JVC Everio GZ-HD620

Still Features (8.56)

For a camcorder without impressive still image specs, the GZ-HD620 has quite a few still features. The camcorder has three image size options (1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1080, and 640 x 480), two image quality settings, a self-timer, and a continual shooting mode. There's no flash on the camcorder, but the video light can be used in photo mode. You can also take photos while recording vide on the GZ-HD620 as well as capture still images from video during playback.

The self-timer can be set as a 2-second or 10-second timer, and it has an additional option for snapping a photo when a new face is detected within the frame. A great feature, when it works correctly, for making sure you get the whole family in the group photo.

	JVC GZ-HD620	Panasonic HDC-HS60	Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HM1
Maximum Native Resolution	4:3 – 1440 x 1080 16:9 – 1920 x 1080	4:3 – 1600 x 1200 3:2 – 1680 x 1120 16:9 – 1920 x 1080	4:3 – 2100 x 1575 16:9 – 2304 x 1296	4:3 – 3648 x 2736 16:9 – 3648 x 2056
Quality	Fine, Standard	Normal, High	Super Fine, Fine, Normal	Fine, Standard
Flash	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Simultaneous Video/Still	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
ISO	Yes	No	No	Yes
Continuous Shot	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bracketing	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Self-Timer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Smile Shutter	No	Yes	No	No

Still Colour (7.99)

The GZ-HD620 did worse on our still colour test than the camcorder did in our video colour accuracy testing. In its photos, the camcorder registered a colour error of 4.38 and a saturation level of 111.1%. Both of these numbers ar ea bit too high for our liking, and we expected to see a more accurate colour score from the camcorder (considering it did so well in our video colour testing). (More on how we test still colour.)

The still photography colour error map: the length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular colour.

Despite the colours not being very accurate according to our testing software, we still liked the way the GZ-HD620's still images looked. Colours definitely popped and were more vibrant than the mid-range competition, which you should be able to see by looking at the sample images below.

JVC GZ-HD620 Still Colour Comparisons
JVC GZ-HD620	Panasonic HDC-HS60
Canon HF M31	JVC GZ-HM1

Still Colour Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the Panasonic HDC-HS60
		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the Canon HF M31
		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the JVC GZ-HM1

Still Noise (7.5)

The GZ-HD620's noise levels in our still image testing weren't bad, coming in at 0.63%. This isn't much different than the amount of noise we measured on the camcorder's bright light video images and it is a whole lot less noise than we saw from the competition. (More on how we test still noise.)

Still Noise Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the Panasonic HDC-HS60
		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the Canon HF M31
		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the JVC GZ-HM1

Still Sharpness (0.0)

Unfortunately, the GZ-HD620 flunked our still sharpness test. The camcorder measured a horizontal sharpness of just 798 lw/ph with 23.8% oversharpening and a corresponding vertical sharpness of 446 lw/ph with 25.2% undersharpening. These numbers are roughly half that of what we measured on the competition. Still, none of these camcorders were able to capture still images with as much detail or sharpness that a good digital camera would be capable of.  (More on how we test still sharpness.)

Still Sharpness Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the Panasonic HDC-HS60
		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the Canon HF M31
		Compare the JVC GZ-HD620 to the JVC GZ-HM1