JVC Everio GZ-HD620

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Conclusion

The JVC GZ-HD620 is a solid mid-range HD camcorder that is fairly-priced with its £475 (retailer). The camcorder is low on manual controls, and its construction feels somewhat cheap, but it did well in our performance testing in both low and bright light.

Our biggest issues with the HD620, other than its cheap construction, is the fact that it includes a MicroSD card slot instead of the more common SD/SDHC slot. There is, of course, a 120GB internal hard drive on the camcorder too, so this memory card problem may not be an issue for most people (but it is still annoying). There's also the problematic Laser Touch strip interface that can be both frustrating and difficult to use.

Where the GZ-HD620 succeeds is in performance. The camcorder produced very accurate colours, low noise levels, decent sharpness, and good overall low light performance. Frankly, the fact that the HD620 did so well in our testing came as something of a surprise, particularly because its numbers matched up strongly with the more expensive models we compared it to.

The GZ-HD620 is not quite the best mid-range camcorder we've reviewed this year, but for the kind of performance it delivers, it is certainly one of the better deals. The camcorder is cheaper than the Canon HF M31 and the Panasonic HDC-HS60—both of what put up similar numbers in our battery of video tests—and about half the price of JVC's flagship GZ-HM1.

Note: The GZ-HD620 is not available through JVC, but other retailers do sell the PAL-Version.









Comparisons (Page 15 of 17)