JVC Everio GZ-X900

Review: JVC Everio GZ-X900 (AVCHD)

JVC’s impressive-looking Everio GZ-X900 represents a shift away from the company’s palm-sized HD camcorders that are reliant on internal hard disc drive (HDD) recording and replay technology.

Novel design: JVC's Everio GZ-X900

Having adopted AVCHD as its high definition system of choice since Summer 2008, JVC is clearly signalling a move away from the hard disc based products it pioneered in the market in favour of solid-state memory card recording, so there’s little doubt that the X900 is a sign of things to come from the company.

First impressions

Unlike every other member of JVC’s highly-successful Everio family past and present, the X900 sports a very rugged, two-tone metallic look that’s inevitably aimed at male twenty and thirty-somethings looking for a small, compact device that still looks appealing to his mates. Even as a smallish palm-sized product, it’s actually quite heavy for a device that uses only SD memory cards rather than HDDs.

On first impressions, however, it feels good; its main black body is made of what can only be likened to a sand-blasted rugged plastic (if such a thing exists) which gives it a high tactile feel that we haven’t seen elsewhere. This is complemented with brushed aluminium flashes and solid contrasting metallic body features at the rear.

View from the top: LCD panel with Lasertouch control on the far left

The number of physical controls on its two-tone black body (complemented by brished aluminium counterparts) is minimal, with all the main functions accessed via a graphical menu system on its 2.8″ TFT LCD screen. Apart from the Zoom toggle (which also doubles as an audio volume playback control) on the upper rear in addition to a Snapshot photo button, there’s a Control Dial, Flash Light on/off and “Info” button on the rear face and that’s it.

Open the screen and the camera is powered up automatically, and with Quick Start activated it’s possible to be recording video and stills to SD memory card within a couple of seconds.

The X900 accepts full-sized SD cards in the slot at the rear of the body, with Class 4 or Class 6 high capacity SDHC cards being required for AVCHD recording and playback. What’s also noticeable (and a feature of all late-model Everio camcorders from JVC) is the Laser Touch Operation strip down the left edge of the LCD screen.

This has the effect of being illuminated progressively as you finger or thumb moves up and down over it as you scroll through menus. Choices are confirmed by pressing the “OK” on the bottom of the panel, where there are other buttons whose role changes depending on the menu set in use. It’s here where the main Menu button is found, too. Inside the LCD recess can be found a number of buttons that includes the Play/Rec selector, Movie or Still Image selector and Display on/off. Linked to the X900’s ability to upload your chosen clip or clips direct to YouTube (when connected via USB to a Windows PC) are Upload and Export buttons, too.

This short video contains a short Quick Look at the camera (click the HD button to view in higher quality – but you may have to wait for it to buffer first):

Features

The X900 uses a JVC HD Gigabrid Premium 1/2.33-inch, 10-megapixel CMOS sensor to generate 9 megapixel images (without interpolation) and also to resolve an impressive 1000 lines of TV resolution, which is close to the theoretical maximum of 1080 lines for full high definition video. In common with other higher-end products from JVC (and also Canon), the X900 employs x.v.colour processing which preserves colour accuracy when playing back on HDTV screens via HDMI. Its main image processor also uses the latest DigicDV III processing. 

Recordings are made as full HD 1920 x 1080, with frame sequences being generated as 50i (PAL) or 60i (NTSC) interlaced. There’s no option to record as 25 or 24 Progressive Frames (25p or 24p) on this model.

Of the new features to be found on the X900 perhaps the most notable is JVC’s new proprietary OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) system which is achieved very effectively thanks to optical elements positioned at the front of the Konica Minolta HD lens array rather than behind.

As demonstrated in the above video, you can not only see the results of good OIS but you can actually see it working, too. Despite this innovative feature, the X900’s zoom ratios are slightly disappointing; optical zoom is limited to 5x.

However, the inclusion of a 6x Dynamic Zoom mode appears to produce images that don’t betray the use of digital, rather than optical, image processing. It’s still very low, however. Digital zoom ratios are 32x and 200x, with the latter being unimpressive due to its blockiness and lack of definition. We shot a test sequence of wildlife at relatively close range at the full 200x zoom ratio but the blockiness was so bad that the subject was unrecognisable so we immediately deleted the clip on the spot.

Following Canon’s lead, as evident in that company’s most recent HD camcorder offerings, JVC has decide yo give the X900 the ability to record at a bit rate of 24Mbps, which is the highest rate possible under the current AVCHD specification. This increased rate inevitably leads to higher quality recordings due to the increased amount of data being written to the storage medium in a given space of time, but it does have the downside of being incompatible with many DVD playback devices. For ease of use, many users might opt to record at 17Mbps, which is the second highest of four recording quality settings. They are:

• UXP: 24 Mbps (1 hour 20 mins)
• XP: 17 Mbps (2 hours)
• SP: 12 Mbps (2 hours 56 mins)
• EP: 5 Mbps (7 hours 20 minutes)

Note that the figures in brackets refer to the maximum recording and replay time for that setting when a 16GB SDHC Class 4 or Class memory card is employed.

On the face of it, the X900’s “high speed shooting” feature is attractive in facilitating slow-mo replay. However, at a largest image size of 640 x 72 pixels at 500fps (the fastest of 3 modes) the replay quality is very disappointing even if the slow-motion is very good. It’s difficult to know how this can be of benefit.

Using a 16GB SDHC card, it’s possible to store approximately 2 hours of video at the “SP” (17 Mbps) setting. At “EP” (5Mbps) more than 7 hours can be stored.
Connectivity

In addition to the USB and DC input sockets to be found on the main body of the X900, as referred to above, there’s a Mini-HDMI socket inside the LCD recess, with there being a USB socket and DC input sockets on the rear of the camcorder, too. All other connectors such as Digital Component output, Composite AV-out and a second USB socket are provided on the docking station, which also doubles as a battery charger if desired.

The docking station is a very useful utility in that it enables near-permanent connection to be made to either a HDTV display – using either HDMI (cable not supplied) or Digital Component (Red, Green Blue video – RCA cables supplied) or to a composite video device such as a standard definition TV or external recorder (Red, White, Yellow RCA cables supplied). The battery may be charged either by connecting the charger’s DC plug into the slot at the rear of the camcorder or in to the docking station when the camera is in position. Finally, the camera can be linked to either a computer (Windows or Apple Mac) via either of the USB sockets onboard the camera or the docking station. To use the camera, simply lift it off the dock and go – it’s that easy.

Performance

From an operational point of view, the X900 couldn’t be easier to use. For those users happy to rely on fully automatic operation it will behave wonderfully and produce results which are, overall, really impressive. Colour is fabulous almost all well-lit settings, with contrast ratio and gamma being handled very well indeed. The image processing is generally very good and that’s down to the size of the image sensor and of the processing that’s being applied to the image sequences prior to writing to the card. As you can see from the sample sequence, the overall look and feel of the X900’s pictures is very good and exceeds our expectations.

Here’s a little sequence we shot with camera on its very first outing. It won’t win awards but it gives a reasonable impression – and indicates what the resulting HD flootage will look like on YouTube:

Hopefully, you found that interesting and useful!

Now for the negative points. On playing back clips that have been recorded in a variety of situations – brightly lit daytime outdoors in addition to more dimly lit interiors – the tell-tale signs of digital image processing become evident. When recording a static shot with the camcorder properly supported, the image resolution is very good indeed when viewed on HD and SD displays (via HDMI and Composite outputs respectively), but as soon as movement is introduced into a shot – such as a pan or a tilt – the dreaded rolling shutter, as evident by a slight shimmering and blurriness of fine detail, becomes noticeable. This isn’t as evident on a good and well set-up HDTV display but after only one level of processing in a PC or Mac you’ll see the signs. Our own test footage shows symptoms of this once imported clips have been rendered once to full specification 1080p sequences.

Although images taken in bright sunlight outdoors look very good when the camera is not subjected to too much movement, the performance of the image processing deteriorates considerably when recording in darker rooms. Tell-tale signs are blockiness on parts of the image where there isn’t a lot of light and a generally softness where you’d expect detail. It’s not great, and the results do depend upon how the clips are being viewed. Again, direct-connection via HDMI to a good HDTV display results in these symptoms being less evident, but in all other cases the pixellation and rolling shutter is there for critical eyes to see.

Whilst the Laser Touch operation control won’t be to everyone’s liking – certainly when it comes to making menu selections in a hurry – it does come into its own when making manual adjustments to focus or exposure during actual recording sessions. It’s easy to slide your thumb forward or backwards in order to focus or de-focus, for instance, or to alter shutter speed or exposure. That said, the graphical nature of the LCD screen display does result in the assumption that it’s a touch-screen display as its found on Panasonic and Sony models. It’s a pity it isn’t, really. The X900’s menu navigation and selection method can be cumbersome at times, and that must be counted as a negative point.

Flip the LCD round for playback convenience

On the plus side, the OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) is good, and we tested this quite extensively during our tests. In the sample clips sequence (above) you’ll see a walking shot in which the camera was subjected to a fair bit of rough and tumble during recording – but the resulting shot sequence remains relatively smooth. Well done JVC. We like it. 

Finally, let’s consider the audio performance. Despite the rather peculiar positioning of the stereo microphone pair (on the upper left of the main body and therefore facing left in both cases!), sound clarity and separation is surprisingly good. Even in left-to-right audio movement tests it manages to represent such shifts in sound source accurately, which is quite a feat. However, even with the Wind Cut filter enabled in the menu system there will always be instances when even the lightest wind will hit the mic during recording – and you can hear this in a couple of instances during the sample sequence above. Overall, we’re impressed with the 48kHz, 256kbps stereo audio reproduction, however.

Conclusion

At its highest quality settings, the X900’s picture and sound quality is great even though the 24Mbps second UXP setting has the potential to be problematic for some users seeking to make DVD copies of their clips. However, the Laser Touch Operation (slight finger up and down a touch-sensitive scale on the LCD frame) isn’t particularly accurate – especially when hurriedly making changes – and the 5x lens is a disappointment.

Full manual control over almost all of the X900’s functions is there but you have to drill down into a heirarchical menu system that is frustratingly difficult to navigate when in a hurry, and it’s not even that friendly when you have time on your hands. However, the camera’s general form-factor is much to be recommended; it’s chunky and handles well but is small enough to slip into a small pocket or bag. We definitely favour the use of the docking station, which enables some external connections to remain permanent when the unit remains in situ, and on returning with the camera it’s simply a question of slotting it onto its dick when the battery needs recharging or to play back on TV.

Whilst we have reservations about aspects of the X900’s general picture performance, it’s also fair to state that this JVC “HD Memory Camera” is well placed to satisfy the needs of the market for which it is intended; it doubles as a high-quality 9 Megapixel stills camera as well as HD movie camera (allowing for simultaneous shooting of pictures and video whilst recording) and will no doubt appeal to a large part of the market looking for a stylish – if somewhat unique – looking camera. And, of course, it works well.

Despite the niggles, the X900 has a lot going for it and if you’re the sort of person who fancies shooting good high definition video and stills with the minimum of fuss – perhaps in fully Auto mode – then you’ll no doubt love it.

This review by Colin Barrett. First published 16th April 2009; updated December 2009. All images courtesy JVC (UK) Limited. Used by permission.