Here is a video clip of the HD100u that shows people handling the unit.


http://www.gpjco.tv/jvc.htm


Here is a quote, I found funny.
<<<If I got cans of cream and red spray paint, I bet I could rustle up what everyone hoped the XL2 should have been.>>>

Thanks for that! I've been looking for this sort of footage since NAB.

The camera looks great, but bigger than I expected - bigger than the XL2, that's for sure.

What's that big blocky thing in the back of the camera?

Looks like the battery to me

Yes indeed, that's an IDX battery (plus an IDX o.b. light up on top).

I think people who are not pros and choose to buy the HD100 should take into consideration the higher costs of accesories for such a camera.

Batteries, bag, tripod etc. Far more expensive than Z1/PD170/DVX1000. So yes, clearly a better camera than Z1 (whoever disputes this is in la la land), but budget and context of use have to be considered, as once you dive into shoulder mounted cameras you will be diving into a new price bracket of essential accesories.

The cost however of the camera is pretty phenomenal and is arguably the first nail in the coffin of DVCAM shoulder mounted models.

Very good point with regard to accessory expenses -- this is an amazingly low-priced camera, but the essentials will carry a higher cost than most folks from the "prosumer" realm might realize. For example, lens controls... your $350 LANC controller will not work with this camera. You'll need separate zoom and focus controls, starting at $400 for a zoom controller and about $500 for a focus controller, and these are lower-end prices for those items.

Very true. Anyone has a confirmation on the price of the tripod plate? Someone here mentioned something like $900.00, I believe... That would be a prime example of where the accessory prices might be.

Might even be worth figuring out exactly what people should be expected to get for their kits!

Prices courtesy of creativevideo.co.uk

IDX Endura 50 Li-Ion battery, V-Lock, 50W/h £265

Not sure if cam comes with charger. If not:

IDX Endura Battery / Charger / AC Kit for Sony & JVC Cameras c/w 2 x 50 W/h Li-Ion Batteries Price: £934.13 inc VAT

IDX X3-Lite LED Camera Light Price: £233.83 (inc VAT)

Vinten Vision 3 Tripod: £1150 (inc VAT)

Take your pick of bag, Petrol, KATA, Lowepro: At least £300

Naturally these are just quick refs and if you spend 5 mins on the net you will probably find better deals.

The key here is understanding that a 'professional' camera requires professional accessories to function to the best of its ability. Some people are buying Z1s without factoring in a good mic and tripod! So when people start buying this and forget the bigger picture they're gonna be in for a scare. One of my friends bought a DSR570 for a documentary. Sure enough he's making a great film (really great) but he couldn't believe how much things cost once you move up from something like a PD150 to a proper 2/3 CCD camera.

And once you have all this stuff think about insuring it!

Surely you can use standard JVC batteries, as with HD1/HD10U cameras? At least that's what it looks like from the dozens of photos JVC has on their website.

They also posted new pictures with an operator handling the camera. There's a couple with a tripod that looks professional, probably quite expensive. But most likely you will be able to get away with a $150 tripod? The camera doesn't look that much bigger than the XL2.

But Dave, why would you put a $150 tripod under a $6000 camera?

Sturdy sticks and a good, high-quality tripod head are key essential components for your camera package. For something like the HD100, I'd recommend a $500 to $1500 tripod head and legs combination underneath it.

I'd love to know how it is expected to perform in low light (in interlaced mode). Looking forward to a review.

Chris, I'd definitely get the best tripod possible for a camera like this. However, you could (maybe) get away with a cheaper tripod if you can't afford all the best accessories for your new cam.

For instance, I have a GL2 and two cheap tripods - one $10 (quite bad), the other $30. I made several tests with the GL2 on the $30 tripod and felt really safe about it. Of course I would prefer to buy a $150 tripod instead for it, but there's always something else I end up buying. Lights, filters, lenses, etc. If for one second I thought the GL2 (or the HD1 for that matter) was unstable on this tripod, I wouldn't use it. Just not worth the risk.

My point being that, with thoughtful tests you might find a cheaper tripod that withstands the camera weight very well - and that could turn out to be less an obstacle in your way.

Of course if you can afford the $1,000 one, go for it, by all means! I would... :)

I'd love to know how it is expected to perform in low light (in interlaced mode).
Not sure what you mean -- there is no interlaced mode on this camera...

I don't believe any low-light specs have been mentioned yet...

$6,000 CAMERA - $1,500 TRIPOD
$800 CAMERA - $50 TRIPOD
Oh, did somebody mention that a tripod plate is expected to cost about $800-900? Do you use lights? How about a decent mike?
:-)

Looks bigger than I originally thought, but still smaller than my DV500. I think my Bogen 501/3221 tripod ($300) should be a good match for now.

Speaking of hidden costs:
When the DV500 came out, most users agreed that the included lens was not up to par. I'd see them on eBay selling for $99 or less. Any indication from anyone at NAB that we might want to bypass the stock lens on the HD100? I realize the obvious answer is that the wide-angle would be better, but I'm curious if anybody saw good footage that was produced with the stock lens.

Steve

Bypassing the stock lens is not a budgetary option for probably most buyers. The optional wide-angle lens carries a retail price of about $12,000.

$12,000? I though it was going to be around $6,000...Oh, well, either price is out of my budget for now. What I'd love to see is an adapter for nikon SLR lenses in the near future.

Steve

$12,000? I though it was going to be around $6,000...Oh, well, either price is out of my budget for now. What I'd love to see is an adapter for nikon SLR lenses in the near future.

Steve

Look no further...

http://www.prohd.co.uk/page7/page7.html

According to the webmaster on that site. There are no optics inside the adapter (so there's no reason to expect this to be too expensive). And, the magification factor would be about 7xs. That means a 20mm W/A SLR lens becomes a 140mm telephoto? Great for wildlife and moon shots, not so great for indoor shooting. Definitely would need a rock-solid tripod with this thing on.

Thanks for the tip.
Steve

Exactly Steve. It's just the adaptor to attach the lens. No relay lens/ground glass system certainly. If you want a mini35, don't worry. P+S Teknik was showing off a prototype at NAB of the new mini35 for the JVC. They said it will be out as soon as the camera gets released.

Dave, thats why I'm not worried about lenses for this camera.

Exactly. I was wondering why all the hubub about the "stock" lens?
IMO, this is a camera HEAD. What I like is that with 1/3" chips is
the 7.2 magnification factor provided by 'non glass' adapters using 35mm
glass AND/OR (almost) ANY lens @ 1:1 with a PS Technik.
That coupled with real 1280x720 CCDs and uncompressed 292M HDSDI
output makes this camera bigger than the VX1K when it burst
the "must have huge bucks" balloon.

Granted, it will still take huge bucks to get an entire 'real' HD system
together, but when the camera head is $5K instead of $60K, that is a
significant step in price reduction. There is a further price reduction
if lens one already owns can be made to work. That is about as good
a deal as you'll ever get for a massive upgrade in quality.

and uncompressed 292M HDSDI
output
Don't know where you heard that, but there's no 292M HDSDI output on this camera at all. The only HD outputs are either a) the compressed MPEG-2 through firewire, or b) analog component.

You can get an external analog-to-HDSDI converter, but that's nowhere near the same thing as if it had onboard HD-SDI of the original digital video signal straight from the DSPs.

[QUOTE=Barry Green]Don't know where you heard that, but there's no 292M HDSDI output on this camera at all. >>>

At NAB, JVC was showing a studio model HD100e that had the tape
transport removed and replaced with an encoder that could be
switched between SDI and HDSDI output via two bnc jacks above the three
analog component BNC jacks.

This HD100'e' model was a test balloon according to the JVC reps. to see
if there was interest. I told them that this was the model I was
interested in.

Well, now that would be interesting! Didn't see that one... thanks for the info!

I believe somewhere around 6 Lux.


Not sure what you mean -- there is no interlaced mode on this camera...

I don't believe any low-light specs have been mentioned yet...

Any firm release date yet? June, July? I'm still debating whether or not to rent or buy. If they release the North American version with less features than the EU version, I will not purchase. Rent maybe. Boycott maybe.

"Not sure what you mean -- there is no interlaced mode on this camera..."

Think DV (ie PAL/NTSC)