GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Hi everyone,

I am looking at replacing my successful HPX502 Panasonic with the 850.

The panny has done a great job over the 4 years I have had it, but I am showing my age and want to go to something lighter and easier to use.

I see the JVC benefits over my current format in a number of ways:

1) Smaller and lighter - my P2 setup almost kills me now after a day-long shoot.

2) Affordable card format that will mean less file offloading on a job because I can have more cards with me on a shoot. This will also help with the long format shoots I do such as Dance Concerts.

3) Because we send our news vision from on location via a laptop, the SD card format means I will be able to insert the card directly into the laptop without the need to connect the current external device, thus eliminating the need to charge extra batteries and worry about cables.

4) The ability to FTP and feed live vision (or close enough to) from the camera.

5) A nice long ENG lens with (apparently) a pretty good wide angle view as well.

So as you can see there are a lot of benefits to me shifting to the JVC camera...and I can't stress enough how I have noticed recently the toll the P2 cam takes on my body. Looking at all the benefits, It's pretty much a no-brainer for me.

However, for those of you shooting with them already, are there any hidden surprises that perhaps I have not considered going from the P2 Panny to the JVC?

Would it be a capable enough news gathering camera for me?

Being a remote stringer, I rarely have to hand over my stock to the networks, so the recording medium does not really concern me. The commonly-used XD CAM Disc format would only hinder my other work if I went that way to match the networks.

Any advice? Thanks in advance!

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

In years past I used the HD 100 and HD200 tape based cams to do ENG work. I've been using the HM700 with the Fuji 17x lens and it works even better. File based, light weight (relative to the old DSR series of cameras) great images, all the things an ENG shooter would want.
AAMOF back when JVC came out with the HD250 series, the ABC affiliate here in Chicago had 2 or 3 of them and used them extensively. Keep in mind that the ABC affiliate here is 3rd largest TV market in the USA and has a very large viewership. I think that speaks a lot for the camera(s).

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Hi Don

OK you sold me too.. All I need is $20K for two 850's ... They are quite heavy (4.8kg) so that's over 10lbs BUT it's a balanced camera which makes a huge difference.

If it only had the EVF as a loupe over the LCD like the EX3 I would mortgage my wife for a pair. I'm not sure I could go back to the "tunnel vision" EVF again.

Worth mentioning too that the 850 has the new Fuji 20X with autofocus unlike the 700 series lenses.

Chris

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Thanks guys, I am pretty much sold on it.

As a bit of background, I had a Sony DSR570 DVCAM Camera for years and loved it. But I accidentally smashed it and all the insurance company would pay for was a HPX 502 (500). As by that stage DVCAM was out and XDCAM was in and the insurance would not buy me a base model XDCAM.

So (being a Sony lover from way back) I begrudgingly went to the 502. I must say it has been a very good, reliable camera. But it's BLOODY HEAVY.

The VF was crap when I bought it, so I upgraded that to the larger higher res one that made little difference and no longer did I have the facility for an integrated radio mic receiver which annoyed me no end as I had to go to the clip on type which to this day I loathe.

Now I am less than two weeks from turning 50 (yikes) I don't want to go to a bigger (and much more expensive camera) to get those features back. I want something smaller and lighter and easier to use. Looks like I will have to tolerate the clip-on-receiver for a lot longer yet...and I guess (like the 502) I will get used to the VF. All the features I will be gaining will be worth it.

With the JVC I will lose the need to have a card reader externally to the laptop as I have to have now using the P2 format, which will save me heaps of time gathering news, And to NOT have to worry about running out of card space at a dance concert because I can now afford plenty of SD cards will be enough to bring a huge smile to my face.

David

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

The HM 7XX and I'm sure the 8XX cameras are well balanced IF you hang a receiver on the back end. It makes such a huge difference. Chris the way you use the spring rod is great, I wish I could have figured out a way to use one on the 700. I used it on the DSR cameras and the JVC 5000/5100 series. It would even fit on the HD100/200 cams but the HMs...they changed the footplate.
I've always liked the feel of the HD-HM cameras EXCEPT for the VF. Smallish and on the dark side but I crank up the peaking and the brightness and I can get by. I agree...if they had made it like the EX3 to me it would have been the perfect camera.

David I think you'll really like the 800 series and if the auto focus lens works as well as advertised you'll have a diamond in you hands.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

One of the other features I forgot to mention on how powerful it could be to a new guys AND someone who shoots corporate events is the ability to stream from the camera as well as directly upload to FTP *whilst you continue shooting*. Now THAT is powerful!

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Hi Don

Surely the HM700 has a tripod mounting thread in the base of the camera so you can screw in a QR plate?

If so all you need is a little bracket made from aluminium It's basically two lengths of 1/2" tubing about 3" apart with a plate made from 1" wide flat bar and pop riveted to the tubes. One screws into the camera tripod thread and the sprung rod goes into the other plate which sits normally just below the lens hood.

Is the JVC that different on the underside??? Surely it allows a QR plate to be fitted??

Chris

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Chris, no it doesn't. It has the typical ENG camera (full size camera rig ala Sony DSR 250, 300,400,500 series or JVC GY-DV5000/5100 as well as others) the trapezoid shaped foot at the front and the adjustable screw button on the back to fit into the QR plate.
The DVTec ENG rig I have would fit the all of the above cameras and the JVC HD100/200 cameras but JVC changed the way the front foot mounted to the camera on the HM700 series and I'm sure the 800 series is the same. I could have bought the Cavivison front mounting plate and used it for the tubes and rod mount for the EBG rig I just never did it and now....well I don't care anymore. All of my gear will be posted for sale quite soon.

O|O
\--/

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Hi Don

An industry great is leaving us totally but I think you did your bit especially for brides? Are you going to get/keep a small camcorder/still camera to keep memories of all the grandkids and vacations??

I trust, as you do now, you will still toss in the odd comment? You can soon say in posts shortly "....when I USED to do video in my younger days ....."

Comments from Don are always appreciated

Chris

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Chris, I'm like a bad penny, I'll always be around. ;-)
I've been doing the video "work" I've been doing with my DSLR and so far the grandkids and grand dog don't mind.
I'll throw my 2 cents in every once in a while but honestly...the technology today has passed me by so far and so fast sometimes I wonder if I knew anything at all.
Yeah 99.5% of my brides were happy and the same percent of my corporate clients too, so I feel pretty lucky to have been able to do something I really enjoyed doing for so long and I even made a nice living doing it. Can't beat that!

O|O
\--/

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

David, your camera choice really depends on who your client is.

As a freelancer, I occasionally work for the major TV news networks. They usually prefer the larger 2/3" cameras like the HPX500, but more so like the HPX2000, which has a better sensor package. I've also seen a lot of Sony SxS cameras, like the PMW-500. They even use optical disc cameras, like the always popular PDW-F800. But from what I've seen, the HPX500 is still a popular news camera.

I see a lot of JVC cameras, but always at the local news level. There's nothing wrong with the JVCs, but they do have 1/3" sensors, and from my experiences, the major news outlets prefer at least 2/3" sensors. I believe they also like at least an 8-bit, 4:2:2 codec, which the JVCs don't have.

If weight is a concern, have you looked at the HPX600? It's a P2 camera, but is lighter than the 500. It does AVC/Intra as well as DVCPROHD, like your 500 (I used to own the 500, nice camera). You can use your same batteries, P2 cards and even your lens, even if its a good quality SD lens. I know of one 600 owner in Miami that does network news. An Orlando TV station has started switching over to the 600.

And don't forget the 1/3" HPX370. Again, you can use your P2 cards and your batteries. It also records in AVC/Intra, so it can do 10-bit, 4:2:2 color. It's a popular local news camera.

So it all depends on who your clients will be. If they won't mind an 8-bit, 4:2:0 codec recorded onto SD cards, then the JVCs are a great choice. They're very popular at the local news level.

Personally, if I were buying a camera for freelance news shoots, I'd go for a 2/3" sensor camera capable of at least an 8-bit, 4:2:2 codec. Just in case a major news outlet gave me a call.
I'd go for the HPX600, because I still have a Canon 2/3" lens, P2 cards and batteries left over from my old HPX500. Or the new Panasonic PX800.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Let me add, large sensor cameras are starting to take a lot of network business. The Canon C300 is a very popular camera. I'm guessing the new Sony FS7 will also become quite popular with the major networks. In fact, I now have a PMW300 and I'm seriously considering trading it in for the FS7.
It's not what camera I like, but what my clients will like. And it has to be affordable, of course.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Thanks Glen.

Thanks for the feedback.

But: I have to say in the 26 years or so I have been a freelancer, I have NEVER, EVER been hired on what type of camera I have.

News clients? They all know by now that I can deliver the goods and honestly, I have sent them iPhone pictures from a breaking news story just so one network can beat the other with and they didn't care. They regularly take pics from stringers with Sony non-shoulder mount cameras. They simply don't care for breaking news. None of them have ever asked me if I have a 2/3" cam.

Now for pick ups and call-outs for the networks for other non-breaking stories, again they don't care. As long as the pics are clean and professionally framed and the sound is clear, it matters not. Heck, we FTP our (compressed) pics into the networks and not one complaint.

I might get a couple more jobs per year if I had a disc-based XD-Cam (what the aussie networks use) but the cost FAR outweighs the benefits.

Corporate clients? Again they never ask. They just want a good, professional service with clear pictures in a format that looks too difficult for them to achieve in-house :-). They seem to want clips at 480 x 270 so they can upload to their intranets so a more expensive camera makes no difference.

The fact of the matter is I could shoot news on anything and make it acceptable to use. Because of that, I need to choose a camera that makes my work easier for me. I am 50 in under a week, so you get where I am coming from.

From what I can see, as long as the pics look and sound professional, no one cares. And this is why I got excited by the 850. With the very exciting added bonus of being able to send pics directly from the camera - something that "could" be used for news and my corporate clients could use for streaming their conferences.

I used to worry about having the big, broadcast cameras and looking the part until you see young guys running around everywhere with not much more than a handycam ,making good money.

I guess my overall point is that - considering your comments - I could guarantee you that I could switch to the JVC and no one would know - or care.

Except me of course with an improved workflow and less stress per shoot as well as less strain on the aging body :-)

Now all things considered - I am not saying that I wouldn't get perhaps more and more varied work if I purchased, say, an F7 and started telling everyone about it.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

David,
I agree with you 100%. With everyone today being a "cameraman" the news stations are solely interested in content. They don't care about the quality as much as they used to. I too have never gotten or lost a job due to the type of camera I used although I do know a couple of people that actually have. I had a fortune 100 client that told me once they didn't care if I shot on a wind up camera as long as the end product was what they needed.
News is a different animal than even seminars and corporate training videos. Get the shot, explain it, send it. Years ago I had to convert stuff to BETA from DV then they started taking DV now it's all FTP or Dropbox or something like that so it not only doesn't matter they don't care.
Good luck with the 850, enjoy it, have fun with it!

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

All that said, the guys running around with their pro handycams DO NOT get extra pickup work with the networks - they are used solely for breaking news and not because they are that good, but because they get the shot and no one else does.

As long as my shots were properly composed, sufficiently lit and the audio was ok, I could now buy a HD handycam and I would always be used simply because of my reputation.

That's why I believe if there is a mainly technical - and not a major visual - difference in the Panasonic 502 and the JVC 850, then I am not going to lose work (or sleep) over it unless the pictures are that much worse (which they obviously aren't) that the networks would ask what the heck I was doing.

Let's face it "quality" - better or worse - mostly comes down to personal taste a lot of the time anyway!

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

The public has been YouTube-ized and they're accustomed to shaky, poorly exposed, poorly framed video.

So many of the TV programs today, even prime time, have very poor video compared to Hollywood. Heck, even some of the stuff Hollywood puts out isn't what it used to be.

The local News channels flaunt announcements durning the newscast for people to contact them for breaking news and depending on the event some of the worst video from smart phones gets aired. Consumer handycam? If you're (the viewer) lucky!

How many times do the local news media post security cam footage??? And it's grainy black-and-white. Tell me, does it (video) get any worse than that?

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

The last time I was regularly supplying news content to [New Zealand] TV stations, over 30 years ago, they wanted everything on U-Matic, but were quite happy to accept content originally captured on VHS, so this is not new.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Even commercially produced series have handheld wobbles! I was watching an episode of NCIS and watching the top of the frame makes you realise how much is just handheld footage! Even the BBC who are supposed to be the fussiest have drama series with plenty of wobbles.

Just for interest it seems they have adopted the HM890 for ENG too!

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Quite frankly, I believe for news and corporate work these days it really doesn't matter what you shoot on. Even those who are "educated" know you can shoot on a small form-factor DSLR and get excellent pics.

But I do know of a local stringer who does regular live crosses for the morning breakfast shows here in Sydney and he wouldn't have the work unless he had the disc-based XDCam.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Well guys I have had a week with a loaner GY-HM890E and I have mixed feelings about the camera.

Firstly (and obviously) it feels much different to my current Panasonic AJHPX502 camera. It's a fair bit lighter and feels smaller and less significant on the shoulder. It also feels less stable, although I believe most of these issues are simply because I am not used to it.

I shot some news with it in the night and a corporate conference in a reasonably well-lit auditorium.

The night vision had mixed results. I tried all levels of gain from 0 through to 24 and I believe a max of 9db can be used before woeful pictures result. And I mean woeful. My 502 shoots at 18db with some grain, but not like this camera. Pictures go blocky and almost stripey in appearance. Terrible.

The conference was ok although comparing it to my current setup the colours appeared flat and lifeless without the HD gloss that my 502 has. Now although it appears I shot the conference without issue, shooting on SD cards makes me very paranoid when it comes to once-off events. I was always asking myself whether the cam was recording to the cards properly. I don't feel this way with the sturdy P2 cards although again it might just be a familiarity thing.

Overall, I thought the pictures were ok but not great from the camera.

I didn't get a chance to try the streaming features so I can't comment on that.

So overall I wasn't that impressed with the camera. It didn't look THAT professional and it didn't feel professional, either. When I picked it up to carry it around on a job, it felt like I was carrying a pretend camera. I found the white balance and gain buttons flimsy and hard to locate when shooting.

And while I found the SD card format to be convenient, I also found it to be flimsy and concerning to use on events that couldn't be repeated.

Ok...

This camera has some incredibly useful features from my point of view. It would make my life so much easier than what I am using now but at what cost?

Picture quality is a step backwards IMO and so is the overall feel of the camera. This camera feels no better to use than a 750 I tried some time back. It just doesn't feel "right" to me.

It's just a shame that I can't have the camera long enough on loan to see if I can get past my lack of familiarity with this camera. My guess is that after a few weeks of use I would feel at home with it.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Keeping in mind the 850 is a 1/3 inch chip I too had some issues in low light with my 700 when I first started shooting it.
For seminars I would be a 9db at f/2 or so and I wondered if I had made a mistake since my Sonys always were at 0db or 3db at the most. Then I realized the factory settings for the profile...well, simply put, they sucked. I scoured the old interweb, found some stings plugged them in, kept making adjustments to suit my eye until I found something that at least closely resembled what I was looking for from a saturation standpoint and would allow me to use something less than 9db of gain. BTW, I have found that for the work I was doing 9 wasn't so bad. I tried like hell to never exceed that.
For ME, to balance the camera properly, I found I need to have my CN160 light on the camera with a Sony type 970 battery and on the back end I have my AT1821 dual channel receiver which comes in at about 1 pound weight wise with an IDX-7 OR Bescor 10 battery on it. This combination really helped to keep me in balance and while I would have preferred to use the old DVTev ENG rig I had and used on almost every other fullsized camera I used over the last years be they JVC or Sony, I couldn't since JVC had changed the front foot plate design just enough to not allow my rig to fit unlike it did on the HD series and GY-DV series of camera previously.
I was shooting social events, seminars and standup interviews/news type stuff with the 700 and frankly never had a complaint but I also lit up whatever I could and kept the gain to no more than 9 and the shutter speed at 1/60th.
the 700/800 take a little getting used too ergonomically because it is smaller and lighter than the old fullsized cameras we're used to using. Maybe you could rent one for a week and really give it a workout. I bet you'd like it.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Hi David, do you have any links to footage? also what lens were you using?

I use the 700 a far bit and I find the JVC's defiantly have a different look when compared to my Sony PMW500 but find for doco style it goes ok and with a bit of care you can get a great image. I do like how light the JVC's are.

I'm still thinking of an 850 for my kit but just holding off.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Yeah look I would have to say that in time I would get used to the camera ergonomics and then be able to adjust the pictures to taste.

I guess my issue is spending $10k on a camera that really only improves my workflow and ease of use but nothing else.

The build quality (and therefore the feel of ruggedness) is not as good as my panasonic. All the buttons that "click" feel flimsy and breakable (such as the white balance presets and gain switches).

The easiest way to describe my feeling (whether that's right or wrong) is that I would be changing to a toy camera from a professional camera, albeit with some workflow benefits and lighter weight.

I still feel weird shooting pro video on SD cards though, even though I shoot video regularly on DSLR's that shoot on the same.

But I have no doubt it's a very good camera but I think I expected something more improved than the 750 that I used some time back once. The whole look and feel of the camera for this day and age is perhaps just a little "old hat".

Oh, I wanted to add:

On my corporate test shoot with the 850, my 32gb SD Card in AVCHD 1080i was showing 174 mins available to me and on my Panasonic, 1080i only gives me 35 mins each 32gb card - obviously the 850 was set to 35mb/sec.

Secondly, I noticed my V-Mount battery showing a remaining time of over 600 minutes on the 850 which didn't really change during the 1.5hr long shoot. On my Panasonic, I would have used 1/2 the battery power in that time.

So I get better "value" out of the 850 during a shoot as far as battery and card time are concerned. Interesting.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

"The build quality (and therefore the feel of ruggedness) is not as good as my panasonic."
Interesting. I looked at the Panny 502 and rejected it at the time because I hated the viewfinder, and felt the construction wasn't up to scratch. Bought a couple of JVC HD cams for half the price, with lenses, and they've been ok.
Just got an HM850 and I too think it feels a bit cheaply constructed :( But then many things do ...
I'm hoping it'll be as much a workhorse as the HD200 and on paper it definitely has major advantages. Better sensors (I'm hoping cleaner and better in low light!) and higher bit-rates and resolution. I guess I'll find out ...
Already finding the 20x lens looks nicer than the stock GY-HD lens, but still think I'll use an old lens just because I can't handle servo-drives and auto-focus - and the lack of macro.
A little disappointed too (I should have known this) the HM 850 doesn't shoot 4:2:2 50 Mbs. I've been working with footage from an XF100 which is surprisingly clean but also relatively good to tweak. Not sure how that will work in practice, though - still waiting on a battery-mount to give the camera a workout.
The SD cards will be a big bonus. Cheap and fast. I can't even find a decent tape supplier any more. If you're worried they are flimsy - pretty sure you can record to two at the same time, so everything is completely backed up. Compared to the price of P2, buying twice the number of SD cards is a bargain :)

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Good info Rob, thanks.

Yes the original vf on the 502 was woeful. I changed mine (at a cost of about $4km if I remember correctly) to the higher spec one but benefited only slightly in size of the screen because the resolution won't increase simply by adding a better vf (duh for me)...

The 502 has been a good, solid workhorse but I have to say on one of my latest shoots (1920 x 1080i at a dance concert) I mixed the vision with some stage-mounted GoPros and it looked as soft as heck. The GoPros looked magical compared to the vision I was getting out of the 502. I have yet to work out why. Slightly underexposed vision may have something to do with it...

I was not impressed with the vision shot in the night on the JVC. Almost looked like it came from a non-professional camera. Any gain at all made it incredibly noisy...even blocky in some circumstances. That said, the 502 s not particularly good in low light but at least an 18db gain setting doesn't give digital blocks in the picture...

It's a tough freelance market at the moment. Any added expense should be taken very seriously, so the next camera needs to be the right one.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

There's a ridiculous quantity of choice in cameras- not easy! The form factor is one of the main things for me - I wanted a shoulder camera with the buttons in the right places. I don't shoot at night much, but there's always that moment when you're in some dingy spot. The JVC HD series also look weak with the lens opened right up - the image becomes 'muddy' - not in a good way :)
Not great closed right down, either. Pretty sweet f2.8- 8 with about 5.6 usually sharpes and really nice colour.
Even tho the stock lens on the HD series was kind've rubbish, I'll still be using it on the HM850. Another annoyance with the 20x on the HM850 is it seems to open only to f4 at the end of the zoom. Grrr.
FWIW I've also been shooting on a couple of GH1s with eg a cheap 35mm 1.6 and a lovely Nokton 25mm 0.95 -cheap hacked cameras picked up secondhand- and the picture at ISO100 is a lot cleaner than the JVC. Still pretty good up to ISO800. Then with the Nokton you open it up and it's like the night disappears :) I gather Canon dslrs are even better in 'no' light.
I also sometimes shoot with a gopro (or an SJ4000- cheap knock-off) as second or third camera for event coverage. They are annoyingly good in half-decent conditions. The SJ4000 has artificial sharpening, and it's hard to get the colours matching exactly. But it's still surprisingly capable, especially with its 'HDR' setting handling high and low lights. Really, we're spoilt for choice in imaging technology.
But a decent shoulder-mount camera is still hard to find.

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Hi Rob

I looked seriously at the 850 but one also needs to factor in the fact that cam prices exclude batteries so you can quite easily add a couple of grand to the already high price.

Shoulder mount cams are like hen's teeth ! I eventually got two Sony EA-50's and I use all my Nikon lenses on the camera. The big sensor is a nice improvement over the 3 chip camera ...sadly the shoulder pad is at the back so it doesn't have the balance of the JVC so I cheat and use a DVTec ENG rig up front so I have a reasonably nice balance.

Only problem for ENG shooters is it only records in AVCHD 28mbps so for commercial station work one would have to have an external recorder if you wanted to record higher. My choice was also swayed by the fact that the EVF is the same as the Sony EX3 ..a loupe on a 3.5" LCD screen as I really hate the tiny EVF's with their miniature 1.5" screen ..it's like looking down a tunnel so I have been spoilt by the big viewfinders!

Chris

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Yeah, batteries were a factor: I've got anton bauer dionic 90s and being able to use them for a few more years really helps (once they send me the right adapter/back).
I'm not convinced it's the best possible camera for the use and the price*. But I'll get a few years work out of it anyway :)
* there's no answer to the 'what camera is best?' question, but we can't stop asking it!

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

David, you say the picture gets blocky at high gain......are you talking about the image produced by the camera, or the recorded footage? I work at a station that shoots on the HM790 in 720p60 using the lowest quality setting, HDV 18Mbps. It get's blocks at just about any movement. Shoot a flowing river and you might as well be shooting flowing ice cubes!

Also, the lens has a MAJOR effect on your low light. While the stock lens will step down from f1.6 to like f3.0 when you zoom all the way in, the "broadcast" lenses for these cameras will stay wide open. My work HM790 uses a Fujinon HTs18x4.2BERM with extender. If stays f.14 from wide to full telephoto, no drop in light levels. You can get the HT218x4.2BRM without extender fro between $1500-2000 USD used on eBay, and they do make a major difference.

Also, the viewfinders are garbage, but there are alternatives, see below for an aftermarket EVF with mount bolts right on.

Alphatron Electronic View Finder ENG Bracket | AlphatronTV

If I were a stringer again, I would probably go for the HM890 with nice 18 2x lens, that Alphatron, and shoot in 1080p60 XAVC 50Mbps..........f11@2000 at full telephoto retaining f1.4 would be great at night. Also, the live feed feature is OK, but to run 720p live you need at least a 5Mbps upload speed. The FTP feed out function you would like better I think.

Paul

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Sorry, your E version would do f12@2000......I am jealous. ;)

Paul

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Hello,

I just bought a HM750 and I'm concerned with the vertical smear as you can see here . Last week I tried the Sony PMW320 and it had the strobe rolling shutter issue as you can see in this video . Can anyone tell me how the 8xx cameras perform in these two situations?

Thanks
Dean

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

The 850/890 use the same chips as the 600/650, which has no vertical smear. You couldn't pay me enough to use a 700 series camera......in fact at my job, I use my personal camera for all my work, leave the company 790 in the trunk. :)

Paul

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

Thank You Paul,

Have you used the 850/890 at night at crime scenes? Or fire scenes? How does it perform with regard to the cmos rolling shutter issue? In other words how does it handle strobes at night?

Any chance I could talk to you about the camera? I may return the 750 first thing tomorrow morning and get an 850.

Thanks
Dean

Re: GY-HM850E as an ENG camera?
 

I have only used the 650 around LED's. I don't think strobes are used that much around here any more. I know my X70 handles LED's similar to strobes, you get that partial screen tear on certain pulses.

I think that a rolling shutter on a strobe would be better than huge vertical smear on everything with those tiny CCD chips on the 750! The 850 CMOS will also give you RED taillights, instead of that wonderful pink stuff you get on the 750/790's.

Paul