GY-LS300 Prime Zoom feature -- allows you to zoom with a prime lens - YouTube

Yeah and that is not a native MFT lens (well it might be native in the sense that it has an MFT mount, but it's not native to MFT), nor is it a smart lens... hope springs eternal... now if they would just actually release the firmware - but as I said above, it's better they get the bugs out first...

OK, gotta say I'm really liking this camera. I have it set up with the Gratical side mounted and a Movcam LANC grip (pirated off one of my Pocket Cams) on rods. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to not have to be carrying around a pocket full of ND filters and extra batteries for the camera and a audio pre-amp.

I've been shooting with the 12-40, set at either 87%-92% for wide or in the 50s if I want a little more reach. There is some noticeable noise in mid-range shadows in the low 50s, but it isn't horrible and for most things I can live with it. It's a very nice way to work - super light camera and lens combination - and fantastic images

And speaking of audio, I tested the 300 against my C100, using identical mics, and the 300 is at least as good, maybe better. I tested using a Rode NTG3, Sennheiser 416 and an old Audio Technica that I've used as a nose mic forever. Sennheiser, as always, was the winner - I don't know why people are always saying the Rode is just as good, it isn't - in fact my 25 year old Audio Technica came in second ahead of it, at least by my ears. FYI, Pocket Camera with JuicedLink pre-amp is and always has been s__t.

Bottom line, this is a fantastic camera for the price - now, make it better with that firmware update por favor...

Interesting that the 12-40mm can be set that wide on the VSM, the Pany 12-35 needs to be set to 80% or it will vignette at the wide end.
The Oly 14-35mm f2 can be set to 86-89% - it's a great bit of glass but does make the cam quite front heavy. The Oly 35-100mm f2 is so large and heavy that it's impracticable to use handheld - there is also a problem with the lens communicating with the camera sometimes (manual focus wont work, have to power the cam off & on to get power back to the lens - the joy of focus by wire)

I've also added a viewfinder (Alphatron) and a LANC handgrip (Tilta) - it has made the LS300 a very usable small package.

The 416 is a way better mic than the Rode - but you do pay for it.

The Olympus 12-40 will actually handle 92% with just a slight vignetting in the bottom right corner, doesn't show up on TVs, but does on computers or projectors... Set at 92% the lens is essentially a 9-10mm,, pretty useful,, And with his camera you can easily and quickly dial it up... I'm having fun again,,,

BTW, Rohan, I have an old surfing buddy who lived in Canberra, John Beaton PhD... He was chief archeologist at the university there.. Always meant to visit him, but never made it...

Not much surfing in Canberra - we've only got a muddy lake. (it is only a two hr drive to the coast)

Yeah, I know, we both gave up surfing in graduate school... we were both at UCLA and other things just got in the way. With the LA traffic the beach is about 2 hours away there too.

I don't know those zooms you mentioned... One thing that is bothering me is that (as I said somewhere above) lenses that "act" parfocal on the C100 and the Pocket Cams need to be refocused with the LS300 when you pull back. What's weird about that is the Olympus and Lumix lenses (12-40 and 35-100) require a slight counter-clockwise turn, and the EF lenses (24-105 and 17-55) require a slight clockwise, so it's not the camera's lens mount... Apparently there's some electronic "focus by wire" happening on the other cameras and not on the LS - and refocusing at 12mm at f4 or above requires a really good EVF.

Also, another weird thing is the Canon EF 24-105 is an excellent lens on the C100, I use it 90% of the time with that camera. For some reason it's just not that sharp on the LS300. And it can't be the Metabones adapter because it doesn't have any glass. I'm going to try another cheapo adapter I (one with a built-in iris) have later today and see if there's any difference.

Sadly I have another issue. I shoot docs exclusively, and like to set up my camera with the nose mic (Audio Technica) on CH1 and a Lectrosonic wireless on CH2 so my soundman can cruise separately. That way I can get good audio from two sources at once and chose channels later.

I have a shoot later this week and was setting up my wireless, and discovered that my camera isn't recording from CH2. It shows on the VU and I can monitor only CH2 in headphones, but for some reason the channel isn't recording. I've tried switching back and forth between mono and stereo in the system menu with no luck. I've tried hardwiring into CH2, but still nothing records.

This is very weird. Any ideas anyone?

My first camera was locked on "Lolux", my second had a diopter that couldn't be adjusted and now the third is only recording from one audio input. I've registered the camera this time, so I can't return it to the dealer.

I really like this camera a lot, but JVC has got to get their quality control act together.

Tried reseating the handle? Maybe the connection isn't quite all there?

Thanks, but I did try that, although I assumed since I was seeing it on the VU and able to monitor the channel that probably wasn't it.. But I did discover the problem... Well it's not a problem, it's a quirk that hopefully can be fixed with firmware unless it's just my camera..

I was set at 24P, I always shoot 24P except for some TV spots. Just for the hell of it I switched to 30P... and it works... No big deal, I'll shoot this job 30P (no one except film types notice the difference anyway).

Do me a favor when you get a chance and see if your camera will record discreet mono tracks in 24P.

Okay, so I got my audio issue worked out...

DON'T SHOOT 24P IF YOU NEED TWO DISCREET CHANNELS OF AUDIO... for instance an on-camera mic and a boom or wireless. TEST FIRST and learn from my experience. It took me nearly 4 hours to figure this one out because it's not until you load it into a computer that you discover CH2 isn't there. Bummer.

So I moved on to lenses again and am amazed to discover that my little f2.8 12-40 Olympus Pro at 87% (4K setting), 80% (normal MFT) and 52% (S16) is noticeably sharper than the EF 24-105 and EF-S 17-55 at 100% (with both Metabones and the adapter with the iris, don't remember the name).

Go figure. There may be some noise in there with the lower VSM settings, but it's not really noticeable unless you're hunting for it. Pixle-peep away if you want...

BTW, I did most of the lens tests at ISO800 because I figure real world, right. But even at 1600 the Olympus beats the Canons. I said this before, but I reiterate, I am very surprised because I like both those lenses, especially the 17-55, on my C100, which is also theoretically at "100%". This camera seems to handle lenses differently than any other I've used.

different
Probably the best way to describe this camera!

Glad you got the sound issue sorted.

I think you have sold me on the 12-40, but I'll need to use a shoulder rig more often I suppose.

I still find shooting on my EX1 to be a liberating experience every so often.
I'm sure the DVX-200 with it's fixed lens and MFT sensor will keep a lot of people happy.

The 2.0 firmware is available. I've downloaded and installed it, and I'll report back after I've had some time to play with some of the new settings.

It's hassle trying to find the update isn't it?

This fools you into believe it the right place: JVCPro-MSIS (http://www.service.jvcpro.eu/public/index.cfm?SGK=10&SGT=0&Gerate_Typ=GY-LS300CHE&T=0200)

Eventually Google found this page: JVC Professional Customer Support - Firmware Upgrade (http://support.jvc.com/pro/firmwareupgrade/versionentry.jsp?modelId=62)

Now I just need an FCPX + El Capitan update for J-Log...

Duncan - another thing I like about the Olympus is that it has a focus ring that slides forward and back to activate/de-activate auto focus. If you ever, as I do, like to hit auto focus momentarily, for instance when wide, this feature means you don't have to fiddle with the button on the camera.

Be it known I am not an Olympus advocate - nor am I a JVC advocate - In fact this lens and this camera are the first I've ever owned from those respective manufacturers.

Many are discounting and badmouthing the LS300.. Well, it deserves some badmouthing, at least JVC certainly does. They could have made real waves if they'd put as much into manufacturing and support as they have in R&D. Oh well, it still shouldn't be discounted. It'll do more than a C300 MKII at less than a third of the price (except, of course, low light - the LS is pretty weak there, that's why I've kept my C100).

BTW, that 2.0 firmware isn't the zoom VSM feature is it? I thought it was an older one.

According to the download page this new firmware is:

Version: V0200-0118, Release Date: 2015-09-29

What's new:
Added new features:
Cinema 4K recording formats
70 Mbps mode at 4K
Histogram
Spot meter
VSM Zoom
JVC LOG (Cinema Log) with 800% dynamic range
Native resolution format on HD-SDI output
ZIXI Adaptive Bit Rate and Fast FTP
Multicast Streaming in UDP mode
Zebra icon on LCD screen
Support Clip Continuous recording in AVCHD


Here's a link for EU users: http://www.service.jvcpro.eu/public/document.cfm?prog=ProdSoft.cfm&Model=GY-LS300CHE

I've installed it... The update went fine.

The prime zoom function is working well with my Sigma 24-70 2.8 on a Fotodiox dumb adapter.
It's variable speed on the zoom rocker, so you can feather the speed quite nicely.

I've tried my Vari-Zoom LANC controllers, and while they will trigger record they won't control the Prime zoom feature, which is a shame. Mine are Sony LANC and IIRC remember there's a couple of different variations on the LANC protocol, so perhaps someone else can test their LANC kit?

J-Log is there, and there's a 1D-LUT option in the LCD/VF menu so you monitor the recording with a LUT applied.

My LCD still looks sub par, but I can learn to live with it.

70Mbps 4k is there.

I've mapped the histogram to the joystick and it works well.
You can set upper and lower 'percentage pointers' on the histogram, from 0% right up to 110% in 5% increments. (The lower actually goes from 0-105%). These pointers are shown as red vertical bars on the histogram.

When you set the camera to J-Log, the histogram options change to F-Stops and I'll profess my utter ignorance about how to use this setting. The default 'pointer' setting in J-Log are a very narrow range on the histogram scale. Is that normal?

I'll try and shoot some tests, to see if the fixed pattern noise has improved at all.

EDIT. Quick update. On my first recording (in 709) the noise is still there. Yuk.

Right after I posted I went to the JVC site and did the same... No joy with my LANC controller either, don't know the brand, came free with a Canon XF100 I bought several years ago for a carry-on.

The zoom feature is a great addition. Too bad I have to use the rocker because handheld, shoulder mounted, it just isn't practical for an in-shot zoom. But it is good on a tripod, it's a fast way to set the VSM, and handheld it works well to zoom in to focus, which in itself is worth the price of admission.

I shot some 2K at 23.976 and the judder is really bad (remember, I normally shoot 24P so I know what it should look like), I guess I need to experiment with the shutter.

Try as I can, I'm not seeing any FPN in my footage shooting 1080, cine gamma and cine color subdued. I've set the black to 0 and chroma to +2. The picture is clean, even up to 43% (I think that's the #) on the VSM zoom. I've even tried crunching the blacks with FilmConvert to force artifacts and can't see anything. Maybe I'm just not knowing what to look for (old film guy) but in any case, it's not going to bother an audience if it is there.