Either JVC HM700e or Sony S270e, thoughts???
 

Hi there,

I'm about to replace my ageing Canon XL1 and I'm trying to decide between the JVC HM700e or Sony S270e, any thoughts?

I do mainly ENG for newspaper websites, a bit of corporate and the occasional wedding. I edit on Final Cut Pro.

I prefer shoulder mount, and I like thew HM700e, but wondered if it's worth spending the extra £1600 on the Sony.

I like the idea of the HM700e straight to FCP, but what benefits will I get with the S270e?

Cheers
Lenny

For that much money, have you looked at the EX3 or even an EX1 plus shoulder mount?

Lenny,
The 700 with a 17X lens is the cats meow. Natively you can record to QT or MP4, no tape backup like the S270 which is HDV. IMO for news work no big deal. The 700 has 2 XLRs and the 270 has 4 channel audio not necessairly important in newswork. Either will work off of AB batteries although the 270 has a V lok plate standard while the 700 has the AB plate standard. IIRC the VF of the 270 is a bit larger but the LCDs of both are really nice. Weight of course is a bit different with the 700 being less. If it were me while I like the 270 (I've been a Sony guy for a looooong time) I would go with the 700. Lighter, 2 different codecs available without using add on's, 3 if you use the SxS card attachment, 4 if you count the MxR insert for that. Just seems like a better deal all round.

YMMV

Hi Steve, I have. I just prefer a shoulder mount for the work I do. I'm not wanting to start adding bits and bobs to make it sit or balance on my shoulder.

I know the HM700e quality isn't as good as the EX3, but how does it compare to the S270? I suppose it's CCD versus CMOS...

Hi Don,

Thanks for that. How does the actual quality compare between them? I suppose the S270e will be better in low light, although the HM700e won't suffer from rolling shutter issues. CMOS versus CCD I suppose. They are both 1/3 inch chips so are they both as good as each other?

I like the size of the S270e as it will take Portabrace armour, does the build quality seem similar? I'm not too worried about different codecs, on one hand the HM700e has twin SDHC cards which is handy, but the S270e has tape and CF card....

The problem is I can't try these cameras out locally, and I can stretch to the S270e, just wondering if it's worth it. If the picture quality or build quality is better then I would go for it as I want to make the right decision and not wish I'd bought something else....

It's a minefield.... :-@

Cheers

Lenny

I've been advised that the S270e codec isn't as good as the HM700e, that sound about right?

I personally haven't used the 270 but if it's built like the other DSR models I've owned and used over the years then it's built like a tank. There is Portabrace for the 700 as well and while I like the feel and look of the bigger camera the smaller cam (700) really speaks to me.I like the lighter weigh and smaller footprint, except for the fact it's only got 2 XLRS but again for newswork that shouldn't be a problem.
I'm sure either would be just fine for what you do but I have heard that the 270 gets hit up a bit with the CMOS rolling shutter challenge when in a scrum of photogs all flashing away to get their shot.
AS for lowlight, does that really matter in the news business? It never did to me when I was shooting it. Hell we just turned on another sungun. lol!

If it were me, I'd go for the 700 but that's just me.

Thanks Don, appreciated.

I've decided to go with the HM700e, just need to spec batteries, probably the IDX and also a tripod plate.

:-)

Lenny

Good for you Lenny. It's always hard to make the choice. As for batteries the 700 comes with the Anton Bauer plate so you need to get the V-lok plate to mount to it. A friend of mine has a 100 with IDX and when he got his 700 he didn't want to change battery brands so he got the V lok plate to use his IDX. I don't remmebr if the V lok plate mounts over the AB plate or if you have to remove the AB plate. In any case it's an easy switch. Once again I think you'll love the 700. BTW which lens are you going to get? The 14 or the 17. My suggestion is the 17 but that just me. Good luck and enjoy.

I thought the HM700E (as opposed to the HM700U) came with the V plate attachment rather than the AB?

Hi guys,

I've been advised to get the IDX rather than the A-B. I heard in the UK, the 700 comes with V-Lock plate.

I'm going for the Canon x14 as I heard the Fujinon suffers from CA?

I'm mainly a stills guy, and I got made redundant from the national newspaper I worked at before Christmas. I'm now freelancing so the video side is to supplement my other work. I worked in a video unit before, making medical training films. I started in Low Band u-Matic, then MII.

It's a steep learning curve, but I'm enjoying it. I made a few films on my Canon XL1 over the years as well.

--
Lenny Warren / Warren Media
lenny@warrenmedia.co.uk
Warren Media

Lenny -- as far as I know the "E" (Euro) version of the HM700 comes with the V-lock back as standard (the "U" -- USA version has the Anton Bauer back), so you're probably OK for the IDE batteries as-is.

I have the Canon 14x lens on my HM700, and while it's pretty good, it definitely has CA as well. From memory, the Fuji 17x has the least CA of the lot (the 18x was apparently pretty poor, but I may be mixing up the two). I don't find the 14x's issues to be worth worrying about in most cases, but that may just reflect the sort of stuff I do...

Yeah my bad. I forgot about the E. It is my understanding the European model does have the V-lok plate. I've used both the 14 and 17 on an HD250 and it's my opinion that the 17 is overall a better piece of glass. Not that the 14 is bad or loaded with CA or anything else, I just feel the 17 is a bit sharper. No real CA that I've noticed. Either will do the job quite well.
I've got to remember the US version is slighty different. :-()

Yes, think that's right, European spec has V-Lock as standard.

The originally specced x16 Fujinon was poor from reviews I've read, and the x14 Canon was meant to be much better. I'll check my supplier and see the price of the x17 Fujinon.

I'm thinking I'll not bother with the SxS adaptor, it adds a fair bit of money and I'm happy with SDHC and straight into FCP, or am I missing something?

I've got an 'E' spec and it definitely has a V-Lock plate. I bought the SXS back but I've never used it. I put it on once but it throws the whole camera out of balance so I took it off and it's been in a drawer ever since. I bought it because I was nervous about shooting to SD cards, but I've passed that stage now. I've been using it for a year without any problem.

I bought it with the16x Fujinon, what is supposed to be the problem with that lens? I know that just after I bought mine they started to sell with the Canon 14x.