The JVC GZ-HM400 Comes to America, and to Camcorderinfo.com's Labs

Retailers such as Amazon have begun taking pre-orders on a US version of the JVC GZ-HM400 (earlier than they were supposed to, reportedly) for US$999. Not that the details of the camcorder were any great mystery; its Japanese equivalent was announced a month ago. The exciting news, readers, is that Camcorderinfo.com has a shiny new GZ-HM400 in-house and ready to review.

We'll be pitting it head to head againsts the new Canon HF S11. Our early reports indicate that JVC seems to be stepping up, producing a high-end consumer camcorder to compete with flagship models from other manufacturers.

• The overall design looks good and feels solid.
• Bright light performance looks great
• Low light performance doesn't look great, or even pretty good, but we think it will surpass the disappointing JVC GZ-X900
• It has a manual control dial close to the lens, like Canon and Sony
• High-end rocker for zoom control
• The accessory shoe requires an extremely cheap looking bit of plastic that you screw into the top

More details will emerge soon when our review is complete. Read our first news story on the JVC GZ-HM400 for more on specs.