The erstwhile saying “ You get what you pay for ” sure enough applies to the JVC GR - D396US . It ’s a very cheap camcorder , and the video it captivate was clearly lacklustre . In accession , while the camcorder had unspoilt stamp battery lifetime and was easy to use , several other take further throttle its appeal .
The GR - D396US ’s main trouble is its video timber . It tally poorly in our tests , in both normal and low - visible light atmospheric condition : video colors lack bite , and hunky-dory details got lost in haze . The low - twinkle video was especially unappealing ; it look almost monochrome , with even bright dark-skinned objects look pallid and unattractive .
Among the positive gene , JVC throws in a second battery , and the battery life was already more than respectable : in our tryout , a undivided battery lasted 106 minutes . The GR - D396US ’s lens of the eye also has the longest ocular zoom of the tested camcorder : at 32X , it allow you get much closer to upstage objects than the 20X lenses of the Sony DCR - HC36 MiniDV Handycam ( ) and the Canon Elura 100 ( ) . regrettably , the lens also has problems : at longer zoom configurations , the edges of range of a function became rather fuzzy and indistinct , and because there ’s no optical icon stabilization , the smallest camera movement leads to jittery , unpleasant - search video recording .
The camcorder feel prosperous in the hand , with a improbable , tenuous aim that works well for people with large hands . The Record push sit down under the quarter round , and the zoom control is under the index finger . The Snapshot button ( for get hold of still figure of speech ) is right behind the zoom mastery : the GR - D396US can capture still images at a maximum closure of only 640 by 480 , to an SD Card ; this barely seems worth the bother .
Other control buttons are turn up underneath the 2.5 - inch LCD , and a big Auto button above the screen toggles between the Automatic and Manual mode . However , the latter name is somewhat misleading : this camcorder does n’t furnish a full manual mode . rather , you get some special control over exposure , and access to manual focus . There ’s no shutter- or aperture - priority mode ( not surprising , as the lens has a fixed aperture ) , and there ’s only limited control condition over shutter speed . The MiniDV tape is loaded from the bottom of the camcorder , and this is a tangible pain if you ’re using a tripod : you have to remove the camcorder from the tripod before changing tapes .
performance
Scale = Superior , Very secure , Good , Fair , Poor
How We Tested : The image - lineament rating of the camera is based upon a panel of judges ’ opinions in five family : pic , color , sharpness , optical aberration , and overall . barrage life testers keep an eye on a accurate script , including shots with and without flash , until the battery dies.—Tested in concurrence with the PC World Test Center
specifications
Macworld’s buying advice
The JVC GR - D396US is one of the least - expensive camcorders available . However , many drug user will regain that its lack of advanced ascendance is limiting , and its poor TV quality will put off all but the most budget - minded shooters .
[ Richard Baguley is a independent author whose workplace has appear inPC World , Wired , and other publications . ]
