Hi,

I've just gotten one of GY 110 series cameras. I want to check it over, to be sure nothing is wrong. Is there anything that typically goes wrong with these cameras?

I've used various DV tapes on previous cameras ive hired. But is there any specific brand these cameras like?

I've also read somewhere, It is possible to connect a laptop to the camera. To record direct to the camera, rather than to a firewire hard drive? Is this true.
I'm excited ive finally got a camera ;-)

Thanks
Andrew

Just remember to always power off your camera before you add/remove the firewire cable and battery. No exceptions. Also goes for any other peripherals you might be attaching to it. Otherwise the camera is a work horse.

Stick to JVC tapes as much as you can. Sony's tapes are fine too. But if you are using one, stick to them. Don't change tapes. Also, stock up on tapes as these are going to run out soon.

You can connect a laptop. The best way is via a firewire cable. You can either capture directly using your editing software (FCP/Premiere/Vegas,etc) or use Adobe Onlocation for real-time monitoring of info.

Have fun!

These are still great cams.

Things to check. Please check the firewire ports. Macs in particular have a habit of frying them and it's $1400 to replace the board. And when you check, try capturing in DV and HDV modes, sometimes one works and the other doesn't. They don't burn out randomly, the burn because the cam was connected hot to a computer. ASAP buy the little $6 firewire patch cable that de-energizes firewire ports. If it has blown firewire ports you have a big problem because the only *other* way to capture is via component and that's going to take some sort of hardware interface and probably an array of some sort. There is no HDMI or SDI on the JVC 110. Which goes to your second question, tethering the JVC is a big hassle and it's not something commonly done, though it's possible.

As far as tapes, the 100 series, especially the earlier models, are drop out prone and no one ever agreed on which brand/type worked best. The expensive tapes didn't work for me, the cheap $2 Panasonic label provided the best results -- though it was far from perfect and I eventually bought a Firestore. Now I'll throw any cheap random brand tape into it merely for redundancy and archive.

Enjoy your JVC.

Some cameras in the 100 / 110 series also suffered from the "split screen" effect.

Use maximum gain and ensure that the left and right side of the image are the same quality. The split screen effect shows up as a distinct color or black level shift between the left and right side of the image separated by a hard division down the middle of the frame.

Thanks for the info guys. Everything seems to working fine.

Its ages since i've corrected the back focus, and struggling a little. I've a chart too, to focus in on. I've spare time tomorrow, so i'm going to give it ago again tomorrow.

Thanks
Andrew

Just remember to always power off your camera before you add/remove the firewire cable and battery. No exceptions. Also goes for any other peripherals you might be attaching to it. Otherwise the camera is a work horse.

Stick to JVC tapes as much as you can. Sony's tapes are fine too. But if you are using one, stick to them. Don't change tapes. Also, stock up on tapes as these are going to run out soon.

You can connect a laptop. The best way is via a firewire cable. You can either capture directly using your editing software (FCP/Premiere/Vegas,etc) or use Adobe Onlocation for real-time monitoring of info.

Have fun!

So what is the procedure for connecting the DR-HD100 external drive to the camera?

1) Power both down.
2) Connect the DR-HD100 via firewire to camera.
3) Turn on Camera
4) Turn on DR-HD100

Is this correct? Then to disconnect do you turn off external drive. Then turn off camera and unplug firewire?

How about when connecting the DR-HD100 to a laptop? I have been using an external drive, so I connect that to the MBP first. With the MBP powered on. The MBP obviously sees the external drive. Then I connect the DR-HD100 to the external drive. Powered off at this point. Then I turn on the DR-HD100 and go through the menu to "mount" drive to MBP. Immediately the file is recognized by the laptop. Are these steps correct?

Sorry to thread crap, but it's related content. Thanks!

Don't forget to check for dead pixels.

The best way is to let the camera get pretty warm, turn it on and leave it run for a while with a blanket or jacket on it. Your pretty much going to have to have it connect it to an HD monitor via component to do an accurate check. Another trick is to close the iris and turn up the gain. Some dead pixels only show up at higher gain settings for a while before they become visible at zero gain.

If you see some give this a whirl and it should fix them:

"Service Menu accessed while in HDV 24p mode by holding the Focus Assist button (the one on the camera body) when you press and hold the Menu/Status button for at least 5 seconds. You must be in 24p mode for this operation.

You see an advanced menu where the second line says CAMERA1. Move the cursor down and push the shutter wheel to enter that menu and now you have a list with the sixth item being PIXEL COMPEN. Move down to it and select that item, the word CANCEL blinks. Change it to EXECUTE and push again. It takes about 10 seconds or so to perform the operation and then tells you to power off the camera. You are done. Make sure Focus Assist is now OFF and exit 24p mode if desired."

Remember the camera can only do the dead pixel fix so many times so try and use it only when you need it. Good luck, they are great looking camera's.

So what is the procedure for connecting the DR-HD100 external drive to the camera?

1) Power both down.
2) Connect the DR-HD100 via firewire to camera.
3) Turn on Camera
4) Turn on DR-HD100

Is this correct? Then to disconnect do you turn off external drive. Then turn off camera and unplug firewire?

How about when connecting the DR-HD100 to a laptop? I have been using an external drive, so I connect that to the MBP first. With the MBP powered on. The MBP obviously sees the external drive. Then I connect the DR-HD100 to the external drive. Powered off at this point. Then I turn on the DR-HD100 and go through the menu to "mount" drive to MBP. Immediately the file is recognized by the laptop. Are these steps correct?

Sorry to thread crap, but it's related content. Thanks!

cable on - power on - power off - cable off! Your steps are correct. Just remember not to do anything with the cable as long as power is running.

the issue is with the build quality of the firewire port (and the technology). You are doing fine if it works for you!

Some of the compatible Firestores require that both camera and Firestore are turned ON at time of connection.

The best solution is to spend $5 and get a cable that de energizes the Firewire.

So what is the procedure for connecting the DR-HD100 external drive to the camera?

1) Power both down.
2) Connect the DR-HD100 via firewire to camera.
3) Turn on Camera
4) Turn on DR-HD100

Is this correct? Then to disconnect do you turn off external drive. Then turn off camera and unplug firewire?

How about when connecting the DR-HD100 to a laptop? I have been using an external drive, so I connect that to the MBP first. With the MBP powered on. The MBP obviously sees the external drive. Then I connect the DR-HD100 to the external drive. Powered off at this point. Then I turn on the DR-HD100 and go through the menu to "mount" drive to MBP. Immediately the file is recognized by the laptop. Are these steps correct?

Sorry to thread crap, but it's related content. Thanks!


I'm open to learn new things about these cameras, Dont be worried about the thread. I was infact curious to find out what you need for connecting a laptop to these cameras.

Stick to JVC tapes as much as you can. Sony's tapes are fine too. But if you are using one, stick to them. Don't change tapes.

I'll agree with Sareesh on MOST of that - I PERSONALLY have found that JVC heads and Sony tapes (and vice versa) DON'T play well together.

Your mileage may vary. That is one particular combination I avoid COMPLETELY. My dealer is recommending Maxell tapes now that JVC tapes have disappeared here.

"Your mileage may vary. That is one particular combination I avoid COMPLETELY. My dealer is recommending Maxell tapes now that JVC tapes have disappeared here."

My mileage does. As I've said here before I have run exclusively, since new, many hundreds of Sony DVcam (Pro Tapes) through the HD101E and BR-HD50 with no problems. Some of the cheaper Sony tapes have caused a few drop outs but not many.

It is crucial I have found to use the same brand of head cleaner with any camera/deck. If a different brand to the shooting tape is used this will produce marked dropouts

"Your mileage may vary. That is one particular combination I avoid COMPLETELY. My dealer is recommending Maxell tapes now that JVC tapes have disappeared here."

My mileage does. As I've said here before I have run exclusively, since new, many hundreds of Sony DVcam (Pro Tapes) through the HD101E and BR-HD50 with no problems. Some of the cheaper Sony tapes have caused a few drop outs but not many.

It is crucial I have found to use the same brand of head cleaner with any camera/deck. If a different brand to the shooting tape is used this will produce marked dropouts

And there are many people, including some of the JVC reps, that have found zero correlation between brands, costs, and types of tape.

As far as I'm concerned, the smartest thing to do is use tapes for redundancy and archive and use a solid state or HDD solution for acquisition.

[QUOTE=Brian Luce

As far as I'm concerned, the smartest thing to do is use tapes for redundancy and archive and use a solid state or HDD solution for acquisition.[/QUOTE]

Indeed, capturing to two media (tape and HDD, or tape and solid state) means never having to say you're sorry. Having used the GY 110, we've seen instances of glitches in both tape and HDD. But in years of production, we've never lost a moment of capture because of redundancy. We used the Focus Enhancements DTE HDD in ENG, Event, studio and location situations and they proved themselves worthy. Plus the DTE allows immediate editing in FCP. As Brian mentioned, the tape gets labeled and is an easy to work with backup and archive medium.

The split-screen "issue" with the 110 was overly blown up. In cases where I saw it demonstrated, the user had to set the gain to the highest setting and shoot solid backgrounds. I tested our cameras for the issue and could never see any problems. Plus, we never allowed ourselves to be in situations where we had to max out or even apply any gain.

Finally, clients really liked the look of the images produced on the JVC HD GY110. While spec geeks rant at it being "only" 720p, it rivaled our previous Panasonic HVX 200 camera in detail and beat it in color gradation and accuracy. You'll be happy with your camera.

Dave Burckhard

"The split-screen "issue" with the 110 was overly blown up. In cases where I saw it demonstrated, the user had to set the gain to the highest setting and shoot solid backgrounds. I tested our cameras for the issue and could never see any problems. Plus, we never allowed ourselves to be in situations where we had to max out or even apply any gain."


I agree 100%. The split screen was overly hyped. A total non issue. Btw, my HDD Firestore has been bullet proof, but I've heard a few reports that it glitches if you're at noisy rock concerts with boomy bass.

"The split-screen "issue" with the 110 was overly blown up"
Unless of course it happened to you. For me it occurred suddenly and was very severe even at 0db.
It's worth checking for when buying a used camera. Mine was resolved quickly as a warranty claim.

I also had serious problems with Sony high grade tape stock (supplied by client). I now use exclusively JVC ProHD stock without problems. I think it doesn't matter what type you use so long as you stick with the same type.

Some of the compatible Firestores require that both camera and Firestore are turned ON at time of connection.

The best solution is to spend $5 and get a cable that de energizes the Firewire.

Great tip - one that one friend of mine wished she had known about.

"The split-screen "issue" with the 110 was overly blown up"
Unless of course it happened to you. For me it occurred suddenly and was very severe even at 0db.
It's worth checking for when buying a used camera. Mine was resolved quickly as a warranty claim.

I also had serious problems with Sony high grade tape stock (supplied by client). I now use exclusively JVC ProHD stock without problems. I think it doesn't matter what type you use so long as you stick with the same type.

Oh it happens on the 100, and it's not predictable. Your learn to recognize it, turn off the camera and battery and try it again. Think of it like changing a film magazine....

I used to get the split screen very slightly on the 101E but since using Paolo's Truecolor settings I have never seen it.

I agree about the safety of using tape and HDD but I can honestly say that I have never lost anything using just tape. There will always come that day though ... and for peace of mind and critical shoots it's a sensible workflow.

The new Firestore with the CF card modernises the HD100 system and gives it another lease of life too.

Yea, the split screen.

Had to send my 100 in for service because it was getting pretty bad at 0 gain. They fixed it under warranty but it was a bummer.

Beating a dead horse. yes split screen is fairly over hyped. That being said I can usually make it appear. Most often when the camera is cold and applying gain. If your going to be taping in dark environment, power on 10 minutes before you start recording to allow the chips to synch with each other, usually never apply more than 9db of gain (usually zero honestly).

also, something to do before every paid shoot. check backfocus with a HD monitor or HDTV. check your settings, then finally when it's warmed up, I run my dead pixel masking. More effective when warmed up, especially on hot days.