A walk in the park
Imagine it's a nice summer day. You decide to go for a stroll through the park. The sun is out, the birds are too, and a slight breeze rustles through the leaves. As you're walking, you see two squirrels fighting, chasing each other from branch to branch of the park's trees. It's hilarious! You get out your new JVC GZ-HM400US camcorder you brought along for just such an occasion. Then you open the viewfinder, the power comes on, and the lens cover moves out of the way. You use the pro-style zoom lever to get in close to the action, then start recording the fight, in Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, to the 32GB of internal flash memory. K2 audio technology captures every excited chatter in Dolby Digital sound.
Worth well more than a thousand words
Eventually the two squirrels resolve their dispute and head on their own ways. So, you start walking down the path again. As you do, an elderly couple in their 80s or 90s are walking in front of you holding each other's hands. It's too priceless to miss, so you get out your JVC Everio camcorder and start shooting again. But as they continue to walk step-in-step, you decide that you want more than just video of this. So, you press the SNAPSHOT button. A 5.3-megapixel still photo of the couple is taken while your Full HD video is still rolling. But after you stop recording, you realize that this couple's love deserves an even better canvas. So, you take a 9-megapixel photo of the two on the same JVC camcorder. They were in the shade so the picture came out a little dark. So, you use the direct control buttons and multi-function dial to make the shot a little brighter, use the laser touch controls on the viewfinder to zoom in again, then snap another photo.
Everyone wants to be a star
As you continue your walk, you come across an open field with a small hill. The hill offers the perfect opportunity for a scenic view of the park. To make sure the shot comes out perfect, you select Landscape from the ten preset shooting modes, and perform a slow sweep of the entire area. Then you spot two kids playing with their dog in the park's sprinklers below, while their mother looks on. Inspiration strikes. You get permission from the mother, then ask the kids if it's ok to film their dog. Then you use the Everio's high-speed recording feature to get a slow-motion clip of the dog shaking itself off, just like in movies. But then the kids ask if you'll film them. After all, they want to be stars! So you film a few minutes of them playing in the sprinkler. Then you ask if they'd like their pictures taken to put in your movie. They yell "Yeah!" so you switch to photo mode. The face detection quickly finds both of their faces so you can take the perfect picture. You thank them for being in your video before continuing your walk.
Let the audience walk in your shoes
As you're walking back to your car, you get an idea. Your movie's about your day at the park. So, you decide to film a little bit of your walk to give the audience some of your perspective. With most camcorders, this would end up being a blurry mess since it's hard to hold a camera steady while you walk. Then again, your new JVC camcorder has optical image stabilization, so that's not a problem this time. Your walk along the trail is now a smooth, clear scene.
OK, five minutes was a little much
Back at your car, you decide to review your footage. You have about twenty-five minutes of video, so you won't need to recharge the battery until you've filmed for about another two hours. Using the controls on the viewscreen, including the laser touch bar, you quickly browse the clips you've taken, smiling. You're ready to head home
One-button transfers — there's no excuse not to share
Once you get home, you can wait to share what you've got. So, you invite a couple of your close friends over for dinner. While it's cooking, you show them your adventures in the park on your 1080p TV using an HDMI cable. There are plenty of laughs and sentimental "Aww . . .'s" to go around. One of your friends mentions how cool it is that your camcorder can do so much. Another asks if they can get a copy of it. So, you use a USB cable to connect the camcorder to your PC. In the included software, you use the one-button simplicity of the program to transfer it to a DVD. You decide to use those same simple controls to upload it to your YouTube page so that all your friends and family can see it. Just for fun, you use one of the animated frames it offers you.
It's a wrap
After your friends have gone, you want to make your personal copy. Rather than loading right into your iTunes, you decide to do some editing with the bundled program first. You pick the shot of the squirrels fighting and decide that five minutes of chattering chases is probably a little long, so you trim a minute off of each end. Then you delete the clip you took right after that of one of the squirrels walking across a power line — it just wasn't quite as interesting as you had originally thought. After you review the rest of your shots, you're happy, even excited about the edits you've made, so you save your project and get ready to hit the hay. You think to yourself what a great day you had with your Everio camcorder.
System requirements
In order to use the included Everio MediaBrowser software, you must use a computer with Windows XP Home or Professional Edition, or Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium. Your computer must have an Intel Core Duo processor with at least 1.66GHz speed, but it's recommended you use an Intel Core 2 Duo with at least 2.13GHz speed. You need 1GB RAM for XP or 2GB for Vista, and at least 300MB hard drive space for software install. You also need at least twice as much disk space as the amount of data you're going to burn for making DVDs. To connect to your computer, you need a standard USB 2.0 port. Exporting to iTunes requires iTunes, not surprisingly, and uploading to YouTube requires internet access.
Comparison Specifications
- Zoom: 10x optical zoom / 15x dynamic zoom / 200x digital zoom
- Up to 24Mbps recording speed in UXP mode
- 2.8"m 207K-pixel color LCD viewscreen with laser touch operation
- Digital interfaces: HDMI mini-output, AV output, component video output, USB 2.0/1.1 interface
- Optical Image Stabilizer
- Shooting Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Snow, Night, Stoplight, Twilight, Beach, Fireworks, 8sec.
- Manual brightness and focus adjustments
- Shoots 9-megapixel still images or 5.3-megapixels still images while filming
- Remote: Includes remote control
Additional Specifications
- Video formats: AVCHD, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264; Audio format: Dolby Digital (2-channel); Photo format: JPEG
- Recording media: 32GB internal flash memory; SD/SDHC slot (card not included)
- 1/2.33" CMOS image sensor, 10.3-megapixel
- KONICA MINOLTA HD lens (F1.9, Filter diameter: 30.5mm)
- Headphone output; microphone input
- 4.0W power consumption
- Internal memory stores up to 14 hours, 44 minutes of Full HD 1920 x 1080 video
- Internal memory stores up to 9999 photos (9-megapixel photos)
- Face detection for up to 16 faces at once
- Multi-function dial
Manufacturer Specifications
- Convenient 2-way strap
- Auto power on/off and auto lens cover
- One-touch exporting, backup, DVD creation, or upload to YouTube
- Pixela Everio MediaBrowser
- Requires Windows computer (see system requirements for details)
- High-performance battery for up to 2 hours, 25 minutes of continuous shooting
- Shoe for accessories like microphones or video lights
- Can have conversion lens attached
- K2 audio capture technology
- Still image speed-capture modes for up to 11 photos at up to 15 fps; high-speed recording mode for slow-motion film
Dimensional Specifications
- Dimensions (without/with battery): 2.69"/2.69" W x 2.88"/2.88" H x 5.38"/5.56" D
- Weight (without/with battery): 0.9lbs/1.1lbs
JVC GZ-HM400 Warranty Details
Limited manufacturer's warranty: 1 year parts, 90 days labor
More reasons to buy the JVC GZ-HM400 from Vanns.com
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