JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder

Carlton Bright · January 20th, 2012, 09:52 AM

Hi Chad,
It sounds like you are not happy with the camera in general.
It took a while to get into the swing of it, but here is 2 minutes of footage with the JVC (the GS-TD1) and some of the footage is with the Cyclopital base-extender, and a few macro lenses too.

The camera reminds me of the WWII "Jeep" or the 1960's VW Bug..you add to it, etc.

Prech Marton · January 30th, 2012, 03:47 AM

What do you guys recommend for recording nice 3D nature footage?
TD1/Z1U is not sharp enough, TD10/NX3D1 has lot of noise in lowlight,
TD20 base is very small, Pana Z10000 is out of the budget..
Why Canon don't release a good, affordable cam? Because they don't have 3DTV-s?

Chad Dyle · February 19th, 2012, 10:55 PM

I ride in a Mardi Gras parade (Thoth) each year and usually bring a camera to two to play with during our stops. I decided to give the JVC another shot. These are the settings I used:

Manual
Scene Select Off
Focus Auto
Brightness Adjust Auto
Shutter Speed Auto
Aperture Priority Manual
White Balance Auto
Backlight Comp Off
Zebra 70-80%
Cinema Off
Touch Priority AE/AF Off
DIS +1
Gain Up Off
Wind Cut Off
Grid Off
Time Lapse Off
System Select 24p
User Button Setting controlled Aperture
3D Sound On
Mic Level On
Mic Level Setting 0

With these settings the camera should autofocus and allow me to adjust the Aperture by using the User button. I had it set to 5.6 most of the time, which is as high as it would go. After converting the footage, it just doesn't look that sharp. Am I doing something wrong here? Is this camera defective? I can understand getting the grainy look when shooting low light, but this was outside. I have uploaded one of the files for you to look at and give me your thoughts.

www.dylefilms.com/Files/MardiGras.mp4

I would appreciate any help/suggestions that you can offer.

Thank you,

Chad Dyle
Dyle Films - Wedding/Event Videography

Bruce Schultz · February 20th, 2012, 03:12 PM

I'm looking through this thread after a few off weeks and I'd like to chime in and say that as an owner of 4 different 3D cameras ( Panasonic 3DA1, Sony NX3D1, Sony TD10, and an F3 mirror rig) my experiences with the NX3D1 in 24P and TD10 in 60i are more pleasing than what's been described here about the JVC and Panasonic cameras. The posts that point out that both Sony 3D cameras exhibit noise at low light levels are correct, however, in decently or well lit as well as exterior settings the performance is very acceptable and maintain good degrees of sharpness. It also appears to be easier to split and edit the MVC footage out of the Sony's vs others.

Chad Dyle · February 20th, 2012, 05:26 PM

Bruce,

I have heard from others that have had good luck with this camera. I have contacted JVC to see what my options are. Did you have a chance to look at the clip I linked? That is the look that I get, no matter if the camera is in Auto or Manual. Hopefully I will hear back from JVC with some thoughts/ideas. I'm also not sure how popular this camera is right now. I haven't found a lot of info on other forums.

-Chad

Paul Newman · February 21st, 2012, 05:44 AM

Chad,

I just checked your clip, wow, its really noisy, especially for daylight. Also it has very bad encoder artifacts too - and it appears quite soft.

I only have my Sony TD10 to compare this with in the 3D camera range, but I'm used to my EX1 in basic quality terms, and I must say whilst the TD10 does suffer a little from low light noise, it continues to surprise me with its overall image quality.

Anything which is noisy is easily treated with NeatVideo plugin, which cleans up noisy material extremely well.

Is the JVC recording at its highest bit rate? I know this sounds stupid, but it looks like 7mbs rather that say 28mbs avchd.

Hope you sort it out

Paul :-)

Carlton Bright · February 21st, 2012, 06:25 AM

Chad,
Perhaps that camera is indeed defective.
The footage looks like the GAIN is always on and cannot be turned off, and does not get overridden by adaquate light or something,
That is just a hunch.
C-

Maybe you can do an A-B comparison with an Identical model?

Chad Dyle · February 21st, 2012, 11:32 AM

Paul: The only thing I'm doing to the clips is using the JVC program to split them. Anything else is all done in camera. I have the Neat plug-in and it is amazing. I just don't want to think that I have to use it on everything the camera captures.

Carlton: I'm still waiting to hear back from JVC on the camera. The Gain has on/off and I always keep it on off, even in Auto. I don't know of any camera out there that won't jack up the Gain as far as it can. I'm going to try to 2D/3D stuff later and see what happens.

Thanks for the help.

Carlton Bright · February 21st, 2012, 12:31 PM

The camera appears to use gain even though you have it switched off.
It could be a defective camera.

As a seperate issue, how does the squeezed AVCHD look?

Chad Dyle · February 21st, 2012, 04:43 PM

Carlton,

The camera seemed to work best in direct daylight when we were at the Pumpkin patch for Halloween. I put a few clips together and threw it up on our 3D projector. I was happy with the quality. The only issue is the gain problem.

Carlton Bright · February 21st, 2012, 10:05 PM

Ah, well the graininess of the Mardi Gras footage has the look of a camera with its gain is permanantly on, whether the gain switch is on or off, or in low light or in bright sun light.
Just tossing that out as a thought-
Good luck with the camera.
C-

Chad Dyle · February 22nd, 2012, 07:36 AM

JVC contacted me yesterday and I forwarded them the footage. I'll keep you all updated on what happens.

-Chad

Chad Dyle · March 3rd, 2012, 01:04 PM

I'm still waiting to hear back from JVC. The support rep that contacted me hasn't been able to download one of my clips from my ftp site, direct email or the upload link that JVC sent me. Maybe it isn't the camera after all, maybe my computer just hates me. I'm starting to get a little aggravated with the support team and making a direct call doesn't seem to work either.

Chad Dyle · May 10th, 2012, 05:54 PM

If there are any users of the GY-HMZ1U out there, would you be kind enough to email me the L/R splitter software that came with the camera? My iMac died and I can't find the disc. I need to get some footage off of it that I shot this past weekend. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Chad Dyle

Jim Harp · July 1st, 2012, 07:38 AM

Hello all, I'm new here and greatly appreciate all the information. My main interest in 3D has been still photography, particularly medium-format film. I do have a W3 which I've shot some video on.

The GY-HMZ1U is currently available at B&H for $969, (!!!) only $120 more than the "non-pro" GS-TD1. At that price I couldn't resist it. I shot some test footage at a carnival last night using the AVCHD mode. I'm very impressed with the quality of the images in low light as seen on my LG42LM6200 TV.

One comment - why don't manufacturers put levels on the top of these devices?

January 20th, 2012, 09:52 AM	#46
Carlton Bright Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 101	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Hi Chad, It sounds like you are not happy with the camera in general. It took a while to get into the swing of it, but here is 2 minutes of footage with the JVC (the GS-TD1) and some of the footage is with the Cyclopital base-extender, and a few macro lenses too. JVC 3D camera & The CYCLOPITAL Extender (2 min) on Vimeo The camera reminds me of the WWII "Jeep" or the 1960's VW Bug..you add to it, etc.

January 30th, 2012, 03:47 AM	#47
Prech Marton Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: hungary Posts: 462	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder What do you guys recommend for recording nice 3D nature footage? TD1/Z1U is not sharp enough, TD10/NX3D1 has lot of noise in lowlight, TD20 base is very small, Pana Z10000 is out of the budget.. Why Canon don't release a good, affordable cam? Because they don't have 3DTV-s? __________________ Relaxing clips with waterfalls and music, 3D photos, 3D videos: www.3d-video.hu

February 19th, 2012, 10:55 PM	#48
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder I ride in a Mardi Gras parade (Thoth) each year and usually bring a camera to two to play with during our stops. I decided to give the JVC another shot. These are the settings I used: Manual Scene Select Off Focus Auto Brightness Adjust Auto Shutter Speed Auto Aperture Priority Manual White Balance Auto Backlight Comp Off Zebra 70-80% Cinema Off Touch Priority AE/AF Off DIS +1 Gain Up Off Wind Cut Off Grid Off Time Lapse Off System Select 24p User Button Setting controlled Aperture 3D Sound On Mic Level On Mic Level Setting 0 With these settings the camera should autofocus and allow me to adjust the Aperture by using the User button. I had it set to 5.6 most of the time, which is as high as it would go. After converting the footage, it just doesn't look that sharp. Am I doing something wrong here? Is this camera defective? I can understand getting the grainy look when shooting low light, but this was outside. I have uploaded one of the files for you to look at and give me your thoughts. www.dylefilms.com/Files/MardiGras.mp4 I would appreciate any help/suggestions that you can offer. Thank you, Chad Dyle Dyle Films - Wedding/Event Videography __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

February 20th, 2012, 03:12 PM	#49
Bruce Schultz Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Malibu, CA Posts: 480	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder I'm looking through this thread after a few off weeks and I'd like to chime in and say that as an owner of 4 different 3D cameras ( Panasonic 3DA1, Sony NX3D1, Sony TD10, and an F3 mirror rig) my experiences with the NX3D1 in 24P and TD10 in 60i are more pleasing than what's been described here about the JVC and Panasonic cameras. The posts that point out that both Sony 3D cameras exhibit noise at low light levels are correct, however, in decently or well lit as well as exterior settings the performance is very acceptable and maintain good degrees of sharpness. It also appears to be easier to split and edit the MVC footage out of the Sony's vs others.

February 20th, 2012, 05:26 PM	#50
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Bruce, I have heard from others that have had good luck with this camera. I have contacted JVC to see what my options are. Did you have a chance to look at the clip I linked? That is the look that I get, no matter if the camera is in Auto or Manual. Hopefully I will hear back from JVC with some thoughts/ideas. I'm also not sure how popular this camera is right now. I haven't found a lot of info on other forums. -Chad __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

February 21st, 2012, 05:44 AM	#51
Paul Newman Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Agua Blanca Ibiza Posts: 305	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Chad, I just checked your clip, wow, its really noisy, especially for daylight. Also it has very bad encoder artifacts too - and it appears quite soft. I only have my Sony TD10 to compare this with in the 3D camera range, but I'm used to my EX1 in basic quality terms, and I must say whilst the TD10 does suffer a little from low light noise, it continues to surprise me with its overall image quality. Anything which is noisy is easily treated with NeatVideo plugin, which cleans up noisy material extremely well. Is the JVC recording at its highest bit rate? I know this sounds stupid, but it looks like 7mbs rather that say 28mbs avchd. Hope you sort it out Paul :-) __________________ Another Sunny Day in Ibiza

February 21st, 2012, 06:25 AM	#52
Carlton Bright Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 101	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Chad, Perhaps that camera is indeed defective. The footage looks like the GAIN is always on and cannot be turned off, and does not get overridden by adaquate light or something, That is just a hunch. C- Maybe you can do an A-B comparison with an Identical model?

February 21st, 2012, 11:32 AM	#53
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Paul: The only thing I'm doing to the clips is using the JVC program to split them. Anything else is all done in camera. I have the Neat plug-in and it is amazing. I just don't want to think that I have to use it on everything the camera captures. Carlton: I'm still waiting to hear back from JVC on the camera. The Gain has on/off and I always keep it on off, even in Auto. I don't know of any camera out there that won't jack up the Gain as far as it can. I'm going to try to 2D/3D stuff later and see what happens. Thanks for the help. __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

February 21st, 2012, 12:31 PM	#54
Carlton Bright Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 101	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder The camera appears to use gain even though you have it switched off. It could be a defective camera. As a seperate issue, how does the squeezed AVCHD look?

February 21st, 2012, 04:43 PM	#55
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Carlton, The camera seemed to work best in direct daylight when we were at the Pumpkin patch for Halloween. I put a few clips together and threw it up on our 3D projector. I was happy with the quality. The only issue is the gain problem. __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

February 21st, 2012, 10:05 PM	#56
Carlton Bright Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 101	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Ah, well the graininess of the Mardi Gras footage has the look of a camera with its gain is permanantly on, whether the gain switch is on or off, or in low light or in bright sun light. Just tossing that out as a thought- Good luck with the camera. C-

February 22nd, 2012, 07:36 AM	#57
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder JVC contacted me yesterday and I forwarded them the footage. I'll keep you all updated on what happens. -Chad __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

March 3rd, 2012, 01:04 PM	#58
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder I'm still waiting to hear back from JVC. The support rep that contacted me hasn't been able to download one of my clips from my ftp site, direct email or the upload link that JVC sent me. Maybe it isn't the camera after all, maybe my computer just hates me. I'm starting to get a little aggravated with the support team and making a direct call doesn't seem to work either. __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

May 10th, 2012, 05:54 PM	#59
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder If there are any users of the GY-HMZ1U out there, would you be kind enough to email me the L/R splitter software that came with the camera? My iMac died and I can't find the disc. I need to get some footage off of it that I shot this past weekend. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Chad Dyle __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

July 1st, 2012, 07:38 AM	#60
Jim Harp Tourist Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Denville, NJ Posts: 1	Re: JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder Hello all, I'm new here and greatly appreciate all the information. My main interest in 3D has been still photography, particularly medium-format film. I do have a W3 which I've shot some video on. The GY-HMZ1U is currently available at B&H for $969, (!!!) only $120 more than the "non-pro" GS-TD1. At that price I couldn't resist it. I shot some test footage at a carnival last night using the AVCHD mode. I'm very impressed with the quality of the images in low light as seen on my LG42LM6200 TV. One comment - why don't manufacturers put levels on the top of these devices?