JVC GZ-HD7 First Impressions Camcorder Reviewby James MurrayPublished on Jan 10, 2007 7:00 PM
|
Advertisement
|
|||||||||||
Conclusion
This article contains less in the way of hard facts than most of our First Impression reviews and is much more speculative. JVC simply would not release information about the key features that piqued our interest most and was absolutely adamant that even after two days of standing and staring, photographing and scribbling notes, begging and pleading, we could not see the menu. What lies within? Golden nuggets and rainbows for all we know.
In all seriousness, it's fairly easy to spot patterns within manufacturer's products. Even though this camcorder uses a new codec, the handling, manual control suite, menu interface, and overall feel will be very, very similar to its predecessors. Our experience with Everios of the past tells us that JVC focuses on simplicity, portability, and medium-grade feature set. Clearly, the feature set has been upgraded, and the body is somewhat larger than the standard definition Everios, but one look at this camcorder tells you which product line it belongs in. It is HD quality in a form you recognize and feel comfortable with - this is JVC's direction for the HD7.
With three 1/5” CCDs, a 10x aspherical Fujinon zoom lens, a microphone input, conversion lenses, direct Blu-ray compatibility ,and an impressively complete bundle of editing and authoring software, this camcorder is sure to generate even more buzz than it already has. As the first consumer camcorder to shoot and record true 1920 x 1080i video, referred to by JVC as “full HD” recording, the HD7 looks to be a strong challenger in a HD market that has been dominated by Sony during the past few years. With a compact body and an understated external layout, this $1799 MSRP camcorder should appeal to shooters looking for high-performance and convenience. Though details remain shrouded in JVC’s veil of mystery, the focus ring and the added control dial suggest that there are some manual control surprises in store under the HD7’s hood.
The newly developed MPEG-2 Transport Stream compression method is highly compatible with Blu-ray discs and features like Direct Backup to PC should make this a a user-friendly camcorder. The data transfer rate for this camcorder is variable, maxing out at 30Mbps with a 26.6Mbps average rate in its highest quality setting. This data rate is double the maximum currently found on AVCHD camcorders and will place the HD7 in a unique position. Of all the camcorders featured at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show for 2007, JVC’s HD7 is undoubtedly the most tantalizing.
Advertisement