Upcoming New Features for the GY-LS300 Announced

[David Peterson]

Duncan, hold your horses before wasting money on Canon!!! Electronic adapters for Nikon F Mount are just around the corner, or use native m4/3 lenses from Panasonic.

[Duncan Craig]

Do many of the MFT specific lenses cover an APS sensor?
Sure if it was a generic design by Sigma or Tamron then it probably would.

A Panasonic 12-35 and 35-100 2.8 power zoom set for £1400 sounds OK, but it'll be designed for the MFT crop size right? I can only just about get enough background separation with my 2.8s fully open in S35.

(By the way the cropped modes on the JVC do not look as good as the S35 setting - I wouldn't use them unless I had to)

Another thing to add here, is that I use dumb adaptors for my Nikon glass, and before the JVC would tend to use a variable ND. While shooting I can apply tiny smooth iris or ND corrections to adjust the exposure without having to take my eyes of the screen. Metabones adaptors give the typical 'coarse' iris adjustments. Are the MFT lenses smoother?

Nikon adaptors? I hadn't heard about this...

The Canon lens protocol is very well understood and everyone from Metabones to Aputure, even cheap stuff like Commlite have a great range of active adaptors. It'll take a while (if ever) before Nikon adaptors can reach that kind of feature set.

Currently I do most of my shooting on a Sigma 24-70 Nikon, great results but no stabilisation.
Most of my Nikkor glass is pre autofocus and non-IS too.

A Tamron 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 set with stabilisation is £1600 and they get great results with good focus throw, non rotating front elements and so on (the 70-200 in internal focus and zoom).

Happy to be corrected though.

[Duncan Craig]

Here screen grabs of footage from a recent job.
The original and a version with the gamma lifted.

You can see a really odd black area centre right which stays stuck in the blacks with horrible artefacts around it. It's not acting in a normal way as this area of black appears to 'stick' in the lower area of a scope long after the black area near to it has raised.

...hard to describe, but it almost seems like FCPX isn't handling the codec properly.

This was with the camera defaulted to -3 blacks, which I've now set to 0. I need to do more tests, including transcoding it to Pro Res - off to shoot a few days of drama with the LS300 and an a7s.

Perhaps v2 will fix this, JVC we await your news.

[Steve Rosen]

Disappointing to hear about the histogram, but I use a Gratical exclusively so it isn't a problem for me - but yet another blunder on JVC's part - it's a shame that they're torpedoing their own flagship product.

Also, surprised to hear that the zoom feature only works with MFT native lenses...that is another counter-intuitive blunder - using EF or converted PL or full frame lenses would take full advantage of the sensor.

As for my experience, I really do like the basic camera. I've tested it with almost all my lenses including...

EF 24-105 (doesn't hold up well on this camera, but has been fine on the C100)
EFS 17-55 (pretty good choice with the Metabones)
Olympus 12-40 Pro (good, sharp zoom, but it loses it's seeming par focal ability with this camera)
Nokton 17.5 (my favorite with this camera, a cruiser like the old 10mm on S16 days - and it will apparently work with the zoom feature)
Canon 12-120 T2.6 Fluorite, a lens I've owned since 1973 (focus shift when zooming, probably the CA-1 to MFT adapter)
Angenieux 15-150 (not my favorite lens but for some reason looks better on this camera than any other I've used it on)
Leica-R 35mm and 50mm (tried and true)
plus a Leica packaged Anegeniex 45-90 f2.8.

And no, auto focus does not work with the Metabones... I'm old school so I don't use it anyway. I think IS is working on the 17-55 but can't tell for sure, doesn't look jelloey anyway. Auto focus does work very well with the native MFT Olympus 12-40.

The 12-40 is probably the best choice if you have only one lens. It's very sharp, has a nice look to it, and because it's native MFT will probably work with the zoom feature, which would extend it's range (if the feature will work with zooms?) That and the 17.5 Nokton would cover a lot of bases.

I forgot to add that when I set up the Nokton I was able to adjust the VSM to a couple of clicks above MFT (I think like 87%), which makes it closer to a 14mm. Irregardless of the zoom feature, you can also "tighten" the FOV by clicking the VSM down to 60 or 50% and it's still perfectly acceptable for documentary work. Faster and easier (especially on a fishing boat) than changing lenses.

[Steve Rosen]

BTW, the histogram can toggle on and off can't it? Cuz I don't want it if it covers the audio meters, which I do need. I have the Gratical X and didn't pay extra for meters.

Also, most if not all of the Panasonic and Olympus MFT lenses just cover the MFT circle, at least the ones I've used. Some even vignette slightly then.

And again, when and where can I get these new features? It's not clear on the JVC site.

[Steve Rosen]

Another comment - in the last two years I've made seven short documentaries and a dozen TV spots for colleges and a university - all shot on BM Pocket Cameras.

Using this camera and getting the image pretty much the way I want it right out of the camera is really refreshing after all that grading - the current trend... It reminds me of when I shot film and everything looked nearly perfect with a one-light print... It's why I like the C100 too, but it doesn't do 422 without an external.

One complaint - I'm a fast shooter, all doc, mostly handheld, and I don't like that the Canon 17-55 and Olympus 12-40 don't act as par focal, because they do on their "native" cameras, and even on the lowly Pockets. Maybe I have a flange issue. Anyone else have this problem?

[Duncan Craig]

Steve. That's for all your input regarding lenses.
You got a really wide range of glass it seems.

I think that a native MFT lens might be a worthwhile investment.

Do you find (like we do) that the rear viewfinder totally unusable for anything other than confirming that the camera is switched on! And that the colour rendition of the side monitor is off by a very wide margin?

TIA

[Steve Rosen]

Duncan. yeah I'm pretty much in agreement about the finders. but after many years of inadequate finders (try shooting dark interiors with a Bolex Rex, or even shooting ASA 800 rated film with an Eclair or Aaton) I'm not as put off as most because I prefer custom mounted EVFs (in fact the finder on my C100 hasn't even worked for 2 years).

In a pinch I could use the camera's EVF to frame and focus (the focus assist feature that turns the screen B&W but retains color for peaking is a big help). The LCD is sub-standard, but I'm not seeing the dramatic difference your posted stills show, mine's not that far off from the Gratical - neither of which have I custom tuned. I think I could tweak the LCD and get it really close to the Gratical, but I really only use it for the menu. These days there are so many external viewing options out there (like the new BM Video Assist or the SmallHD 502 you have) that that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me... the big thing is having a decent box and not having to buy more lenses.

The LS300 is far from perfect - the sad thing is that it easily could have been perfect. If JVC ever makes a higher end model I'll buy it. But given the lack-luster response to this camera that's probably not going to happen. Plus too many are predicting the inevitable end of pro/prosumer MFT, which is a shame in itself.

[Duncan Craig]

Are there any MFT 2.8 constant lenses with power zoom? I can't seem to find any...

The two Panasonic MFT lenses - 12-35 and 35-100 at 2.8 cost approx £940, and the full frame Tamron (Canon fit) VC lenses - 24-70 and 70-200 2.8, cost approx £1250. I'd lean towards the Tamron option assuming smart adapters such as the Commlite are compatible with Tamron's VC stabilisation. But I'd also need a Metabones Speedbooster adapter to cover the same zoom range.

Does anyone know which Canon EF - MFT Metabones Speedboosters will work on the LS-300? Just the Ultra?

Also, I can't afford another EVF and I'd like to keep the rig as small as possible, can anyone recommend a loupe to use on the LS-300 side screen? It would need to sit in place but still allow access to the controls on left of the sidefinder screen.

Thanks!

[Steve Rosen]

Duncan - don't know about power zooms.

Here are some opinions, but others may not agree.

The Olympus 12-40 Pro is better than the Lumix 12-35. I had both and sold the Lumix because the extra 5mm makes a difference, and also the Olympus seems to hold closer to the 2.8 max aperture through the range.

The Lumix 35-100 is probably the best lens Panasonic makes. I use it often, very sharp and appears par focal at most stops (my spell correct keeps separating par focal)

I have four EVFs that I've accumulated since they became available, the original Cineroid, which I've kept as a backup, two Z-Finder Pros and a Gratical X.

Sometimes I shoot in places like homeless shelters, and when I do I take my "low-end" equipment - and I've used the old Cineroid on the LS300 and it works well. It's not near as sharp as the Gratical, of course, but I've seen them used for around $150. The Cineroid got a bad rap because it seemed cheaply made of plastic - but because of that it's extremely light, nearly half the weight of the Z-Finer Pro, and I've had mine since I bought the AF100, and it still works well. Not as sophisticated as you want, but a good interim choice if you can find one.

The Gratical X is two grand with the "Filmmaker Essentials", but hopefully it's the last finder I'll ever need. Sometimes its a good idea to buy something that's future-proof... unfortunately that's difficult to predict in todays changing market - I thought my $30,000 Panasonic HPX500 was, but it was obsolete before I finished the feature doc I bought it for - that's why I don't spring for any camera over five grand anymore.

[Steve Rosen]

Forgot to comment on the EF Speedbooster. I can't see any reason that the Speedbooster wouldn't work, but keep in mind you'd be scaling down to MFT (80%) to use it. You'd still gain the 1.4+ stop of light, but the FOV would be pretty much the same as with the Metabones smart adapter.

I have the Pocket Speedbooster, which is designed for the S16 sensor on the Pocket Camera. After I carefully measure flange to rear element depth vs the LS300 I'll give it a try - but in that case I would be dialing the VSM down to about 47%, and I don't think that's worth it for the speed increase, may as well just boost the ISO.

[John Nantz]

There is a very complete 4/3 lens list of currently released or announced lenses, as of June 2015, at: The Complete Micro 4/3 Lens List

What is very helpful is the 4/3 Lens Chart at the top of the page. Someone put a lot of work in putting this page together.

The problem I found with using adapters is with the basic camera so light and a lens with a lot of glass, such as with long telephotos, it really pushes the center of gravity forward and makes the whole package really nose heavy. The optimum way to go would be with fewer elements in the lens because it saves weight, generally gives a better bokeh, and to not use an adapter. The problem is with the dearth of available lenses.

Steve with regard to spell check it can be a pain in areas where there is a special vocabulary involved. As for spelling parfocal, if you’re using OS X one can teach it to spell. Highlight the word before it auto-corrects then right click on the highlighted word with it underlined (in red or blue) to open an option window and choose “learn spelling”. For other systems I assume they have something but I don’t know how it works. Hopefully this reduces spelling grief.

[Steve Rosen]

John, I completely agree that it's best to not use adapters if possible, they also introduce an extra place for slop, and they can be questionable (I think my CA-1 to MFT's back focus is off).

Problem is, when you're someone (like me) who's accumulated a lot of lenses of various provenance over the years, it's either adapters or very expensive remounting. I have Arri std, Arri B, Aaton, CA-1, Leica-R, Nikon-F, Canon FD & EF and MFT lenses (and just sold a B4).

So for me, the appeal of acquiring the LS300 (and the Pocket Cams for that matter) is the ability to use lenses I already have.

And that has resulted in a few surprises. For instance, as I mentioned above, my old Angenieux 15-150, a lens I never liked on my Aaton, has a very nice look on the LS300. It's also, surprisingly, the only lens that (nearly) holds focus throughout the entire range. So, a lens that's lived in the closet for over 20 years has found new life. And interestingly it has TWO adapters. It's a native Arri Std mount, adapted to Aaton, then adapted again to MFT - however the Arri to Aaton is a custom machined stainless steel piece built like a tank by Century Precision Optics that cost over $800 decades ago.

And yeah, I do know how to teach my computer to spell esoteric words (like back focus), but it's a new Retina MacBook and I'm too lazy.

[Duncan Craig]

A few thoughts from the last few days.

Originally Posted by Steve Rosen

The Olympus 12-40 Pro is better than the Lumix 12-35. I had both and sold the Lumix because the extra 5mm makes a difference, and also the Olympus seems to hold closer to the 2.8 max aperture through the range.

I've no doubt that extra Olympus' 5mm (10mm in 4/3rds) is very useful, but the Panasonic is stabilised which I really need, and it's less than half the weight (305g vs 700g) My 715g 24-70 2.8 makes the LS300 really front heavy, although it was never a problem on the FS100.

The single weedy 1/4inch thread on the 300 is too far back in my opinion, every long tripod plate I own hangs over the back of the camera making the rear panel difficult to access. Looking online and seeing huge long lenses hanging off the lens mount is really scary! I'd love to see the 300 fitted with something like my Juiced Designs EX1 baseplate I bought so long ago.

I'm chasing Hoodman to see which loupe setup they recommend with this camera. Their EX1 package might fit the bill, bit I think the 3.5 inch screen riser might be too tall.

There's a few LS300 related IBC videos coming online now...
Here's Rick Young's:

JVC adds Log Mode, Histogram. Cinema 4K & 2K to GY-LS300 on Vimeo

And another (slightly funny) here:

YouTube (Short URL)

The prime zoom feature still needs further explanation. Does it really only work with MFT primes? On Rick's video it's working with a PL prime, perhaps the adaptor is somehow 'smart'? It would be great if it worked on the Pana 12-35 2.8 to give an additional 20% reach, that would equate to 12-42mm!

Duncan.

[Steve Rosen]

I do like the IO on EF lenses, although obviously I've spent most of my like with non-IO. In my opinion the IO on Panasonic lenses is pretty ineffective, so I opted for constant aperture and that extra 5mm (and it actually looks like more in use - as I said, I had both lenses to test side-by-side)...

Thanks for finding and posting the video... Instead of this zoom feature, my wish would be the ability to save and assign to function buttons particular VSM settings. That would make this camera the best doc box out there.

And Duncan, my only real concern with the LS300 is that it seems you and I are the only people who have actually bought one - at least if you read the forums... Oh well, I've never minded being an odd-ball.