JVC GZ-HM340

Part 19

Samsung HMX-H106 Comparison

The Samsung HMX-H106 is a lot more expensive than the JVC GZ-HM340, but for the extra cash you get far better video performance. In our testing, the HMX-H106 often rivaled the best consumer camcorders of 2009, while the GZ-HM340 consistently performed like a solid mid-range model. All you need to do is look how sharp the image from the HMX-H106 is as compared to the JVC GZ-HM340 to understand what we are talking about.

Besides performance, the Samsung HMX-H106 also has a better design than the GZ-HM340. Some people may not like the unique hand strap system on the Samsung, but we found it made the camcorder more comfortable to use and a more versatile product overall.The Samsung does use a touchscreen interface, however, so keep that in mind when you compare it with the JVC. The HMX-H106 also has 64GB of internal memory, which is a boatload more than what the GZ-HM340 comes with.

The JVC is a much smaller camcorder than the HMX-H106, which is really its only advantage over the Samsung—other than price. If video performance is a primary concern of yours we have to recommend the Samsung HMX-H106 (or its sister models the HMX-H105 and HMX-H104) over the JVC GZ-HM340.