JVC Picsio GC-FM1 Camcorder Review

Motion & Sharpness Performance Summary
• The camcorder shoots 1080p footage using a 30p frame rate or 720p footage with a 60p frame rate. • Footage from our motion test looked sharp and smooth, but had quite a bit of artefacting. • The GC-FM1 did very well in our video sharpness test—far better than most ultra-compact camcorders. • Shooting at 720p resulted in much lower video sharpness results.
	Colour & Noise Performance	(Page 4 of 17)	Low Light Performance

Motion (5.35)

The GC-FM1 uses a 30p frame rate when shooting in the camcorder's 1080p mode, but when shooting with the 720p or VGA setting the camcorder uses a 60p frame rate (the QVGA setting also shoots at 30p). We found the GC-FM1 to look much better shooting at 1080p than 720p, despite the lower frame rate. The footage was far sharper, there was less artefacting, and the 720p showed signs of aliasing, blur, and discolouration that were not present in the 1080p mode. (More on how we test motion.)

Of course, the JVC GC-FM1's ability to capture motion wasn't perfect, although this is something all ultra-compact camcorders have trouble with. The GC-FM1 had a good amount of noticeable artefacting in its captured image—a bit more than the Flip UltraHD, a bit less than the Sony MHS-PM1—and its image was slightly smoother than average. We also noticed some jagged edges on the black and white pin-wheel during our motion test.

The Flip UltraHD showed less artefacting in our motion test than the other camcorders listed here. However, it also had trouble producing a smooth image at times, and it has no alternate video resolution or frame rate options—all video is recorded at 1280 x 720 with a 30p frame rate.

The MHS-PM1 produced a large amount of pixelated artefacts in our motion test. These pixelated splotches showed up on the RGB pin-wheel, although the rest of our motion test footage had significant artefacting as well. Trailing and blur were kept to a minimum, but the camcorder also didn't capture very smooth motion. Like most ultra-compacts, the Sony MHS-PM1 captures video using a 30p frame rate.

The Kodak Zx1 is interesting from a motion standpoint because it offers both 60p and 30p frame rates. Unlike the JVC GC-FM1, both of the Zx1's frame rate options are available when shooting 1280 x 720 video, which is the camcorder's maximum video resolution (the JVC offers 1080/30p and 720/60p). We liked the Zx1's 60p footage and found it to be very smooth. Like all of the ultra-compacts we've testing, the camcorder still showed plenty of artefacting.

Video Sharpness (11.66)

The GC-FM1 captured a sharp, crisp image in our video testing, and it measured a horizontal and vertical sharpness of 750 line widths per picture height (lw/ph). These are significantly better numbers than what the three comparison models achieved in this test. Since the Flip UltraHD and Kodak Zx1 only capture video at a maximum resolution of 1280 x 720, a comparison between these models and the Picsio may not be fair. The Sony MHS-PM1, however, records video at 1080p just like the Picsio, and its sharpness values were still quite a bit lower than the GC-FM1's.  (More on how we test video sharpness.)

We did test the GC-FM1 in its 720p mode, just to see what its sharpness levels would be at that resolution. The results were much worse: roughly 500 lw/ph horizontal and 450 lw/ph vertical. We recommend sticking with the 1080p mode when shooting with the Picsio.

Video Sharpness Score Comparison		Compare the JVC GC-FM1 to the Flip UltraHD
		Compare the JVC GC-FM1 to the Sony MHS-PM1
		Compare the JVC GC-FM1 to the Kodak Zx1