Anyone using the JVC HD100,110 ???
 

The JVC HD 110 is the HD camera I may be upgrading my current SD gear with. Is anyone using this cam or similar models 100, 200, ect. and how have they been working out for you?

Any detailed info you can share would be great to hear.

Hey Joe,
Used a 101 on a coupkle of shoot prior to launch.

had afew issues with the split screen when the unit overheated the CPU.. this would usualy happen when i was juicing the gain, gama curves, ALC, etc etc.. basically anything which made the cpu work itself, in addition to the environment.. then teh unit would heat up and voila Split screen.. now its a horizontal band.. and i think its the way the encoder handles the progressive frame

anywyas to teh camera.. i find it to be as feature and function rich as the DVX100.
really REALLY impressed with teh native resolution and 700+ lines.. easily compariable to a SONY DSR500 in good light
Low light abilities, i found i had to run a 50w globe compared to a 35w so its not all that much of a difference.. then again, u an always drop the shutter down to 1/25 for speeches and the like.. the motion blur wont kill the shot

umm.. i found the focus assist to be THE best feature.. no need for focal point zoom ins like the Z1 and HVX, as the focused point itself is outlined in a bright purple. I also find the LCD monitor to be perfectly fine for run and gun and serves well when u want to give ur shoulder a break..

I cant fault the camera.. being a first release its gonn ahave probs, but i think if uv waited this long, may as well go for teh 200 which has full frame slow mo (considering u shoot weddings... )

As for myself, i was considering the Canon A1, then i read about the HD200.. with its 50p (overcrank) abilities... the HVX would have been on my list if Pana got their act together with P2 and support within NLE's.. i jsut didnt wanna blow another grand on batteries... then again, i cant fault the DVCproHD codec comped to HDV and the gamma/DR of the HVX poos on everythign on the market from what ive seen so far.. HVX is a top camera, but still too advanced for todays market

im still investigating the hd200 though.. it seems to be the best option for my needs at this time.. and if its anythign liek the HD101, then it woul dbe perfect... (for what we do.. lol)

great camera, I have the HD110. focusing is not that great in low light. the LCD screen has nowhere near the resolution of the HD image. this is my only complaint.

Would the JVC HDxxx shooting in SD have any problems matching footage with a DVX (both shooting in 50i)??

I'm having such a bad time matching footage between my DVX & XL2 at the moment, so much so, that I'm thinking of getting a 3'rd cam.
I know the logical choice would be another DVX but I'm looking for an entry point into HD, particularly something with a classic manual lens (unlike the sloppy servo lens on the XL2) and have been seriously considering the HD111E (Aust. PAL version).

Cheers,
Paul

"Would the JVC HDxxx shooting in SD have any problems matching footage with a DVX (both shooting in 50i)??"

((No, it shoul be pretty easy, so long as you can find the corresponding gamma curves to match.
If your gamma is wrong, then ALL your colours will behave differently to each variance of luminance.

However i dont know why youd sacrifice a loss in resolution when u dont have to.. Both these cams are native progressive scan.. May as well use it..

Oh one other thing, the DVX100 scales up to 720p rather well... you will notice the difference in slight sharpness, but most people i speak to cant really tell teh difference.. and if they do, they actually prefer the softer "film like roundness" <not my words> of the DVX.. I tell you one thing though, you WONT find ANY camera of this range that has the DR of the DVX100a))

I'm having such a bad time matching footage between my DVX & XL2 at the moment, so much so, that I'm thinking of getting a 3'rd cam.

((Practice.))

I know the logical choice would be another DVX but I'm looking for an entry point into HD, particularly something with a classic manual lens (unlike the sloppy servo lens on the XL2) and have been seriously considering the HD111E (Aust. PAL version).
((The canon A1 is a brilliant tol and this post existed before its launch.. now, the A1 is my choice for "upgrade" as it has the tweakability of the HD200 as well as a stupdly long zoom. It doesnt take much to dumb it down a a little to match a DVX.. BUT you STILL wont get the colour graddations of the DVX.. The only cam in this range that has come close was teh HVX.. and that poo'd on the DVX... its s hame HD has taken so many compromises to be bought to the fore.. theres more to an image than resolution.. ))

Joe,

I made the move to HDV this year and I was really looking at the A1. Technically the A1 fit the bill great and has a great image. But then I couldn't pull the trigger on buying a mid-sized camera for my main unit. Instead I went with a used HD100. Now that I have the JVC I know that was the best choice I could have made. I had some questions myself about how run and gun this camera would be but it's more than up to the challenge.

If your shooting with a shoulder camera right now or have wanted to then this camera will work well for weddings and you'll love it. Not everything about it of course, but you'll love the image control, the layout, and the fact that you get a great camera in this price range. The 200 would be a good investment if you do a lot of slowmo because it can overcrank at full HDV resolution while the 100/110 overcranks at 480 resolution.

Do you use an on-camera light right now? If not, you will. It doesn't do well in the low light, and neither does any other HDV camera. No matter which camera you buy you'll need on camera lighting much more often than you would with a sony sd camera.

If you're using a mid-sized camera right now and that's a big part of your style then this isn't the camera for you.

During most of the wedding day you'll be shooting with the viewfinder on this camera so that's one adjustment to make from a mid-sized camera. The focus assist is really good, but I don't have a problem finding focus even without it.

This camera line does have time code breaks on the tape, mostly after the camera has been turned off and then on and you record again. So it's important to use the jvcprohd tapes to help prevent this. You would really want to think about purchasing the external hard drive for this unit to eliminate any time code issues. Or, the best solution if you do a lot of work, and this would be wise for any hd camera, would be to purchase a dedicated HD capture card.

Hope that helps.