JVC GY-HMZ1U ProHD 3D Camcorder

[Joseph Clark]

Just a quick first impression - nothing tested formally yet.

[Prech Marton]

Still not have any native footage :(
I cannot download Chad's file.
Anyone else has some raw footage?

[Chad Dyle]

Sorry for the delay guys. I have uploaded a zip file with two different clips shot with the HMZ1u. Both were in good lighting conditions and I have already split them into L/R clips for you. Please don't post this link anywhere else.

http://www.dylefilms.com/files/HMZ1u.zip

Thanks,

Chad Dyle
Dyle Films - Wedding/Event Videography

[Prech Marton]

Thank you Chad.
Do you use this cam at weddings? How does it perform at low light?
The video quality is acceptable at least for me, i don't have a fullhd display, so maybe others
will see what i don't see :)
Only the 24p what i don't like now, because it was enough light so very short shutter speed was used->lack of natural motion blur.
(i think aperture was the smallest, and without ND filter correct exposure was possible only with small shutter speed. Right?). So what i like to see also is some 50i/60i footage. With fluid motion.

Thank you and happy new year!

[Chad Dyle]

Prech,

The problem with 60i is getting it to Blu Ray. The camera was probably wide open (1.2) at this point. One thing to think about is that 1.2 on a 1/4 chip isn't the same as 1.2 on a 5D (maybe its the same thing, but the difference in chips makes it huge). I tried to use the camera for Christmas yesterday and ended up putting it down and using my older Canon. When viewing 3D on the cameras LCD, its hard to see how sharp everything is. You find yourself looking at the 3D effect to see if its working well. You can switch off to the L/R view which gives you more detail, but I still find it lacking. Some of the footage that I felt would look good ended up being grainy. I have tried the camera in full auto as well as manual. It just seems like this is still one of the earlier 3D cameras and needs to be used where it works the best, outside.
For the uploaded footage, it was shot at 24p, wide open (1.2) and the shutter was locked at 48. There were some slower moving rides and they were fine. I think both clips were used with the same settings (at least 24p, shutter 48).
The weather outside is horrible in New Orleans this week, I will try to get some more footage uploaded for you. Any requests?

Originally Posted by Prech Marton

Thank you Chad.
Do you use this cam at weddings? How does it perform at low light?
The video quality is acceptable at least for me, i don't have a fullhd display, so maybe others
will see what i don't see :)
Only the 24p what i don't like now, because it was enough light so very short shutter speed was used->lack of natural motion blur.
(i think aperture was the smallest, and without ND filter correct exposure was possible only with small shutter speed. Right?). So what i like to see also is some 50i/60i footage. With fluid motion.

Thank you and happy new year!

[Prech Marton]

Yes, 3D Bluray in fullhd support only 24p. I don't understand why 50i/60i is unsupported.
If you want fluid motion, you have to go down to 720p at 50 or 60Hz.
But only viewing the 3D fullhd footage on computer monitor or with 120Hz projectors, 60i is far better
than 24p, especially with short shutter speed.
My "request" is just some 60i footage, record some moving thing, whatever you want :)

Thank you again!

[Chad Dyle]

I will work on some 60i footage as soon as the sun comes back out. This is what I got yesterday at Christmas.

http://www.dylefilms.com/files/LowLight.zip

-Chad

[Joseph Clark]

Here are a couple of 60i clips showing some kids crossing a tiny stream at the Missouri Botanical Garden:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10982250/SG%...20%2897%29.MP4
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10982250/SG%...20%2896%29.MP4

These are raw 60i clips straight out of the JVC GS-TD1. If you get an error, they haven't fully uploaded to Dropbox yet. Give them a little more time.These were early shots with my camera, taken in full auto mode, so some areas are blown out a bit.

BTW, Edius (3D editing software from Grass Valley) is now out in beta preview. It accepts the JVC mp4 clips natively and provides what looks to be the the most straightforward editing solution available until (if ever) Vegas supports the JVC format. It will be a free upgrade for owners of Edius 6. They have a "crossgrade" special through the end of the year, for users of most competing NLEs (Premiere, Vegas, FCP, Avid, etx).

[Chad Dyle]

Here are some shots I got in the French Quarter this week. I will get the kids running around this week for some moving shots.

http://www.dylefilms.com/files/FQ.zip

[Saturnin Kondratiew]

HI Chad, are you or were you able to properly split the JVC's MVC file into a SIDE by SIDE or into L/R eyes.

Please post your solution, i've been struggling with this for a few months, it seems that JVC has no support for this and the software that comes with the TD1 is crap and it seems like even the maker of that software doesnt support their own product.

thank you

[Joseph Clark]

MVCtoAVI works well if you have the appropriate codecs installed. You can use Cineform Neo, but that costs. If you want to avoid the expense, you can use the free Matrox codecs:

Codecs.com :: Download Matrox Codecs 1.0 : Matrox Video for Windows (VFW) software codecs let you render and play back Matrox .avi files

I've used the Matrox MPEG2 I-Frame HD codec at 120-150 mbps (you can set it in the "Settings..." section of MVCtoAVI). It seems similar in quality to the Cineform codec at High quality. The downside is that the file size increases 8-10x. Pair those clips in Vegas and edit normally. Burn to Blu-ray 3D at 1920x1080 24p or export the 24p file to PowerDirector 10 and burn with menus.

I still prefer the simplicity and hard drive savings of being able to work with the JVC files natively in the 3D preview of Edius. It's sweet. Check it out at Grass Valley's web site. It won't burn Blu-ray yet (still in beta), but when it does it's going to be awesome for JVC users. I'm really happy with the 60i to 24p conversion, too. That's always been suspect with my old workflow.

[Chad Dyle]

The camera shipped with a utility called 3D L to R converter. It imports the clips and batch exports them to L/R. I didn't even realize it was in the box until I read it somewhere else. I also contacted the rep I bought it from because B&H has an offer that will allow you to get a free training disc with the camera. They forwarded me the .pdf and I plan on filling it out this weekend and getting is mailed off.

[Joseph Clark]

Is that utility available on the JVC website? I've never heard a reference to it before. If the split pairs are AVCHD and remain small, that's really good news.

[Saturnin Kondratiew]

i run the JVC TD1 and the software that comes with is a joke. looks like your HMZ1U software can do more..such as split hte MVC to L/R - i culdnt find any dloads from JVC about this.

hmmmmm

[Joseph Clark]

Thought I'd share a couple of clips shot with the Cyclopital3D stereo base extender and closeup adapter on the JVC TD1 - both taken at the Missouri Botanical Garden. These are raw clips (mp4s) from the JVC's memory card. Both show the fine detail the JVC is capable of capturing.

This clip is from the same location as the kids jumping across the stream, but in autumn. It was taken with the stereo base extender, which converts the interaxial separation of the JVC from 35mm to 140mm, lending a much greater sense of depth.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10982250/SG%...0%28222%29.MP4

This was shot with a Marumi +3 macro lens and the Cyclopital3D closeup adapter. It's two bees in a very tight shot.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10982250/SG%...0%28130%29.MP4