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JVC Everio GZ-HD320

First Impressions Review

Previous: Part 3

Motion & Sharpness Performance

Next: Part 5

Compression & Media
May 22, 2009 By Kaitlyn Chantry
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JVC Everio GZ-HD320
Part 4

Low Light Performance Summary



• Terrible low light sensitivity
• Low light colour and noise levels are average
• Image is fuzzy, blurred, and doesn't capture much detail in low light.


Low Light Sensitivity (0.45)

To put it bluntly; the low light performance of the GZ-HD320 is terrible. In our tests, it needed more light than others to capture a decent image: it needed 27 lux, while the Panasonic HDC-HS20 require 23, and the Sanyo HD2000 needed only 9. What this means in real world terms is that if you try and shoot video with the GZ-HD320  at a party or outside in the evening, it will look awful, while the Sanyo might still be able to capture something that looks almost respectable. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)
Required Illumination *
* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

The GZ-HD320 isn't alone in having lacklustre low light performance, though; both the Panasonic and the Canon also had poor performance, although they were slightly better than the JVC. The other camcorders do have the advantage of alternate frame rates, though; using their 25fps modes can slightly improve low light performance, as it gives the sensor more time to gather light.

Low Light Sensitivity
Mode JVC GZ-HD320 Panasonic HDC-HS20 Canon Legria HF20  Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Auto Gain 27 Lux 23 Lux 22 Lux 9 Lux

Low Light Colour (7.24)

The JVC GZ-330HD had some issues with the colour it captured in low light as well; the colours became significantly less accurate and less saturated than when shooting in bright light. However, this colour accuracy falloff was less pronounced than some other camcorders that we have seen. (More on how we test low light colour.)
Auto Low Light Colour Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The JVC GZ-HD320 produced a colour error of 5.05 and a saturation level of 57.49% in our low light colour testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the colour error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular colour.)

You can see from the chart above how all of the colours on our test chart were inaccurate, with flat, unrealistic colour and poor saturation.

Low Light Comparison
JVC GZ-HD320 Panasonic HDC-HS20
Canon Legria HF20  Sanyo VPC-HD2000

The only camcorder that didn't have poor performance here was the Sanyo; colours in the videos that this captured had good colour down to a very low light level.

Low Light Colour Score Comparison

Low Light Noise (12.75)

The video that the GZ-HD320 captured in low light were extremely soft, but the problem here wasn't noise; in our tests, we found that the camcorder still had low noise at low light levels: around 0.5%. That compares well with the 2.53% of the Canon, but is about the same as the 0.46% of the Panasonic.  (More on how we test low light noise.)
Noise at 60 lux Auto
JVC GZ-HD320
100% Crop 		Panasonic HDC-HS20
100% Crop 		Canon Legria HF20
100% Crop 		Sanyo VPC-HD2000
100% Crop

Noise is only part of the equation here, and as the samples above show, the JVC GZ-HD320 video was extremely soft and fuzzy, with fine details vanishing into a haze. In contrast, the Canon HF30 may be noisier, but the video looks more attractive.

Low Light Noise Score Comparisons
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JVC Everio GZ-HD320
First Impressions Review
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Motion & Sharpness Performance

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Compression & Media