JVC Everio GZ-HD40 Camcorder Review
Probably one of the underrated companies in the market, JVC is another producer of good quality camcorders that are still above par, even though not as great as their counterparts from the stronger and the more celebrated manufacturers in the market like Sony, Canon and Samsung. Although it is a bit of a cliche that that the products from these manufacturers are extremely good and at the same time widely accepted, we here consider very good products from even those companies that are not quite under the same lime light. One such product is the Everio GZ-HD40 Full HD Digital Camcorder from JVC. Here is a detailed analysis that gives you the gross information of this new much underrated camcorder.
Design:
Modest as well as Stylish:
The JVC Everio GZ HD40 is one of the most portable professional camcorders you will find in the market. With a very black polished outer surface, the cam looks shiny and pretty stylish. It looks like most of the trademark designs of the other camcorders in the market and you will not find many varieties when it comes to the design part of these camcorders; they all look pretty much the same. As the design part deals with numbers, we are going to give you some numbers that define the JVC Everio GZ HD 40. It measures about 2.9 inches wide, 4.8 inches deep and 2.7 inches high, making it a very comfortable camcorder to hold in one hand. Carrying it will never be a problem since it weighs as low as 16 oz. Now, these significant little numbers mean that the JVC Everio HD GZ 40 has got in it almost everything regarding the design part and it will be one of the best suited camcorders for almost all types of users.
Display:
Display is also another most important feature of a camcorder nowadays because it has become essential to view the subjects in detail before they are actually filmed or captured so that everything looks neat and orderly. The JVC Everio GZ-HD40 Hard Drive Camcorder comes with a very good display mechanism, which clearly shows you that it is a very professional camcorder. The 2.8 inch TFT active matrix LCD colour screen gives you a very good picture of what you are filming. The swivel mode is also integrated for better performance and this means that the screen can be twisted to more degrees than ever before so that you can enjoy fancy filming. The subjects can be shot from almost all the angles possible and this especially makes the videos look crazier and fancier than ever before.
Features:
The professional camcorders are especially meant for superior performance and exceptional quality and hence most of the manufacturers do not concentrate much on their features and design. For better or worse, JVC has provided minimal features and gave secondary importance to them since it seemed like their main motto is to make their products world beating and competitive to the best and the most famous camcorders in the market from the ones like Sony and Canon. Here is a bird’s eye view of all the main features of the JVC Everio GZ HD 40 camcorder.
HI-Def Shooting:
The JVC Everio GZ-HD40 allows high definition video shooting on it. Giving you a 1080i video output, the camcorder is one of the high quality ones you will find in the market today. It has got various types of shooting modes that allow you to change the settings and set the camcorder to record videos in your own style, but still without losing the excellent quality of them. DPOF support , PRINT Image Matching , Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording are the additional features that help the camcorder to record high definition videos. The 1080i video output means that you can play these videos on your HD TV later and awe at the camcorder’s ability to capture wonderful pictures.
Lens:
Just now we have discussed about the wonderful high quality pictures you can get from the JVC Everio GZ-HD40 Professional Camcorder. This feat is possible owing only to the presence of a fantastic lens system that is possessed by the cam. Since lens is the most important part of a camcorder, it ought to be very good. The CMOS sensor enabled lens system of this camcorder is really one of the better systems you will find. Let us see some of the important features of this lens; Lens Type: Zoom lens – 4.5 mm – 45 mm – F/1.8-2.2, Focal Length: 4.5 mm – 45 mm, Lens Aperture F/1.8-2.2, Optical Zoom: 10 x, Lens system: type Zoom lens, Min focal length: 4.5 mm, Max focal length: 45 mm, Filter Size: 43 mm, Zoom Adjustment: Motorized drive. Hence these numbers are enough to stand as a proof of how good the lens system of the JVC Everio GZ HD 40 is.
Memory:
Memory is very important for any camcorder since you need to store all the pictures captured by you. Look at the memory features of the JVC GZ HD 40 camcorder and you will find jaw dropping memory on the inside. The camcorder has got a whopping 120 GB built in internal hard drive that automatically stores everything that is captured by the camera. This is a very good thing to do since most of the camcorders, even the professional ones, come with only a slot for an external memory unit, like an SD card. But, these cards have limited memory and hence they cannot store more videos. But having such a big space for your pictures in the form of a hard disk drive means that you can never afford to worry about the storage of your videos and hence shoot with complete freedom.
Software Package:
You are blessed with some of the best software in the market, when it comes to the JVC Everio. Since it is quoted as a professional camcorder, you will find a lot of photo and video editing software packages. The various software apps provided along with the kit are: Cyberlink PowerDVD, Drivers & Utilities, CyberLink BD Solution, CyberLink Power Cinema, CyberLink Power Director, CyberLink Power Producer, and JVC Digital Photo Navigator. While some of these come as built in features, the rest of them are provided to you in the form of software CDs and they are provided in the kit along with the camcorder at the time of purchasing. They can also be installed on your computers so that the videos and photos are copied on to your hard disk and they can be edited later.
Performance:
Since this Everio GZ-HD40 HD camcorder is considered to be a very professional one, it needs to perform well in order to stay in the race due to the other high definition camcorders in the market that bear the names of the stalwarts of the electronic goods like Sony and its ilk. Hence, due to this healthy competition, you will find that the camcorders from the potentially inferior companies like JVC, are improving day by day in the aspect of their performance. When you look at a camcorder or for that matter almost any electronic device, the three things that really matter when it comes to its performance are its video, audio and connectivity performances and their potential to be good at these three aforementioned aspects.
Video Performance:
As we have already discussed under the display and lens topics, the videos look stunning on the JVC Everio GZ HD 40 camcorder. Even though this is not a pretty famous company, it has still tried and used the best technology available at this point in time in the market. The very professional and costly lens that is used by this new camcorder from JVC allows you to capture stunning videos in almost all the conditions. Even though the cam is not great when it has to perform under poor lighting conditions, it can still be considered as a formidable one since the technology used here looks pretty impressive. Hence, you can really count on the videos delivered by this very good camcorder.
Audio Performance:
If the audio does not match the picture quality, then the videos look very dull and the camcorder will not be able to suffice all your needs. We have already seen that the videos are of very high quality from the JVC Everio GZ HD 40. It means that these videos need a very good audio back up and looks like they have got it. You have the two speakers and a built in stereo mic that records the sounds in stereo mode, hence giving you very good audio quality. This means that the videos look very good if not perfect, when they are played on your TV screen and you will not find any lapses in the audio quality.
Connectivity:
Connectivity is also as important as the other two performance aspects of a camcorder. The JVC Everio GZ-HD40 Compact Professional Camcorder has got so many connectivity options for a camcorder of this type. Even though it looks small and stylish, it still has got something to deliver through its ports that are dedicated to connect your camcorder to the external electronic devices. When you look at the ports that are available on this camcorder, you will find that there are these ports include HDMI output, USB, Composite video/audio output, Component video output, Microphone, DC power input, Headphones and Docking station. There is also an expansion slot for you to place a micro SD card and hence provide external memory to your camcorder in order to store the videos that are captured.
Hence, precisely, you can conclude that there is nothing inferior of this camcorder when it comes to performance. You will hence be pleasantly surprised at the way the camcorder operates and shoots pictures with stunning quality.
Battery:
The battery life of a camcorder is as important as any other main feature on it. Anybody on earth wants a camcorder that allows you to shoot more and more without worrying you regarding its battery life. It seems like the battery of this camcorder is a highly rated one. The JVC BN-VF815 Li-ion rechargeable battery gives you a very good battery life, which allows you to shoot for more than one and a half hour; 97 minutes and 39 seconds to be more precise, as informed by the various tests that were conducted before reviewing the product. This battery life may vary from the aforementioned time that depends upon the settings, zoom level and other sundry effects. But, overall, you have got a very good battery with you and this means that more often than not, you do not need a second one.
Warranty:
The JVC Everio GZ HD 40 comes with a parts and labour warranty for a period of one year from the original date of purchase, just like most of the camcorders in the market do.
Verdict:
Considering everything that is discussed in the above paragraphs, you can conclude that the JVC Everio GZ HD 40 is one of the best camcorders available in the market today. It appears to be a little costly but then, since it is tagged as a very professional camcorder, one can expect the price range to be very high. But nevertheless, you get full value for your money and all the features and performance aspects that are seen above, require latest high end technology that demands a very good value for the camcorder. Hence, you can really afford to buy this one of you are a pro. But if you are one of those novices and shoot for fun type of people, then it is very advisable that you go can think of going with a cheaper but still good quality camcorders in the market. That will not only save your money, but will also allow you to choose from a more variety of options.
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JVC Everio GZ-HD40 Digital Video Camcorder – Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | JVC |
| Model Name | Everio GZ HD 40 |
| Camcorder type | Professional Camcorder |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 2.9 x 4.8 x 2.7 inches |
| Weight | 16 oz. |
| Display | 2.8″ LCD Screen |
| VIDEO FEATURES | |
| Formats Supported | 1080i |
| Optical Zoom | 10 x |
| Compression of still image | JPEG |
| Image Size | 2432 x 1368 |
| Instant Shooting | Yes |
| Minimum Luminosity | 3 Lux |
| AUDIO FEATURES | |
| Audio System | Stereo |
| Built in Microphone | Stereo, zoom microphone |
| Specific features | Built in Speaker |
| CAMERA FEATURES | |
| Image Device: Size | 1 / 3″ CCD |
| Snap Shot | Yes |
| Switching | Yes, picture to video and vice versa |
| Photo Burst Mode | No |
| Digital Still Resolution | 2.68 megapixels |
| Features | |
| Specific features | Image Stabilisation, Shooting Modes, 2 Channel Audio Control |
| Others | |
| Sensor | CMOS |
| Recording | 24 Mbps |
| Memory | 120GB hard internal disk drive |
| Zoom Ratio (Digital) | 200 x |
| PORTS AND CONNECTIVITY | Audio Output, Digital Video Output, S-Video Output |
| Battery Life | 97 minutes approx. |
| Warranty | One year |
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