JVC Everio GZ-HD7

Last update: Review by PCPro (added on 20/07/07)

JVC Everio GZ-HD7 features 60GB Hard Disk Drive, 60 GB hard disk drive, Three 1/5-inch CCDs with 1920 x 1080 (square) pixels, Fujinon 10x optical zoom lens, Optical image stabilization; Focal Assist function and a 2.8″ Wide, 207K-pixel. The camcorder measures 3.6 x 3 x 7.3 inches/91 mm x 77 mm x 186 mm and weighs 1.6 lbs./750g while shooting including battery.

Overall Rating: | Latest Price Info

REVIEWS (last updated: 20/07/07)

PCPro reviews the JVC Everio GZ-HD7 and writes;

“We like: Nice manual features; attractive design; high-quality audio; low-noise, low-light video. The HD7’s image quality is average. We’ve noticed fair amounts of noise from the AVCHD format, and MPEG2 certainly beats that. But HDV still goes one better. The JVC acquits itself well in good outdoor illumination, with decent colour fidelity, albeit a little oversaturated.”
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CNET.UK reviews the JVC Everio GZ-HD7 and writes;

“If this camcorder cost under £500, we’d give it a much higher rating. But for its quadruple-digit price, we expect far better performance and video quality from the JVC Everio GZ-HD7″
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DigitalTrends reviews the JVC Everio GZ-HD7 and writes;

“Overall video quality was good, not breath-taking, something you could say about the Canon HDV footage—especially shot outdoors. Indoors there was a more yellowish cast than the HV20 and colors were not as realistic. Outdoors, the green leaves of rustling leaves were very distinct and there was barely a spec of noise in the blue skies…There was barely any jitter with the HV20 while it was much more noticeable for the HD Everio. As noted earlier, this camcorder has a Zebra setting, something found on pro-level models. What this does is help you adjust brightness levels for white objects. ”
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CamcorderInfo reviews the JVC Everio GZ-HD7 and writes;

“The JVC GZ-HD7 is great in many ways - and its prosumer-like handling is a real pleasure. However, to really take advantage of all it has to offer, you would need to invest in an external audio mixer to allow audio monitoring and level control, the HD Share Station for convenient video archiving, and perhaps an extended life battery. 2007 is the year consumer HD has really arrived - and the HD7 is a big part of that. It is one of several strong contenders out there, including the Sony HDR-HC7, Canon HV20, and Panasonic HDC-SD1, but there’s still no clear winner among them for all-around performance, convenience and speed.”
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JVC Everio GZ-HD7 user reviews at Amazon;

“Someone mentioned that the optical image stabilization doesn’t work well or not at all and I have to agree. It seems that it has some limited impact but not much. I may not understand this technology very well but I figure that 1920×1080 is a lot of pixels to shift and keep track of, so I can’t compare it to my reg def miniDV that were just superior when it came to keeping the image steady. It has pretty good low-light sensitivity but not better than what you’d expect from 3 small CCDs. It seems that its current 1 large CMOS (superior to 1 CCD) competition can almost keep up if not match it.”
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SteveMullen has a preview of the JVC Everio GZ-HD7;

“Is the GZ-HD7 an HDV camcorder? Technically it is not because there is no DV tape transport. Instead, a 60GB hard disk is used to record MPEG-2 Transport Stream. The camcorder offers three MPEG-2 recording modes: the Full HD mode records five hours of 1920×1080i VBR MPEG-2 video; the “HDV equivalent” mode records five hours of 1440×1080 CBR at 27Mbps (equivalent to D-VHS); and the SP mode records seven hours of VBR 1440×1080i. In all modes, stereo audio is encoded as MPEG-1 Layer 2 (MP2).”

USER MANUALS (PDF)
- Click the link to view
- Right click on the link and select Save Target As.. or Save link as.. to save it to your computer

- Download JVC Everio GZ-HD7 Instruction Manual in English (PDF - 11.8 MB)
- Download JVC Everio GZ-HD7 Supplementary Material in English (PDF - 211 KB)

VIDEOS

PRESS RELEASE

JVC expands its award-winning Everio hard drive camcorder family with the addition of the HD Everio GZ-HD7, a new high definition camcorder that provides full HD 1920×1080i video quality combined with the convenience of hard drive recording. Designed to enable consumers to conveniently capture and share their memories in full high definition without the need for removable tapes or discs, the HD Everio offers consumers the simplicity of a point-and-shoot camcorder combined with the features, technology and manual controls that appeal to the serious videographer.

With a 60GB built-in hard drive the JVC HD Everio provides up to five hours of full HD 1920×1080i recording at a high 30Mbps(MAX) Mbps. To ensure the best possible image quality, it features three CCDs and a Fujinon lens. Other features include optical image stabilization, a full array of manual controls, multiple digital connections, bundled editing and archiving software, and availability of an optional HD Everio SHARE STATION for easily transferring footage to disc.

In addition to its highest quality Full HD recording mode that records five hours of full HD 1920×1080i MPEG2 Transport Stream video with MPEG 1 Layer 2 audio, the HD Everio offers a long seven hour SP mode with a resolution of 1440×1080i, and a 1440CBR mode with a resolution of 1440×1080i and a five-hour capacity. Also, because it records in the MPEG2 Transport Stream video format, HD Everio recordings can be archived onto Blu-ray discs using provided software and a high definition Blu-ray recorder.

For bright, realistic colors the HD Everio uses three 1/5-inch CCDs – one each for red, green and blue. In addition, to ensure precise prism/CCD registration, JVC has incorporated Fujinon mounting technology used in professional camcorders. Fujinon also supplies the HD Everio’s 10x optical zoom lens which provides superior optical performance and nearly the same brightness (F1.8-1.9) throughout its f=3.3mm~33mm zoom range by virtue of its three aspherical lens elements, one made of indexed glass. In addition, the lens surface is coated with a new Electronic Beam Coating (EBC) that greatly reduces degradation caused by light reflecting off the lens surfaces, leading to greater light transmission and reduced flaring and ghosting. To preserve that quality, the HD Everio features optical image stabilization, avoiding the signal degradation caused by electronic image stabilization, which might be particularly noticeable in HD footage. In short, HD Everio matches its high-definition recording capability with a proven HD lens section that has proven its value in the broadcast industry.

While the HD Everio offers fully automated operation for point and shoot simplicity, it also offers a wide range of manual controls. These include a manual focus ring, manual white balance, exposure control, shutter priority mode, aperture priority mode and sharpness control. In addition, a Focus Assist function displays the edge of the in-focus elements in color while the rest of the image is black-and-white, making it easy to check which image elements are in focus. And a Zebra function displays a striped pattern across highlight areas on the image in the LCD monitor, making it easier to manually set the exposure. Also included is a mic input for connecting an external microphone.

The HD Everio is equipped with three digital interfaces – USB, HDMI and i.LINK. USB is primarily for file saving, HDMI for digital viewing on large screen displays, and iLink streams high definition video in full resolution or 1440CBR mode. HD recorded material is down-converted for output in DV over i.LINK, or in standard definition via the analog component/ S-Video/ Composite output.

The HD Everio camcorder also connects to an optional JVC DVD burner, the HD Everio SHARE STATION CU-VD40, with a USB 2.0 cable and is controlled directly through the camcorder. The SHARE STATION can be used to create HD data discs to archive HD video clip files and writes to both DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. It also allows for the creation of digital stills in a JPEG format. Dual-layer DVD-R is also supported, which means that the combination of the HD Everio and the CU-VD40 provides a PC-less solution to the high-capacity archiving needs of HD content. HD and still files can be played back in ultra-high quality via the CU-VD40’s HDMI output without the use of a computer. The HD Everio SHARE STATION also allows easy playback of archived files, without having to use the camcorder. Separately from the HD Everio, the CU-VD40 can be used as a DVD burner for PCs.

For editing and archiving via PC the HD Everio comes with the Cyberlink BD Solution software suite for Windows. This includes PowerDirector for HD video editing, PowerProducer for authoring high definition Blu-ray discs and DVD-Video discs, and PowerCinema for HD file management and playback.

Optional accessories for the HD Everio include a 46mm telephoto and a 46mm wide conversion lens, a battery charger and three additional batteries including standard, high power and extended power. Additional options include a stereo microphone.