what should I know about the HD100?

S

Spdamf

Active member
recently my station purchased some of the JVC GY HD250 and I got the play around with it and instantly fell in love with it. The feel of this cam is incredible!! Just like a real ENG cam and the buttons are all in the right place and the lens feels like a real lens. I just love it. So I have the opportunity to buy a used JVC GY HD 100 for less the $3000. But I've been reading some mixed reviews on this camera and want to know what I should know before plunging into buying this camera. What is the split screen issue and should I be worried about this? Should I hold off on this cam since it is an HDV cam? I will be using it for documentary and ENG style shoots/ possible stringer work. Any help would be appreciated.

P.S. I recently bought the Canon A1 and not really satisfied with this camera so I'm thinking of selling it.
 
What about the A1 dissatisfies you? that is a great place to start. from there we can help you descide if the HD100 is right for you.
 
The SSE is the Split-Screen Effect. This occurs in high gain situations when the camera is not warmed up. The screen gets two different colors and the difference is seen by a line down the middle. It occurs very rarely and if it does, you likely wouldn't want to be shooting that situation anyway. The camera is made for Pro use, which includes proper lighting.

I own the HD100, and love it. Also, the JVC HDV is VERY different from the Canon/Sony. It only uses a 6-GOP structure, not a 15. This allows for better motion. Also, it is the only sub $15000 camera that uses no Pixel Shifting or Alignment at all. It has Full 720P HD 1280x720 CCD's. They capture in Square Pixels.

Just be sure you a not editing on Avid Xpress or Media Composer, because you will not get any support for 24P at all. We've been waiting over two year, and it still hasn't come.
 
I also have a geat deal of respect for my HD100, and no split screen bug that I can notice. My only issue is that it isn't tripod friendly- for me anyways.

Oh- and I edit on Premiere Pro with no issues at all. Sweeet ;)
 
I got more of a chance to use the HD250 today. Today we used an HDV tape and shot out in complete sunlight. The footage came out a little dark and in direct sunlight shots there were lines of reflection that showed from the top of the screen to the bottom. I'm assuming this is not the "SSE" you are talking about. I think we just needed to adjust the lens and iris. The photographer I was experimenting with also had the shutter at something like 1/2000 from what he was saying. But overall I did like the cam. Just would like to see some properly exposed footage as the footage I saw from him was not very well exposed. He also had it on ND2. Any suggestions? Also what kind of lens is everyone using? I will be using the factory lens and wondered how that one performs. I am definitely buying this cam. I just love it. Any major differences between the 250 and the HD100 that will make a significant difference? I know the HD-100 only does 30P and 24P.
 
Is this a second hand camera? Do you know why the owner is selling this? If you have a chance, try pointing it at a white or plain neutral surface put iris at full open, try to to see if there is a gradient of faint green and red tint, discussed in another forum as lateral Chromatic aberation. usually comes out with iris at full open. Im also an hd100 owner, though mine doesnt have SSE, this SSE comes out in low light conditions with gain up. Its a vertical line smack in the middle of the screen where the video is in both sides dont match in exposure, usually present in early versions of HD100.
Check if the sticker under the cam has a sticker of the letter A after hd100. it means it has been upgraded.

Its a nice pro camera, in looks and in feel, but be careful and try to see if you can stand some of its quirks.

Good luck

Ted
 
this is a second hand camera, but I have 14 days to inspect it to make sure there are no issues. Thank you for the info!

can you elaborate on some of the quirks of this camera? I'm just curious. Thank you!
 
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About JVC GY100... Can anybody tell... why my friend has better picture with his old Canon XL1 then me with my GY100... I tried to do everything but at last it seems to me that XL is better in open nature...
 
zcikovac, what exactly is better about your friend's XL1 stuff? Composition? Image quality? Colors? Depth of field?
 
Spdamf

Some quirks is the SSE of course, God forbid its in that unit your getting. Another is the lateral CA.
About power, HD100 needs a third party battery, or like in my case at least 6 pcs 3000mAh battery packs.

CA on the extreme end of the stock lens and if your at wide open.

Also, out of the box, for my taste, the colors don't quite "pop" so consider using some of the color setting files you'll find in this forum, I suggest Tim dashwood's pana match or Paolo Ciccone's True color V3.

hhmmm. so far i've learned to work around these and made the camera work.


Good luck

Ted
 
I'm also using both of those scene files, and they are an improvement over the flat default setting. As far as the batteries go, I'm using the Dionic 90s, which helps it balance really well on the shoulder, but ad extra inches to the back that get in the way on my tripod. I'd say the thing was too long in the back end for my liking.
 
I have a HD110. Pretty happy with it. To be honest, I wouldn't be 100% happy with anything other than a Panasonic Varicam, but at 60K it will have to wait. HD110 gets split screen under max gain in the first 30 seconds of warm up... but then it goes away. I'm recording sports (soccer etc) on HDV at 720p at 30fps with a shutter of 1/100th. It soaks up some of the blur without getting into SAVING PRIVAT RYAN look. Capture FCP native, edit, and export as a quicktime movie in DVCPRO-50 anamorphic, import DVD studio pro and burn. Results very good.. will keep experimenting. Color +1 or +2, Highlight compress on max (+5?) occasionally use black stretch 1 & 2 if faces are in deep shadows (noon summer sports). For sports I have the aperature closed (least good image of the lens but hardly shows any CA in sunlight.) a little soft compared to f-5, but I can keep relative focus on a fast sports event. Color & dynamic range are good. For what I'm doing a Canon A1 would be a better choice, but my sports camera (sony) has been in shop for 16 weeks now so my JVC is doing double duty. I'm surprised at how good the 720p 30fps comes out in a final SD DVD for fast zooming and paning sports. ZERO GOP breaks or issues. only issue is a 30 fps stuttery at faster shutter speeds (as are all cameras), hence the 1/100th of a second to smooth out faster movment, but soak up some of the blur on medium panning shots. Running a IDX battery system, rated for 4 hours, I get at least 7 with the LCD open and phantom power on my senshizer shotgun as well. Tripod? works fine, though my Manfroto Pro 500 head is a piece of junk, but we all knew that already. logical controls, and super nice to hold on a shoulder at a medium zoom.
 
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