JVC GZ-HM320 HD Everio Camcorder Review and Giveaway

When I found out I was pregnant with TJ my husband and I talked about saving up for a camcorder.  We knew that it was going to be very important to us and my family (who lives 2000 miles away) to record TJ growing up and all the milestones in his life.  Times have been a little tough and saving up for a decent camcorder didn’t fall into our top priorities after TJ was born.  I have an old pocket digital camcorder that I would pull out whenever I saw TJ do something really cute, and I also used it for some of my product reviews on this blog.  I knew that we really needed a better camcorder.

JVC contacted me about a month ago and asked if they could be a part of my holiday gift guide.  I jumped at the chance to review the Everio Camcorder and have them serve as my official camcorder for all my digital video posts. I was sent the JVC GZ-HM320 HD Everio Camcorder to review.

Features

Elegant Full HD memory Everio with dual memory of 8GB internal Flash Memory/SD card for seamless recording featuring Advanced Image Stabilizer and unique shooting functions

• 1/5.8-inch 1.37M pixel CMOS
• 8GB Built-in Flash memory
• 20x Optical Zoom / 200x Digital Zoom
• Memory Card Slot for SDHC/SD
• Software provided (for Windows (R))
• 24Mbps High Bit Rate Recording
• HD Gigabrid Premium II Engine
• Seamless Recording
• Advanced Image Stabilizer
• Time-Lapse REC
• Auto REC
• 1920×1080/60P Output
• HDMI(R) (V.1.3 with x.v.Color(TM))
• KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS
• One Touch Upload to YouTube(TM) (HD Compatible)
• Face Detection / Face Flow Thumbnail
• Laser Touch Operation with Sub-trigger and Zoom Function
• USB2.0 High-Speed Transfer
• Pixela Everio MediaBrowser for Windows(R) provided
• Full HD 1920×1080 Recording

Our Impressions

I haven’t used a newer digital camcorder in a while.  That being said, I had a little learning curve with this camcorder.  Operating the camera wasn’t difficult.  I took the videos without any problems.  It was actually extremely easy.  You point and hit the record button and presto, you are recording.  Press the record button again and you stop recording.  The camcorder is extremely light and easy to carry.  I was a little worried about the size of the camera because usually with smaller cameras there is more shaking going on while filming.  I didn’t find this to be a problem with the Everio.

Here is a video I shot of TJ at the park over Thanksgiving weekend:

…isn’t TJ adorable?

I thought the picture quality was absolutely amazing.  The sound quality was also better than I would have thought it being a windy day at the park.

The not so easy part of the learning curve was how to get the videos from the camcorder onto my laptop.  After trying myself without directions, I finally pulled out the user guide and figured out how to copy the videos onto my Mac (if you have a Windows PC this is a lot easier).  You don’t have to use a computer to copy the files, you may also connect the Everio to a Blu-ray Recorder, DVD Recorder or a VCR.  You can also play back your videos by connecting the camcorder to your TV (you can play back in HD quality by connecting to the HDMI terminal).

Are you needing some still digital photos?  The Everio Camcorder also takes still image recordings.  There is a simple button you press to place the camcorder in still image mode and then you can take as many snapshots as you would like!  With a touch of a button you are back to video recording.

One of my favorite features of the HM320 is the built in 8GB flash memory.  I didn’t realize at first that there was memory built into the camcorder, and I went out to buy a memory card.  Well, I missed the Black Friday sale at Target and I wasn’t going to pay full price for an 8 GB memory card.  When I got home I took out the box to see if it would take a smaller memory card that I already had and realized that it has 8 GB memory built in!  8 GB of memory is about equivalent to 40 minutes of recording time.

Overall, we are extremely pleased with the JVC GZ-HM320 HD Everio Camcorder. It has been a very welcome addition to our family and will be used often this holiday season.  I wanted to thank JVC for being the official camcorder of A Mom’s Impression blog!

Buy It

You can purchase the JVC Everio HD Memory Video Camcorder GZ-HM320 for $399.00 through JVC.

Win It

JVC is offering one (1) lucky reader a JVC GZ-HM320 HD Everio Camcorder of their very own!

How to Enter:

Visit JVC and tell me what other one of their products you would most like to be given for the holidays!

Bonus Entries:

• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet: Win a JVC GZ-HM320 HD Everio Camcorder (ARV $399) @AMomsImpression http://wyn.cc/s6ed8 (You may enter daily, just leave a comment with each Tweet’s link)
• Follow JVC on Twitter
• Like A Mom’s Impression on Facebook
• Like JVC on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (Please leave a link to your post)
• Grab my Button and post it on your blog.
• Vote for me on Picket Fence
• Subscribe to A Mom’s Impression by Email (2 Entries, please leave 2 comments: Please remember to confirm your subscription)
• Comment on any non-giveaway post on A Mom’s Impression. (just tell me what post you commented on)

Please leave a comment about each entry, include a valid email address or you may contact me directly with your contact information.
Open to US and Canada residents only. This giveaway will end at midnight on December 20. Winner will be picked from Random.org. 
Good Luck!

This giveaway was made possible by JVC.  I was not compensated for this giveaway other than a product sample. All opinions are 100% mine.