HMC40 vs JVC HM100

J

jrod81

Veteran
Hey guys
Due to price I am comparing these two cameras. It seems they are both going to be about the same price used and i'd just like to get input on which would be a better buy for me.
I shoot interviews and need quick turn around- not so quick that transcoding is a chore, but I will say the FCP drop in of the JVC is appealing. The main thing I need is XLR inputs for quick interview situations (the T2i with H4n is killing me right now).
thanks for the input
jared
 
I really can't say a whole lot on the JVC, because I haven't studied it that well; I do have the HMC40.

The key thing I wanted to point out is that at NAB, Apple offered a preview of Final Cut Pro X and this changes the game as far as editing. In the case of HMC40, FCP X offers native editing and will use the full 64 bit processing, rather than the older 32 bit processing. Coming June 2011, $299. Just watch the videos...



Here's the link of users talking about it:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?244906-New-Final-Cut-Pro-Announcement-at-SuperMeet


Bob Diaz
 
I faced the same choice with HMC41 versus JVC HM100.

At the time, the JVC was £500 more expensive in the UK, so it was a no-brainer.

Other reasons why I chose the Panasonic were:
+ Time lapse feature
+ Socket for remote zoom/focus/iris controls (not possible on JVC)
+ Pre-record (feature to record 3 seconds of footage from before you press Start!)

The JVC has (on paper) a slightly poorer LCD and a better Viewfinder. The Panasonic has a slightly better LCD and a poorer VF. The JVC has 2 SDHC slots versus the Panny's single slot. Not a big loss for me.

There wasn't a lot in it, really, to be honest, they are both very capable cameras.

Of course, with the Canon XF100 and Sony's forthcoming NX70 (very nice looking camera) the market for compact cameras is getting a bit more crowded, which is good!
 
Oh, Bob, such optimism, such disappointment! Now I'm looking into the JVC cameras myself after seeing how FCPX has unfolded and trying Premiere as well.
 
ullanta said:
Oh, Bob, such optimism, such disappointment! Now I'm looking into the JVC cameras myself after seeing how FCPX has unfolded and trying Premiere as well.
Click to expand...

Sadly, the introduction of FCP X had a lot of promise, but now that it's out, a lot of professional users are unhappy with it. Some have even called it "iMovie +". I assume that like anything else, it has its good points, but the changes were too radical for most.

I have not downloaded FCP X into my system, but I might still give it a try some day.


Bob Diaz
 
Panasonic has a patch for FCP7 that allows Final Cut to use the MTS files natively. I have tried it, it works fine- but I still log & transfer- it's quicker on my machine. The HMC40/80 makes better video than the JVC (IMHO). We use both at work- and the HMC has much more latitude in bad lighting (I shoot mostly in school buildings). The JVC does allow you to dump the content of your cards right into your timeline- but, meh....
 
Well, the Panasonic AVCHD importer is actually the last straw that caused me to think about switching to the JVC. the MTS importer for FCP DOES NOT stitch MTS files together properly... there are glitches between sequential MTS files of a spanned clip. I had hoped that Panny at least would properly use the AVCHD metadata for stitching things together, but they only deal with the MTS files, not the AVCHD metadata. Ugh! For long-form shooting, then, Panny's new software is useless. After years of believeing that someone would deliver a solution that would let me get fast turnaround of AVCHD footage, I'm thinking, "Hey, JVC actually stepped up and delivered exactly what I wanted, while it doesn't look like anyone else will." So... that's my situation.

FCP7 in all other respects does what I want best... it will burn a DVD from the timeline with chapters where I want them, and even chapter menus with the text i want them to have. If there were a way to plunk my AVCHD footage into FCP7 without transcoding, it would take me 5 minutes of effort to get the draft products I need (the computer would grind away without me, but that's OK). FCPX no longer deals with DVDs or chapter markers. Premiere and Encore have far more steps needed to get the DVD out. And, Premiere and FCPX still won't play audio for a few minutes after long AVCHD clips are dropped into the timeline... they do "analysis" if not transcoding, which takes a bit of time, at least for long clips. Transcoding itself, then, would be OK, except with the number of projects I have, and in progress at the same time, it takes me a long time to clear disc space out for the transcoded footage. So... I'm hoping the HM100 will do exactly what I need in terms of workflow, without too much sacrifice in image for well-lit stage performances.

Any thoughts from HM100 users?
 
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