2 Articles about Me and my HM700
 

60-Second Q&A: Don Smith | HD/Studio

Freelance camera operators at a loss for which model to choose

The second link to BroadcastEngineering.com requires a free registration.

They both use the same picture taken of me recently by a wedding photographer I was working with.

Don Smith
NewsVideo.com

Well done, Don. Congrats.

Very informative. I think JVC got it right this time. At the demo here a couple of days ago, I was surprised how many TV station engineers and producers were present. And the overall consensus was that SDHC media is like Betacam SP in that it is portable and affordable.

The speed of the workflow really impressed everyone. I might be out on a limb here, but if the broadcasters on the local level adopt JVC ProHD's SDHC approach, then it will trickle down to the mid to high end corporate level as well.

Further to what David said: it WOULD be nice to get back to the days of end-of-shoot deliverables to clients (from a freelancer's perspective) at a reasonable cost instead of surrendering $1000 cards OR going back to the studio and transferring footage to something useable.

JVC complaint,
 

I was just informed by someone that JVC HD recordings don't always reveal what EXACT digital format they were shot in even when they are put in another JVC HD deck, unless the deck is identical to the one that did the original recording!

I don't know if this is a JVC prosumer vs JVC consumer vs JVC industrial issue or what. But the idea that any manufacturer would make any of their OWN decks actually tell you the INCORRECT data when it comes to what type of recording a different model of the same manufacturer made, is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.

Anybody else have this happen?

The person who told me the horror story is a duplicator and not only did the customer's job have to be redone, the only way they could identify the actual original JVC recording format was by bringing in the actual hardware video recording device that did the original recording.

If this is type of video format confusion going on, it needs to be ADDRESSED by JVC immediately. I should pretty much be able to identify the recording specifics even if I cross use different decks from the same manufacturer.

Well i'm not sure what you heard even applies to this camera (HM 700). It shoots in XDCAM EX format which is a Sony format. The SDHC card is everywhere, so that's not an issue.

It sounds like you're referring to older analog tape technology????

I think it was a JVC HD DV format. My friend was so upset about not being able to know what the format was that I ended up forgetting what the recording format actually was.

David: About how people are impressed once they see the workflow; Yes, I mention that in one of the articles. It's that workflow and that from-the-camera deliverable on low-cost media that sells people on the spot. I just need the opportunity to show it to them.

Alessandro: Being a journalist, I can't buy your story with unattributed claims from unnamed people. I'm not saying it's not true, or saying that it's true, I just would like to see specifics because it's a claim I've not heard before. Additionally, the word "format" is thrown around by the uninitiated to mean more than one thing, depending on the person saying it. Do you mean aspect ratio, or do you mean the compression code, or do you mean the wrapper, or a combination of any of these things?

Don Smith
NewsVideo.com

Absolutely. I'm not a news photog/stringer so I don't know that world really at all. However, I can see how a deadline intensive environment would embrace a speedy workflow like JVC 700 shootng .mov to FCP. Instant ingest is really excellent.

I work for a NASA/JSC contractor and we edit on 4 different edit platforms. Avid for the long form documentary/knowledge transfer, FCP for the quick turn stuff, Vegas for some of the non-editor engineers, and I have a notebook with Adobe Premiere that I edit a few quick turn things on. The PAO guys for NASA shoot P2 DVCPRo HD, and that is expensive for them.

So we're all looking at the JVC HM 700 as an affordable solution.

I do believe that when 16 GB SDHC cards drop to around 20 to 30 dollars, then tape, p2, and SxS are dead. Just my opinion.

Very interesting reading Don, thanks for sharing. I shoot news in the UK, and doubtless will be coming across this situation very shortly. Currently it's DVCam (DSR450), but the video journalists are using Sony Z5's with CF cards. Of course, technically our footage is better, but not by much! 'Craft cameras' as they call us are used for features and lives mainly, but obviously are called on to shoot anything.

I have an HM100 and our tech bod passed the pictures with no problem (downconverted in FCP onto an SD timeline) so I am using it as a B camera and in more and more places I previously would have used a bullet cam (lipstick camera or minicam, whatever you call it over there :) and the pics are really good. I've just about mastered using it with manual exposure now...

The only thing that scares me about the HM700 is the size of the sensors. Coming from 2/3 inch down to 1/2 inch is one thing, but down to 1/3 inch?? There's no substitute for real estate and the small size worries me. Of course, I have no experience with the 700 so what would you say to someone like me?

I've only ever used Sony gear as a news staffer (Betacam, Betacam SX) and now as a contractor DVCam, so I am thinking Sony - but nothing they have at the moment would remotely tempt me for news. A proper shoulder mount EX5 might, but no way am I funding SxS cards that will disappear. Got to be CF or SDHC, nothing else will do.

Again, interesting read, nice to know what's happening your side of the pond.

Cheers,
Cotty

I was asked about that very thing just this morning (1/2" vs. 1/3")...

The question to me this morning was to compare the EX3 with the HM700. Here's a copy of what I said:
- -

If I had the money, I would have one of each.

The EX3 has the larger image sensors (half-inch) that are true 1920 x 1080.

The HM700 and the HM100 both have one-third inch sensors, 1440 x 720 (I'm doing the specs by memory. Check me on that). JVC uses a special algorithm to record 1080p video (1920 x 1080).

The EX3 is the winner on image quality, but the JVC, in my opinion, comes in so close that I have had nothing but compliments from clients.

The EX3 has a CMOS chip, the JVC an LCD. Both have artifacts, but they're different. The CMOS has a rolling shutter and sports camera people would get the "jelly" effect on some fast-motion shots. The LCD image sensor has vertical smear, but the smear doesn't happen easily, and when it does, it's not been objectionable. The smears that have happened to me are hair-thin vertical white lines. Hard to notice most of the time. Once I got a big smear, but it just looked like I had a star filter!

For me, the form factor of the HM700 (like my old Betacam), the low-cost media, and the close-enough quality of the video tips me toward the JVC. But, I'm more of the old-school run-and-gun cameraman. If I worked primarily from a tripod the form factor would be a consideration, but I still have a big problem with the cost of the media. Having expensive SxS cards (or expensive P2 cards for that matter) changing hands would keep me awake at night. Of course, it appears that the clients who want something shot on an EX3 are bringing their own cards. That would solve that problem.

The "AHA" moment comes, though, when a client sees the work flow form the HM700. The camera produces .MOV files ready for editing in Final Cut. No importing or transcoding. Just put the $20 memory card in a $5 USB dongle to plug that card into your computer and simply slide the media to your video hard drive and start editing. The process is called DTE, or "Direct to Edit" and once a client or potential client sees that, they're sold. I can hand off my cards to a producer and not lose sleep if I don't get it back because it's about the value of what I used to pay for Betacam tape.

Don

JVC uses a CCD (charge coupled device), not LCD (liquid crystal display).

Actually, the HM700 has 1/3" sensors while the HM100 has smaller, 1/4" sensors.

See:

JVC Specifications Page - GY-HM700

JVC Specifications Page - GY-HM100

I hate to disappoint you, but the HM100 only has 1/4" sensors.

I stand corrected on two issues, CCD not LCD, and 1/4" sensors for the HM100, not 1/3" sensors like the HM700. As I said, I was doing the specs from memory and to check me on it. I guess you did! :-)

The artifacts between CMOS and CCD remain, however. As for the sensor size, I remember from my days of owning an EX3 that the EX1 had the same sensors. I got that relationship confused with the relationship between the HM100 and the HM700.

Don Smith
NewsVideo.com