Introduction
Unfortunately, the GZ-HM400 suffered from the same low light difficulties that plagued the GZ-X900, although it did represent a significant improvement in that category. More...
Update: The Everio GZ-HM400 was ultimately selected as our runner-up for Best Value of 2009. To see why we selected it and read about our other 2009 awards, check out the 2009 CamcorderInfo.com Select Awards.
Product Tour
At 1/2.33-inches, the GZ-HM400 has one of the largest CMOS sensors in the consumer camcorder market. This large sensor is why the camcorder is capable of capturing native 9-megapixel still images, and it also gave the camcorder a big boost in our video sharpness testing. The lens is quite large on the HM400 (much larger than the GZ-X900), and it features a 10x optical zoom, an automatic lens cover, and a built-in flash that flanks its right side.
Color & Noise Performance
The JVC GZ-HM400 captured deep, vibrant colors in our bright light testing. The camcorder measured a color error of 3.54 and a saturation level of 92.26%. These are very good scores, but they are no different from what we've come to expect from a high-end camcorder. Nearly all camcorders over $1000 will get you similar results in bright light. (More on how we test color.)
Looking at the error map above, you can see the GZ-HM400 handled blues and reds with spot-on accuracy. The camcorder really only had trouble with certain yellow and green tones. This is similar to what we saw on the JVC GZ-X900. None of JVC's camcorders offer any alternate color modes, so we only have one sample image shown below. New on the GZ-HM400, however, is an image sharpness control option. We have examples of this sharpness feature in our manual controls section.
In bright light, the JVC GZ-HM400's image is very good—there is no doubt about that. Its colors appear a bit more vibrant than those of the GZ-X900, which is accentuated by the HM400's higher saturation level. Its color palette is also slightly different than that of the Panasonic HDC-TM300 and Canon HF S11, which you can see in the comparison images below. The Panasonic produced lighter greens and blues, while the Canon rendered a different tone to its brown and red colors.
As we said before, most high-end camcorders produce very good colors in bright light. The Canon HF S11 was a bit worse than the rest of the camcorders in this set, but Canon makes up for this by including a wide range of color adjustment options. The fact that JVC doesn't include any color controls may dishearten some, but the colors captured by the camcorder in auto mode are very strong.
The GZ-HM400 averaged low noise levels in bright light with 0.6225% noise. This is basically the same amount of noise we measured on the JVC GZ-X900, and it is a bit less noise than what was present on the Canon HF S11. The Panasonic HDC-TM300 had the lowest noise levels of the bunch. Most high-end camcorders don't have a problem with noise in bright light, although the same definitely cannot be said about low light. (More on how we test noise.)
The crops above do an excellent job showing off the sharpness each camcorder is capable of. Since all these models are top-of-the-line camcorders, they each capture incredibly sharp HD video. The two JVC models produced the sharpest video images we've ever seen—thanks in large part to their gigantic CMOS sensors. The Panasonic HDC-TM300 and Canon HF S11 aren't far behind, however. Notice that the JVC models show some finer detail at the bottom of the vertical trumpets when compared to the Panasonic and Canon camcorders, but the difference is barely noticeable.
Motion & Sharpness Performance
Low Light Performance
**Low Light Sensitivity***(0.21)*
Going by the terrible low light sensitivity we measured on the GZ-HM400's cousin model, the GZ-X900, we didn't have high hopes for the camcorder's low light capabilities. The GZ-HM400 did do a much better job, yet it still didn't make the cut to be considered an adequate low light camcorder. The HM400 required 31 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor—an amount of light that is much higher than both the Canon HF S11 (17 lux) and Panasonic HDC-TM300 (9 lux) needed. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)
While the GZ-HM400 does represent a big improvement over the GZ-X900's low light performance, it is still far below average for a high-end HD camcorder. As you'll see in the next two low light sections, the GZ-HM400 measured a lot of noise and produced a green hue during our low light testing. To boost the camcorder's low light performance you can engage its slow shutter feature (setting AGC to Auto), but this will result in the camcorder capturing choppy, jittery motion.
The JVC GZ-HM400 didn't do very well in our low light color testing. It measured a color error of 6.27 and a saturation level of 60.11%, both of which are large drops from the camcorder's bright light color numbers. In addition to its poor color accuracy, the camcorder had an off-color hue in its low light image that gave the picture a slight greenish-blue tint. This discoloration was present even when we used the camcorder's manual white balance function. The camcorder did perform better than the GZ-X900, however, which is a pleasant surprise. (More on how we test low light color.)
The color error map above shows the HM400 had trouble with all colors in low light. A few of the browns were captured with decent accuracy, but everything else was very off. As you can see in the comparisons below, the GZ-HM400 did manage a brighter image than the GZ-X900 and Canon HF-S11.
Noise was a big problem with the JVC GZ-X900 in low light, but the GZ-HM400 handled things a bit better. The camcorder still measured a lot of noise—1.7475% to be exact—and its low light image did suffer as a result. The 100% crop images below give you an idea as to how the GZ-HM400 stacked up to the competition. (More on how we test low light noise.)
As you can see, the Panasonic HDC-TM300 and Canon HF S11 have far cleaner low light images compared to the two JVC models. The GZ-HM400 retained a lot more detail than the GZ-X900 due to its lower noise levels, but it still captured a fine layer of fuzz in its image. The Panasonic HDC-TM300 produced the cleanest image by far and it is one of the best low light camcorders we've reviewed this year. Notice the slight discoloration on the GZ-HM400's image. It isn't as pronounced as on the GZ-X900, but it is definitely present.
Compression & Media
As with most new HD camcorders, the GZ-HM400 records high definition video using the AVCHD codec. This is the same codec used by Panasonic, Sony, and Canon—only Sanyo and Samsung continue to hold using a different variation on the MPEG-4 codec. While AVCHD has become a popular choice for manufacturers, it still has its quirks and issues. For one, AVCHD files are difficult to work with on a slow or old computer since the files are large and full of information. Editing the footage can slow down your computer or cause it to crash, and importing the files can take an incredibly long time (especially if you have a lot of clips). If you plan on doing extensive editing of your AVCHD footage, make sure you have a strong computer that is up to the task.
The GZ-HM400 doesn't have any alternate frame rate options that can record Full HD video, but it does have three high-speed settings that can be used to capture low-quality slow-motion video. The first setting records at 120fps, which stretches out your footage to half speed. The second setting does 300fps (5x slower) and the third setting does 600fps (10x slower). Each slow motion option has strict record time limits. The 120fps and 300fps modes can capture 4 seconds of video, while the 600fps mode is limited to 2.4 seconds (these clips are then lengthened during playback due to the slow motion).
In addition to having an SD/SDHC card slot for recording to a memory card, the JVC GZ-HM400 includes 32GB of internal flash memory. This internal memory is good to have because it allows you to record close to three hours of video at the highest quality setting. So, if you're on vacation and you use up all the space on your memory cards, you'll have something to fall back on.
The SD/SDHC card slot is located inside the camcorder's LCD cavity, behind a flip-down door. This placement isn't bad, although it means you must have the LCD panel open to insert and eject memory cards. It does provide excellent protection to your memory card slot, however.
The camcorder appears to have a clip length limit around 23 minutes. When you record for about 23 minutes continuously, the camcorder automatically generates a new clip where the old one left off—with no gaps or loss of data. This table below lists the approximate record times you can get with the GZ-HM400:
The GZ-HM400 ships with Everio Media Browser HD, which is the same software that comes with JVC's other consumer HD camcorders. The software isn't too bad, especially when compared to the average video programs that ship with camcorders. It has a number of useful features including clip organization, YouTube upload capability, and DVD disc creation (additional DVD burner required). The software does not work with Macintosh operating systems, however, so if you have a Mac you'll have to stick with iMovie or a different editing program of your choosing.
Since the GZ-HM400 records AVCHD clips, the Everio Media Browser software's main function is to import these video files so they can be viewed on your computer. AVCHD footage must be imported with some sort of software before it's workable—the files themselves cannot be simply dragged and dropped right from the camcorder and into an editing program or media player. This, along with their large file size and difficulty to work with, are the main problems with AVCHD video.
Getting videos onto YouTube with the Media Browser software was relatively easy. You can select the videos you want to upload, enter your YouTube account information, and the program does the rest. In our time with the software we did get numerous error messages saying we didn't have the camcorder connected correctly—even though we did—and we noticed the program acting a bit buggy. Still, once you get beyond this bugs and error messages (which can be ignored) the program works quite well.
We didn't find JVC's 'one-touch' features (located inside the LCD cavity) to be all that useful. The editing software already makes it easy to upload, export, or burn your clips by allowing you to select the videos you want right before you perform the uploading, burning, or exporting process. This means the 'one-touch' buttons really don't save you much time—especially when you consider that you have to turn the 'one-touch' modes on before you start shooting.
The JVC GZ-HM400 has a number of internal editing features that can be used to edit videos right inside the camcorder. Clips can be split and trimmed, faders and music can be added, or playlists can be created. Doing all this in-camera editing is a bit difficult with the Laser Touch control system, but they are mildly useful features nonetheless.
Manual Controls
Like all JVC models you can set the GZ-HM400 to be either in Auto mode or Manual mode. In Auto mode, the entire Manual Controls menu is unavailable, so you cannot make adjustments to aperture, shutter speed, exposure, or even choose a scene mode to shoot in. The cool thing about Manual mode is you can still pick and choose what controls you want to adjust manually when you are in the mode. This means, if you only want to turn manual focus on and leave everything else under auto control, you can.
The HM400's main auto controls aren't bad. Autofocus worked well, albeit sometimes it was slow when we moved from close-up shots to wide angle shooting. Still, the camcorder worked quickly with focusing most of the time, and it had no problem making an image crisp as long as it was at least 6.7mm away (the minimum focal length for the camcorder). The camcorder is also equipped with face detection and it works in both video and still image mode.
The auto exposure was even better. The camcorder worked quickly to provide accurate exposure levels and it did so with a smooth response system. The HM400 has a backlight compensation feature that can be turned on to help expose subjects with a strong light illuminating them from behind.
The camcorder's auto white balance was its weakest auto feature. Working with LED lights (used for our low light testing) the camcorder's auto white balance gave the image a cool, bluish tint. The HM400's white balance presets worked a bit better than auto WB in many conditions.
Low Light Modes
The GZ-HM400 doesn't have any dedicated low light modes. It does have a few scene modes that are applicable for low light situations (Twilight and Night), but it doesn't offer a specific low light shooting mode. You can turn the camcorder's auto slow shutter on by setting the AGC to Auto. This allows the HM400 to drop to 1/30 of a second shutter speeds in low light situations. This slow shutter, however, does produce choppy footage and motion trails that may be undesirable.
Scene Modes
In Manual mode you can access a variety of scene modes on the GZ-HM400. The scene mode options include: Portrait, Landscape, Twilight, Night, Snow, Beach, Sports, Spotlight, Fireworks, and Sunset. Oddly, the JVC GZ-X900 had all these scene modes, but they could only be used in still image mode. We applaud JVC for making them available in both video mode and still image mode on the GZ-HM400.
The GZ-HM400 is equipped with a large, sturdy zoom rocker that is much larger than the traditional zoom controllers you see on most consumer camcorders. The rocker is not as large (or as precise) as what you'd get on a professional camcorder, but it still trumps the zoom toggles found on the rest of the high-end consumer market. The benefit of the rocker is that it allows you to control the tension of the zoom by using two fingers. One finger rests on the back of the rocker, while the other rests on the front—like a seesaw. This enables you to put a precise amount of pressure onto the rocker in order to establish the zoom speed you desire (the camcorder has variable zoom speed control based on how hard you push on the rocker). The only downside of the rocker is the fact that you have to use two fingers in order to maintain precise control over the zoom. Otherwise, JVC's rocker is one of the best zoom controllers we've seen on a consumer camcorder.
There is an alternate zoom method on the GZ-HM400 and it involves the Laser Touch strip. When you touch the top portion of the strip a 'T' and 'W' appear on the LCD screen. Touching the portion Laser strip next to these letters will zoom in and out. This zoom method can be frustrating to use and, compared to the zoom rocker, is terribly imprecise. We suggest sticking with the zoom rocker for all of your zooming needs.
The lens on the HM400 has a 10x optical zoom capability. The camcorder also has something called 'Dynamic zoom,' which is capable of zooming up to 15x with no loss of image quality (according to JVC). Dynamic zoom takes advantage of the unused pixels on the camcorder's sensor in order to boost the zoom capability. Similar features are offered on numerous camcorders from other manufacturers.
If you do want to use a digital zoom, which does degrade image quality, the GZ-HM400 has options for 60x and 200x magnification.
With the addition of its new adjustment dial, the GZ-HM400 is capable of far more precise control than any other consumer camcorder from JVC. To use the dial to adjust focus, all you have to do is flick down on the control switch located just behind the dial. Focus controls immediately appear on the LCD screen and you can rotate the dial to manipulate focus. A small icon of a mountain (far) and a person (close) are shown on the LCD so you know which way you are adjusting the focus.
You can still use the Laser Touch strip to adjust focus as well, but it is far more difficult and way less precise than the dial. To use the Laser Touch you simply slide your finger up or down on the strip to control focus. The camcorder has a focus assist feature called peaking that is quite helpful when using manual focus controls. Small, colored flecks appear on the screen when the focus assist is engaged, and the colored flecks become more abundant and clearer as the image comes more into focus. You can change the color of the flecks between red, green, and blue, but you have to go into the camcorder's Basic Settings menu to do so. We're not sure why JVC hid this feature away like that—especially when considering the focus assist option is in an entirely different menu (Display Settings).
Exposure can also be controlled using either the adjustment dial or the Laser Touch strip. You turn on exposure adjustment by flicking the control switch by the dial up (the same switch you flick down to start focus control). While scrolling with the dial, a bar display appears on the left side of the LCD that shows you how much of an adjustment you've made to the exposure. Again, using the Laser Touch to adjust exposure is imprecise and can be frustrating depending on your comfort level with the Laser Touch system.
Exposure can be set from -6 to +6 in whole number increments (13 increments in total). The photometry area for determining auto exposure can be set to whole screen or spot (applicable in both video and still mode).
Aperture can only be controlled in aperture-priority mode, which means you can manually set the aperture while the camcorder automatically adjusts the shutter speed accordingly. To adjust aperture, you press the small, round 'A' button near the back of the camcorder. This brings up an aperture display in the top left corner of the LCD. You can then use the dial or the Laser Touch strip to change the aperture settings. There are only four aperture options on the GZ-HM400, which is a rather paltry amount. The widest aperture that the lens can be set to is f/2.8.
Unlike its limited options for aperture control, the GZ-HM400 features a wide range of manual shutter speed settings (13 options overall). Shutter speed is controlled in the same manner as aperture—you press the small, round button with an 'S' on the back of the camcorder to enter shutter-priority mode, and you use the adjustment dial or Laser Touch to manipulate the setting. Also impressive are the numerous shutter speed options available that are slower than 1/60 of a second. These shutter speeds (which go as low as 1/2 of a second) produce motion trails, choppy footage, and can be fun to play around with if you're trying to capture a unique aesthetic.
The GZ-HM400 does have a manual white balance setting, but we found it didn't work all that well. In our low light testing with LED lights, the camcorder produced a slight cool, green hue on its footage (it wasn't as bad as the JVC GZ-X900, however). The manual white balance is also a bit confusing to set. You have to select the option from the menu, then hold down the OK button for a second or two until the camcorder registers a new white balance. The thing is, it is difficult to know whether you've held down the button for long enough or if you just accidentally tapped it for too short a time.
In bright light and outdoor light the manual white balance worked much better. In addition to manual, the camcorder has a few white balance presets: Fine, Cloud, and Halogen.
There's no direct gain control on the GZ-HM400, but the camcorder does allow you to turn auto gain boost on and off. Turning AGC off completely eliminates the electronic gain boost that aids the camcorder in low light situations. Even in moderately low light, like indoors under mixed lights, the image captured by the HM400 is incredibly dark without AGC. In low light you get absolutely no picture without AGC. We recommend keeping the gain always set to AGC, unless you are planning on shooting in bright light all day.
There's only a few consumer models out there that offer complete gain control. Panasonic's high-end models let you set gain, but only after the aperture has been opened completely, and the Canon HF S series (HF S100, S10, and S11) let you choose an AGC limit that the camcorder will not exceed.The GZ-HM400 does have ISO control, but only for photos in still mode.
**Color & Image Controls***(4.0)*
The GZ-HM400 has a new sharpness adjustment option, which was something not found on the GZ-X900. Examples of the sharpness control are shown below:
The camcorder's other color and image controls are listed below:
**Other Manual Controls***(3.5)*
Still Features
Like the JVC GZ-X900 before it, the GZ-HM400 has plenty of still features to play around with. The main feature of note is the camcorder's 9-megapixel still image capability, which means the HM400 can take photos at a native resolution of 3456 x 2592.
The camcorder can, of course, take photos in a number of additional sizes as well (10 in all), and it offers two photo quality settings (Fine and Standard). While the camcorder does let you capture still photos in video mode (even during recording), you cannot set the size of these photos—all still images taken in video mode are 3072 x 1728 (5.3 megapixels).
The GZ-HM400 has a variety of continuous shooting modes that are confusing to use and are not well explained in JVC's instruction manual. You engage continuous shooting by switching the shutter mode to continuous in the camcorder's menu. To switch the speed of the successive shots, however, you must go into the Basic Settings menu and choose from High, Medium, or Low. The spreading out of these options is very strange and the inclusion of the shooting speeds in the Basic Settings menu makes no sense at all. The continuous shooting mode also acts differently whether you are in still mode or video mode. The chart below outlines the continuous shooting mode features:
The 9-megapixel continuous stills can only be captured in still mode, although you can also capture continuous stills at other resolutions in still mode. In video mode, all continuous stills are taken as 5-megapixel images. We do like these continuous shooting modes quite a bit, but we wish JVC had made them simpler to use. Without extensive trial-and-error research, it is difficult to figure out what the limitations are for each mode.
In addition to the continuous shooting modes, there is also an auto exposure bracketing option on the HM400. With this feature turned on, the camcorder will take 5 successive shots, each with a different exposure level. This is good if you are shooting in low light or in situations where you are unsure of how to set your exposure levels. The camcorder also has a built-in flash that can be set to Auto, Red-Eye reduction, and Slow-Synchro (for using the flash with slow shutter speeds).
The GZ-HM400 offers ISO control in still image mode, which is something that isn't commonly found on consumer camcorders. The ISO range goes from 100 to 3200 and can also be set to Auto. Other than ISO, the manual control options in still mode are mostly the same as video mode—except you cannot set Zebra patterns or adjust sharpness in still mode. Still mode has a self-timer option that can be set to 2 seconds, 10 seconds, or face detection (the shutter will go off when it detects a new face in the frame).
During playback you can digitally zoom into photos or paused video, but this action can only be performed using the provided remote control. We would have liked to see JVC include a basic playback zoom that can be performed with the camcorder's zoom rocker as well. If you press down the shutter button while video playback is paused the camcorder will capture a still image from the video (at a resolution of 1920 x 1080).
With its impressive still feature resume, we assumed the GZ-HM400 would do very well in our still image testing. It met our expectations for the most part, although the camcorder measured higher noise levels than we would have liked. As far as color accuracy is concerned, the camcorder did very well. It recorded a color error of 3.08 and a saturation level of 106.8%. These are better numbers than the HM400 managed in our bright light video testing. (More on how we test still color.)
The GZ-HM400 captured very vivid colors in its still photos. Its saturation level was nearly identical to that of the GZ-X900, although the HM400 had slightly more accurate colors. All the camcorders shown below captured very good colors in its still images, although the Canon had lower saturation levels than the rest. The Panasonic HDC-TM300 had the most accurate colors in this set.
The GZ-HM400 averaged 1.14% noise in our still image testing, which is rather high. This is more noise than the camcorder measured in our bright light noise testing (almost double, actually). Both the Canon HF S11 and JVC GZ-X900 had similar noise levels, however, so this isn't an uncommon occurrence for a high-end camcorder. The Panasonic HDC-TM300 managed much lower noise levels, registering around 0.79%. (More on how we test still noise.)
Still sharpness is probably the most important still image test we run because it gives you an idea of how much detail the camcorder can capture in its photos. The GZ-HM400 did quite well with still sharpness, managing a horizontal sharpness of 2329 lw/ph with 24% oversharpening and a vertical sharpness of 1800 lw/ph with 6.7% oversharpening. These are much better numbers than the JVC GZ-X900 put up, which is likely due to the different lens featured on the HM400. This is also far better than the Panasonic HDC-TM300 was capable of. The GZ-HM400 couldn't hang with the best still image camcorders, however. The Canon HF S11 had better still sharpness, as did the Sanyo VPC-CG10 and Sanyo VPC-HD2000. (More on how we test still sharpness.)
Handling & Use
Playback & Connectivity
The JVC GZ-HM400 has no shortage of playback controls or features, but its basic playback navigation system is just like any other camcorder. Clips are arranged as thumbnails and can be organized by date, group, or event (using the Register Event tool). You can view these thumbnails either in a 4 x 3 or 3 x 2 set. Videos are selected by scrolling through them using the Laser Touch and hitting the OK button when you want to begin playback. While the HM400 captures HD videos at a 1080/60i resolution, the camcorder is capable of upconverting the clips to 1080/60p during output via the HDMI connection (as long as you have a 1080p television). The GZ-HM400 is also equipped with K2 audio technology that JVC claims will improve audio during playback (this feature can be turned on and off).
There are no hard VCR buttons on the GZ-HM400. During playback, VCR controls are listed at the bottom of the LCD screen and they are engaged by pressing the touch-sensitive buttons beneath them (on the base of the LCD panel). These touch-sensitive buttons get the job done, but they really don't work very well as VCR controls. The icons take up space on the LCD screen, thus blocking the amount of video you can watch during playback. You can also use the provided remote control to playback videos, which is probably a smarter choice.
The camcorder has an extensive set of options in its Playback Menu. Here is where you'll find options for doing internal editing that will allow you to divide or trim your clips, rotate still images, create playlists, or add music and fade/wipes to your videos. You can also arrange upload settings for a clip right in the camcorder. This way, you can set in and out points for a specific video so that when you select it to be uploaded (with the Everio Media Browser HD software), only the portion you've specified will go to YouTube. All these internal editing tools are nifty and interesting, but they are a bit of hassle to use with the camcorder's weak navigation controls.
The ports on the GZ-HM400 are located in a variety of different places, but the bulk of them are on the back side of the camcorder. There, you will find a long column of ports to the left of the battery compartment—headphone, Component-out, mini-HDMI, and DC-input. Above the battery pack are two more ports: AV-out and a mini microphone input. Both of these port clusters are protected by hard plastic, flip-open doors. These doors proved adequate protection, but they don't open all that wide. Things may get a little cramped if you have a lot of cables plugged in at once.
The USB port and SD/SDHC memory card slot are both located inside the LCD cavity. The USB port isn't protected by a cover, although when the LCD panel is closed it does provide shelter for the exposed port. The SD/SDHC card slot springs open with the flick of a small trigger switch located to its right. Both the USB port and the memory card slot require the LCD screen to be open in order to access them.
The GZ-HM400 does not have a built-in accessory shoe, but it comes with a small, plastic shoe attachment that screws into the top of the camcorder. The problem with this setup is that the screw-in adapter is easy to lose, feels cheap, and looks easily breakable. If you lose the adapter then you have no way of attaching shoe-mounted accessories to the camcorder (unless you buy another adapter from JVC, that is).
All Full HD video on the HM400 is recorded as 1080/60i, but the camcorder has 1080/60p output capability. When connecting the camcorder to a 1080p television, the HM400 will upconvert the video signal to 1080p for playback. This feature can also be found on new models from Sony (the HDR-CX500V and HDR-CX520V).
Audio & Other Features
JVC GZ-X900 Comparison
The GZ-HM400 and GZ-X900 are very similar camcorders in two entirely different bodies. Both have 1/2.33-inch CMOS sensors and many of their internal specs and features are identical. As far as handling goes, however, the two camcorders couldn't be more different. The GZ-HM400 is much larger, fatter, and has a sweet adjustment dial underneath the lens that is used for changing manual controls. The HM400 is also more traditionally designed, as it features a right-side hand strap, and a wide, barrel-shaped construction. The GZ-X900, on the other hand, is almost perfectly rectangular. It has smooth, flat edges, no right-side hand strap, and is significantly lighter than the HM400.
Both camcorders have the same $1000 price tag, but the GZ-HM400 gets you far more bang for your buck. It includes 32GB of internal flash memory, whereas the GZ-X900 has none (it records to memory card only). The HM400 also has a lovely zoom rocker, and is capable of giving you precise control over a variety of manual options thanks to the adjustment dial. The GZ-X900 must rely on its finicky Laser Touch strip for all manual adjustments, and it only has a 5x optical zoom compared the the 10x on the HM400.
The two camcorders had nearly identical bright light performances, but in low light the GZ-HM400 came out ahead. It had a far better sensitivity and much less noise than the GZ-X900 in our low light testing. Now, this doesn't mean the HM400 is a top-notch low light camcorder (it isn't), all it means is that it did much better than the GZ-X900 (which is one of the worst low light models we've tested). Still, every way you look at it the GZ-HM400 is the better product than the GZ-X900. It offers a better value, better performance, and better features all around. The only thing the X900 has going for it is its more compact body—but we cannot justify that as enough of a reason to side with it over the GZ-HM400.
Panasonic HDC-TM300 Comparison
The GZ-HM400 is the best camcorder we've reviewed this year from JVC, but it isn't nearly as good as the Panasonic HDC-TM300 for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, the TM300 had much better low light performance in our testing. It managed to keep colors accurate, noise levels down, and maintain a low light sensitivity that is worthy of a high-end HD camcorder. The main problem with the GZ-HM400 is the fact that it had such difficulty when the lights got dim. It required over three times the amount of light as the HDC-TM300 to capture a usable video image.
Low light performance aside, these two camcorders are actually very similar. They both have 32GB of internal flash memory, both include a variety of manual controls, and both feature a traditional design. The Panasonic, however, is far more comfortable to hold and use, offers a lens ring instead of an adjustment dial, and has an electronic viewfinder as well as a 2.7-inch LCD. One perk of the GZ-HM400 was its excellent bright light performance scores—particularly in motion and sharpness—that were slightly higher than what the Panasonic TM300 had to offer. The JVC also has more still features and better still sharpness capabilities than the HDC-TM300.The Panasonic includes a 24p recording mode, while the JVC has no alternate frame rates for Full HD recording (it does have three low-quality slow-motion modes, however).
Mainly due to its increased ability in handling low light situations, as well as its more comfortable design, the HDC-TM300 is a superior product to the JVC GZ-HM400 in almost every category. Since it is a hands-down better camcorder than the GZ-HM400, we feel it is well worth the extra cash.
Canon HF S11 Comparison
Not taking into account their difference in price, the decision between the JVC GZ-HM400 and the Canon HF S11 is a tough one. Based on our testing, the Canon was clearly the superior camcorder in low light—but it didn't have the kind of impressive low light performance we saw from the Panasonic HDC-TM300. The JVC was better in bright light situations, although the Canon came very close to matching the HM400's impressive video sharpness levels. The Canon HF S100 was also one of the few camcorders to rival the HM400's still image performance.
So, the Canon gets the edge in performance and it has double the internal flash memory (a whopping 64GB) of the JVC GZ-HM400. The two camcorders have a similar amount of options. Both have an adjustment dial (although the JVC's is easier to use), a good set of manual controls, and a few notable special features. The Canon does have 24p and 30p shooting modes, however, which are something not found on the JVC. The HM400, on the other hand, offers its low-quality slow motion modes. Both camcorders are equipped with optical image stabilization, but we found the system worked better on the JVC. Also, the JVC was easier to keep steady during hand-held shooting due to its more even weight distribution.
Overall, the Canon is the better camcorder here, but the fact that it costs $400 more than the JVC is a bit disconcerting. If you want to save some cash, the JVC is probably the better buy—even though it has worse low light performance and less internal memory than the Canon HF S11. Canon does make an HF S10 and HF S100, which are both cheaper than the HF S11, but include less internal memory (32GB on the HF S10 and no internal memory on the HF S100).
Conclusion
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Specs and Ratings
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Meet the tester
Jeremy is the video expert of our imaging team and Reviewed.com's head of video production. Originally from Pennsylvania and upstate NY, he graduated from Bard college with a degree in film and electronic media. He has been living and working in New England since 2005.
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