewby John NeelyPublished on Apr 26, 2007 10:00 AM 
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Still Features (7.5)
The JVC GZ-HD7 has a full still photo mode, activated by twisting on the mode dial. Images can be captured in JPEG at 1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480. Each of these can be saved in either Fine or Standard quality. Either the HDD or an SD card can be used to store images. Both have their advantages, but the HDD has far more capacity - up to 9999 images.
The card slot is oddly placed, but it works. Underneath the lens, a hard plastic port cover slides out to reveal the slot. The cover is tethered with a wide piece of strech plastic that looks sturdy. It's not the most convenient location, but you can still access it when the camcorder is mounted to a tripod, which makes it suitable in our book.
The manual control suite on the HD7 is good, inheriting all the strengths of the video mode. Manual focus works identically, with the same great Focus Assist. Also, you have the independent shutter speed and aperture controls. The Bright button functions slightly differently. In video mode, the numbers range from -6 to +6 in whole numbers. In still mode, the Bright button controls the exposure compensation in 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. ISO control is also possible, with options for 100, 200, 400, and Auto.
Camcorders with better still camera options include continuous shooting options. There are two on the GZ-HD7. The standard continuous shooting option allows for non-stop shooting, with approximately 0.5 intervals. We noticed no discernable lag greater than the reported 0.5 seconds, even after 20 pictures in the highest quality. The second option is for bracketing: 3 shots, one at your preferred EV, then one at -0.3EV and one at +0.3EV. A self-timer can be set for 2 or 10 seconds.
There is one big handicap, however – no flash. The lack of a flash pretty much eliminates the possibility of the HD7 becoming a stand-in for a dedicated still camera.
Still Performance (6.73)
We use a Gretag McBeth Color Checker Chart and Imatest imaging software in order to determine still performance. Leaving the JVC GZ-HD7 in auto mode did not produce the best image. In order to get the most accurate image, we lowered the exposure compensation by -0.3EV (which set the camcorder to a shutter speed of 1/60th and an aperture of f/3.2). In this setting, the GZ-HD7 produced a color error of 8.92, with a 0.83% noise, and 117.3% saturation. These scores are not flattering. The Panasonic HDC-SD1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) and HDC-DX1 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $1119.99) performed better. The Canon HV20 (Review, Specs, Recent News, $903) performed about the same.
Still Resolution (6.29)
We measured the still resolution of the JVC GZ-HD7 by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 resolution chart and running those stills through Imatest imaging software. In order to get the best performance, we bumped up the exposure compensation to +0.7EV (which set the shutter speed to 1/80th and the aperture to f/4.0). At this setting, Imatest imaging software found a horizontal resolution of 594.7 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) – with a clipping of 4.27% and 8.02% oversharpening – and a vertical resolution of 745.8 lw/ph – with a 3.14% clipping and a 35.4% oversharpening.