Introduction

JVC's new GZ-HM550 has full 1920 x 1080 resolution, records up to 2 hours, 57 minutes in its highest quality mode, has a built-in 32 GB SD card, and is the smallest high definition video camera we have ever tested. At $799.95 MSRP, it will not only fit in your shirt pocket, but won't strain the wallet in your hip pocket.

The photo above shows the camera sitting in the palm of my hand. I can remember when consumer video cameras required an over-the-left-shoulder tape recorder (VHS) with battery, and the camera was tethered to it with a cable, and you had to rest the camera on your right shoulder. The whole thing must have weighed 30 pounds. All that, and the picture quality was terrible (240 lines of resolution).

With the last JVC high def camera we reviewed, the GZ-HM400, I thought we might have reached the limits of small physical size in consumer camcorders, but no, the 550 is several inches smaller and weighs just over 1/2 pound with the battery attached.