JVC GC-PX100B Camcorder Review - Affordable Flagship

Shooting in the Fast Lane

A non-conventional-looking camcorder (you’ll see why in a moment), the Procision GC-PX100B is JVC’s current flagship HD memory camcorder. On paper at least, it has a specs list that will have most video enthusiasts nodding their heads, such as 1080/50p recording, a maximum bitrate of 36Mbps, a fast and optically stabilized F1.2 lens, 10x optical zoom, the ability to capture 20-megapixel still photos, and a 3-inch tilting touch panel. That said, it’s also fair to point out that such high-end specs aren’t exclusive to the PX100B; most flagship camcorders from the likes of Canon, Panasonic, and Sony have them too. This is why in most of the PX100B’s marketing collaterals (this website is one example), we often found a huge chunk dedicated to highlighting what’s arguably the camcorder’s trump card over it rivals: high-speed shooting. And just how fast are we talking about here? How does 500fps sound? And to make this truly useful, JVC (whose parent company is JVC Kenwood, by the way) has designed a few nifty functions around it, like an easily accessible Time Control function (again, more on that later).

Design & Features

As far as consumer camcorders go, the innards of the GC-PX100B are as good as they get. It uses a 1/2.3-inch, 12.8-megapixel CMOS sensor (back-illuminated, of course), and as we pointed out earlier, a JVC HD GT-branded 10x optical zoom lens, which starts at a decent 29.5mm at the widest end. You can zoom up to 19x using Dynamic Zoom, but at a lower (but still HD) 720p resolution. For those interested, the GC-PX100B is powered by JVC’s Falconbrid Engine, first unveiled a couple of years ago. This single-chip image processor is what makes shooting at 1920 x 1080 at 50p with 36Mbps processing possible.

Of course, the aforementioned specs aren’t for every power user. Those who need a longer zoom lens can stop reading (though we very much prefer that you continue) and check out Canon’s Legria HF G30 that has a 20x optical zoom; and those who need a wider lens or a built-in projector in their camcorder can take a look at Sony’s Handycam HDR-PJ790VE.

But we digress.

A Fuse Between a Camcorder & a Digicam

Specs aside, perhaps the biggest talking point of the GC-PX100B is its looks. For those who remember, JVC not so long ago had a GC-PX10 under the Everio brand. Marketed as a do-it-all hybrid camera, it has a super-slim compact camera-like body that turned comical no thanks to its giant lens. The PX10 also touted its 36Mbps 1080/50p recording capability and 250fps high-speed video recording feature - so in more ways than one, the PX100B can be seen as its successor (spiritually, at least). However, it looks like JVC has learnt its lesson, for the PX100B’s shape is now a better blend between a traditional camcorder and a prosumer digital camera. In fact, from a top-down view, it looks like half of a digicam being fused into the left side of a barrel-style camcorder.

Unlike a typical camcorder (which is to say, like a typical digital camera), the PX100B’s rear is dominated by the 3-inch, 460K-pixel touch LCD. While you can tilt it, you can’t flip it out and swivel it away from the camcorder, which is a pity, as a fully articulated screen will make it even easier to capture videos and photos at more difficult and interesting angles. But credit where credit’s due: JVC has thoughtfully bundled a folding hood with the camcorder, which greatly helps to reduce glare when you’re shooting under the sun. An electronic viewfinder (EVF) isn’t built in; but JVC has an EVF attachment that slides into the hotshoe at the top left of the camcorder. There’s another hotshoe right above the lens, and it’s where you attach an external stereo microphone or a video light.

So, with the LCD now ‘relocated’ to the rear, what’s on the left side of the PX100B? Besides the hotshoe, the bulge here is home to the mode dial and power button. The zoom rocker and a Snapshot button are sensibly located at the center, as are the playback and video/photo buttons, and the Start/Stop button is found further towards the right. All these mean that the most frequently used controls can be easily reached by your right thumb and index finger. Unlike the PX10, you don’t grip the PX100B like you do with a digital camera; the barrel styling means you grip it like you do with a traditional camcorder, complete with a strap round the back of your palm.

Other than the USB and HDMI ports that are situated on the right, the other ports (microphone, AV/headphone, DC input) are located on the left of the camcorder. On the same side but more towards the mid-section you’ll notice several more controls. Pressing the Time Control button brings up a menu that lets you select frame rates for high-speed and time-lapse shooting; in photo mode, here’s where you select continuous shooting speed. Selection is done using a dial at the front, and you confirm a selection by pressing the Set button right beside it. And then there’s another Exposure button, which lets you tweak exposure compensation, shutter speed, and aperture depending on the mode you’re in. While it sounds like the PX100B has a bit of a button overdose, after using it for a while, we actually quite like the arrangement. If you’re an advanced user, be prepared to have both your hands occupied: your right hand gripping the camcorder and controlling the usual zoom and record controls, while your left hand is busy with the dials and buttons that deal with the various shooting parameters, not to mention navigating the touchscreen and turning the front lens ring to adjust focus if you've engaged Manual Focus mode.

Frustrating Menu Design

And speaking of the touchscreen, it’s resistive instead of capacitive. But thank goodness, the resistance is fairly slight; in other words, there’s no need to poke the with your fingernail with a lot of force for it to register. Like most menu systems found in other big-brand camcorders, the PX100B’s is nothing to shout about. To bring up the main menu, you’ve to tap the onscreen Menu button, since there’s no dedicated hardware button. All the settings are grouped under six sub-menus: Wi-Fi, Record Settings, Special Recording, Setup, Connection Settings, and Media Settings. And within each sub-menu, you find more settings buried within more sub-menus. Also, menu icons which use a picture are arranged from left to right, which means to get to the last one, you scroll towards the right. But those that use text labels are arranged from top to bottom, which means you scroll downwards.

But the most frustrating aspect of the menu design isn’t any of the above; rather, it’s the fact that the default behavior of the PX100B when you confirm a setting is to drop you back to the main live view screen. So if you've more than a few settings you want to change, be prepared to do a lot of tapping. And we just can't fathom why some menus have a back button that returns you to the previous page, but some don't.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Integrated Wi-Fi is becoming a standard feature in camcorders these days. The Panasonic HC-X920M has it, and so does the JVC GC-PX100B. For high-end consumer camcorders that don’t have it, such as the Sony Handycam HDR-PJ790VE, there’s usually an optional adapter that you can buy.

In the PX100B’s case, it supports Wi-Fi Direct so you can hook it up with your smartphone or computer directly without the need of an access point. This is useful if you want to use the larger screen for monitoring, and still have the camcorder keep on recording the video. Of course, you can also choose to connect both devices via an access point. Heck, you can even do image monitoring over the Internet. All these and more can be done through mobile devices that have installed JVC’s free Wireless Sync app (Google Play Store link, iTunes App Store link).

JVC has also gone a step further by developing a JVC Cam Coach app for tablets (Google Play Store link, iTunes App Store link). With this app, you can transfer files from the camcorder to the tablet over Wi-Fi. Besides playback, you can use the tablet to display two different images for comparison, and even add explanations on playback images. Looking at the name of the app, it’s not hard to guess that JVC is targeting sports coaches who need an easy way to record and analyze a player’s performance right on the spot. For more information, here's a video advertorial that promotes this function.

In short, JVC has done a good job with regards to the PX100B’s Wi-Fi features. (Did we mention that you can also send images and videos to predetermined email addresses just like a security IP camera?) There are some rough edges (sluggish Wi-Fi menu loading and app responsiveness are two), but overall, we think most of the features are really useful, and not just features for features’ sake.

Performance

The GC-PX100B supports AVCHD 2.0, as well as MPEG-4 and MOV video recording formats, with the former allowing 1080/50p recording in AVCHD. 1080p videos can also be recorded in either MP4 or MOV format, but both give shorter footage than AVCHD for the same amount of storage. Between the three 1080p formats, MOV takes up the most space, as it also records sound in non-compressed linear PCM. 720p MP4 is possible too, and there’s an iFrame-compatible mode. For those who want the least compressed footage, the MP4 and MOV modes hold the advantage with their 36Mbps bitrate (the MOV format goes a bit higher due to the linear PCM recording). AVCHD 1080/50p has a maximum bitrate of 28Mbps.

As we mentioned earlier, a standout feature in this JVC camcorder is high-speed video recording. For new camcorder users, don’t be confused by the term; high-speed shooting doesn’t mean you’ll get a footage whereby the subject is moving very fast. On the contrary, by increasing the frame rate, you’re recording videos in slow motion. On the PX100B, you can increase this speed from 2x to 10x (that is, 100fps to 500fps). And for a slow-mo video, the playback time is longer than the actual recorded time. For example, at 500fps, the playback time is 10x longer. So if you recorded a scene for 1 minute, the resulting footage is 10 minutes long. Of course, slow-motion recording isn’t a feature most people look out for when they’re buying a camcorder, but it does have its fans, especially those who use it to analyze movements (e.g. golfers and bowlers checking their swings and postures). The Time Control function also lets you go in the other direction to do time-lapse recording. You can go from 1fps (where it takes a frame at 1-second intervals) to 1/80fps (where it takes a frame at 80-second intervals).

That said, there are some caveats for the slow-motion (high-speed) recording. For one, you can’t use it in AVCHD mode. Secondly, you won’t be getting anywhere near HD resolution. At 100, 200, and 250fps, the image size is 640 x 360 pixels. When you go up to 400 and 500fps, it drops further to 320 x 176. At this resolution, details become mushy and the video will look pretty bad on a large screen HDTV, but it's probably good enough if you’re only checking movements.

Using it as a typical camcorder though, the PX100B is a very good performer. The zoom rocker is smooth, and focus acquisition is speedy. You can also zoom quickly to both ends using the onscreen controls, and if there’s a zoom range you always use, you can save it as a preset. It’s pretty handy.

Image quality-wise, the PX100B impresses by producing footage with fairly low noise even under low light, all thanks to its F1.2 lens. Both color accuracy and 1080/50p sharpness are good too, though falling behind what we’ve seen on the Sony Handycam HDR-PJ790VE and the Panasonic HC-X920M respectively.

The PX100B is also quite a decent digital still camera. It can do burst shooting at a rate of 2 to 50fps, but resolution is capped at 3.1MP, and all but the 2fps mode has a 115-image buffer. In single-shot mode, there’s a 20MP setting; but since the PX100B has a 12.8MP sensor, this is an interpolated image. Full HD photos can be captured by pressing the Snapshot button during video recording, or up to nine photos from a recorded scene.

Conclusion: High-end Camcorder at an Affordable Price

The GC-PX100B is an interesting camcorder with its unique shape and controls, and its sports-oriented high-speed modes and mobile apps. As it is, it already looks way more professional than the market-testing GC-PX10; with the EVF and monitor shade attached (see our very first image on the first page), it looks even more intimidating. Compared to competitors' flagship offerings, it's also easily the smallest in size.

Despite its flagship status, the PX100B has its share of letdowns. Firstly, it doesn't come with any internal storage. And since it only has a single SD card slot, we recommend that you get one that's at least 64GB to minimize wasting time swapping cards. Remember too, if you're shooting 50p video, it's better to use a Class 6 or higher card. Secondly, JVC could do some work with its menu design. Even after using it for a while, we still found ourselves accidentally confirming a setting we didn't want. Thirdly, while the slow-motion feature sounds cool (and it has its uses), you've to sacrifice quite a bit of resolution, and hence, image quality.

At its core though, the PX100B is a very good camcorder, offering the latest tech like full HD progressive shooting at 50p, a more than decent F1.2 lens, a bag of useful Wi-Fi features, and a long battery life (about 130 minutes in our test). Low-light performance is good as well, as is color accuracy. 1080/50p footage looks sharp too, but isn't class-leading. If sharpness is all that matters to you, we recommend Panasonic's HC-X920M. Another competitor's flagship, the Sony Handycam HDR-PJ790VE also has a better image stabilization system, and comes with 96GB of internal storage. And if the PX100B's slow-motion feature isn't your cup of tea, maybe you'll be happier with the Sony's built-in projector.

All that said, let's not forget the single most important factor going for the PX100B: its price. At S$1,599, it's substantially cheaper than many other rival flagships. For instance, the Panasonic HC-X920M costs S$1,899; the Sony Handycam HDR-PJ790VE S$2,499; and the Canon Legria HF G25 and G30 S$2,399 and S$2,499 respectively. Yes, the PX100B's 1080/50p footage may not be as sharp as the HC-X920M's, its lens may not be as far-reaching as the G30's; and its stabilization tech not as effective as the PJ790VE's, but they're still good for the most part. Furthermore, if you don't need the wireless features and the EVF, there's a GC-P100B available for an even lower price of S$1,399, which is an even sweeter deal for those looking for a high-end camcorder that offers the best bang for the buck.

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