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JVC Everio GZ-HD300 is a very decent midrange high definition digital camcorder for all those who despite the economic crisis still want to buy a camcorder and shoot great films.

Overview:

JVC Everio GZ-HD300 is a compact camcorder with appealing design and as is it available in a few different colors you will surely find the perfect one for you. The camcorder has a built-in 60 GB hard drive so you need not worry about lack of memory to record a film and thanks to the 2.7 LCD display you can clearly see what you are shooting. The most important thing is the image quality. So is the JVC Everio GZ-HD300 worth its price? Read on to find out.

JVC Everio GZ-HD300 pros:

+ 2.7 inch LCD display
+ Small and compact
+ Very god color accuracy (in good light)
+ 60GB built-in HDD
+ Simple menus
+ Accurate color rendering
+ 20x optical zoom

JVC Everio GZ-HD300 cons:

– Poor color performance in low light
- Blurry image in low light
- Too high noise levels
- No viewfinder

The design:
JVC Everio GZ-HD300 measures 2.1 x 4.4 x 2.7 inches and weighs 11.5 oz. As usual the front of the JVC Everio GZ-HD300 is dominated by the Konica Minolta HD lens below which you will see the LED video light and a microphone. On the right side you will see the composite AV-out port, the hand strap and USB port, whreas on the left the 2.7 inch LCD chamber with a few touch-sensitive buttons, several ports, and power on/off button. The top of the JVC Everio GZ-HD300 houses the zoom toggle and photo shutter button, whereas the bottom features the tripod mount, microSD card slot and battery release button.

Performance:
Although JVC Everio GZ-HD300 does not offer ny color control options it renders very good colors in good lighting conditions. The noise levels in this JVC camcorderCanon Vixia HF S100, or The new Sony HDR-XR520V. The JVC Everio GZ-HD300 has quite good motion, yet sometimes you can see some artifacting. One of the most neglected JVC Everio GZ-HD300 features is its sharpness. Here the camcorder disappoints and can’t compare even with the Panasonic HDC-SD20. JVC Everio GZ-HD300 does’n do a very good job in ow light – the noise is much too high and the colors are just average. Moreover, the image tends to get blurred and lacks detail. As the majority of moders high definition camcorders the JVC Everio GZ-HD300 uses the AVCHD compression to capture videos. And as it records them to the 60 GB hard drive most users won’t probably need the MicroSD/SDHC memory cards which are also supported by the latest JVC camcorder.

Still photos:
JVC Everio GZ-HD300 would not be a good choice for filmmakers who also like to take photos with their camcorders. The JVC camcorder has very few still photo features and the maximum resolution in only 1920 x 1080. What is more, the camcorder has no flash which excludes taking photos in low light and as the overall sharpness of the images is not too good it really makes difficult to want to take pictures with JVC Everio GZ-HD300.

Menus / ease of use:
The JVC Everio GZ-HD300 is generally easy, especially if you make use of the ‚Easy’ mode. If not, you will find plenty of manual controls some of which were reserved for more professional camcorder even a year ago. Yet, you will have to make manual adjustments using the Laser Touch slider which may be annoying at times. But when you get used to that the JVC Everio GZ-HD300 is a very pleasant device to work with.
All in all, i think that this is a very good camcorder for this price if you do not intend shooting too many films in lower light. If you do, however, you can also have a look at the Panasonic HDC-HS300 review.
Selected JVC Everio GZ-HD300 features and specifications:
Image Sensor

• Image Sensor 1/4.1″ 3.05 MP CMOS

Lens

• Optical Zoom 20X
• Digital Zoom 200X
• Filter Diameter 30.5mm

Recording Media

• Recording Media 60GB HDD
• Memory Card microSD/ SDHC Card

Video Light

• Auto Illumi. Light
  

Still Image Size

• 16:9 – 1920 x 1080

• Video Recording Format: [AVCHD] MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
• Full HD 1920 x 1080 Recording
• 1920 x 1080/60P Output

Storage

• 25 hours recording at the highest quality (Ultra-DVD Movie)

• Remote Control

Connectors

• USB, AV Ports

Features

• 60GB Internal Hard Disk Drive
• 25 hours recording at the highest quality (Ultra-DVD Movie)
• 24Mbps Ultra High Quality AVCHD Recording
• Face Detection
• HDMI V.1.3 with x.v.Color
• Power-Linked operation with Quick Restart
• Convenient 2-way Strap
• Auto Power ON/OFF & Auto Lens Cover

Other recently reviewed camcorders:

Panasonic HDC-SD20, Panasonic HDC-HS300, Sony HDR-XR520V, Canon Vixia HF S100.