Anyone shooting on the JVC GY-HM850

[Simon Denny]

I'm interested if anyone has been shooting on the JVC GY-HM850 and how they are finding the camera and lens. I have used the 700 on many gigs and I'm considering the 850.

Ant feedback would be great.
Cheers

[Chris Harding]

Hi Simon

I was looking myself too ..If you are into shoulder mount cameras then I think JVC are the only ones that make a camera that actually doesn't have the pad at the back! The 890 is nice too but both are pricey!!
I'm currently using two Sony EA-50's which have the big advantage of being able to use all my still camera lenses and are less expensive than the JVC (about half the cost currently) Also worth a look as they are about the only other shoulder mount camera on the market. I doubt whether I would need the JVC's 20X lens as I mainly do weddings so I guess it also depends what you are filming on a day to day basis?

Chris

[Simon Denny]

Thanks Chris,
I think the 850 will do fine for what I need. My gear is is Sony based but I need a cheap shoulder cam and now the 850 is out I'll run with that and also the 600/650. Third inch chip will suit the doco I'm shooting alond with my Sony cams.

Cheers

[Chris Harding]

Great Simon

Love your series BTW ... extremely well shot and presented!! Hope you have some more in the pipeline?

Chris

[Simon Denny]

Oh wow Chris, thanks for the great feed back mate. I would love to do more eps but as this show is my own and total self funded by me I'm not sure on the future, however I have some great stories that I would love to shoot and I'm currently working towards this.

I have two more eps that I'll upload when Im back in a week or two.

Thanks again mate.

Cheers

[Mike Bailey]

Yes, we're shooting two 850's. I previously had the 700 and 750--still have the 750. We do a lot of corporate videos for GM etc., and the cameras are well suited for the job. My DP's love using this camera. Shoulder mounted with all of the buttons in the right place. The majority of peripherals that have been bought for the 700 series work with the new 850's--although there is no dock or pinhole to add a focus control... The optical stabilizer and auto focus are appreciated too. The biggest benefit is that the new Fuji lens is 20x and the wide setting is wider than the 700 series Canon lens outfitted with a wide angle adapter!

We are finding the back focus a bit tricky to set; the new 850 is sort of an electronic setup for back focus. We were getting what appeared to be random out of focus areas on the shot--although we followed the JVC procedure--it was baffling. We talked to JVC and they assured me (not sure if their assurance makes me feel any better...) that it was definitely a back focus issue. They did add that when setting the back focus on the 850, the iris should be all the way open--THEY should put it in the manual... So we repeated the procedure and I don't see the issue...but I'll be keeping my eye on it.

[Simon Denny]

Thanks Mike,
Great feed back. Hey are you shooting in the H.264 Extreme High Quality (XHQ) recording mode? and if so how have you found the quality.

Also how much of a difference is there in image quality from the 700 to the 850.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Cheers

[Mike Bailey]

There seems to be little image quality difference between the 700 series and 800 series. However the chromatic aberrations seem to be less with the 850. Typically in high contrast scenes the 700 and 750 would show a thin green or red outline on some edges--so far I haven't seen that aberration in the 850, but they've only been out 6 or 7 times on shoots. I wanted to replace my aging 700 and 750 (which of course matched) when we were out on 2 camera shoots. When we actually put them side-by-side (750 and 850); they look almost identical--less the new Fuji wide angle and telephoto improvement--a small nod in picture improvement (colors, blacks, detail) for the 850 but not astounding.

Yes we have been shooting with the XHQ codec. To be honest, I don't see much difference visually, BUT I don't see much difference when we'd output to 4:2:2 at 100 mbps on our NanoFlashes. If you import the clip and hit movie inspector it does show a 50mbps recording. A note here: if you are planning on bringing XHQ into Final Cut 7 you'll choke the crap out of your computer. My editor(s) primary edit with Premiere CC but because I'm really a producer/director (and it took me years to figure out Final Cut) I'm more apt to power up FC7 and even with the new MacPro 12 core etc, the clips would play and freeze. No problem having Quicktime play clips or editing with Premiere, and I suspect FCX.

[Simon Denny]

Thanks Mike for the update,

There doesn't seem to be a lot of footage online to check out for this camera. All good though.

Cheers

[Chris Harding]

Hey Simon

There is a bit of footage from the HD Warrior online but that's about it. His footage looks pretty clean I must admit. I'm also comparing footage with my Sony EA-50's using manual lenses which even with pricey glass is still nearly half the cost of the 850 after you have bought batteries and a charger which don't come with the camera.

I admit that I have now been a bit spoilt with the Sony's APSC sensor and the ability to use any of my Nikon lenses on the cameras. It also has the same viewfinder as the EX3 being a loupe tube over the LCD so going back to tiny EVF's would scare me a bit as I'm spoilt with the big screen.

The 850 still kills the Sony when it comes to balance ..so I end up having to use an ENG support rod up front when I'm using big lenses. Then again at under $4K with a 11X servo zoom they are still good value!

This is the review and footage I saw if it helps? HD Warrior » Blog Archiv » JVC GY-HM850 Video Review Part ONE

Chris

[Mike Bailey]

No doubt the Sony EX series produces a nicer picture but the JVC form factor almost neutralizes the benefit. The large flip out screen and traditional viewfinder, balance and buttons placed like a betacam--it's use of sdhc and variable rates can really gloss over the 1/3 inch chips limitations. I've attached a doc that I directed and produced with JVC 700 and 750. It aired in May nationally. The formal interviews where shot with a Canon 60d and there's some GoPro but everything else is JVC. 90% of the secret is having DP's that know where the art is. Cheers. Short version:

vimeo://video/99873340

[Simon Denny]

Thanks Chris, I have been watching the HD Warrrior blog for sometime hoping part two would be up?

Ive used the 700 for the last few years and found the image to be great, just have to watch the highlights, blown out areas as they tend to get a bit muddy but overall for a cheap shoulder cam the 700 is perfect for my needs.

Hey Mike, I can't get that link to work? any ideas.

Cheers guys

Here is something I'm shooting, editing, producing at the moment. I shot this on my Sony PMW500 and editing this in Avid MC8.1

The Australian Bushman DVD001 Fishing Promo - YouTube

And another short clip.

YouTube (Short URL)

[Mike Bailey]

Sorry here's the proper link--short version for TV--10 minutes of pretty stuff hacked out for commercial breaks...

The Wings of Angels on Vimeo

[Simon Denny]

Thanks Mike,

Great work and beautiful story.

Cheers

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

Excellent videos both!! yep I will be honest and say that the JVC form factor is pretty darn hard to beat!!! Why these other guys try to stick a shoulder pad at the end of the camera instead of the middle so it's balanced, I will never know.

It will be interesting to see what part two of HD Warrior comes up with ...I'd like to see the 850 in really low light and how it performs ..I still do a lot of weddings and the greatest challenge there is the dingy reception venue!!

Chris