JVC Everio GZ-HM1

Colour (9.86)

The GZ-HM1 put up good numbers in our colour test, which is something we almost always see from JVC camcorders. The model registered a colour error of 3.55 and a saturation level of 86.32%. While these numbers are very good, Panasonic did step up its game this year and produced more accurate colours with the HDC-TM700 than JVC was able to do with the GZ-HM1. Still, the HM1's performance is top-notch and it is nearly identical to the strong colour accuracy we saw on last year's JVC GZ-HM400. (More on how we test colour.)

Colour Accuracy Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The JVC GZ-HM1 produced a colour error of 3.55 and a saturation level of 86.32% in our bright 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.)

The Colour Error Map above shows that the GZ-HM1 did best when rendering blues and certain red colours. The camcorder had some trouble with greens, browns, and yellows, however. Unfortunately, the GZ-HM1 does not have any colour modes or alternate colour pre-sets. So, what you see in auto mode is basically what you get as far as colour and saturation levels are concerned (certain scene modes may tweak the colours, but none of them offer manual colour controls). The GZ-HM1 does have a sharpness adjustment option, which we show examples of in the Image Controls section of this review.

JVC GZ-HM1 Colour Modes
Auto	100% Crop

Overall, we're rather fond of the way the GZ-HM1 rendered colours in our test—just as we were with its predecessor, the GZ-HM400. The Panasonic HDC-TM700 offered more accurate colours with a higher saturation level, but to the naked eye this distinction is difficult to discern. Besides, what constitutes a 'good' colour performance is largely based on personal preference. We suggest you take a look at the comparison images below and be your own judge.

JVC GZ-HM1 Colour Comparisons
JVC GZ-HM1	Panasonic HDC-TM700
Canon HF S21	JVC GZ-HM400

	Close-Up Colour Comparisons
	Ideal	JVC GZ-HM1	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	JVC GZ-HM400
Red
	Ideal	JVC GZ-HM1	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	JVC GZ-HM400
Green
	Ideal	JVC GZ-HM1	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	JVC GZ-HM400
Blue
	Ideal	JVC GZ-HM1	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	JVC GZ-HM400
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	JVC GZ-HM1	Panasonic HDC-TM700	Canon HF S21	JVC GZ-HM400
Skin Tone 2

Of the four camcorders shown above, the only one that didn't earn an excellent score in this test was the Canon HF S21. In its defence, the HF S21 also has the most options for manually adjusting colour settings while you shoot, plus it offers a high number of colour pre-sets.

Colour Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GZ-HM1 to the Panasonic HDC-TM700
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM1 to the Canon HF S21
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM1 to the JVC GZ-HM400

Noise (11.32)

The GZ-HM1 averaged 0.465% noise in our bright light test, which is a very good performance—even for a high-end HD camcorder. This noise level is nearly identical to what we measured on the the Panasonic HDC-TM700, while the other two models in this set had a bit more noise in our testing. (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparisons
JVC GZ-HM1 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-TM700 100% Crop	Canon HF S21 100% Crop	JVC GZ-HM400 100% Crop

You can really see how the sharpness these HD camcorders are capable of capturing by looking at the cropped images above. Each of these models captured an extremely sharp image in bright light, but you can see some differences when you look closely. The Canon HF S21's image isn't quite as fine as the rest of the camcorders—a fact you can particularly see by looking at the left side of the horizontal trumpets near the bottom of the cropped image.

Noise Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GZ-HM1 to the Panasonic HDC-TM700
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM1 to the Canon HF S21
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM1 to the JVC GZ-HM400