JVC GZ-X900

Colour (9.78)

JVC has done a very good job with bright light colour accuracy this year, but the GZ-X900 isn't among its best performers. The X900 registered a colour error of 3.95 with a saturation level of 74.54%. While this is a good score, it pales in comparison to the excellent numbers achieved by the JVC GZ-HD320 (2.04 colour error, 96.51% saturation). The X900's scores more closely match the results from the Sanyo VPC-HD2000 and Panasonic HDC-HS300.  (More on how we test colour.)

Colour Accuracy Performance
Colour Test Chart (above), Colour Error Map (right)
The JVC GZ-X900 produced a colour error of 3.95 and a saturation level of 74.54% 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-X900 had trouble with purples, greens, yellows and most of the colour spectrum. It did very well with skin tones and some reds and blues, however. The main problem with the X900 is its dark image, which likely contributed to its poor colour error. Still, the colours on the X900 look quite good. They are strong, vivid, deep, and clear. The only problem is its aforementioned darker-than-average image.

JVC GZ-X900 Colour Sample
Auto	100% Crop

The above image is a frame pulled from our bright light video testing. The GZ-X900 has no colour modes or image settings, so there isn't really any way to adjust the colour on the camcorder (you can manually adjust exposure, shutter speed, and aperture, however). The comparison images below will give you a better idea of how the X900 looks against the competition.

JVC GZ-X900 Colour Comparisons
JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000
Panasonic HDC-HS300	JVC GZ-HD320

In the images above, you should be able to see how the X900 has a slightly darker image than the rest of the camcorders. It isn't much, but the white portions of the chart have less pop and don't jump out as much as the VPC-HD2000 or Panasonic HDC-HS300. The X900 also doesn't have the saturation level that the HD300 has. The colour patch samples below do an even better job of showing off the difference in saturation and brightness.

	Close-Up Colour Comparisons
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-HS300	JVC GZ-HD320
Red
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-HS300	JVC GZ-HD320
Green
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-HS300	JVC GZ-HD320
Blue
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-HS300	JVC GZ-HD320
Skin Tone 1
	Ideal	JVC GZ-X900	Sanyo VPC-HD2000	Panasonic HDC-HS300	JVC GZ-HD320
Skin Tone 2

The GZ-X900 is clearly a notch darker than every other camcorder in this set. Now, keep in mind that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It gives images more contrast and can make colours look more pleasing to some people. You can also boost the exposure manually if the camcorder's auto mode produces too dark an image for your liking.

Colour Performance Scores

Noise (9.91)

The GZ-X900 kept the noise levels quite low in our bright light testing, but its numbers weren't any better than the competition. The X900 averaged 0.4025% noise, which is slightly better than the GZ-HD320, and on par with the HDC-HS300. The GZ-X900 ran into far worse problems with noise in our low light performance testing. (More on how we test noise.)

Noise Comparisons
JVC GZ-X900 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop	Panasonic HDC-HS300 100% Crop	JVC GZ-HD320 100% Crop

The crops above show off each camcorder's sharpness capability. Notice how crisp and fine the X900's image is, even though it is a bit dark. Its sharpness actually rivals the HDC-HS300, which has an exceptionally sharp picture as well. Also, take a look at how much clearer the X900's image is compared to the GZ-HD320. We'll go over sharpness more in the Motion and Sharpness section of this review.

Noise Score Comparisons