Victor Company of Japan Ltd., better known as JVC, has recently introduced two new models of High Definition camcorders – the GZ-HD320 and the GZ-HD300, further expanding its Everio HDD camcorder series. Thanks to the advancement in miniaturization and electronics, both camcorders now sport a lighter and more compact body without sacrificing on performance. These new camcorders are pocket friendly (unless you have really, really small pockets, that is), measuring 53mm x 68mm x 113mm and tipping the scales at 325g. Their size is in fact similar to that of the GZ-MG330, also from JVC, despite it being a mere Standard Definition camcorder unlike these two that support High Definition recording.

Just how did JVC manage to shrink down their new camcorders? Well, they surely didn’t have the shrinking ray gun as seen in “Honey, I shrunk the kids”, but they relied on a couple of improvements instead. Firstly, the zoom lens were developed in collaboration with Konica Minolta Opto Inc., where the lens’ layout was revised by reducing its diameter so that high resolution images can be supported. Just for comparison’s sake, the lens volume has been reduced by as much as 40% compared to JVC’s existing HD camcorder, the GZ-HD40.

The other notable improvement is a higher density circuit board design that saw JVC integrating two more circuits, including the HDMI transmission IC, on the image processing LSI so that the overall footprint is reduced. JVC also decided to adopt the use of “1005-size” (footprint: 1.0 x 0.5mm) passive components, which are notably smaller than “1608-size” parts (footprint: 1.6 x 0.8mm). With the help of wiring pattern miniaturization, the overall size is reduced with a mainboard that is 30% smaller than the aforementioned GZ-40HD.

In fact, these new HD camcorders are small enough to fit into the palm of a female, and that opens up a whole new market for JVC to tap into. Let’s face it, smaller and compact gadgets that don’t sacrifice on functionality are always sexy to own, right?

Source: Tech On