JVC Ghostown?

JVC GY-HM150, GY-HM100U, HD500, HD620, HM1, HM300, HM320/340, HM400/550.
Other manufacturers.
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JeffHenryH8
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Joined: 19 Feb 2011 15:37
Location: Brisbane, Australia

JVC Ghostown?

Post by JeffHenryH8 »

From an Australian perspective, it seemed like JVC was making waves over the last few yrs with their various handycams, and I was looking to read about the 620{30x optical zoom}, but this place is a tomb!!!

Does this mean that Panasonic/Canon and Sony make better cams?
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Stephan
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Re: JVC Ghostown?

Post by Stephan »

True, JVC doesn't get so much coverage... In addition to the old forum being mainly Sony before it disappeared and was born again, this makes me wonder indeed: why not JVC?

There's been a couple of announcements at CES: the new 3D-capable GS-TD1, the new Everio GZ-HM960, GZ-HM860, and the cheaper GZ-HM690, GZ-HM670, and GZ-HM650, and even more entry-level cams. But when covering CES, I was a bit lazy with JVC and didn't feel the need to cover them.

Maybe it's the "Formula 1" effect. Except the GY-HM100U, JVC doesn't seem to have high-end pro/prosumer camcorders that people would talk about. You know, the top-of-the-line car which races 350 kph that you'll never have an opportunity to drive, but you think about when driving your own - and maybe believe that there's a tiny bit of that race car in yours. Of all the pro blogs and websites that I follow, I don't recall anybody talking about JVC for ages. And since there's plenty to choose from in Sony, Canon, Panasonic, and the JVC cams physical design doesn't look so nice... why bother? Seems unfair (probably is), but that's my present state of mind currently.
JeffHenryH8
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Joined: 19 Feb 2011 15:37
Location: Brisbane, Australia

Re: JVC Ghostown?

Post by JeffHenryH8 »

Hi Stephan.

Back here, JVC seems to sometimes dominate the junk mail catalogues, and also offer 24mbps and 30x optical zoom vs 17mbps+10-12x optical, so I was under the impression that JVC were producing one of the better camcorders.

I downloaded 2 camcorder samples{1440x1080i+12mbps and 1920x1080i+24mbps} and they basically looked the same on my 37in 1080p LCD, so it does make me wonder whether these hi bitrates are being hampered by some other aspect of the cam.

Truth be told, I'm a camcorder noob, and only have a digicam with video, but I wanted to get a 1080p model, but I have no idea as yet on how to decide on a brand or pricepoint, for example, my budget is between $700-$3500AUD{but won't be buying till 2011 models have been reviewed and settled}.

This means I'm open to a prosumer type model, but might also just buy a handycam.
I've recently bought a few HDTV's and budget 5.1 sound, and was looking to buy a more expensive sound system, so spent some time reading about AV receivers, and it seemed to me that once you got to the Yamaha 667, you had to spend a considerable amount more to better it in terms of sonic performance, as many of the more expensive models came with extra features unrelated to improving sound, moreso increasing usage options.

I have a feeling that this might be similar with handycams, and that the only way to really trounce a good Sony/Panasonic $700-$1200 model is by spending the $3500 on say the Canon XF100 for example.

I'd mainly be using the cam for outdoor daylight shooting, and the ability to handle motion is important in that I don't want to be plagued with motion blur when performing moderate speed pans, but I realize fast pans can be a problem for many cams.....another factor is my ability to edit and archive, so if the XF100 is the king of PQ, but a PITA to transfer or cut and edit, then I would have to exclude it.

I should mention that I'm more concerned with cutting out segments from a hours worth of shooting rather than scaling the vids to a lower resolution.

Given what I've said, and given that the XF100 is supposed to record at 50mbps, do any of the cheaper handycams have a chance of competing with it for example?
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Stephan
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Re: JVC Ghostown?

Post by Stephan »

JeffHenryH8 wrote:I downloaded 2 camcorder samples{1440x1080i+12mbps and 1920x1080i+24mbps} and they basically looked the same on my 37in 1080p LCD, so it does make me wonder whether these hi bitrates are being hampered by some other aspect of the cam.
There are other critical, differentiating factors indeed: lens and sensor for instance. These are what improves most as price increases.
JeffHenryH8 wrote:I have a feeling that this might be similar with handycams, and that the only way to really trounce a good Sony/Panasonic $700-$1200 model is by spending the $3500 on say the Canon XF100 for example.
Wait for further Camcorderinfo reviews (they always compare handycams against similar-range cams). I think that 2011 will be Sony HDR-CX700V / HDR-CX560V vs. Panasonic HDC-TM900 vs. Canon HF S30 with the Canon HF G10 / XA10 an attractive although slightly pricier challenger (but still within your budget).
JeffHenryH8 wrote:I'd mainly be using the cam for outdoor daylight shooting, and the ability to handle motion is important in that I don't want to be plagued with motion blur when performing moderate speed pans, but I realize fast pans can be a problem for many cams.....another factor is my ability to edit and archive, so if the XF100 is the king of PQ, but a PITA to transfer or cut and edit, then I would have to exclude it.

I should mention that I'm more concerned with cutting out segments from a hours worth of shooting rather than scaling the vids to a lower resolution.

Given what I've said, and given that the XF100 is supposed to record at 50mbps, do any of the cheaper handycams have a chance of competing with it for example?
The Canon HF G10 / XA10 is said to have a similarly-sized sensor, so it's a smaller (it's so small!), more affordable alternative (check the Canon HF G10 review by Camcorderinfo).

All in all, these cams have made considerable progress these past 2 years, I expect it's going to be a close tie between the 4 of them PQ-wise (Sony, Pana, and the 2 Canons).

About editing, they're all AVCHD so you'll need to get used to that. Software is getting better.
JeffHenryH8
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Joined: 19 Feb 2011 15:37
Location: Brisbane, Australia

Re: JVC Ghostown?

Post by JeffHenryH8 »

Stephan wrote: About editing, they're all AVCHD so you'll need to get used to that. Software is getting better.
K...I'll wait out the reviews.
Between video redo and AGK, I can virtually whatever I want to my tp/ts HD files, so hopefully we get that sort of performance at some point, but my main concern is cutting out segments in their original hi-bitrate state.

Thx for your comments.
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