Here's Tim's review:

JVC ProHD GY-HM700 An In-Depth First Look by Tim Dashwood on DV Info Net (http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/jvcprohd/hm700firstlook.php)

Please use *this* thread for Q&A. Thanks,

Tim: the two "beefs" I've always had with Canon lenses, as compared to Fujinons, are: the focus ring always seems "loose" compared to Fujis; and the manual/auto iris switch on the lens control under your pinky is reversed relative to Fujis. Can you comment.

The focus ring felt fluid but come to think of it I think you're right about the servo switch being the opposite of Fujinon.

UPDATE: I've uploaded 720p overcrank and undercrank samples to Vimeo.

http://www.vimeo.com/3260937

http://www.vimeo.com/3261024

Sorry to only ask for more, when you've basically given us all that is anywhere on the web... but...

Will there be any low light footage / grabs? Or at least some personal impressions of its low light performance?

Glad to hear the lens is better than the last generation of stock lenses.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the review! I've been really looking forward to this.

I too would like to request some low light frame grabs and your opinion as to how this camera performs in low light compared to the Canon XLH1 series cameras.

Thanks again for taking the time to shed some light (pun intended) on the GY-HM700.

Great review Tim! Thanks, it sure does look like an awesome camera... One more thing we could add to your wishlist is an external dial to change framerates without having to dive into menus, just like the EX3. Look forward to your videos on Vimeo!

Tim, Thanks for the first review!

any news on Canon possibly releasing the lens for sale for us 1xx/2xx series camera owners? It should mount just fine I imagine. If so, similar price to the Fujinon 17x?

I think it's a steal of a camera. I figured my IDX battery system and FE DTE plus camera would come close to the 700 $$... (figureing rolling back time to when the 110 came out of course) but a newer better platform. It sounds like a winner. I'm not going to get rid of my 110 anytime soon though.

Love the look of this camera and I wonder how this cam will be in low light.
Can this cam shoot SD or is this a HD cam?

Cheers

thanks for a great review Tim
Is the camera recording to sdhc still 8 bit 4.2.0?

Is the SDI output 4.2.2 10bit?
how was low light performance compared to HD251?
how were noise levels compared to HD251?
Panasonic seems to have raised the benchmark with their
AG HPX-300 1/3inch 1080 4.2.2 10 bit.
Still the hm700 looks like an awesome camera, as long as there is less noise I will probably go for one.

Tim,

Outstanding preview...I thank you for all the research/time you have taken with this new JVC to bring "us" such usable/knowledgeable info in such a timely manner.

You stated:

....but the truth is that by simply downloading and installing the free open-source Perian XDCAM Quicktime component, the files can be read by most other Quicktime compatible applications. After installing the open-source XDCAM component (http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mcfa0086/discretecosine/164630.html) I easily opened and imported the Quicktime clips I shot into Premiere Pro CS4, Media 100 Producer & Quicktime Player using an off-the-shelf Macbook that had never had FCP installed. To work with the XDCAM EX .MOV files in Windows I recommend Calibrated Software’s XD Decode (http://www.calibratedsoftware.com/QXD.asp). I was able to open the HM700 Quicktime files in the Windows XP version of Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 after XD Decode was installed."

Does this mean the OS Perian component will only allow editing capabilities, not for viewing the footage; thus, the need for CS XD Decode for the viewing on PC???

Once again, thank you. I have been sitting silently for years taking in all that DVInfo has to offer and waiting to take the "leap" into the HD realm for my Event Videography services; I am really leaning towards this JVC 700 as my first HD Pro Camera and thanks to you, I have been educated.

Thank you.
Scott O.

Tim,

You stated that you were able to import .mov files into Premiere CS4 on Windows XP without issue. My question is, do you have to use XD Decoder to do this, or, will Premiere import these regardless without having to render? Is XD Decoder only necessary if you want to playback files using Quicktime player?

Dumb question but has there been any discussion of the HM700 being compatible with the studio accessories for the HD250?

PS. THANK YOU for all your hard work and dedication to getting us this info.

Any word on low light performance vs the older cameras ie GY-hd100's?

Randy, I'm not sure that Tim's brief time with the camera allowed for any serious low-light testing, but rest assured that he'll put it through its full paces as soon as a thorough review can be arranged.

Well my motivation to buy a Panasonic HPX-500 or a Panasonic HPX-300 is completely gone. (as nice as the HPX-500 is mind you) I think JVC has me for another 5 years or so. My only complaint so far with either of the two new cameras is a lack of wired lens control on the HM-100. But I understand why they don't. I just think every camera should have one. Even just a Lanc type license would have been nice.

I'll make some time on the weekend to answer all your questions in detail to the best of my ability.

Any word on how much this will retail at in the UK? In your review you mention $7999 which I guess is probably going to be around £6k/£6.5k in the UK. Thats about the price of the Sony EX3 which has 1/2" chips. What are main selling points of the JVC that the EX3 doesn't have to give it a chance in this price bracket? Presumably a big aspect would be that 35mm lenses on the JVC will give more magnification than on the Sony?

Also CCD rather than CMOS. CMOS seems to be the reason why this spate of cameras have appeared with mind-blowing specs and low low prices - there is always a compromise somewhere in there.
Steve

What are main selling points of the JVC that the EX3 doesn't have to give it a chance in this price bracket?
Hand-held ergonomics stands out for me, and I think it may be more like £5,000 than £6,000 on the street. Also native SDHC card recording, and because no adaptor is involved, it seems possible to do full overcrank. Use FCP and it gives native Quicktime files.

I was initially skeptical, but after seeing Tims' footage, even the Engineering sample produced better looking footage than my HD 100. If street prices get it closer to the EX1, it becomes very very tempting. This, plus the PL Lens adapter, plus some matched s16mm primes, combined with the Flash XDR, wow.

Tim, thanks very much for taking the time. I may change my mind and come to NAB this year. Depends on new a job I'm starting.

Any word on how much this will retail at in the UK? In your review you mention $7999 which I guess is probably going to be around £6k/£6.5k in the UK. Thats about the price of the Sony EX3 which has 1/2" chips.

I was told by JVC at the Broadcast Video Expo that they expect the HM700 with stock Fujinon 16x lens to sell at around £5,000 on the street; the list price for it with the Canon 16x lens is £6,300 so a bit less than that in the shops.

That does seem to contradict the information given on this forum about the stock lens being the Canon but the JVC people said there'd been a bit of chopping and changing in the last few weeks about this.

Regards
Dave

That does seem to contradict the information given on this forum about the stock lens being the Canon...The deal with that is the availability of the Canon lens. JVC will offer one of the Fuji lenses as the bundled kit lens at first, up until the Canon lens begins delivery.

Chris, do we have an ANTICIPATED release date for the Canon lens yet?

We're looking for the Canon lens to become available in June.

WOW, right from "The Man" himself.

Thanks Craig. Any word on whether those of us with HD200's with stock lenses might be able to buy a body only HM700 and purchase the Canon separately later when it becomes available? I own 2 HD200's with 2 16x5.5's and I REALLY don't need another but I'm also interested in picking up a 700 soon after release.

We are working on a number of configurations for the GYHM700 to provide the best offerings possible. The offering in the Americas may differ from that in other global markets.

Again, appreciate it Craig. Looking forward to "playing" with the new "toy", whenever a configuration that works for me ships.

Mr Yanagi, could you answer the question about HDSDI output? 10 bit 4:2:2 or 8? Not going to effect buying decision, but would like to know.

Thanks

How much is the body only? Will the GY-HD100 lenses work with it?

According to my notes, SDI output is 10-bit. Full compatibility with lenses between the HD and HM series. The HM700 will eventually be released as a body-only kit, but to my knowledge its price has not yet been established. If I got any of this wrong, I'm sure Craig will step in and correct me.

any word on how much this will retail at in the uk? In your review you mention $7999 which i guess is probably going to be around £6k/£6.5k in the uk. Thats about the price of the sony ex3 which has 1/2" chips. What are main selling points of the jvc that the ex3 doesn't have to give it a chance in this price bracket? Presumably a big aspect would be that 35mm lenses on the jvc will give more magnification than on the sony?

£4995.00 + vat

Another item for the wishlist - spoke to JVC at the show in London and asked them if it can record simultaneously on both cards in the camera, answer not at present - Very useful if you have a client who wants to take the media away immediately after a shoot, but is likely to lose something that small and you need a backup...

Sorry for the lateness in my response. I've shot two commercials and a music video since this article was published last week, and then I started working on another big feature right away (being shot by Bill Pope ASC BTW... I was elated to watch him light a simple wardrobe test on Friday!)
I'm sitting on the train going into Toronto right now so this seems to be the only time I'll get to respond.

Will there be any low light footage / grabs? Or at least some personal impressions of its low light performance?
No frame grabs. I had a lunch meeting with JVC and honoured the restaurant's request that I not shoot inside. I did ask (as everyone always should.) I did however play with the HM700 in the interior setting and I would say that from what I could tell from the LCOS viewfinder the camera has much lower noise levels than the HD100 series and especially the HD200 series. I cranked up the gain on both the HM100 and HM700 and I am still impressed with the relatively clean image.
I too would like to request some low light frame grabs and your opinion as to how this camera performs in low light compared to the Canon XLH1 series cameras.Sorry. No comparisons available yet. I'm sure that plenty of comparisons will come when the camera is released, but probably not from us.
any news on Canon possibly releasing the lens for sale for us 1xx/2xx series camera owners? It should mount just fine I imagine. If so, similar price to the Fujinon 17x? I do not know the details surrounding the release of the lens except that it will be bundled and available in June. I can only assume Canon will make it available individually at some point but the best value will be in the bundle.
Can this cam shoot SD or is this a HD cam?HD only with many SD downcovert options. For example the firewire port can now output downconverted DV (NTSC or PAL dependent on the HD source) and the SDI and Component outputs will also downconvert.

Is the camera recording to sdhc still 8 bit 4.2.0?
Yes. That's XDCAM EX. As far as I know only XDCAM HD has a 4:2:2 flavour.

Does this mean the OS Perian component will only allow editing capabilities, not for viewing the footage; thus, the need for CS XD Decode for the viewing on PC???Perian is for the Mac, XD Decode is for PC. Quicktime works system-wide for any application that can use it. The XDCAM EX component just allows Quicktime (in any Quicktime capable application) to play back the XDCAM EX material. Rendering in XDCAM EX is another story all together.
The non-FCP solutions I presented are decoders only and won't allow rendering into XDCAM EX.

You stated that you were able to import .mov files into Premiere CS4 on Windows XP without issue. My question is, do you have to use XD Decoder to do this, or, will Premiere import these regardless without having to render? Is XD Decoder only necessary if you want to playback files using Quicktime player?See the answer above.
XD Decoder and Quicktime are required to view or work with the XDCAM EX .MOV Quicktimes in any Quicktime-aware application on Windows.
The bottom line is if you open the .MOV quicktimes in Premiere Pro they can be used on a sequence. This seems to work better in the Mac version than the Windows version (which seems to not edit in the audio tracks.)
Dumb question but has there been any discussion of the HM700 being compatible with the studio accessories for the HD250?It has the remote input for CCU remotes but it lacks a genlock in for house sync.
Any word on low light performance vs the older cameras ie GY-hd100's?See answer #1. You won't be disappointed with low-light performance in the HM100 or HM700.

According to my notes, SDI output is 10-bit. Full compatibility with lenses between the HD and HM series. The HM700 will eventually be released as a body-only kit, but to my knowledge its price has not yet been established. If I got any of this wrong, I'm sure Craig will step in and correct me.

Thanks Chris, this sounds very promising. I prefer the JVC form factor to the Sony.

Does anyone know if they have fixed the dead pixel issues in the new HM700 that plagued the JVC110 and 200s? Having recently shot something with a JVC Camera, there were several times where a dead pixel would show up when looking at the footage on my computer that came from JVC CCD sensors. Has this issue been fixed?

Dead pixels aren't really an issue with the JVC cameras because they are end-user serviceable. The same should be true with the HM series, but I didn't try to find an advanced menu.

Tim, thanks for the review !
"The new 14x4.4 lens from Canon is a thing of beauty and I can’t believe it is a bundled lens. Wow this lens is sharp."

The camera AND lens cost less than the optional lenses for the 251.

So is this Canon lens good enough to warrant buying the 700 just for the glass (and as a 2nd cam on the side)

I will stick to the 251 for shooting because of genlock/TC for separate audio and digislate.

Likely JVC will come up later with a 700 type which can be genlocked ???

Claude: That's what I was wondering. a 17x for $3,000 plus a 2nd HD100/200 series camera is about the price of a 700, plus you get a DTE system ($1,400 value figureing mount) but recording HDV and XDCAM-EX. If I had the cash I would seriously not get a better lens for my 110, but instead make my 110 the B camera and get a 700. I wouldn't mind getting the canon glass for my 110 if it wasn't too much... maybe add a doubler for my longer work.

Good times...

It's funny, reading the sony and canon sites, and having used some HDV of both recently and not be impressed with the 1080i world or downconverted DVD's.... But the funniest part to me was down converted DVD's looked best from 24p JVC and also itunes for electronic sales and transfers where looking the best and 1/2 to 1/3 the render times from 720p vs 1080i. Since itunes (90% of all legal download sales) highest res is 1280 x 720p 24fps or 960x540 @ 30fps it really makes the case to stick with 24p for both outlets.

I wonder if there would be an advantage to shoot 1080p 24fps vs 720p 24fps for downconversion to appltv itunes HD and DVD. I bet render times from XDCAM-EX 108024p would be no worse than 1080i HDV and probably less. I'm sure the720 XDCAMEX render times would be similar to 720p HDV. Longer GOP but less compression? Dunno... Looking forward to trying.

I wonder if there is much of a market for my HD110/IDX/Focus Enhancement's DTE package.

Tim,

Hey just a gut reaction or feeling of the Canon's 14x lens vs the Fujinon's 17x lens? I Know it was preproductin, but are they optically in the same ball park with each other where as the 16x is the minor league? Both not really comparable to the Fujinon 18x or is the Canon comparable, just shorter range?

Anyway maybe selling my 110 & DTE and IDX system and varizoom in a week or two to free up funds for a new JVC 700. I guess I'll have to make a package deal for my 100+ JVC tapes. oh well.