JVC Everio GZ-HD320

Handling & Use Summary
• Camcorder doesn't have a simple use or easy mode, but its auto mode is decent. • Laser Touch slider can be aggravating until you get the hang of it. • Compact size is light and portable, although not small enough to fit in most pockets. • Menu system is rather simple, with all menus organized under one set-up. • 2.7-inch LCD screen is your standard fare.
	Still Features	(Page 9 of 17)	Playback & Connectivity

Ease of Use (6.5)

Handling (6.0)

All the 2009 consumer camcorders from JVC have a very similar design. They all feature a compact, boxy design with a slick coating of smooth gloss. Since the JVC GZ-HD320 has a 120GB internal hard drive built into its body, it has a slight bump on its right side—a design that should be familiar to anyone who has used a hard drive camcorder before. The thing is, the HD320 actually has less of a right-side bump than most internal hard drive camcorders (especially ones loaded with a huge hard drive). It's really personal preference as to whether this design is good or bad. If you like having a tall protrusion on the right side of the camcorder to wrap your hands around, the JVC GZ-HD320 may not give you enough to grab hold of. If you like a more streamlined design, on the other hand, the HD320 may be the fit you are looking for.         

The JVC GZ-HD320 fits comfortably in the hand.

One of the biggest problems with the GZ-HD320 is its thin, flimsy hand strap. The strap doesn't provide much support, is terribly uncomfortable, and doesn't accommodate people with large hands very well. This hand strap issue is a problem with all JVC consumer camcorders in 2009, as they all feature a similar design. This doesn't bode well for a long day of shooting, where a good hand strap can be a life saver. On the bright side, the GZ-HD320 is quite light, so it shouldn't be too difficult to hold for long periods of time.         

Unfortunately, the new hand strap offers little in the way of support

There's also the issue of the Laser Touch control system on the HD320. The system, which is unique to JVC camcorders, utilizes a touch sensitive strip on the left side of the LCD panel. The strip is used to navigate menus, make manual adjustments, and control many aspects of the camcorder. While the strip can be useful for quickly scrolling through menus or making wide-range adjustments, it can also be very difficult to control precisely. We found ourselves fumbling over the Laser Touch numerous times as we tried to set exact controls like focus and exposure settings. 

Stabilisation (8.7)

Portability (8.95)

JVC has used a small, compact design on all its new HD camcorders this year. Yes, they still have the traditional horizontal shape, but everything is quite portable and light. Of course, by making things small you also have to cut out a number of features. The hand strap on the GZ-HD320 is thin and flimsy, the camcorder offers no viewfinder or accessory shoe, and connectivity options are limited. Still, at 370g including the battery, the HD320 is smaller than most camcorders in its class. This is saying a lot, especially when you consider the camcorder has a built-in 120GB hard drive. The GZ-HD320 is both lighter and thinner than the Panasonic HDC-HS20.

Looking at the numbers, the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 is a bit lighter than the JVC HD320. That camcorder, however, includes no internal memory. This means you have to invest in a collection of memory cards before you can use it to shoot or take it with you on vacation. The HD320's 120GB hard drive is a terrific asset as far as portability is concerned, and it is perfect for people who always forget to pack tapes or memory cards in their camera bag.

The JVC GZ-HD320 could fit into a large pocket if you force it to, but it really isn't designed for that kind of transportation. This puts the camcorder into a middle category—it's a good deal smaller than your average camcorder, but it's still too big to be considered an ultra-compact.            

Battery Life (5.2)

The JVC GZ-HD320 lasted for 104 minutes in our battery life test. This is a good performance for the little camcorder, especially compared to some of the competition. The Panasonic HDC-HS20 lasted just under 90 minutes, while the Canon Legria HF20 was just under 100. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 lasted for the longest time (112 minutes), but that camcorder has an enclosed battery pack, which means you cannot upgrade to a larger, longer-lasting battery. (More on how we test battery life.)    

Battery Life Comparisons

The battery on the JVC GZ-HD320 loads from the back, with the DC-input resting just above the battery compartment. This open-compartment design makes it simple to upgrade to a larger battery in order to give the camcorder more life. All the camcorders in this set, other than the Sanyo VPC-HD2000, can be fitted with with larger batteries.         

The included BN-BF808U battery has a decent life,  but you may want to upgrade to something larger.

LCD & Viewfinder (7.17)

The JVC GZ-HD320 comes with a 2.7-inch, 123,000-pixel LCD. As is customary on most consumer camcorders, the LCD panel can be rotated up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles, including self-recording. You can manually set the brightness of the LCD within the menus. A slider will appear, giving you a choice of eleven different increments. There is also a Monitor Backlight feature that can be set to auto, standard, or brighter. As we so often remind our readers, always take care when tampering with the brightness setting of your LCD. On a camcorder with no viewfinder, brightened LCDs often give a false impression of what the final footage will look like.           

The 2.7-inch LCD is not a touch screen...		...but it features JVC's Laser Touch controls.

The JVC GZ-HD320 does not have a viewfinder—unlike some more expensive models from Panasonic and Sony. That means lining up your shots has to take place with the LCD. Fortunately, JVC hasn't switched over to touch screen operation just yet. That should keep your LCD relatively fingerprint-free. The Display button inside the LCD cavity will clear up some of that valuable LCD real estate if you feel the screen is too cluttered.

On the down side, no touch screen means that you're relying entirely on JVC's Laser Touch operation. It's a system that takes some getting used to (see Ease of Use and Handling, above), but it works well and keeps your fingers and fingerprints out of the way.

Menus (4.5)

The menu system on the JVC GZ-HD320 is a huge relief after wading through the complex layered mazes presented on many of the industry's flagship camcorders. On the top models from several other manufacturers, there are different menus that pop up depending on which button you push. And it's often not obvious which menu might house the particular feature you want. The JVC is as straightforward as they come.             

The main menu houses just about every  feature you could be looking for.		In dedicated still photography mode,  the main menu has a few unique options.

On the HD320, everything is packed neatly into a single menu, which is accessed via the Menu button on the LCD panel. Most of the important features are right there in the main menu, while some things are filed into a handful of sub menus. The most commonly used sub menu for many users will be the Manual Settings sub menu, which is located right at the top of the main menu—as long as you're not in Auto mode, which hides the Manual Settings completely. In Manual Settings, you have access to every kind of manual image adjustment you would want to make, including full manual controls (like shutter speed and manual focus) and more automated features (like scene modes and Auto Gain Control).         

When in Manual Mode, the Manual Settings sub menu  consolidates all image adjustments into one place.

The one drawback to the menu interface is the Laser Touch controls, which lack the precision needed to breeze through a list of items and stop quickly on the item of your choice. Once you're accustomed to the system, it's actually quite simple and fun to use, but the learning curve is quite steep. The Laser Touch simply isn't as responsive as you think it should be, causing a lot of choices to fly by when you least expect them to. Keeping the operation sounds activated helps quite a lot, since the beep can help you tell when to stop scrolling.        

All the usual administrative settings are in one of four  sub menus: Display, Basic, Connection, or Media.

If you're looking for the operation sounds option or any other administrative function, you'll need to check out the other sub menus located at the bottom of the main menu. Display Settings, Basic Settings, Connection Settings, and Media Settings all hold the options you'd expect to find there. The one option we might have put somewhere else? Changing the peaking colour for focus assist is in the Display Settings sub menu, instead of gathered with the manual controls. Everything else is logically and intuitively organized. What a welcome departure from the convoluted menus we've seen on most of the competition. This GZ-330 can be set to one of seven different languages, including French, Spanish, and Portuguese.