JVC GZ-MG330 Camcorder Review

Just one little switch and you're taking still photos.

Still Features (4.75)
The JVC GZ-MG330 is not a powerhouse device for still photography. There is only one image size—640 x 480 (VGA)—which is only suitable for the web. Images can be captured in Fine or Standard quality, but that's a bit of a moot point when you're dealing with VGA stills; the quality setting won't really be noticeable.

All the manual controls available in video mode are also ready for use in still photography. That includes white balance, shutter speed, and exposure (called brightness). There are also a couple options relevant only to still mode. The function menu has a self timer that can be set to 2 or 10 seconds. And you can choose either Single or Continuous mode, depending on whether you want to capture a single photo or one image every 0.5 seconds until the capture button is released.

As is the case in video mode, the GZ-MG330 also allows you to set the Photometry Area to either Whole Screen or Spot metering. Whole Screen adjusts the exposure according to the entire image, while Spot allows you to select a portion of the screen. You can use the touch buttons along the bottom of the LCD screen to move the square around the frame of the image in order to set the desired area of adjustment. When set to auto focus, the MG330 works like most dedicated still cameras: press the Photo Capture button halfway and the subject will automatically be brought into focus.

The photo menu can be accessed by pressing the Menu button on the LCD Panel. Scroll through your options with the Laser Touch slider and make your choice with the OK button. In photo mode, the menu consists of the following options:

The MG330's menu, in photo mode.

In order to review images, press the Play/Rec button located in the LCD cavity. A scrolling menu of icons appears containing a thumbnail of each captured still. While in Photo Playback mode, the menu contains the following options: Delete, Protect/Cancel, Effect, DPOF, Basic Settings.

Photo playback looks a lot like video playback.	The menu during photo playback is limited.

Still Performance (3.68)
The still performance of the JVC GZ-MG330 was tested by shooting an X-Rite Color Checker chart at an even, bright light, then running the stills through Imatest imaging software to determine color, noise, and saturation. The lowest color error produced was a 16.3, which is not good compared to competing camcorders. The noise and saturation scores were both very good—just 0.56% noise and 107.1% saturation—but this is offset by the fact that you can only capture 640 x 480 stills. Even the best VGA digital images won't equal even mediocre stills at a higher resolution.

The fact is, most camcorders don't come close to the performance offered by a cheap point and shoot digital camera. The JVC GZ-MG330 isn't even one of the good camcorders when it comes to still photography.

Still Resolution (2.44)
Still resolution is tested by shooting an Applied Image ISO 12233 resolution chart at an even, bright light, then running the stills through Imatest imaging software. At best, the JVC GZ-MG330 was able to produce a horizontal resolution of 428 line widths per picture height (lw/ph), with an oversharpening of 8 percent. The vertical resolution measures 384 lw/ph, with a 14.5 percent oversharpening. This is about average for a camcorder of this pixel count.