Digital Trends

JVC Everio GZ-HD40

September 23rd, 2008 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

The black-bodied GZ-HD40 has a 3.3-megapixel CMOS sensor (a first for JVC) and is a compact, sturdy little camcorder that tips the scales at just 19 ounces with the battery attached. It feels good in the hand and the adjustable Velcro strap allows for a comfy-but-snug fit. Overall design is subdued but the designers went wild on the outer LCD door adding too many logos. One cool thing is that the large letters “HD” turn blue when you power up and open the screen. We’re always suckers for a light show. The camcorder measures 2.87 x 2.68 x 4.87 (WHD, in inches, body only). Unfortunately when you connect the battery, it sticks out from rear, messing up the design lines. I much prefer a recessed battery well—found on Canon, Sony and Panasonic models—than this in your face configuration. At least they didn’t stick the HDMI connection behind the battery like the folks at Panasonic (check out our Panasonic HS9 review).

One of the more unusual features of this camcorder is not external but internal. It (along with the $999 USD 80GB HD30) are the only models capable of recording two types of HD video: AVCHD and MPEG-2 TS. You may ask yourself why on earth would they do this? Pretty simple—it provides options for quality and recording time. It also gives video editors wide software choices. One of the critical specs for superior video is the bit rate shown as Constant Bit Rate (CBR) or Variable Bit Rate (VBR), rated in megabits per second. In theory, the higher the spec, the better the quality. The highest for AVCHD in this Everio is 17 Mbps while MPEG-2 TS is 26.6 Mbps. This higher bit rate gives you the quality but it also takes more space. So if you want to record 15 hours of 1920 x 1080 video at top resolution, you’d set it to record in AVCHD. If you’re looking for the best quality and “only” need 10 hours, use MPEG-2 TS. Menu options let you change on the fly—which is what we did in our testing. For the record Canon recently introduced three AVCHD models that record at 24 Mbps. The most similar to the HD40 is the 120GB Vixia HG21 ($1,299 USD) with a 12x zoom and optical image stabilization. We’re on the list to review one so we’ll report as soon as we can. Also for the record HDV tape-based camcorders record at around 25 Mbps, the reason their quality was better than earlier AVCHD models. We digress…now back to the HD40.

The front of the HD40 is dominated by the 10x optical zoom which is a shade less than competing Canons and Sonys with their 12x lenses. This camcorder has a manual lens cover switch rather than auto but at least it’s not a plastic cap tethered by a string. Also up front is a tiny LED light that’s really only good for subjects less than 5 feet away. Above the light is a sensor for the supplied remote control and below the light is small door covering the USB out port.

The right side holds the 120GB hard drive and there’s a logo attesting to this fact. Towards the front is a compartment with inputs for headphones and optional accessory mics. On the left is the swing-out LCD screen. It’s a good-quality 2.8-inch monitor rated 207K pixels with a 16:9 aspect ratio so you can properly frame your widescreen high-def recordings. On the left side of the screen are several handy controls and a joystick. Hit the Index button and you’ll see to the minute how much recording space is available. It’s pretty amazing seeing 15+ hours. Tap the button again you’ll see to the minute how much battery life is left. The 4-way joystick helps you navigate through menus and make manual adjustments. The Menu button gives you access to just that.

With the screen open you’ll find a variety of keys on the main body. They’re pretty standard—delete, auto/manual/info, play/record, quick review/direct backup, direct disc/focus assist and power on/off. You’ll also see the fan inlet and outlet to cool the HDD; the speaker is here as well.

On the top of the HD40 you’ll find a stereo mic, a cover for the accessory show (cold, unfortunately), several indicator lights along with the wide/tele toggle switch and a snapshot button for taking photos (2432 x 1368, 3.3MP). They can be saved to the HDD or a microSD card. The back is dominated by the battery (again unfortunately). To the right of it is a tiny mode switch (video/still), the record button and two compartments for a variety of connections—DC-in to charge it, HDMI, component and A/V out to watch your recordings. On the bottom is a compartment for the tiny microSD card which can also record HD video if you have a Class 4 or higher card. 4 gigs will give you another 30 minutes of AVCHD footage. There’s also a connector for the supplied Everio dock which basically replicates all the ports on the unit so you can have a tidy desktop—or wherever.

The JVC Everio GZ-HD40 comes with a solid kit: AC adapter, battery, component, A/V and USB cables, a remote, the dock and software CD-ROM including CyberLink PowerDirector 6 NE for HD editing, PowerProducer 4 NE for authoring Blu-ray, AVCHD and DVD disks, PowerCinema NE for Everio for HD file management and playback and PowerDVD 7 NE to playback AVCHD disks. You’ll need an HDMI cable and microSD card to round it out along with a spare battery since the HDD and LCD screen gobble power like crazy.

Once the battery was charged and card loaded, it was time to shoot some video.

Image Courtesy of JVC