New to the board, and this camera.
 

Hey guys.

Thought I would come on, say hi, introduce myself, let you know what I have, how it works, my issues, etc.

I am based out of Fort Worth Texas.
I have a GYHD110u thats about a month old.
Acc include...
AB kit with 3 Dionic batteries.
Full Wireless Sennhiesser kit
Citidisk HDV 100gb HD with extra 3 hour battery
Bogan Tripod
Format Matte box
3 Format filters

Now, I bought this setup at once, I am not happy with the wireless kit, I would like a 2-4 channel setup, and will look into that.
The Citidisk is amazing. Even though I cant see whats going on in the VF on disk storage/power, I know I have 450 minutes of shooting avaliable, so I am not worried.

The AB kit, I wish I could find an adaptor that will allow me to hold 2 of the batteries at the same time.

Other wise I like my setup.

Now, this camera.. I came from the Sony Z1U. I know the Sony does great, I know what I can and cant do with it, I was very comfortable with it, in fact I shot Dramarama's Concert with 6 of them back in february, I decided to go with the 110U as it would shoot Progressive, 24 frame, and give a more cinematic look. I did get that.
However, flame away on this, but there are times I wish that camera had an auto focus. I shoot weddings, and currently am shooting a tv show pilot with it. There are times when I dont want to worry about focusing right away and want the camera to do it for me, namely when it is on a boom crane, or I have other things going on with the shot, etc.

Does anyone elses hand go numb when holding the camera for hours on end?

And is there a book, specific to operations of this camera, like I said, I am learning a new camera, new style, new everything and the direction book that came with it reads like an Ikea assembly book. Maybe a JVC HD110u for dummies?

Other wise, she can look great. Like I said, I dont know the camera that well, I shoot 720P 30 as Progressive shooting is a new thing for me, and with test shoots I found blurring on panning with 24P. I have only done a few things with it, I have yet to accept a wedding to use this camera on just yet, but the set ups wth the tv show are long enough that I can feel comfortable with the camera for that shot.

I use FCP 5.1 with the camera. I have not hooked the camera up to import with it yet, I just grab the M2T files off the drive and use MpegStreamclip to convert, which is a PITA to do, a batch capture of those files and conversion would save me time. I dont want to run the drum out on the camera from importing.

Congrats on the camera, I have been looking at getting a shoulder mount for this camera cause its heavy. Look at Paolo true color 3 settings and Stephen Noe panamatch for excellent film-look color. I have been testings Stephens panamatch in Sedona and it looks great.
This is the best fourm for info so browse around.
i have been mostly shooting in standard mode 24pa because editing HDV on my system is not capable yet. I use vegas 4 and had NO PROBLEMS.
I wish I had a monitor in the field cause that little screen doesn't do justice.

I was thinking of taking my 24 inch Dell LCD out to the field, as it has RGB connections.

Thanks for the info.

hey jim. i just picked up the same camera, and while i was at it, purchased the HD100 handbook by Steve Mullens. theres a brief thread on it started here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=76531

i found the book full of a lot of great info, but i also found it rather poorly proofed with lots of typos etc., and some parts of it are extremely technical and complex. i've read the section on what 4:2:2, etc. is now a number of times, and still have no idea.

overall though, probably worth the $40.

e/

I will have to pick it up.

I just figured out the scene files deal ( I feel like such an idiot now)
I feel like a newbie all over again, there is so much more to this camera than what I thought there was in the beggining when I was shopping for a camera.

Welcome to the Forum!

You'll find plenty of "advice for dummies" here (namely me). I'm just getting used to this camera myself and have got a lot of great advice from here.

I've found that for good focus an external monitor is all but required. Even with the focus assist, it still can be a touch blurry.

As for autofocus, I don't think that's possible with this camera. you have to treat this camera more like a film camera when panning as well. You have half the temporal resolution of a SD 60i camera so you'll get blurry/jerky movements with too fast of moves.

Now the important question, where in Fort Worth?

Adam, I sent you a couple of emails.

I am in Crowley, just south of Fort Worth.

Feel free to call me any time, I would like to get together with any and all operators in DFW.

682-438-5963

Call anytime.

Another newbie question.

I looking at buying this camera also. I will be upgrading from the Canon XL1 so I am interested in the focusing side of this camera. Since I tended to rely pretty heavy on the auto focus with this camera which I know I should be mastering the manual side.

So how would one discribe the focus on this camera? Is it more like a full on manual lense? Take note with that last point since I think it exposes where my knowledge is regarding this area.

I also do a few weddings here and there and corporate stuff but I will buy this camera mainly for use in short dramas so I'm keen to get peoples opinions on the focusing side of this lense and how one might approach skilling up with in this area.

Thanks

Jim, sorry I took so long, but you've got mail....

Simon,

It's not like a full on manual lens. It IS a full on manual lens. It has focus numbers and everything. It's one of the big differences with this camera as opposed to a lot of the other HDV offerings.

Getting used to manual focus can really suck, but after a while it just becomes second nature. I had to go back to shooting with a GL1 a few weekends ago and even ended up turning off the autofocus on that because I couldn't stand it searching for focus and wanting to be able to frame things one way and have it focus somewhere where it didn't want to.

Hi Jim,

Welcome aboard. I'm the JVC Rep in this area, so feel free to call me anytime you have questions. If you will e-mail me at carlh@jvc.com, I will send you my local phone #.

Regarding training, besides the Steve Mullen book, there is training video called "JVC GY-HD100 Made Easy", produced by Elite Video in Hot Springs Arkansas. I have watched it once, and it starts a ground zero and takes you though most of the features of the camera. It's a little "elementary" in places, but it does provide basic training, in a visual way. Go to www.elitevideo.com for more info.

Regarding Hard Drive Recording: The JVC DR-HD100 HDD, which is custom made for the GY-HD100/110 cameras, offers native quicktime recording now in HDV 30p, so you can go straight into FCP - no conversion needed.

Regarding focusing: We designed the ProHD cameras to be used the way broadcast and production professionals use existing pro and broadcast cameras. The vast majority of experieced pros want only manual focus lenses. As someone already said, it take some getting used to, but the reward is well worth the effort to learn the operation of a real broadcast lens. This camera is all about image control, and without true manual focus, you cannot hope to have the kind of creative image control that most of our customers want.

Regards, Carl

Thanks Adam,

So outside experimenting and just building up flying time with the camera do you have any suggestions regarding this lens and things one should look at for?

Also as a Full Manual lens I am assuming once you focus to your satisfaction there is no slipping of focus unless you knock the ring? The reason I ask cause with my XL1 when in manual mode I will focus on a subject and somethimes the camera slips or slides out of focus. Maybe this is because it is a hybrid manual / auto lens.

Any comments would be most appreciated?

Thanks

Simon, that's correct. A true manual focus lens stays exactly where you put it. The focus adjustment will not move on it's own at all - only when you operate it will it move.

Hi Carl - the links to the HD100 training video and the mention of Steve Mullens book - don't suppose you know of any UK specific training guides? I assume Steve's book would be more geared towards the NTSC side of the camera...but then again that might not be such a problem? (have the worry that scene files designed for the NTSC signal will throw my PAL images out?).

Simon - once you start using manual you'll never return to auto...my previous camera only really did auto-focus - it would throw the image in and out of focus when you zoomed in on a subject - clearly not on!

...just to add - before you get cracking with your manual zoom, you'll need to adjust/calibrate the back focus on this camera - that's a whole lot of fun itself!

Welcome to the world of professional video cameras. Having worked with pro cameras for 20 odd years the whole focus issue with this camera is a bit puzzling to me. I guess it stems from the dependence on the auto focus found on most consumer cameras, but I also presume most people have purchased this camera as a step up. If so you are going to have to learn how to shoot like a professional. That is exactly why I purcahsed the JVC, it it's layout is very similar to that of a professional camera and uses switches instead of menus for the most commonly used functions. Once you become accustomed to working this way and thinking about what you are doing you will probably see an improvement in your work.