JVC GY-HM700 low light
 

Hi, I'm planning to replace my Canon xh-a1 soon and I have a budget to go either for the Sony pmw-ex1r or the JVC GY-HM700 (with a Canon F1.6, 14x, f=4.4-61.6mm lens). I can buy the jvc new for about 700 euro less then the ex1. What really appeals to me in the jvc is it's schoulder mount capabilities and me being able to add my wireless audio receiver and swit light including battery without having to take it off anymore just to save on weight when doing extended handheld shoots.

From what I have seen on the internet the jvc can produce some very nice looking colorfull images and eventhough I know an ex1 can produce sharper images there is one thing that worries me where the ex1 should shine but the jvc seems to not deliver and that's low-light.

Does anyone know how this jvc handles lowlight with gain values up to +6 or +9db compared to a canon xh-a1, is the gain cleaner?

That was the only thing I really hate about my canon is that already at+ 6db gain the grain really starts to show and higher gain values are plain ugly. I would already be happy knowing that the jvc would give me cleaner images at +6 to+ 9db gain but have no way in checking it before I make a purchase.

At 6 and 9, the JVC performs just fine, anything after 9 I can say is no good. Its not a 5D MKII in terms of lowlight, but for dark footage you will be just fine, if not better.

Noa, it's not great shooting but here are a few quick frame grabs from my HM700 (with the Canon lens you mentioned) for you.
Let me know if you would like to see something else.

Thx Steven for your answer, that the jvc is not a 5d in low light I expected :) but that is not what I am looking for in a real videocamera, I do have a 550d for very dark receptions where I don't have the possibility to use a videolight but I need a camera that will match de dslr colors better as well and that I can use as main cam in good light conditions but also in a bit darker places. When it gets too dark the dslr has to take over anyway. It's good to hear though that up to 9db is clean enough, for me was important that it performs better then my xh-a1 and with a max and clean +9db gain I can live.

Also thx for the photo's Mike, that's great to see some real live results. +9db looks clean indeed, I guess the auto gain is somewhere around 12-15db?

Noa, full auto is +18.
BTW, the camera has a 3-position gain switch that can be set to anything you want.
I believe that default for positions 2 and 3 was +6 and +9.
I changed it to +3 and +6 as I rarely encounter low light situations in my work.

You might have a thought to the new 750LL (low light) version just announced by JVC; apparently it is a special version of the new 750 made for ENG use and will have extended low light capability for news gathering; if I read the press release right it will be (only??) available for direct purchase from JVC's broadcast division....

thx for the input so far, Battle, do you have a link to that press release?

JVC News Release -- New Product Introduction: GY-HM750 ProHD Camcorder

All they said about the LL model was as follows:

A LoLux version of the camera specially designed for ENG use, the GY-HM750LL, will also be available to direct broadcast customers next month. Developed to assist television journalists when external lighting cannot be used, JVC’s exclusive LoLux feature goes beyond the normal gain boost to produce broadcast acceptable imagery in extremely low-light environments.

BTW, I corrected my earlier post as Full Auto maxes out at +18, not +15.

Thanks to Mike for the timely link to the release! Here's the link to JVC Pro in the US, which is probably of no help to you in Belgium but there is a contact name which might give you some place to start:
JVC News Release - Broadcast Rep Program

thx for the link, it's strange that they only seem to incorporate the lolux feature into one broadcast version of the 250 only.

Re: JVC GY-HM700 low light
 

Are there any specs for the 750 lo lux/LL version? F? Will there be 6,9,18,24 & turbo gain? Uprez images in low light, or will we have the grainy look like the old betacams?

Just curious,

Thanks

Re: JVC GY-HM700 low light
 

This Low Light thing has been a rumour for many years.
It is the only thing which I face when doing multi-cam shoots of events.
The sensitivity of the Sony camera's is so much better.
I would be willing to pay for an upgrade for low lux capabilities if the picture looks good.
The gain now is simply not usable for me in real life. Which leads me in jobs which I start to loose.