Reviews |
Quick Review Camcorders : JVC GR-D72
by Matt CullerPublished on September 02, 2004
The JVC GR-D72 rides the middle ground of JVC’s GR-D line. It includes the same imager that its stripped-down sibling, the GR-D33, contains, but with added ports and digital features. Although both of these camcorders perform well for their price tags, the JVC GR-D72 narrowly beats out the GR-D33 in low-light performance. This trend follows as the GR-D72 confronts its competition -- the Sony DCR-HC20, the Panasonic PV-GS15, the Canon ZR85, and the Samsung SCD903 -- making it the definite strong suit of the camcorder.
The JVC GR-D72 ships with a 1/6-inch CCD with 680K gross pixels. The lens has a 16x optical zoom, which is nice, although the competition often has higher levels. A 700x digital zoom is also available. The focal length is 2.7mm – 43.2mm, and the filter diameter is 30.5mm. The GR-D72 is a relatively light camcorder, weighing only 500g; it measures 2.8 x 3.6 x 4.6 inches. For on-camcorder visualization, the GR-D72 includes a 2.5-inch LCD screen and a color viewfinder that is, unfortunately, immobile.
The JVC GR-D72 includes standard audio options of 12 and 16 bit audio, without frills such as mic-zooming and windcut that Panasonic and others include, and there is no external mic input. It can support Audio Dubbing, and includes an Analog input (an upgrade from the GR-D33), allowing for Analog-to-Digital Passthrough, something that the Panasonic PV-GS15 cannot accommodate. Ports include FireWire, A/V input/output, S-Video input/output, and USB.
Controls on the JVC GR-D72 are average. A jog dial is included for most of the navigation, including manual focus control; it's certainly superior to button control, but inferior to a focus ring. Manual control is available for focus, exposure, and white balance, with a couple options for shutter speed (1/60 – 1/100) and numerous presets for the particular environments of Sports, Spotlight, Snow, and Twilight. There are also digital effects for the image, such as sepia, black-and-white, monotone, classic movie, and strobe. Some rudimentary digital wipes and fades are available, as well as a fake 16:9 mode that squeezes the image.
Still photos are available on the GR-D72 to be recorded to an SD card or a MultiMedia card. These stills can be taken at resolutions of either 1,024 x 768 or 640 x 480, which are decent options, especially considering that the GR-D33 doesn’t include a card option at all and that many competitive camcorders don’t offer such options. That said, however, the digital camera feature of this camcorder is no reason to purchase it. If anything is, it's the GR-D72’s low light performance.
Under our low-light testing conditions, the GR-D72 performed superbly, even on par with the GR-D93, which includes a bigger CCD (1/4”). At 60 lux, the image is surprisingly bright and vibrant. This is not to say the GR-D72 doesn’t suffer from the same ailments that all camcorders do under low light conditions. It did show more noise and blurring, less crispness, etc. However, JVC’s included 3D noise reduction does a great job, as it does in bright light conditions, in keeping these problems to a minimum. Well done. Any advantage in low light may be disturbed by somewhat loose handling unless you use a tripod; however, for a user with a tight budget that's concerned about good video performance, the JVC GR-D72 is a great buy.
| JVC GR-D72 - THE BOTTOM LINE
Rating: 94.28 |
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| Likes |
| -Excellent Low Light and Video Performance
-Decent Still Specs -Good ports, Analog-to-Digital Passthrough compatible -Jog dial |
| Dislikes |
| -Mediocre Manual Shutter Speed/Exposure
-Few Audio Options -Low optical zoom (16x) |
JVC GR-D72 Compared to the...
| Sony
DCR-HC20 Rating: 94.70 |
Canon
ZR85 Rating: 84.97 |
JVC
GR-D33 Rating: 92.02 |
Panasonic
PV-GS14 Rating:102.7 |
Samsung
SCD903 Rating: 75.07 |
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| Better | Better | Better | Better | Better |
| -Handling
-Superior LCD -Superior ease of use -Spot metering/focus |
-Handling/ease of use
-20x optical zoom -More Shutter Speed options |
-Price
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-Tons of Manual Control
-More audio options -Bigger optical zoom -Manual Gain |
- 1/4 inch CCD
- Price - Shutter Speed options |
| Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal | Equal |
| - 1/6 inch CCD
- 16:9 mode -Audio options |
-1/6 inch CCD
-16:9 effect -Still resolution of 1,078 x 768 -Analog to Digital Pass through support -Audio optios |
-1/6 inch CCD
-Shutter speed/focus options -Ports -16:9 effect -Handling -Comprable low light performance |
-CCD size
-Ports -Comprable Handling/ Ease of Use |
- Ports
- Comprable stills to tape and card options |
| Worse | Worse | Worse | Worse | Worse |
| -10x optical zoom/120x digital zoom
-Ports (no S-video, headphone, mic-in) -Little Manual control -Still resolution max of 640 x 480 |
- Low light performance
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-No analog inputs
-No Analog to Digital Pass Through -No still photo media -Max Still resolution of 640 x 480 |
-No Analog to Digital Pass through
-Max Still resolution of 640 x 480 -Low light performance |
-Low light performance
-Little and poor-quality manual control -Video performance -Handling -12x optical zoom -No analog to digital pass through |
