JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black)

Posted by Cheryl P. | 6:00 PM
, , , ,


Best JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black)


I got this from a large discount club whose name starts with a 'C'. I paid 9.99 + sales tax for a special bundle that included a free 4GB class 6 card and a free carrying case as well. My review is based keeping in mind this price point. If you can get this camcorder for under 0, it is worth it. Otherwise look at other models/manufacturers.

Now on to the review...

First impressions: This camcorder is tiny. Coming from a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, it seemed to be real small to me. The ergonomics are ok though and I did not have any major issues with accessing any of the features or usage. I did have a hard time initially where I was pressing the menu items on the LCD screen itself, not realizing that you need to scroll on the 'laser touch' bar on the side of the LCD screen to select a menu item and then press the OK button to activate it.

Build quality: 3.5/5. No major complaints, though I would have liked to see more metal and less plastic.

Video quality in clear daylight: 4/5 (Very good). I shot test videos in XP mode which is the 2nd highest quality. Scenes included a farmers market with lots of colors - red tomatoes, yellow flowers, greens, etc and a few minutes of video in a park with lake and trees. Overall very pleased with the results and reds and yellows really came out nice and brilliant. The water on the lake came out nice and blue just like I saw it with naked eyes. Direct playback on my 46" Sony Bravia using the supplied component cable resulted in an image that could almost match the HDTV broadcasts. The zoom is quite fast and effective, though note the issue below.

Hint: 1) You need to set the signal format to output 1080i as the factory setting is 480p. Otherwise you will get poor playback quality. 2) While the zoom is great, you will want to invest in a tripod as the small size of the camera means that even small movements at high zoom result in unstable images.

Video quality indoors: 2.5/5 (borderline). A bit disappointing as the indoor video was quite grainy, even though I had some natural light coming in. For my own purpose, I am not too concerned as I have primarily bought this camcorder for outdoor use. If you plan to do a lot indoor shooting (birthday parties, for example), you need to either supplement indoor light or buy another (expensive) camcorder. This camcorder does have a built in light that can be activated, but it does not make a great deal of difference. Again, keep in mind the price point - you need to shell out 0 or more to get a camcorder with decent indoor capability.

Audio quality: 3/5 (Adequate): Human voices were captured quite nicely and the wind cut function worked well. The microphone was sensitive enough to pick up distant music in the park.

Software: 3/5 (Adequate): I had no problems playing videos using Windows Vista Ultimate. Nero Vision was able to recognize the .mts files produced by this camcorder without any issues.

Battery life: 3.5/5 (Fair): No worse than what I have seen with other camcorders. I was able to stretch to almost 100 minutes of combined shooting + playback. For my own use, I do not see a need for an extra battery as I rarely shoot more than 60 minutes of video in one go. I do carry a charger/inverter in my car when going on road trips so I can charge the battery while on road.

Digital still quality: Nothing of note here except to say that you need to get a dedicated still camera if you are serious about photography. For those not so special moments, this camcorder may be used to snap a few pictures.

Manual: This is a bit skimpy and does not cover all of the menus and their uses. I wish JVC would rewrite the manual to include explanations of all the menus and features.

Other thoughts: This camcorder has dual SD card slots which is really useful. The built-in lens cover looks a bit fragile so I suggest a getting a good carrying case.

Bottom line: Nice camcorder for the value conscious customer who realizes that no matter how much you spend, things are going to get obsolete in 1-2 years anyway.

Buy this camera if:

- You shoot primarily outdoors in good daylight
- Need a small and light device with reasonably good video quality
- Can get it for 0 or less

Do not buy this camera if:

- Indoor video quality is of primary concern (spend 0 or more on a much better camcorder in this case)
- Need a bit more crisper HD video - here you need to spend over ,000 on a camcorder with a bigger sensor.



JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black) Overview


The JVC Everio GZ-HM200BU is an ultra-compact full HD 1920 x 1080 memory camcorder with dual SD/ SDHC card slot, featuring 24Mbps high bit rate recording, Konica Minolta HD lens, 1920 x 1080/50P output, and face detection.



Great Price,Save $579.99 Off Money At Amazon.com



JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black) Product Features


  • Dual SD card slot for dual memory continuous recording
  • 1920x1080 Full HD recording
  • 20x optical zoom with Konica Minolta HD lens
  • Laser-touch operation with sub-trigger and zoom; one-touch upload to YouTube
  • Capture video to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)






Related Products









great for our daily use! - J. Hiraga - Los Angeles, CA
i've had this for a while, bought it to use it on our newborn baby. i keep it in the nursery and use it on a daily basis. i love every feature about it. the ease of use, the light weight. the picture quality on the camera could be better. so, i use my other digital camera to take pictures. but i guess i'm into real high quality pictures, 10 mega pixel? the camera quality is acceptable. the camcorder quality is great! great price too!







Beware using indoors - David A. Dirnberger - Sterling Heights, MI USA
I purchased this camera after reading all the great reviews online. Yes, the software that comes with the camera is not very good like everyone says, but most "included" software isn't very good anyways. What I was absolutely shocked was how horrible the video shot indoors was. Now I am using the term "indoor" and not "low light" because for me there is a difference. To me, low light is when the indoor lights are dim and someone is about to blow out candles, not indoors with every single light in a room on. This camera, even with a room lit up brightly, takes near unviewable videos. I have an older Panasonic still camera with a video function that takes much better indoor video than this camera. I went back and re-read the reviews, several other reviews do mention "low light" conditions as being a problem, but I never dreamed that meant a brightly lit indoor room. The final straw was a video I shot, during the day, next to my open doorwall inside my kitchen: horrible, grainy video. If you intend to use this camera indoors at all, be very careful before you buy.







Size Matters - Mary Santos - Houston, Texas
This camcorder is so small and I love it for that reason alone. Its tiny size makes it easy to fit in your purse or briefcase. The only downfall is that the small size can make it quite difficult to hold the camera steady.

I find the outdoor quality of filming far superior to indoor quality. It must be something to do with the amount of light available because the indoor video does tend to be a bit grainier and this is more obvious with less and less lighting. If indoor filming is your thing, I would not recommend this camcorder to you.

When filming outdoors, the quality is top notch. Intricate details in moving images from a home camcorder always seemed unimaginable, but you can make out these details with this camcorder, although I've found it necessary to use a tripod to eliminate my shaky hands and in such crisp images, shaky hands are painfully noticeable.

The "laser" touch menus are easy to operate, but there are so many options, it will take you a long time to become familiar with them and some of the options aren't easy to understand and caused me a great deal of frustration.

I don't feel the still image quality is as good as it could be. I find myself wondering when these camcorders will truly be all-in-one? This still requires me to lug my point and shoot digital camera around.

I love the use of memory cards. I'm glad tapes are officially on their way out. The cards make this really easy to hook right up to the computer.

Battery life is fair. Mine lasts anywhere from around 2 hours - 3 hours depending on outdoor temperature.

If you want to film amazing outdoor videos, particularly majestic landscape/wildlife movies, you will love this camcorder, but if you are looking for a camcorder purely for home videos (which would include a lot of indoor filming) you should try a different camcorder.








Great Secind Unit Camera - Compucat - Western, NY
This camcorder is a great second unit camera.
The colors are spot on.
20X Zoom is fantastic.
Face detection works.
The digital stabilization is outstanding.
Using 2 sdhc cards that switch from one to the
other automatically is pure genius.
I use older AVCHD canon's for my work and love using this camera
to cover some of Canon's deficiencies i.e.
20X Zoom (Canon's have 10 and 12X) I hate using
tele lenses because of the vignetting and other
problems.
Th digital stabilizion is amazing and better
on the move than my Canon's with their optical.
A benefit is the ability to mount this tiny camera
on a moving vehicle (or RC helicopter)
with digital stabilization it works great while
optical image stabilization gets screwed up.
The size enables you to stick it somewhere
and leave it or get a cheap housing for underwater
stuff.
The size and instant on also make it a great grab and go
- no fuss camera (especially with the face detection).
This camcorder is exactly what I needed to augment my
canons. It's perfect for my uses.

I also use the cellboost irecharge batteries that last
longer than the 815 series batteries and are less expensive.
(provide a nice camera grip too).

Notes on other reviews.
Stabilization is great but when zooming - use
a tripod, monopod, or brace yourself against something
especially in hi definition where everything
is magnified many fold.

This is an outstanding value for the price
and is highly recommended.






Product Information: Mar 24, 2010 19:00:08