The HD100 on location in Madagascar - my experience

[Nathan Brendan Masters]

Double post. Sorry.

[Nathan Brendan Masters]

Hey Andrew,

Congrats on being able to look so cool hanging off the side of a truck with a video camera. I think images like this connected to articles like this does more to aid in cameras sales than we may want to admit. I graduated from Columbia so I might come up and check it out. Is it free or what?

I loved the article and hope to see more like this in DV and video publications dealing with HD and HDV. But what got me was the gorilla glue. I want to hear more about this. Frankly if I actually end up getting a Canon or even this one I think I may end up finding some way to connect a film lens, which some say will be a cheaper way to go and actually will produce a sharper image. This may be some type of FUD but I'd like to hear your feedback on it.

-Nate

[Andrew Young]

Originally Posted by Nathan Brendan Masters

I graduated from Columbia so I might come up and check it out. Is it free or what?

Hi Nate,
I'm affraid I don't have any info on the Chicago event (except that I'll be there). I imagine it will be free. Check the JVC website for a possible posting.

Originally Posted by Nathan Brendan Masters

But what got me was the gorilla glue. I want to hear more about this.

The article wasn't really clear on this. What I did was remove the bayonet mount from a Century .7 wide angle adapter and glue an 82mm thread in its place so that I could mount it on the end of the Fujinon that came with the HD100. Not a pristine solution, but the best I could muster at the time. It wasn't perfect, but is was well worth doing.

Originally Posted by Nathan Brendan Masters

Frankly if I actually end up getting a Canon or even this one I think I may end up finding some way to connect a film lens, which some say will be a cheaper way to go and actually will produce a sharper image.

I have a Nikon to HD100 adaptor that I purchased from Zoerk and early results look good, but don't expect a solution like this to replace your HDV lens for two reasons: 1) you are unlikely to find larger format lenses that are wide enough to give you anything less than telephoto on a 1/3" chip and 2) HD lenses have a different backfocus pattern than film lenses, so they can not be properly columnated to work on a 3 chip camera - unless you stick with longer focal length lenses, which have sufficient behind the lens depth of field to mask the problem. My Nikon adaptor is great, but only for extreme telephoto and macro (which I actually do plenty of in my crazy line of work).

[John M Burkhart]

Hi Andrew,

As a producer of travel and documentary shows here in tropical asia, I was very glad to read of your real world experiences in Madagascar.

I often find myself in similar environments and far from camera support (and electricity), so any camera I need to bring with me needs to function in high-humidity, adverse conditions, and take the occasional knock or two and keep functioning.

I'm still undecided on which of these small HD camcorders to purchase, since I am more familliar with pro video cameras, I've been favoring the JVC because of it's layout, and I do like the progressive video look. I was though, a little concerned about several reports of camera problems and issues on these boards in regards to reliability.

So I guess the question I'm asking you is that if you had to do your shoot again, but this time had access to the Sony, JVC, Canon, and Panasonic cameras, would you still use the JVC? Why or why not?

Thanks,
John

[John Vincent]

Mr. Young - well done!

I too have a lot of questions - Any SSE problems, etc.?

Basically, would you buy the camera now?

Thanks and congratulations....

John

[Andrew Young]

Originally Posted by John M Burkhart

So I guess the question I'm asking you is that if you had to do your shoot again, but this time had access to the Sony, JVC, Canon, and Panasonic cameras, would you still use the JVC? Why or why not?

This is the big question, isn't it? There were a few times on the shoot when I wished I had a palmcorder - but not many. Usually when I was walking backwards in the forest in front of people. In general, JVC's scaled down ENG form factor works well for me.

Of the other cameras, the Panasonic is in many ways the most interesting and it's the only one with a lens that is wide enough for my tastes. But the lens would not do the extreme macro and telephoto I needed. And most notably, with the short recording time and huge amount of storage I would have needed to offload, it would have been impractical for this type of shoot - especially considering that we often went 3 days without power. But for the right project, and when a palmcorder is advantageous, this camera has real appeal to me.

I've seen some very beautify images produced by the Sony, but again, that camera has the same palmcorder and lens issues and frankly, I prefer the progressive look to the interlaced look.

The Canon would seem a real contender, with what is most likely a superior lens (but still not wide enough). In particular, the HD-SDI out, while not necessary for this shoot, is a real big ticket item. But the fact that they left the audio out of the HD-SDI is a fly in the ointment. And the fact that its 24fs mode is not true progressive is also a concern (though I shouldn't judge until I see what it looks like). But my main gripe about the Canon XL series is that it is not a fully shoulder mounted camera. The fact that you see all those silly braces advertised for the XL series says something about the front heavy ergonomics. Either give me something that's small, light and held out in front, or something that sits firmly on the shoulder. This feels like an awkward in between to me.

That pretty much leaves the JVC. So I guess this is a very long winded way of saying, yes, if I were doing the same shoot again today, I would still take the JVC. For me, it has the best form factor of the low cost HD cameras and I feel that I'm going to shoot more intuitively with a camera that feels more intuitive. Plus, it keeps me in shape for the big cameras. I don't feel that it is a perfect camera by any means. In particular, I wish for better low light performance, a better viewfinder and a way to jam sync timecode so you can autosync double system audio - or PCM audio that works. But with an Antor Bauer adapter and good wide-angle adapter (or hopefully soon, a better lens), the price point seems right for the features. Once the price starts going north of $10,000 (with accessories), it makes me wonder if I shouldn't hold out for a GrassValley Infinity, so that I can have a 2/3" chip and 4:2:2.

[Andrew Young]

Originally Posted by John Vincent

Any SSE problems, etc.?

In 18 hours of dailies I saw it only once very fleetingly and that was only after working with the material for weeks. The filmout has several low light shots and no evidence of SSE at all. So it really hasn't been an issue for me, but hearing the stories of others does cause concern.

Originally Posted by John Vincent

Basically, would you buy the camera now?

See my long winded response to John M Burkhart.

[Ed Hill]

Andrew,

Incredible article in Studio magazine and very educational on how you solved the problems, with battery life and the lens issues.

I sympathised with the agony of the waterlogged camera because I lost a Sony to salt water immersion while shooting a job for Pinellas County, FL long ago. I was so desperate, that I would have tried baking the camera over a campfire if I had thought of it. Great story. Sadly, the Sony died. I'm amazed that the JVC lived to shoot again. Good thing you sent it for repair.

As a documentary maker and an avid fan of documentaries, I look forward to seeing the images from the HD100. When will this show air and what's the title? I'm not clear from what I've read so far, will the show air in both HD and SD versions?

Ed Hill

[John Vincent]

Originally Posted by Andrew Young

In 18 hours of dailies I saw it only once very fleetingly and that was only after working with the material for weeks. The filmout has several low light shots and no evidence of SSE at all. So it really hasn't been an issue for me, but hearing the stories of others does cause concern.



See my long winded response to John M Burkhart.

Andrew - thanks for your response. I think the thing that struck me the most in the article was that the jvc's toughness - especially when the camera was dropped underwater and was brought back to life 5 hours later - amazing...

I was sitting on the fence b4 - now, assuming I can find one w/o the SSE problem, I'm going jvc - thanks again for all the info...
John

[Jiri Bakala]

Originally Posted by John Vincent

- now, assuming I can find one w/o the SSE problem, I'm going jvc -

That's the key! I picked up the camera two days ago and this one is my second. The first I didn't even take from the store. Two VERY different cameras. The first had a very obvious SSE and a bad colour viewfinder. This one doesn't really have SSE (I managed to very faintly see it when I really fished for it) and FAR better VF. Go figure. I say to JVC: the inconsistency of quality and quality control is very sad because obviously they are CAPABLE of producing decent units but they also throw on the marked very bad units. So, beware and check the camera BEFORE accepting it. It's a great camera if you get a good unit!