XHA1 or used JVC Hd100?

andoguru

andoguru

"Meat" & "Egg" Member
Hey Guys,

I have an opportunity to buy a used JVC hd100u camera with all the basic accessories for a little cheaper than a new XHA1.

It has 54 hours on the heads and is in excellent condition.

I know that most people will say to get whatever camera best suits your needs, but my needs range from short films to weddings to hopefully features.

I've made my pro's and con's lists and normally I wouldn't even consider the jvc hd100 because even used it is usually out of my price range except for this case.

My shooting style is very run and gun and I like moving very quick. Also, with weddings I don't know if the big fancy looking JVC will be more intimidating or impressive, but I think the shoulder mount will help.

Well, I could keep going back and forth for a while, but I just wanted to hear some of your guys opinions.

Thanks,
Andy
 
That's a really hard decision. I may not be of too much help, but I do remember reading somewhere that you need to light the JVC well in order to achieve good results. And if you're running and gunning, that may not be possible. If I find where I read this, I'll send it to you.
 
Similarly to you, I wanted a camera that can work on shorts or features but also do some bread and butter work like weddings. XH-A1 hands down for me. For versatility its hard to beat. 1080i and 20x zoom for weddings and other typical paying gigs, 1080/24P for film style work. And depending on circumstances or shooting style, you can bring in auto controls to help out if desired.

Basically boiled down to the fact that the A1 can probably handle any project that I throw at it and handle it well. The JVC... not so much. YMMV.
 
smileyman111 said:
That's a really hard decision. I may not be of too much help, but I do remember reading somewhere that you need to light the JVC well in order to achieve good results.
Click to expand...

That's true for all camera. The A1 under poorly lit condition looked like crap.

I would go for the HD110 because of the form factor. It's just a more impressive/expensive looking camera and that goes a long way toward impressing a client.
 
I have an A1, only because I couldn't bring myself to spend so much money for the HD110. Given your situation, I'd probably get the HD110, if only for the positive focus control. And if it has a warranty, I'd DEFINITELY get the HD110.
 
If it's still under warranty I'd say go for the JVC. Yes it's a substantially bigger camera than the XHA1 but it's not intimidating by any means. I imagine you'll get the same response that you'd get from an XL1/XLH1 - that is, people thinking "oh that camera looks serious", which I imagine would make it a much better proposition to present to clients than the XHA1.

The JVC will also be much better for run and gun stuff due to the shoulder-support form factor, better than the Canon and a tripod. From what I've seen the images from both cameras look great, so unless you have a pressing need for the 1080f resolution of the Canon, get the JVC.

It also looks sexier...
 
The resolution is better, but from the sounds of it the camera is less appropriate for Andy's needs. The price of the JVC brings him a size and form factor that he couldn't afford otherwise. And 720p is still a lot of resolution.
 
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