New shooter to EX3 - from JVC. Any pointers?

[Eric Gulbransen]

Hello guys (and hopefully girls), I join your ranks this Friday night. Been shooting with an HD200 and various HD100s for a while now. I know that cam has it's quirks, secrets, beautiful scene file recipes, special traits, and tiny switches you simply never want to switch...

So what about this beauty? Can you guys offer up any advice to help along the courtship? What to watch out for, issues, warnings, tips or tweaks?

Thanks in advance. I'll pay you back, I promise.

[Robert Bale]

Welcome, Eric. I two made the change from the JVC HD201 and it was the best thing i have ever done, The EX3 Rocks.

[Ian Planchon]

seems to be a popular thing to do! I just sold the HD100 and have had the ex3 for about a week and a half now.

It depends on what you shoot and how you had your 200 setup, I shoot news, so I really liked the ability to reset timecode by hitting user 1 and the stop button (or was it user 2? see, I already forgot!) also being able to quickly switch between audio channels was a huge plus as well, as I wear an IFB ear piece, not headphones.

its all really minor things that I miss.

if you get the ex3 shoot a bunch, and switch between the auto focus macro mode, and full MF mode, make sure you dont have the same problem some of us do, where the focus stops working until you reboot.

I think the scariest thing for me, is not being able to shoot to tape if you need to, but I am quickly getting over that fear.

[Eric Gulbransen]

Thanks guys. I shoot all sorts of subjects. For therapy I shoot wildlife, a lot. Mike Tapa has a Nikon adapter on it's way as I write this. He's great. Just wrote me from the airport in Lagos (wherever that is) apologizing for not mailing it as he transferred planes. Unreal.

And I know how unprofessional people say using auto focus is but to tell you the truth a few months ago I shot six speeding motorcycles while turned around in the passenger seat of some English three wheeled buggy speeding down a twisty mountain road - all the while adjusting the iris and focus while balancing the camera on a moving blanket strapped to the trunk of this cockeyed death machine. So autofocus, to me at least, has it's place in the world...

Other than that we'll be shooting some ads, a few documentaries, racing, some tutorial DVDs, and ducks. My partner Brian Luce hates ducks. So trust me, we'll be shooting lots of ducks..

Thanks for the tips. Anything else occurs to you guys, please don't hold back.


-- by the way, just in case you feel like trying the English buggy shoot all on your own... Trust me, the cops who shut your pickup truck shoot down on Saturday will probably also shut your buggy shoot down on Sunday.

[Ted OMalley]

I sold a pair of HD100's for the EX3 - and I'm very happy with it. Shoot a bunch, get used the changes in the button and switch locations. Practice much with the Picture Profiles (though the standard is very close to color-accurate on the EX3). Don't just load other's profiles, especially if they came from an EX1.

Customize the assignable buttons as needed. Enjoy that you can depend on the LCD for critical focus. Learn to use the focus assist - can be helpful sometimes. Play with peaking - dial to a point where it's easy to spot focus.

Find a bag that holds the camera without stressing the viewfinder!

Find a base plate that you like that holds the camera on a tripod (or jib!) safely.

Oh, and of course, adopt the SDHC solution.

These are all my opinions - take them for what they are worth!

[Brian Luce]

Hey, unlike some of you, I still have my HD100. I would never sell out the brotherhood! In the meantime I'm pretty stoked with the idea of the EX3 and have been whipping myself in to a frenzy tracking down cheap 3rd party media cards.

All we need now is to get Sony to donate an EX3 to our fearless leader Paolo Ciccone so he can cook us up some nice scene files in his Italian kitchen: Notes from a gearhead

[Dave Tyrer]

Originally Posted by Robert Bale

Welcome, Eric. I two made the change from the JVC HD201 and it was the best thing i have ever done, The EX3 Rocks.

Certainly does...especially on the tripod ;-)

[Ted OMalley]

Originally Posted by Dave Tyrer

Certainly does...especially on the tripod ;-)

Dave, that's just mean!

One thing I miss is my Macro switch on the lens.

[Ian Planchon]

Originally Posted by Ted OMalley

Dave, that's just mean!

One thing I miss is my Macro switch on the lens.

I second that. really helped on rack focusing when you could just use the macro instead of trying to hit that sweet spot on the focus ring every time.

[Dave Tyrer]

Lol...I was only joking honest :-)

[Ian Planchon]

Originally Posted by Dave Tyrer

Lol...I was only joking honest :-)

oh we know! I was seconding the macro. shoulda exluded your comment to avoid confusion, haha

[Eric Gulbransen]

Hmmmm. I can see we'll be calling on our superbike machinists to come up with a system for mounting heavy glass to the front of this puppy. If this thing rocks on a tripod with stock glass, holy mother of earth quakes wait till it's got a 300mm 2.8 snapped to it's nose. This will be an interesting journey...

[Daniel Weber]

Originally Posted by Eric Gulbransen

Just wrote me from the airport in Lagos (wherever that is) apologizing for not mailing it as he transferred planes. Unreal.

Lagos is in Nigeria!!!

Welcome to the club, I still own an HD100 as a personal camera, but for my day job I use a Sony EX1. I love it.

The JVC is good for certain kinds of jobs though.

Nothing in the 1/3" market can even come close to the images that the EX1 produces.

Daniel Weber