Tag: Capacity

by Leland Richardson on November 20, 2021 0

JVC Everio GZ-HD500 Overview

The JVC Everio GZ-HD500 is a high definition camcorder that records 1920 x 1080 video in the AVCHD format with a built-in hard disc drive.

The GZ-HD500 carries a suggested retail price of $549. Full technical specifications for the GZ-HD500 can be found here.

JVC Everio GZ-HD500 Video Features

The Everio GZ-HD500 uses the full AVCHD format for 1920 x 1080 high definition recording. It supports 24Mbps recording, the highest bit-rate available in the AVCHD video format. The HD500 features a 1/5.8-inch, 1.3-megapixel CMOS image sensor. Unlike JVC’s mid-range models, the HD500 cannot record in standard definition (not that you’d really miss it, would you?).

You can snap still photos with the HD500, however there’s no built-in flash so unless you’re operating in plenty of sunlight and keep steady, you’re likely to get blurry pics from it.

Optical Features

You’ll find a 20x optical zoom lens on the Everio GZ-HD500. This optical zoom is joined by a digital zoom which increases magnification to 200x. The lens uses JVC’s “Enhanced Advanced Image Stabilizer” for keeping your footage relatively shake-free. According to the company, the image stabilization technology can compensate for camera shake at wide-angles and is four times as effective in combating shake than the Advanced Stabilization found on less expensive models in the Everio line. In our experience, JVC has some of the best image stabilization technology in the camcorder market.

The HD500’s lens is conveniently protected by an automatic lens cap.

Memory and Display

The GZ-HD500 offers an 80GB built-in hard drive plus a single microSD/SDHC memory card slot. Unfortunately, it doesn’t accept higher-capacity SDXC cards for additional storage capacity, although with 80GB on board, you probably will not find yourself running out of memory. There is no seamless recording on the HD500, so you will need to manually switch between hard drive and memory card recording.

You’ll frame your recordings on a large 2.7-inch Laser Touch LCD display. The Laser Touch display is something of hybrid – it’s not a touch screen but there are no tactile buttons either. Instead, you’ll find a serious of touch-sensitive controls on the edge of the display, including a swipe bar, for navigating around the HD500’s menu items. In our experience, this Laser Touch display can be more responsive than small touch screens although it takes some getting used to.

Design

Design-wise, the HD500 is bulkier than JVC’s flash memory camcorders and much heavier at 1.82lbs (by contrast, JVC’s flash camcorders usually weigh about half as much). The HD500 measures in at 2.1 x 2.4 x 4.8 inches, roughly the same form factor as the entry-level series of Everios, and features a zoom lever on the top of the camcorder and a record shutter located on the side, next to the camcorder’s battery. Open the display and you’ll find buttons video playback, scrolling and info, plus the camcorder’s ports: component, HDMI, USB and AV.

The camcorder uses JVC’s two-way grip, which is a dual-purpose strap lets you hold it aloft or dangle the camcorder securely from your wrist.

Aesthetically, the HD500 is available in black.

Shooting Features

The Everio GZ-HD500 is outfitted with face detection and a face flow playback, which highlights faces in a frame in the playback menu so you can search your footage by the people you’ve recorded. There’s also an Auto Record function which starts recording automatically whenever an object moves into the frame. The camcorder will automatically end recording if motion stops after five seconds, so the camcorder can double as a motion-activated video camera (the battery won’t last long enough for it to truly replace a security camera though).

Among the other features you’ll find on the GZ-HD500 is a time-lapse recording function that lets you record one frame at a time for a selectable time interval (between one and 80 seconds).

Finally, you can add basic animated effects to video in the camcorder as well as to still images. JVC’s Everio Media Browser software is built-in the camcorder as well for disc-free loading when you attach the camcorder to a computer via USB. The software supports basic video editing (color changing, clipping, etc.) as well as sharing via YouTube and Facebook.

Connectivity

The Everio GZ-HD500 offers a built-in HDMI output for connecting the camera although the cable is not included. You can also connect to a PC via USB cable. There is a built-in button for YouTube uploading as well so you can send videos to the online sharing service when you camcorder is connected to your PC.

Impression

Hard disc camcorders are not nearly as popular as they used to be but still serve a niche for those who value large amounts of on-board camcorder storage. In our view, flash camcorders are more attractive options because they’re lighter, more energy efficient and tend to be more responsive. Still, if you want hours upon hours of recording capacity without breaking the bank, a hard drive camcorder is the way to go.

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by Leland Richardson on November 9, 2021 0

Samsung HMX-Q10 Camcorder Review

The Samsung HMX-Q10 is a high definition camcorder that captures 1920 x 1080 video in the H.264 to SDHC memory cards. It offers a 2.7-inch LCD display, 10x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization and a unique grip which lets you flip the camcorder to film with both the right and left hands.

The Samsung Q10 retails for $299. Full specifications can be found here.

Samsung Q10 at a Glance

The Good: Strong video quality, responsive touch-screen, nice design

The Bad: Awkward zoom lever, no automatic lens cover

Samsung HMX Q10 Video Quality

Samsung’s HMX Q10 records 1920 x 1080 video in the H.264 format. It’s also capable of recording at 720/60 frames per second for capturing fast-moving subjects and at VGA resolution.

Given its lower price tag, the Q10 is competing more with pocket camcorders and it clearly exceeds them in the quality department. While there were instances of over-exposure, with bright sunlight washing out highlights, the Q10 captured mostly crisp, color-accurate video. It did well indoors as well. I took it into a dimly lit aquarium and after a second or two of blur as it sought to establish focus, the Q10 was able to resolve the scene quite well considering the challenging environment.

You can also snap 4.9-megapixel still photos with the Q10, although you should steer clear of taking stills with the Q10 as the results were unimpressive.

Optics

The Q10 packs a 10x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization – a nice plus not usually found on lower-cost camcorders. There’s also a digital zoom, which, fortunately, can be deactivated. All-in-all, a nice optical package. The only draw back is that there’s no automatic lens cover. However, there is a built-in cover that flips open and closed using a switch on top of the lens barrel – that’s a far better option than a lens cap, but not as good as an automatic cover.

Samsung HMX Q10 Design

The design of the Q10 is pretty spartan, with few external controls outside of a zoom lever/shutter button on the back of the camcorder. Flip open the 2.7-inch display and you’ll see only a home button, which brings you into the camcorder’s internal memory.

With the Q10, Samsung introduced a design innovation called the “Swithgrip” – which essentially lets you film using either your right or left hand. When you switch from right to left, the menu items on the display will automatically orient themselves correctly. Since there are no external controls on the top of the camcorder to operate, the transition from right-handed to left-handed filming is seamless. Left-handed users, rejoice!

Thanks to the use of flash memory, the Q10 is quite light and compact, weighing in at .4lbs and sized at 4.7 x 2.1 x 1.7 inches. It certainly won’t be a drag to carry the Q10 around with you on long trips. Aesthetically it won’t turn many heads but is available in your choice of black and blue. The only real knock on the design is that wrist strap, which is kind of flimsy.

Q10 Features

You’ll find a nice selection of shooting options on the Q10, despite its budget price tag. You’ll have time lapse recording and a selection of digital effects to apply various filters to your video including black and white, sepia, negative, art, noir, western, dazzle, and ghost. You can switch between automatic and manual recording, where you’ll have the ability to focus manually, set white balance, adjust exposure, night mode, and backlit compensation. All in all a very strong feature set for a camcorder at this price.

The Q10 is loaded with Samsung’s Intelli-Studio software, which installs automatically whenever you connect the camcorder to a computer via USB.

Menu and Display

The Q10 offers a 2.7-inch touch screen LCD display. It’s quite responsive and it’s helped along with an icon-driven menu interface. Pop open the display and you’ll see a row of icons indicating your scene mode and then controls for switching between still and video capture, zoom and playback. It’s always better to have more real-estate on a display when working with a touch-screen, but Samsung keeps the number of icons on the display to a minimum so it’s easy to hit the ones you need with your finger. At any point you can hit the “home” key on the exterior of the display and get back into the main menu.

Samsung HMX-Q10 Memory

The Q10 records directly to SDHC memory cards, so you’ll need to factor in the cost of a memory card into your equation. The Q10 cannot record to newer, higher-capacity SDXC cards so you’re memory capacity is limited to 32GB (or eight hours of HD recording).

Bottom Line

If you’re in the market for a low-cost HD camcorder but are leery about the quality and limited feature-set of a pocket camcorder, the HMX-Q10 is definitely a solid choice. It’s slightly more expensive than most pocket models on the market at $300, but delivers a better zoom, better video quality and a more robust feature set. It’s unique “SwitchGrip” design gives both left and right-handed users the ability to hold the Q10 naturally and comfortably. All-in-all a good choice in the budget-end of the HD camcorder market.

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by Leland Richardson on November 8, 2021 0

Must-Have Camcorder Accessories

One from many hobbies that will give you not just satisfaction but also financially that is photography. I know, the cam is not cheap, if you want the best one, but it is worthy.

After dropping a few hundred dollars on a camcorder, you may not be eager to part with any additional cash on accessories. But there are some add-ons that are crucial to protecting and enhancing your camcorder and the videos it’s recording. Here’s a look at some must-have camcorder accessories.

A Case

A high quality camcorder case is among the most important accessories you can buy for your camcorder. A case will protect your camcorder from the elements and make it easier to carry your camcorder on long journeys. A quality case will have plenty of room for your other extras, such as memory cards, tapes or disks and even personal items such as cell phones, music players and keys.

Extra Memory

If you own a DVD, Mini DV or Blu-ray disc camcorder, you’ll need to have plenty of extra disks and tapes on hand for storing your recorded videos. Blank DVDs and Mini DV camcorder tape are widely available in a range of retail stores and online. Blank Blu-ray discs are not as widespread, but can be readily found online.

If you use a flash memory camcorder that does not offer internal memory, you’ll need to buy an SD/SDHC card or a Memory Stick Pro Duo card (if you own a Sony camcorder) to store your photo. When shopping for a card, try to buy the highest capacity you can afford. The higher the capacity, the more video it will store.

Tripod

There’s a reason why professional photographers and videographers use tripods (and single-legged monopods): they’re useful!

Of course, they’re also large and not always convenient to carry around. Still, for certain occassions like long sporting events and recitals, using a tripod can not only make things easier on you arms but also improve the quality of your video.

If you’re filming a game from the top of the bleachers or a concert from the back rows and using your camcorder’s optical zoom lens to get closer to the action, it will be very sensitive to motion. As steady as you think you can hold your camcorder, you can’t hold it steady enough to prevent camera blur (even if you camcorder has optical image stabilization). A tripod will ensure that video is steady.

DVD Burner

No matter what storage format your camcorder uses, burning a DVD of your video is still one the best ways to store it for the longer term. Many camcorder manufacturers sell accessory, standalone DVD burners that connect directly to the camcorder via USB cable or Firewire. A DVD movie of your footage can be burned directly from the camcorder without using a PC.

Many camcorders will feature a dedicated button for burning a DVD when connected to a burner from the same manufacturer. For this reason, it usually makes sense to purchase a burner from the same manufacturer as your camcorder.

Of course, if your computer has a DVD burner built-in, there’s no need to run out and purchase one. So be sure you don’t have an internal DVD burner in your desktop or laptop before buying an external burner.

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by Leland Richardson on November 27, 2019 0

Guide to Flash Camcorders

Flash memory first came to consumer’s attention as the “digital film” in a digital camera. Now, the same memory cards found in digital cameras are being used in a new breed of camcorders: flash camcorders.

A camcorder can record to flash memory in one of two ways. First, the flash memory can be built into a camcorder. Alternatively, the camcorder can record directly to removable flash memory cards, such as SDHC cards or Memory Stick.

Camcorders with internal flash memory will generally also offer a memory card slot, giving you the opportunity to extend your recording times by using an optional memory card. Check out our list of the Best Flash Camcorders to find the top models currently on the market.

What Kind of Camcorders Record to Flash Memory?

The short answer is: all of them.

You’ll find flash memory used in very inexpensive, pocket camcorders, middle of the road standard definition camcorders to very high-end, high definition camcorders. All the major camcorder manufacturers offer flash camcorders in their line up.

What Are the Benefits of Flash Camcorders?

There are several:

Light weight: Flash memory itself is not only lighter than a hard disk drive or tape, it doesn’t need a bulky apparatus to operate it. The end result is a camcorder that’s very light weight.

Compact Size: Because the flash memory itself is small and doesn’t require large components inside the camcorder to operate, flash camcorders are compact and very portable. This is why pocket camcorders, like Pure Digital’s Flip, use flash memory as their a storage format.

Longer Battery Life: Unlike a hard disk drive, tape or DVD, which must spin inside a camcorder when they’re turned on, flash memory has no moving parts. That means that flash camcorders won’t waste battery life spinning a tape or disk mechanism, giving you longer recording times.

High capacity: While they don’t boast the large capacities of hard disk drives, flash camcorders can still top MiniDV tape and DVD disk when it comes to storing hours of video.

Reusable: When your flash memory card is packed with videos, you don’t need to run out and buy a new one, as you do with tapes or DVDs. Instead, you can transfer that footage to a PC, external hard drive or disk and reuse your card.

Are There Downsides to Flash Camcorders?

The principle drawback to a flash camcorder is its capacity compared to hard disk drive-based camcorders. There are hard disk drive camcorders with over 200GB worth of storage space, while the largest flash memory camcorder tops out at 64GB. Even adding a high capacity memory card won’t get you close to the capacity of a large hard disk drive.

The Wave of the Future

Manufacturers have steadily shifted their product lines away from tape and DVD disk-based camcorders toward hard disk drive and flash camcorders. If you’re looking to “future proof” your camcorder investment, flash camcorders will not be going obsolete anytime soon.

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