JVC Everio HD10, HD30 and HD40 hands-on

We got a quick look at JVC's new AVCHD camcorders today, the GD-HD40, GZ-HD30 and GZ-HD10. Of note, the HD40 comes complete with a dock for extra hookups like FireWire, and the HD40 and HD30 can shoot video in MPEG-2 for higher quality and easier editing. JVC has done some serious work on noise reduction on all of the cameras, but from the samples shown, it comes at the cost of detail -- some of the vids we saw looked more like watercolors or 3D renders than true video. Hopefully that's something you'll be able to configure to your liking, and we're glad JVC is leaving MPEG-2 on here to avoid compression that might exacerbate the problem further. That said, most users are going to be very pleased with the kind of color and low noise they can get at night or in badly-lit rooms. The cameras are certainly small for their feature sets, but at about a pound apiece they feel pretty heavy for their size. Otherwise the build is standard JVC fare -- not too fancy, not too plain. We also got a chance to peep some over JVC's other new consumer gear, so check it out in the gallery below.

Gallery: JVC Everio HD10, HD30 and HD40 hands-on

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[phanbouy @ Jun 17th 2008 8:43PM]

i think you misspelled "ban me" on your apple there

[happy_penguin @ Jun 17th 2008 11:04PM]

Thank Buddha they got rid of that mess. :-)

[phanbouy @ Jun 18th 2008 12:44AM]

ha... i just realized something.

Q: What's the one circumstance you can reply to a reply on engadget?

A: When the original post is deleted by the moderator.

[Big T @ Jun 17th 2008 8:49PM]

you are worthless.

[edx.misc @ Jun 17th 2008 8:50PM]

Nice

[Adamwho @ Jun 17th 2008 9:07PM]

I don't know why people would buy a full featured camcorder any more.

The Flip and other mini-camcorders meet the basic needs of the consumer at a fraction of the price.

[BrettB @ Jun 17th 2008 10:04PM]

Some people actually care about the quality of the video. I personally can't stand the crap that comes out of a cheap camera. These may not be for everyone, but thank goodness they're available for those who want them.

[hello @ Jun 17th 2008 10:24PM]

except for the fact that "these" kinda suck.

[travis @ Jun 17th 2008 10:30PM]

Um, nope...give me high definition for my newborn. That's why I got the Canon HF10.

[Michael Scrip @ Jun 25th 2008 8:11PM]

I guess it's the same people that use their cellphone camera instead of using a digital point-n-shoot or DSLR.

C'mon. Dedicated high quality cameras are always better than the tiny, almost disposable cameras in cellphones or the Flip.

[steve @ Jun 17th 2008 10:42PM]

"but at about a pound apiece they feel pretty heavy for their size."

wow, it must be all the lifting im doing, but i dont think a pound is heavy

[Beau @ Jun 17th 2008 10:48PM]

"That said, most users are going to be very pleased with the kind of color and low noise they can get at night or in badly-lit rooms"

Yay for home made porn.

[Information Central @ Jun 17th 2008 11:19PM]

"we're glad JVC is leaving MPEG-2 on here to avoid compression that might exacerbate the problem further."

Just WTF do you think MPEG-2 is?

Also worrisome is that JVC never actually says the camera has progressive chips. In fact, it says it CONVERTS the signal to 1080/60P. It says it's "processing engine" handles 60P. But nowhere does it say that this thing really captures progressive images.

No one should be shooting interlaced video, for ANY purpose, in this day and age.

[Shahryar @ Jun 18th 2008 4:48PM]

Hmm.. I'm looking to purchase a Canon XH-A1 soon and I'm pretty sure that shoots in interlaced. But at around that price, what else could I Consider?

[Adam @ Jun 18th 2008 12:13AM]

I wouldn't buy another JVC if my life depended on it!

[Some Kid @ Jun 18th 2008 10:52AM]

MPEG 4 or H.264
those are the most widely used and should be on every camcorder from now on
especially cause regular video programs that come standard on Windows and Macs (WMM and iMovie(HD) respectively) dont use AVCHD
then again WMM sucks so.....
but those 2 codecs are most widely used and should be avalible on all camcorders

[Joseph @ Jun 18th 2008 2:07PM]

I use FCP mostly. However I do find that using MPEG Streamclip to convert the footage dramatically reduced render times. I have to echo your sentiments to give us some great native encoding.