JVC Everio GZ-HD320

              

The Canon Legria HF20 is roughly £300 more expensive than the JVC GZ-HD320 and it has a number of different specs. Instead of recording to an internal hard drive, the HF20 has 32GB of internal flash memory. The camcorder also includes an SD/SDHC memory card slot to expand its storage space. There are many benefits to flash memory—it is more efficient because it has no moving parts, it isn't as easily corruptible as a hard drive—but it is also a lot more expensive. Also, the Canon Legria HF20 is still larger and heavier than the HD320 even though it doesn't have the added bulk of an internal hard drive.

In our testing, these two camcorders were wildly different. The JVC GZ-HD320 had the edge in most categories—with the notable exception being video sharpness. In bright light, the Canon Legria HF20 is one of the sharpest, most detailed camcorders we have ever tested. The JVC, on the other hand, had more accurate colours and lower noise levels, but it did not produce a very sharp image. The Canon Legria HF20 also had an edge in low light sensitivity, but the performance by both camcorders was rather poor. We have to give the Canon the overall edge in performance, simply because of its amazingly crisp, sharp image in bright light.

The JVC has a simpler menu system than the Canon, but the HF20 offers a navigation joystick instead of the awkward Laser Touch used on the JVC. If you are used to traditional camcorder design, the Canon HF20 will likely please you. It has a large, padded hand strap and a round, comfortable design that fits nicely in the hand. It doesn't have quite as many manual controls as the JVC GZ-HD320, but the two camcorders have approximately the same amount of features overall.

                                                                                                 

	Comparison Specs
	JVC GZ-HD320	Canon Legria HF20
Price	£499	£799
Primary Recording Media	120GB internal hard drive	32GB internal flash memory
Secondary Recording Media	MicroSD Memory Card	SD/SDHC Memory Card
Image Sensor	1/4.1-inch CMOS	1/4-inch CMOS
Effective Pixel Count	3.05 Megapixels	2.99 megapixels (video)  3.31 megapixels (stills)
Mic Input	None	Yes, 3.5mm
LCD	2.7-inch with 123,000-pixel resolution	2.7-inch with 211,000-pixel resolution
Viewfinder	None	None
Weight	370 g with battery	400 g with battery
Dimensions	53 x 68 x 113mm	70 x 62 x 124mm
HD	Yes	Yes
Frame Rates	1080/50i	1080/50i, 25p
Compression	AVCHD	AVCHD
Maximum Bitrate	24Mbps	24Mbps
Optical Zoom	20x	15x
Stabilisation	Digital	Optical

	Scores
	JVC GZ-HD320	Canon Legria HF20
Colour	17.16	8.37
Noise	10.29	5.65
Video Sharpness	8.89	12.78
Low Light Sensitivity	0.45	1.16
Low Light Colour	7.24	6.18
Low Light Noise	12.75	3.62

Bright Light Close-ups
JVC GZ-HD320  100% Crop	Canon Legria HF20  100% Crop

Video Sharpness Score Comparisons