JVC Everio GZ-HM340 Camcorder Review

Low Light Performance Summary
• Overall low light performance was decent, although the camcorder's low light sensitivity was not very strong. • Low light color accuracy and noise levels were good—better than all the comparison models we used.
	Motion & Sharpness Performance	(Page 5 of 17)	Compression & Media

Low Light Sensitivity (1.67)

The GZ-HM340 did better in our low light sensitivity tests than previous JVC camcorders, but its performance still wasn't very good. The camcorder required 20 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor, which is below average—even if it is better than some of the other camcorders in this set. Ideally, we like to see a mid-range HD camcorder have a low light sensitivity that is under 15 lux. (More on how we test low light sensitivity.)

Required Illumination *

* the lower the lux required, the better the performance

Of the camcorders in this set, only the Samsung HMX-H106 earned a decent score in this test. Still, the improvement of the GZ-HM340 over last year's GZ-HM200 shows that low light sensitivity is an issue JVC is trying to correct. As always, we conducted this test with the GZ-HM340's auto slow shutter turned off (but the camcorder's auto gain control was left on). If you leave the auto slow shutter turned on you will get better low light sensitivity, but your images may appear blurred or choppy due to the 1/30 shutter speed.

Low Light Color (8.28)

The GZ-HM340 did a lot better in our low light color and noise tests than it did in our low light sensitivity test. The camcorder managed a color error of 4.22 and a saturation level of 71.47% in this test, both of which are good scores. The saturation level is particularly high here, and it eclipsed the amount we measured on the three comparison camcorders. (More on how we test low light color.)

Auto Low Light Color Performance
Color Test Chart (above), Color Error Map (right)
The JVC GZ-HM340 produced a color error of 4.22 and a saturation level of 71.47% in our low light color testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camcorder processed each particular color.)

We want to stress how strong and vivid the GZ-HM340's colors looked in our low light test; you should check out the comparison images below for a better idea of what we're talking about. The JVC GZ-HM200 and Panasonic HDC-TM10 both look very washed out in comparison to the GZ-HM340, although the Samsung HMX-106 has deep colors that look similar to what the HM340 captured.

Low Light Comparison
JVC GZ-HM340	JVC GZ-HM200
Panasonic HDC-TM10	Samsung HMX-H106

Low Light Color Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GZ-HM340 to the JVC GZ-HM200
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM340 to the Panasonic HDC-TM10
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM340 to the Samsung HMX-H106

Low Light Noise (11.66)

The JVC GZ-HM340 was a top-notch performer in our low light color test. The camcorder averaged just 0.7425% noise in low light, which is only slightly more noise than the camcorder measured in bright light (this is a good thing). The Panasonic HDC-TM10 had similar results in this test, while the JVC GZ-HM200 had some slightly higher noise levels. The Samsung HMX-H106 was the worst camcorder in this set when it came to noise, but it also captured the sharpest image by far. (More on how we test low light noise.)

Noise at 60 lux Auto
JVC GZ-HM340 100% Crop	JVC GZ-HM200 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-TM10 100% Crop	Samsung HMX-H106 100% Crop

While the JVC GZ-HM340 didn't register much noise in our test, its low light image was not very sharp. You can see from the crops above that the camcorder captured a blurred, fuzzy image in low light—although its image was actually crisper than that of the JVC GZ-HM200 and Panasonic HDC-TM10.

Low Light Noise Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GZ-HM340 to the JVC GZ-HM200
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM340 to the Panasonic HDC-TM10
		Compare the JVC GZ-HM340 to the Samsung HMX-H106