GY-HD 100 holds up under extreme duress

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Paul Cahill

Member
I spent a month in Northern Thailand shooting footage for a documentary on Asian elephants. I shot 20 hours of video in 30 days.

Here's the address where you can watch a sequence:

http://web.mac.com/pecahill/iWeb/Site/Elephant Haven 2.html

The JVC performed admirably in all kinds of adverse conditions -- knocked down by elephants, launched from the cargo compartment of a speeding bus, subjected to the extreme temperature and humidity of a tropical forest. It even provided overnight shelter to a band of black ants who emerged from the camera throughout the following day. But as John Cameron Swayze said in those Timex commercials of yesteryear, "it takes a licking, but it keeps on ticking!"

Obviously, the accidents caused some damage, but when I returned to the states, JVC made quick work of the repairs -- all under warranty.

I'm a true believer.

Now if I another lens! Can anyone tell me when JVC or Fujinon will release accessory lenses for the camcorder?
 
Sounds like you had the time of your life. Excellent. I'm no stranger to traverling far and wide the the HD-100 as well. Did you view finder arm break at the L? Mine has twice. Even though it broke it didn't affect the functionality.
 
The viewfinder held up. The viewfinder frame cracked, however, and when the temps climbed to 95 degrees, the camera had a "stroke" and reverted to its full auto setting. Two days later it recovered and allowed me to dial up settings from its memory.

I'm still looking for alternative and affordable lenses or lens adaptors. Any ideas?
 
Paul Cahill said:
The viewfinder held up. The viewfinder frame cracked, however, and when the temps climbed to 95 degrees, the camera had a "stroke" and reverted to its full auto setting. Two days later it recovered and allowed me to dial up settings from its memory.

I'm still looking for alternative and affordable lenses or lens adaptors. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Same thing here with the housing. Easily cracked. The best ENG lens option is the 13x lens. There are some others coming online this fall (ENG) as well as the 16mm adapter (PL mount with F mount adapter). I hope JVC hit's their schedule for the 16mm adapter. When it becomes available the sky is the limit for fixed PL mount lens as well as F mount manual lens. Until then the 13x ENG is the pick of the litter.

S.Noe
 
Stephen,

So Im not alone when I thot that the viewfinder is kinda weak at the L, I cracked mine but made it stronger by gluing it back using marine epoxy.

Paul

what you did does sound fun, I was "nearby" in the Philippines shooting a tourism video and the HD100 was a joy to work with. Stephen Noe was one of those that provided me with vital information which led to my purchase of this amazing camera.

I also printed great stills from the progressive frames. An added feature so i dont have to bring a digital SLR.

Congrats on your positive experience with the HD100.

Ted
 
It was fun! And it taxed the camera's abilities. One afternoon, the JVC had what I can only describe as a "heat stoke." In Thailand, like India, the noonday sun can be daunting. And just like the mad dogs and Englishman . . . . Anyway, I lost all controls on the JVC. ALL OF THEM. The only way I could power down the camera was to remove the Anton Bauer battery. The camera lapsed into FAS and remained there for two days. Magically, by the third morning, the camera allowed me limited and erratic access to the control menu. My favorite settings had been erased from the memory.

I'm happy to report that when I returned to the States, I sent the camera to JVC and they made full repairs -- under warranty -- and never asked about the dead ants that sometimes fell out of the tape transport. Life is good.
 
Paul Cahill said:
I'm happy to report that when I returned to the States, I sent the camera to JVC and they made full repairs -- under warranty -- and never asked about the dead ants that sometimes fell out of the tape transport. Life is good.
Click to expand...
LMAO! That was too funny! Living in Florida, we get the same kind of heat. Fortunately, mine never showed signs of heat stroke, but you were in a more extreme environment too. The only issue I ever had, were these sudden red flashes that would randomly appear over like 9 frames- JVC and the dealer quickly replaced the cam. No more red streaks!
 
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