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Genius G-Shot HD55 [Review]
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| Jayesh Limaye |
| Mar 19 2009 |
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H.264 720p video recording, very compact, stylish, good build, swivel LCD, SDHC support, good price
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| Overall image quality, no optical magnification, no image stabilization, no autofocus, no lens cover, AAA batteries almost unusable, only 32 MB internal memory, no SD card included
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Finally, we have a HD camcorder that is not heavy on the pocket. The Genius G-Shot HD55 is a 5.0 MP CMOS camcorder with a HD video camera that records at 720p (1280 x 720 at 30fps). It uses the high compression H.264 format. It has a 3.0-inch TFT LCD screen that can be swiveled. It has capabilities of playing back content on normal as well as HDTV. Though the internal memory is just 32 MB, it provides a SDHC slot that can accept SDHC cards for recording content. We have the review ready, so read on to find out if it really performs as good as it states on paper.
Bundle
Genius G-Shot HD55
USB cable
AV out cable
Component video cable
Power cord
Battery charger
Li-ion battery
AC plug adaptor for EU to US
Pouch
CD-ROM with Presto! VideoWorks 6, Presto! Mr. Photo 4, QuickTime, manuals
Quick Guide
The HD55 has better compatibility with most PCs as it has a USB 2.0 interface rather than FireWire, which, though faster, is a lot less commonly used. Thankfully, it comes with everything that is required and you do not need to purchase anything.
Unlike other camcorders we have tested thus far, this one has been provided with a pouch by Genius so that it can be carried around with protection. After all, the camcorder is meant to be carried around, rather than being kept indoors.
The minimum system configuration for this camcorder is as below.
Windows XP/2000/Vista
CPU, Intel Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz or above (3 GHz recommended)
RAM, 512 MB or above
Minimum 200 MB hard drive space (for software installation)
CD-ROM drive for software installation
An available USB port
The Camcorder
The Genius G-Shot HD55 is a super-slim and sleek camcorder, so small that it can be hidden behind an open hand. While the name Genius does make most people think that it is some cheap Chinese product, that is not the case. The camera is styled elegantly and sports sleek and sexy looks that will surely make heads turn. The small size is due to the fact that it does not have any moving parts - it is based on internal Flash memory (albeit just 32 MB) and SD memory card, rather than DV tape or DVD.
The body is mostly made of polymer and seems to be quite sturdy. The entire body seems to be covered with transparent glossy enamel with a lustrous shimmer underneath; this proves to be very good in protecting the cam from scratches, and it doesn't gather fingerprints.
Weighing just 227 grams, the G-Shot HD55 is easy to hold for long durations. The attached grip belt makes it not only comfortable and easier to hold, but also makes it more secure. Left-handed people are left in the lurch as this is for the right-handed.
While holding it, your thumb can be used to change the mode with the help of a conveniently placed large thumbwheel at the back of the cam. You can choose between still, movie capture, and setup modes. There is a button at the center of this thumbwheel that lets you start and stop recording. There is a rocker key on the left, which can be used to move around to select different menus. The green button near the top is the playback button that plays videos or photos on the screen, depending on what mode the thumbwheel is set to. As far as ergonomics is concerned, the buttons are very easy to use, but the rocker key does not respond at times.
The HD out port is to connect the provided cable to an HDTV for direct playback from the camcorder at a resolution of 1280 x 720 at 30 fps. Just below this port, there is a port to let you transfer data from the camcorder to the PC via the USB port, and also for an AV out to a normal TV using the provided cable.
On the top, there is the zoom rocker button at the back, with the snapshot button a little further. These are placed in such a way that it is easy to operate using just the index finger of the hand with which the cam is being held. The zoom rocker key lets you zoom in or out by tilting it to the left or to the right. While this key has a good tactile feedback, it does not zoom smoothly. Also, there is a disturbing associated sound that gets recorded while zooming. The zoom rocker works as the volume control in the video playback mode. Both these keys are placed in such a way that they are accessible using your index finger. Near the front, there is a button to switch between normal and macro mode of shooting, as the camcorder does not have an autofocus lens.
The battery compartment is present at the bottom of the cam, and you can access the Li-ion battery by opening the sliding hinged flap. The battery compartment can either house the provided Li-ion battery or four AAA size batteries.
Moving towards the front, on the underside, there is a threaded tripod socket to mount the camcorder on a tripod. This is especially useful when you use zoom and need to keep the cam steady. The problem is that the tripod socket is made of plastic and therefore is not as durable as one made of metal.
The 3.7 V 1100mAH battery has a proprietary design. As said before, it has the option to be powered up with four AAA batteries, which is a good option in case the Li-ion battery is drained.
Coming to the front of the camcorder, you can see that the lens does not have any cover. This makes it vulnerable to dust and scratches, and will affect image quality in the long run. The coated objective f/3.2 lens has a fixed focal length of 7.5 mm.
Unlike other more expensive camcorders, the G-Shot HD55 has a mono microphone instead of stereo, at the bottom front. Just under the lens, and above the microphone, there is a set of LEDs that lets you capture movies or click still images in the dark.
The LCD display at the side flips open to expose a few buttons and the SD card slot. Near the top left, there is a sieve for speakers, for audio playback when you review what you have recorded. By pressing the DISP button, you can toggle, displaying the OSD on the LCD. The MENU button provides you with different options depending on what the thumbwheel is set to. You can adjust wide balance, picture mode, movie format, etc. There is also a Night mode, which enhances shooting when it's dark. There is also the power button to turn the camcorder on and off. Genius has left out the headphone jack, which could have easily been accommodated here. The SD card slot is also present inside the flap, which can be flipped open to insert or remove the card. The camcorder did not have any problem detecting and using a Kingston SDHC 16 GB Video card.
The largish 3.0-inch widescreen LCD viewfinder has to be flipped open at right angles to the optical axis of the cam. Since it lacks any other viewfinder, this is the only way to review what you are shooting. It can be rotated 180 degrees anticlockwise and 90 degrees clockwise, so that you can shoot at awkward angles.
When flipped 180 degrees, the image is automatically flipped 180 degrees as well, to keep it upright from the user's point of view. The screen looks a bit grainy, though the colors it displays are vivid. The screen is easily viewable even outdoors, in broad daylight, and this is important since the HD55 doesn't have any other viewfinder.
We had expected a touchscreen because it is large and also because it does not have any controls present on the bezel as is common with other camcorders, but that is unfortunately not the case. The rocker button at the back is the only option for control.
You can shoot movies at three different resolutions: CIF, D1, and HD, which you can choose depending on your requirements. Movies are recorded in 16:9 aspect ratio only in HD mode. The camcorder has only digital zoom, and that is just 2x. You may want to use the zoom only when it is really required.
The CCD resolution is a generous 5 MP, which is higher than even the Canon HD camcorders, capable of HD resolution of 1080p. This camcorder is capable of recording at 720p, which is not difficult with such a large sensor resolution. Let us now find out how it performs.
Performance
It takes around 5 seconds for the camera to become operational after pressing the power button. We found that the cam continues to record when the LCD is closed, but the LCD switches off, thus saving power.
Image quality is decent when you are recording well-lit subjects, such as in broad daylight, but when the light is insufficient, such as during dawn or dusk, there is an alarming level of noise and you can see subtle vertical bands appearing randomly. The colors are just right, neither too bright, nor too saturated, and not biased towards any tinge. Since the lens does not have automatic focus, it relies on the position of the switch for the subject to look sharp. Macro mode is for objects that are located close by (14-15 cm), while normal mode is to be selected to capture anything located between 1.5 m to infinity. The snapshot button works even in the movie recording mode, when the movie is not being recorded, and you can click 5 MB snaps. Still image quality is pretty decent.
In the still image recording mode, photos are shot at 3 MP (2048 x 1536), 5 MP (2592 x 1944), and an interpolated 8 MP (3200 x 2400). We measured the MB per minute for each mode and found them to be: CIF = 5.29 MB/min, D1 = 14.6 MB/min, and HD = 29 MB/min. Internal memory is just 32 MB though, and you will invariably have to purchase a SD card as it is not provided.
As stated earlier, it supports the recording of movies at three resolutions: the lowest is CIF (352 x 240), D1 (720 x 480), and HD (1280 x 720 or 720p). Each mode is recorded at 30 fps. Audio is recorded in stereo mode, though the microphone is mono. We found that it is better to record at D1 mode (probably because we are not used to looking at VCD resolutions these days).
The G-Shot HD55 offers no image stabilization, thus making it difficult to capture images when the cameraman is moving. When the camera is held in the hand, the resulting video is a bit shaky, depending on how shaky your hands are.
Fast-moving objects cause a bit of a combing effect in the HD video recording mode, but this is something that is not so uncommon. Shooting with the LED light in pitch darkness yielded average results, meaning that the LED does illuminate the subject, but not the entire scene; the subject should not be farther than a couple of meters as there is a limit to the range up to which the LEDs can light up the subject.
The battery life depends on the recording mode. For the CIF mode, it lasts for 2 hours and 2 minutes, for D1 it is 1 hour and 51 minutes, while for HD, it gets cut to 1 hour and 25 minutes. The battery life is not really bad as such, but we expected more because the camcorder does not contain any moving parts (not even a moving autofocus lens) to spend extra battery power on. We tried to explore the AAA batteries option to find out how good it is. We were shocked to find that standard AAA batteries would not last for more than a couple of minutes. We changed to alkaline batteries, and that did improve the battery life, but even that is not really encouraging. When using AAA alkaline batteries, the camera worked for 33 minutes in CIF mode, 25 minutes in D1 mode, and 19 minutes in HD mode. The only viable use of AAA batteries in our view is to shoot snapshots.
Since it contains only 32 MB memory, you have to use an SD card to record videos. Even though Genius advertises that up to 4 GB SDHC card is supported, we found that it had no problem recognizing and using a 16 GB SDHC card. During the battery life test, we found that the maximum file size created before the battery dies out was while recording 720p HD, and it was 2.41 GB. You, therefore, need not purchase anything larger than a 4 GB card; extra batteries for this camcorder were not available separately at the time of this review.
After you connect it to the PC, you can view the internal memory and the external memory card as two separate drives and directly copy the contents to your hard drive to edit. The images are stored as JPG, while the movies are stored with the Quicktime MOV extension, which can be played directly using a software player such as Quicktime for Windows or VLC Player.
Genius bundles along the Presto! VideoWorks 6 video-editing suite that lets you easily play, edit, and manage movies.
Also bundled along is the Presto! Mr. Photo advanced photo editing software application.
While the bundled software is a definite advantage, you can use any other video editor as well to convert the captured content into movies and to burn it on optical discs.
The Verdict
The Genius G-Shot HD55 is an ultra-compact camcorder capable of HD 720p recording at 30 fps. It looks good and seems built to last. It is very easy to use and a person with no prior experience with camcorders should have no difficulty getting used to it. The large 3.0-inch swivel TFT LCD lets you shoot at difficult angles, and it is fairly visible even outdoors in daylight. The videos and still images have a nice balance of colors as long as you shoot in daylight, under well-lit conditions, but shooting in the dark is not something this camcorder is good at handling.
It lacks image stabilization, and this can be an issue without a tripod, especially if your hands are shaky. It does not feature optical zoom and has only a limited 2x zoom, which is a blessing in disguise as the lack of image stabilization would have made it impossible to use any higher magnification than this. Battery life is just about average, and the AAA batteries option is suitable for snapshots.
Genius provides all the necessary accessories, including a carry pouch to make it easy to carry the camcorder around, as that's how a camcorder is usually meant to be used - more outdoors. Genius also bundles software to let you edit the videos and photos. Genius conveniently forgot to add to the kitty a SD memory card. Thankfully, SDHC cards are not expensive - a 4 GB card costs just Rs. 600, while a Class 4 8 GB SDHC card is priced at Rs. 1,200. In any case, you will not need anything more than a 4 GB card as the battery dies out before it can fill up even 2.5 GB of the card.
With a 1-year warranty, the G-Shot HD55 is priced within reach at a rather affordable Rs. 10,999. We must tell you that even the most basic camcorders (and we are not talking HD camcorders) are priced above this price level. While the price is very enticing, the features and performance do leave a lot to be desired. We can still recommend this camcorder, as the image quality is not bad as long as there is adequate lighting and if you are ready to let go of preconceived notions about HD video quality, zoom, and image stabilization.
Test unit sourced from Precision PR.
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