And now, for a change from the SSE whining...
 

… My first impressions

I know we have had many reviews and first impressions from other users. But I thought I would post mine as well, since all that seems to be going on around here is nonsense whining about SSE.

I got my camera this week and I couldn’t be happier. My very first impression after have took it out of the box, was that it’s very solid. It feels really sturdy in the hand, and it’s quite heavy for it’s size. With lens, it’s roughly the same size of a XL1, but the build quality, switches and it’s placements feels much more professional. Actually, I will go ahead and say the HD100 has the best built and professional feel of any 1/3” camera in the market. It even beats the JV-plastic DV500 at that. It never feels like cheap plastic. Just really nice. It looks great too and get looks everywhere it goes.
The ergonomics are also light years ahead of the 1/3” bunch. If you have any experience with pro shoulder cameras, with the HD100 sitting on the shoulder, you can easily reach any switch you need, without looking. Mainly because they are laid the same way as any pro camera, as opposed to the “consumersh” awkward placement of prosumer cameras. But the ergonomics also play a big rule on that.
Talking about pro features, it’s really nice to be able to reach for the lens and find a iris ring to control your aperture, instead of a goofy knob button on the body somewhere. This alone, makes up for the whole manual lens experience already. The manual focus and zoom feel like a nice bonus. The lens is smooth and precise, as you would expect from a professional lens. No big surprises there if you come from a pro camera background.
The viewfinder is way better than I thought, after have read some negative reviews. I could snap my shots in focus anytime, by only using the EVF and peaking. So far, I haven’t even needed FA. Although I wish it had a “quick Focus” type of function like in the Panna D410, where in a single push of a button, the image brightens up, allowing easy focus in low light.
The images this camera produces, are nothing short of incredible. The HDV codec JVC has implemented is really solid. Even with fast motion it never fell apart. Some tree leaves in strong wind, had no sign of blocking or artifacts whatsoever. The sharpness is great. It’s miles ahead of DV. Even bigger cameras like the D410 and DV5000. In DV mode, it looks better than the VX2100 or DVX100a. Really clean. I found it a notch or so sharper than the XL2 as well. Besides being a great HD camera, it’s also a fantastic DV camera.
Having 24,25,30,50 and 60 frames per second at the spin of a dial is really cool. I haven’t played with the slow motion yet, but 50p looks really clear clean!
The level of image control is fantastic. Again beats many bigger cameras. I tried Tim Dashwood’s settings and it really shows the flexibility of this camera. But a ring dial to call the settings, like some Panna cameras, would be more practical than going through the menu. But not a big deal at all. The image the camera produces more than makes up to that and more! By the way, is there a default file setting saved some where?

Didn’t have the time to really test audio yet. But I found it weird that to use the included microphone, I need to set the camera to mic 48v. Normally these on board mics are not phantom powered.
Overall, I’m very happy with my purchase. I don’t see how I could have got more bang for 5,500. For only 1,000 more than a XL2, I got a XL2, a DVX100a and a 720p HD camera, all in one! It’s the best bang for the buck in the market right now.
Having said that, I miss some features, which I couldn’t find in the HD100.
The camera has no black balance.
It only has one zebra. I like to use two zebras. One set at 95% to protect against blowing whites, and one at 70% for skin exposure. I was hoping I could assign zebra to a custom key, but that’s not possible. If I had to pick, that would be my biggest grip. I think the XL2 can have zebra assigned to a custom key. Another thing I didn’t like is that the features you can assign to the custom keys are quite limited.
But those are small personal wishes, which in no way detract from the great tool this camera is. For 5,500, I got a HD camera, which gives me all the flexibility to grow and expand, as I will possibly need for the foreseeable future.
Now is time to go back to it and shoot some more!

Thanks for the report ... now post some footage! ;-)

Great report, Michael -- thanks!

My pleasure Chris.

Joseph, I would love to post some footage, and will sure do so, as soon as I figure out how to capture HDV 720p into my system :(

By the way, I forgot to mention my camera is a HD100E ("PAL")

I agree with you completely. Although I don't own one (yet) I was able to use one for a couple weeks and fell in love with it.

I'm extremely biased...I'm a Canon freak, and I hate JVC with a passion, but this camera is awesome. I work as a cameraman/editor for a company in PA that mostly sells audio/video equipment, but does some production as well. We don't shoot weddings, but the bosses daughter was getting married and guess who got to shoot the wedding....yup. Me.

Our JVC rep got me one of these to use at the wedding, and I combined it with our two XL2s, and a borrowed DVX100. A 24p dream wedding!

The JVC footage looked much better than the other three cameras, and that was only in DV, or course.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has had no problems with this camera! Too bad they took it back last week :-( Time to suck it up and order one I guess.

Congratulations Michael Maier! =)

Wade, I have worked with everything from 35mm and down, but I have only owned Canon cameras for personal use, even my first Hi8 camera was a Canon but I wouldnt trade my JVC with a XL H1 even if I could...and Im really honest here. I just love the pictures this beast produces and the rock solid codec!

I have been very lucky with SSE and other defects as well!

We have two HD100's and two of the BR-HD50 VTRs. We couldn't be happier. One of the first cams we had did have the SSE but that was replaced and the new one is OK with no noticable problems.

We are currently working through the work flow problems of aquisition in HDV and delivery in NTSC.

One nice option of the decks is the down conversion to NTSC in either letterbox, squeeze or cut sided modes. The imagery really holds up and even though I am not totally impressed with the JVC VTR's D/A converters, it's still quite good coming from the component outputs.

One observation, go for CRT's for monitoring if you can. I'm talking preview monitors in the studio for using both HDV and NTSC. We've been unimpressed with the industrial or consumer LCD's that offer NTSC. CRT's are so far ahead when displaying interlaced video it's not even in the same league. Or get LCD or Plasma for HDV and an old fashion CRT for NTSC.

It's a transition going from a larger more robust tape deck such as the PVW 2800 or other 1/2 Sony machine. Those transports are so nice and responsive. The JVC is like a consumer toy compared to them and can be frustrating for logging or transcription. The JVCs RS422 deck control from our Media 100's is weak. Mucho delay in timecode and response compared to Beta, DVCPro or Digibeta. But it does work for batch digitizing. Im just used to Sony Pro and broadcast decks.

So far the imagery rivals anything we aquire with our D-30's when downconverted to NTSC. Not suprising considering Tim and Barry are measuring 600-750 lines rez....well at least Tim seems to be getting that.

The next test we need to do is compare the output from firewire native HDV downconverted in software to NTSC versus the analog NTSC output of the deck digitized directly. Obviously going the hardware route is much faster. We'll wait and see.

Dave Beaty

I'm a happy HD100 user too here in Canada, and I use this beauty for weddings. Here are two two mins. wm9 files from my first wedding shoot it with this baby. (Since this one, I shoot two more already)
I just edited these very basically only for myself for checking the results.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7D4VC6EV (church)

and

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2F2ZFXKG (reception)

Laszlo

Laszlo, did you shoot SD for that wedding?

No, I shoot 720HD30 with 30 shutter speed

Great to hear another user talk so well of the EVF. A collegue who had a workout with one recently said he loved the EVF and thought it was really easy to focus using it alone. He was about to get one until he found out (bugger, sorry, trying to keep that 3 letter swear word out of this thread).

Hey, we could use 'you-know-what' instead (can you tell that I am reading Harry Potter to my daughter...?

Michael, why you asking if this footage is SD? May not sharp enough for you? Please let me know.

Thanks: Laszlo

I was not able to run it smooth on my MAC but the image was very sharp, as a matter of fact I like it better with the filter you used during the reception part at the end.
Is there any way you can post a native HDV file to see it on my HD LCD?
I am very happy with what I have seen so far. I am calling the videographer that I use regularly for multi camera shoot to let them know that I'll be getting a couple of them. So if they want to be called they better get one too.

It looked more like great sharp 16:9 SD than HD to me. Yes, not sharp enough. Well done and shot, just not as sharp as some other stuff that surfaced online. Maybe it was the compression for the web?

It is sharper than anything I have seen posted and a lot sharper than any Mini 35. It is not as finished or well lite but it is a wedding not a pre planned shot. It is so sharp on the bride's face that you can see every imperfection.
It is not as sharp as some of the PBS HD demos but for $5,500 what do you want. Just get an SD footage and blow it up to 720 and tell me if you don't see a differense.

Excuse Villalba, but I also have the camera, and the footage looks much sharper than that if seen natively. I'm guessing it was the web compression or it may be downconverted to SD, since it's a avi file.
It might have got me confused and I thought it was SD. No big deal.
But it's really well shot. Since it's HD, I'm sure the m2t version will look much better.

You should hold down your horses fellow. I'm one of the most energetic believers in this camera around here. You really have nothing to convince me about.

It does indeed have a nice look ... there is absolutely more *real detail* being resolved than any SD camera. (I hate the term "sharpness" ... we're not talking about focus.)

That said, it is a 1/3" CCD, and it shows. The mini-35 does a great job of adding a film-like DOF to the already film-like 24P motion, (I know this wasn't shot with the Mini-35) but nothing is going to magically give it the resolving power of a CineAlta or a Varicam with top shelf glass.

That looks pretty good to me. I sometimes do weddings for people and one of the things I wanted to see was the camera used in a real wedding. Laszlo you showed the perfect examples of what the camera can be done for weddings. This footage should be shown to wedding videographers who are thinking of getting an HD camera. Your video alone could sell to that market.

For me it isn't all about detail but how clean the image is. I don't care about detail really because the last thing the bride wants to see is her wrinkles and how bad her dress was made. What is important is a clean overall image and this looks pretty clean to me. Blownup fullsscreen on my 1280x1024 monitor it looked very nice where DV blown up on the same monitor just doesn't look as nice.

Even if the lens doesn't resolve as much detail as the camera can do it will always look better to put softer pixels in a large resolution image than it does to blow up a sharp smaller image because you will get muddy looking aliased edges. This HD100 image looks clean and brides will want that over detail anyday.

On another note this is the first time I have really heard the compressed HDV audio in a live wedding environment and I thought it sounded pretty darn good. Weddings can really stress audio quality due to noise, background sound, shooting right into a band's speakers. I felt the audio actually held up pretty well for those concerned about compressed audio quality.

Laszlo have any of your clients seen any of their video yet and if so have you had any comments about the 30p look compared to 60i/60p. I notice you shoot with a 30 shutter speed so maybe this helps smooth the motion.

The comments about detail on things such as the bride's face are also concerns expressed by some Hollywood actors/actresses. Does the HD100 have a skin detail feature that softens skin tones while leaving the rest of the image razor sharp? I know several SD cameras do this but I'm not certain about the HD100.

Thanks,

-gb-

Thomas! At your next wedding shoot..... if you have the urge to speak, DON'T. We all want you to stay alive!!

Yes, there is a skin tone detail feature.

Actually we shoot this wedding with my two DSR-300a camcorder, and I just shoot for my self all day with the HD100 to try it, see how the final footage will look. We was VERY SURPRISED on the overal image at the night after the wedding. I edited faaaaast, basically, just to show to few brides, women at different ages, (beleive me or not this count) and everyboody LOVED IT. One couple for the following Saturday, and one other for last Saturday give up a two camera shoot with the Sony DSR-300a and they want shoot they wedding with the HD100. I told them I have only one camera loke this, they was OK with it. Post to be $2000 chiper because only one camera shoot, but guess what? They ask, how much extra they need to pay!!!!!!
Whow.... that something. Of course I din't charged extra. I even explained to them a jerkyness of the 720p30 but first of all they don't even realized, sacond of all, they don't care. They said: "I feel my self in the movie.... The picture look like a 3D .... This picture have a depth ....The suits much blacker then on the other camera (Sony DSR-300a) At the dance floor everything is realistic, not over lighted Just like a movie..." etc
But, I need change my shooting style a big time, because the 720p30, but actually I don't mind to learn some new, higher end stuff. (like learn to shoot with "film" camera) I very enjoyed. I know LOT'S of wedding videographer who never used this camera, just b.....ing about this camera because the splitscreen, "jerkyness" etc... but again, they never ever used this camera, just read a lot on the internet.
I love this camera, love it, love it, love it.

Laszlo

I'll take 30P over 60i anytime, anywhere. The progressive capture coupled with the shutter speed you chose did not yield a "jerky" look at all ... very solid.

The average Joe doesn't know why, or can conciously understand it, but they've been conditioned over the last 50 years to equate progessive display with quality and interlaced with cheap.

Well shucks Laszio, you could have paid for your second HD100 right there! ;-)

-gb-

A question for PAL users. When you shoot 24p, can you play it back in color via composite out to your TV? I can't. It shows black and white.

I think we (PAL-users) beter use 25p...

But does the same happen when you try to play 24p in your TV?

Not a clue, but I'll let you know as soon as I know (somewhere next week I'll test it).

SD-pal TV's won't be able to display it. An LCD shouldn't have any problem with it.... How do you think to connect it?

I just connected it to a big SD CRT 16:9 TV using composite. It showed in black and white. I just wanted to see how it looked in a bigger TV.

MMMh, that doesn't make sense. Since the output via composite is transferred to SD, it is transferred to PAL, and thus transferred to 25p. It should be in colour. 25p footage, does that show up in colour?

Yes, 25p shows in color.

ah, very weird... perhaps you should ask the JVC dealer whether that's normal. Perhaps it's an error in the internal transcoding from 24p to 25p? Does 30p show in black & white as well?