Digital Trends

JVC Everio GZ-HD6

March 25th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

The new JVC Everio GZ-HD6 looks similar to the -HD7 and -HD3, two models reviewed last year. The camcorders have a very stealthy black-bodied look and fit comfortably in your hand. The reason they’re so small is the fact they record to hard disk drives (HDD) so there’s no bulky tape or DVD disc mechanism to deal with. HDD camcorders are wildly popular for the same reason the iPod obliterated all the competing music players—massive storage and the ability to hop from track to track, in this case from scene to scene. One of the key trends readily apparent at CES was the slow fade of tape- and disc-based camcorders with HDD and flash memory models replacing them (sound familiar?). I’m all for it as long as the quality is there.

In the case of the new HD6 you’ll find a massive 120GB HDD that stores up to 10 hours of Full HD video (1920 x 1080i). This amount is incredible and blows away competing high-def formats using tape or DVDs—even flash memory cards since they currently max out at 32GB. The new $1,199 USD JVC GZ-HD5 has a 60GB HDD and it “only” records five hours of Full HD video. These camcorders are perfect for a vacation simply because you really don’t have to worry too much about running out of media unless you’re the second coming of David Lean. Batteries are another story altogether—you’ll definitely need spares.

The HD6 measures 3.1 x 2.87 x 5.4 (WHD, in inches) and weighs 17 ounces without the battery; 21 with. It’s hardly a featherweight but the camcorder rests nicely in your palm. When you adjust the strap, your hand is in position for the zoom, snapshot and record keys, typically the most important and used controls. As you’d imagine for such a small camcorder, the lens takes up most of the front. Here you get an f/1.8 Fujinon 10x optical zoom that can be boosted to 200x but we strongly recommend disabling the digital zoom as quality deteriorates. The aperture on this one is very low, meaning in theory it can record in low light without too much noise (that’s the theory at least; more in the Performance section). The HD6 is supplied with a cool-looking lens hood and has a built-in cover that opens/closes automatically when you power on/off. Earlier high-def Everios had a manual switch to perform this chore. Also on the front are a compartment for the iLink (FireWire) connection and a sensor for the supplied remote control.

On the top, which has a piano black gloss finish, is the wide/tele toggle switch, a snapshot button for recording 1920 x 1080 pixel stills (a puny 2MP), the stereo mic and a cold accessory shoe (for this price it should’ve been a hot one).

Image Courtesy of JVC