Canon Legria HF M31

JVC seriously impressed us with the improved low light capability on the GZ-HD620. We expected the camcorder's strong colour accuracy scores in both bright and low light, but it is the excellent noise and sensitivity numbers put up by the GZ-HD620 that left a lasting impression. Of course, the camcorder didn't manage to capture as sharp or detailed an image that we saw from the Canon HF M31, but the GZ-HD620's solid performance in other testing categories make it an intriguing camcorder.

The GZ-HD620 is quite cheap, but the camcorder feels rather cheap as well. Its flimsy hand strap, poorly-designed port covers, and scratch-prone body are just a few issues we had with the HD620's construction. That being said, this is probably what you should expect from one of the cheapest mid-range HD camcorders on the market. As far as features go, the GZ-HD620 isn't the most versatile product. The camcorder has a shutter-priority mode, a time-lapse record feature, and a few other manual controls that are mostly forgettable. The camcorder has no alternate frame rates, mediocre still features, and it uses a digital image stabilisation system (rather than optical, which is usually the preferable system). We also cringe at the fact that you must use MicroSD memory cards with the GZ-HD620 when you don't want to record to its 120GB internal hard drive. MicroSD cards are nowhere near as easy to find as regular SD/SDHC memory cards, which are used by nearly every other consumer camcorder—even the new JVC models!

Is the JVC GZ-HD620 a better camcorder than the HF M31? Probably not, particularly when you take into account the very good motion and sharpness scores we measured from the Canon HF M31. Still, the GZ-HD620 is not a camcorder that should be fully dismissed. It is a solid all-around performer that is available for a very reasonable price.

Note: The JVC GZ-HD60 is not available on JVC's website, but you can buy it from other retailers, like Amazon.

	Comparison Specs
	Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620
Price	£755	£475
Primary Recording Media	32GB internal flash memory	120GB internal hard drive
Secondary Recording Media	SD/SDHC memory card	MicroSD memory card
Image Sensor	1/4-inch CMOS	1/4.1-inch CMOS
Effective Pixel Count	2.99 megapixels	Unknown (total pixel count is 3.32 megapixels)
Mic Input	Yes	No
LCD	2.7 inches with 211,000 pixels	2.7 inches with 123,000 pixels
Viewfinder	None	None
Weight	380g	310g
Dimensions	68 x 60 x 123mm	53 x 63 x 115mm
HD	Yes	Yes
Frame Rates	50i, PF25, PF30	50i
Compression	AVCHD	AVCHD
Maximum Bitrate	24Mbps	24Mbps
Optical Zoom	15x	30x
Stabilisation	Optical with Dynamic and Powered IS settings	Digital with Advanced mode

	Scores
	Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620
Colour	9.67	10.57
Noise	8.78	10.15
Video Sharpness	11.66	10.78
Low Light Sensitivity	2.77	6.3
Low Light Colour	7.91	9.83
Low Light Noise	9.31	11..48

Canon HF M31 Colour Comparisons
Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HD620

Video Sharpness Score Comparison