Imagine having your prime lens on and can’t move in closer - just hit the zoom rocker and you go tthe shot. Really neat!

My sony nex-ea50 which I sold a year ago had that feature, only the image quality suffered and moire and aliasing became quite bad when you zoomed in and cropped on the sensor. The sony had a sensor that was not optimised for video and it was not a 4K one, great idea but poor execution. Looks like JVC stole it but at least they did a better job at it.

It's amazing, actually - I posted two images, full wide and full telephoto, on the BM site, but can't figure out how to do that here.... I didn't expect it to work at all, let alone as well as it does...

As I've said a couple of times, it's the one feature that keeps me with this camera. As a matter of fact I just bought three more MFT lenses (Rokinons) - dumb, I know, but I don't want to deal with any more adapters, I've already paid for the camera, and I may as well blow the cash somewhere...

If you want to post a picture here just click on "manage attachments" button below the part where you write and that brings up a pop up window where you see 8 buttons where each one allows you to select a image on your pc and once you selected them then click on the upload button on the right side in that pop up screen and they will appear in your post.

To clarify, I now own the Panny 12-35 and 35-100 2.8 set.
They have physical OIS switches on the lens, so OIS can be switched from there.
The menu option is greyed out.

The OIS isn't a good as Steady Shot on a Sony, but it's working for sure.
You can make it jump and stall slightly by panning too abruptly back and forth, but it's not an ugly jump where it then has to find itself again afterwards, at least not on my lenses.

I do not find the iris control unusably sluggish, a little quicker would be nice though (let's have a speed setting in a menu please JVC!) Exposure changes are stepped and the direction is backwards in my opinion, but I'm learning to deal with it.

Don't get me started on the gain switches - high at the bottom?!
Since my Betacam days that's always annoyed me.

Cheers All!

As a matter of fact I just bought three more MFT lenses (Rokinons) - dumb, I know, but I don't want to deal with any more adapters, I've already paid for the camera, and I may as well blow the cash somewhere...
Sounds like something of a second honeymoon to me. :) Time to reconsider the JVC-bashing title of this thread?

I look at it like 'The honeymoon's over, time to make some money so I can feed the impending kids and dog!'

Or maybe that's just me...? (photo taken a few nights ago)

I know I have asked this before but wanted to dig a bit deeper into it, as I understand there is an option to let the camera control exposure but what exactly does it controll, does it only adjust iso, or does it change shutter and/or f-stop as well? And when it's changing these settings, is it able to do so without visible exposure jumps?

The LS300 has a mechanical three-position switch that allows you to select Manual, Preset Auto, or Full Auto exposure control. The Preset Auto mode is fully configurable in a user menu. You can choose to make any combination of Gain (ISO), Aperture (Iris), Shutter Speed, and White Balance operate manually or automatically. In addition, maximum ISO can be preset, as well as min and max auto-iris limits. Shutter control can be preset to either stepped or continuous, and overall AE responsiveness can be set to Slow, Medium, or Fast. If a lens supports only some of the selected auto-exposure features, AE will continue to work with that subset of active features. You can also selectively engage specific AE features while in Manual exposure mode with any of the user-assignable buttons.

I use auto-ISO to handle unpredictable changes in stage lighting at live events. I preset the High Gain switch setting to AGC with a max ISO of either 1600 or 3200, set shutter speed to 1/60 or 1/30, and manually adjust white balance and lens aperture for typical lighting conditions. I have AE speed set to Fast and Manual Transition speed set to Medium. That enables the camera to react quickly to sudden lighting changes, but respond smoothly to manual exposure changes while shooting.

Lee - I agree:
Sounds like something of a second honeymoon to me. :) Time to reconsider the JVC-bashing title of this thread?

In all my looking at cams there seems to be a comon thread: There’s no perfect cam.
Either there is a design ‘feature’ (as some call it. I like it.), or it doesn’t quite fit one’s needs. Either way, unless one has deep pockets and can just buy a cam on a whim, it’s tough out there.

So, if someone can come up with a name for a new thread I nominate you as Chairman! (Oh, and Congratulations!)

Noa: At one point you mentioned about test driving an LS300. If that comes to pass, would you be so kind as to make some bokeh comparisons with your AX100? Of course, the “test mileage” (umm, how does one say test kilometer-age in the EU?) will vary depending on the lens chosen, but it would be interesting to know if there is any way to have the two cams in the same film.

There are a lot of things I like about the AX100, one of them being it’s small size for more incognito shooting, but it would be nice to have the capability of the LS300, too, especially with a + or - 10X power lens. There are lots of prime lenses to choose from but the power zoom options appear to be hard to find.

Doug: Really nice picture!!!

Well I started this thread! I did because a much-needed function (the remote port) on my LS stopped working in the middle of a shoot.. It was embarrassing and frustrating... (my camera is set up for shoulder mount so I need it).

Then it miraculously started working again just as I was about to box it up and send it off to JVC for repair.

(BTW, a lot of people, including me, have been frustrated by the lack of response from JVC support - turns out that if you need a repair you need to contact the factory # in Southern California, 562-295-1142, not support, and you actually get to talk to a living human being... This isn't written down anywhere that I can find.)

Since I've been using it almost daily, and it is really a terrific camera. As I've said numerous times, the Prime Zoom feature is worth the price of admission (I only wish the zoom function could be controlled through the remote port - then I'd be in heaven).

So anyway, yes the honeymoon is over and real life has begun.

Steve - would you be up for posting some pics of your LS300 rig? You've mentioned your customized setup (with the Gratical, rails, a handle and remote switch), and it's been hard for me to tell from the pics I've seen on retail & JVC sites just how these accessories might attach and work with the form factor of the cam.

I have become really accustomed to my AF100 rigged with Olof's wooden handle (with start/stop trigger) from Westside A/V - and actually wonder if I might be able to mount & repurpose that piece of kit (even if it required re-wiring the remote trigger).

Thanks in advance - and understood if you don't have the time!

I will try later to post some pics... however every time I've attempted to post on this site I've failed, I don't know why, maybe the jpgs are too large, or maybe I'm just too old a dog...

Anyway, let me try to describe. It sounds confusing, but it's really simple. I'm a DIY guy, but this is all hacksaw, hand drill and file work, nothing fancy. Most of the critical parts are off-the-shelf from SmallRig, search Amazon.

I had a flat aluminum plate that fit the bottom of my old AF100, and it fits the LS300 as well - easy to get made at any machine shop and you can paint it or get it anodized. On the bottom/front of that plate I originally mounted two SmallRig rod blocks with hard nylon spacers (I don't try to keep it standard height, I prefer a lower center of gravity). Now I use a single rod block with base from my Viewfactor Pocket Camera cage that I don't use on that camera any more - but the blocks worked just as well.

I mount my tripod plate to the bottom of the rod blocks.That leaves an expanse of flat behind the rod block. I fix a SmallRig shoulder pad there (around $60, not bad either).

I use two 8" carbon fiber SmallRig rods with another rod block with an aluminum bracket I made (aluminum from a hardware store) to mount my handle, in my case an Aaton - Olaf's are similar, he makes/made good stuff. The Aaton switch isn't LANC so I mounted a cheap (from B&H) controller on the base plate on the control side of the camera. Placing is critical so it doesn't get in the way of the iris knob or other controls. This placement is great for tripod work too. Again, I only wish the zoom rocker would control the Prime Zoom.

Using a piece of aluminum angle (from a hardware store) I built a small bracket that attaches to the cold shoe on the top handle (using a shoe piece from an old monitor kit). Then mounted another rod block perpendicularly on the side. My EVF (Gratical or Z-Finder, also fitted with a rod block) slides in that block - and I have an adjustable side mounted EVF...

At first I was worried that the flimsy feeling top handle might not support the weight of an EVF, but it's actually stronger than it looks - and I'm careful to not torque it too much.

Okay, I look back at this and it is kind of confusing, I'll try to post some pics.

That enables the camera to react quickly to sudden lighting changes

Thx Lee, exactly what I wanted to know.

Noa: At one point you mentioned about test driving an LS300. If that comes to pass, would you be so kind as to make some bokeh comparisons with your AX100?

For that any m4/3 camera should do to compare, because the sensor is larger and you can add faster primes the bokeh will be more visible on any m4/3 sensor camera. You can get a slight bokeh on the ax100 if you shoot subject upclose with the lens wide open or when zoomed in.

My honeymoon just started and I did not have to send my bride back to her parents, she is still fully functional, even after the latest firmware install :) (*knocks on wood*)

I hardly have been able to do some real shooting but took it out today for a some shots inside a church and just did some skintones test, used my gh4 to compare.

I don't seem to have that weird colorshift in my viewfinder and lcd like some have reported, what I see looks close enough to reality, not as bright and colorful as on my gh4 though.
I also expected the worst when it came to viewfinder and lcd screen and while it's not at the same level as my gh4 I find both perfectly usable, checking focus for instance is very easy with the peaking and focus magnification.
Color looks nicer then what I can get out of my gh4, also skintones looked very natural when I was shooting in gamma: cinema and colormatrix itu790.
There is no additional cropping in 4K mode so my 12mm lens is much wider then on the gh4 which is a big plus.
Low light performance I"m not so sure about yet, it looks like it performs worse then my gh4 but have to do some more tests.
Very first impression is that this is a great camera, I do like all the control you have and also the possibility to choose how to switch from manual to auto if needed and what setting are camera controlled, these changes are also gradual, like the iris which doesn't jump when changed on my native lenses, stabilization works great, autofocus is not fast but seems responsive enough and digital zoom when cropping the sensor is a very useful feature.
I still have lots to explore but first impression is very positive, will take the camera out next week or so for a more serious testdrive and post the result here.

I'm glad you're having pretty much the same opinion of the image that I've had.

For the past week I've been shooting exteriors (for a film on California's contrasting economic drivers - tourism and agriculture) with the LS300 and one of my Pocket Cameras - I have the EF 24-105 on the Pocket with a Speedbooster, and the Rokinon primes I just bought on the LS..

The BM cameras, for all their faults, are generally praised for the color they produce in both raw and ProRes. I've found that I can easily match ProRes images from the Pocket with the LS J-Log1. I import the LS clips, converting them to ProRes in FCPX, and literally can't tell which is which after grading.

If JVC will improve several hardware issues (especially quality control, the ability to zoom the VSM with an external controller, and the ability to export focusing aids through SDI) I'll buy another one. Oh, and 10 bit would be a nice addition too.

50p in 4k would be great as well but I have stopped hoping for changes to camera's I have bought and just work with what I have, it only adds to the frustration if nothing happens. I just also found out I can assign focus to the zoomrocker making manual focusing with my fly by wire native MFT lenses a lot easier then doing it manually on the lens, that should be great being able to do a focuspull when shooting handheld without introducing any wobble.

Even though I have an Olympus 12-40 (which I really like) and a Lumix 35-100, I'm currently using only manual lenses on the LS and taking advantage of the Prime Zoom feature.

With the Rokinon 24 I can cover most everything, but have their 35 and 85 as well - and the Nokton 17.5, Summicron 50 and Summarit 135 with them in the case (the Leica lenses, which have been modified by Duclos, match the Rokinons pretty well)... I keep the 35 or 85 Rokinon in my vest pocket.

Small point, but the lens mount on the LS300 is very positive, and the lenses click in place nicely and don't rotate at all when focusing with an FF, unlike BM cameras.

I find the primes are much easier to focus (for my old eyes) using the Gratical, especially handheld, because I can zoom in to focus like the old days (that's why I wish the zoom could be controlled with the wired remote I use for start/stop). And, I do so like having the smooth manual aperture.

My biggest regret is that my old manual S16 lenses don't work well on this camera - I'm still trying to figure out why (there's another thread I started about this) - anyway, the primes are a good, albeit slower and bulkier, compromise.

BTW - I do occasionally pop on the 12-40 and use AF, sometimes with face detection (neither of which I've ever used before). You mentioned that the AF was slow - I find it perfect, it comes into focus the way it would if I was focusing manually - and doesn't suddenly pop to focus on a passing foreground object.

I tested the AF in a dimmer environment so it was expected that it would have a harder time locking on, will have to look at the general AF performance in a bit better light.
I personally find the prime zoom feature less useful, if I would shoot in 4K and recrop in post the effect would be the same and I would have the possibility during an interview to choose from different focal lengths giving the appearance that I"m shooting with 2 camera's (when editing in a 1080p project).

When I shoot in 1080p and use the prime zoom feature I gain a zoom but I loose any copping advantages in post which I would consider a bigger loss.

The fact that I can now focus with my mft lenses using the zoomrocker is a much bigger advantage, something I never could get right because of the nature of fly by wire lenses, by assigning it to the zoom rocker I can do very smooth focuspull's that are more accurate then doing it on the lens and since don't have to touch the lens it all stays much more stable as well.That feature alone is the highlight of the camera for me :)

Well, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, I'm one of those old school shoot it in camera cinematographers who has always hated the expression "we'll fix it in post"...

Fixing in post means correcting mistakes for me, only here I feel you are taking away an advantage of being able to choose from multiple framing options if you shoot in 1080p.

Also, when I shoot in 4K the prime zoom doesn't work in my case and I did hear a JVC representative say in a video that should work as well but only about 10% zoom or so. Not sure why it doesn't work.

Really an ongoing argument for another forum, but I'll comment anyway - if you're shooting for yourself and unsure how you want the resultant image to be framed, fine, frame loose and fix it later...

But as a former DP, and a 30+ year documentary filmmaker, I take pride in delivering the shot as I envisioned it, and don't want some wannabe producer or editor "fixing" it in post.

Additionally, in my case, I shoot lots of footage - for just one of my current shows, a 40 minute doc, I've already shot over one TB of 1080 - and I haven't even started the dozen or more interviews yet. And my timelines are extremely complex, with hundreds of cuts and overlapping interrelated clips and split screens. If I was shooting 4K for all of this I would be overwhelmed, and my computer would be straining just to keep up.

And I have three concurrent similar projects... That's a lot of drive space - RAIDs and BUs...

4K (UHD actually) is pretty to look at, but with the 300 it's not 4.2.2, - and so far everything I deliver is 1080 anyway, so I'd rather keep my sanity.

The main reason I'm sold on the LS300 is that - for someone like me - while shooting in 1080 for broadcast, I can tweak my frame to provide the variety I need using the VSM. There are other cameras offering similar features now, but, as far as I know, none that offer the Prime Zoom. In this day and age of still lenses being enlisted for video use, the ability to use primes that don't change aperture or focus when zoomed is a great feature.

I realize that others see originating in 4K as a similar solution, it's just not one that works for everyone.

Forgot to add - when I shoot 4K, which I've only done twice, with the VSM set at 100%, using a lens that covers S35 like the EFs or Rokinons, I get about 12% zoom. With a native MFT lens at 80%, not.

Thx for clearing up the zoom issue I had in 4K, so with my mft lenses that's a nogo,


if you're shooting for yourself and unsure how you want the resultant image to be framed, fine, frame loose and fix it later...

This is not what I meant, I mean knowing how to frame but gain additional framing in post, if you shoot in 1080p only you are loosing that advantage. You can simulate a 2 camera setup in that way without loss of image quality. This has nothing to do with "fixing in post" because you are not fixing any errors, you are creating more possibilities.

There is an advantage in having the prime zoom feature which I only would use when shooting handheld but when on a tripod in a controlled environment, I only see a disadvantage not shooting in 4K. But that ofcourse is how it works best with the kind of projects I deal with which are no documentaries and rarely are bigger then 150gb per project and I can understand it doesn't work for you.

as a former DP, and a 30+ year documentary filmmaker, I take pride in delivering the shot as I envisioned it, and don't want some wannabe producer or editor "fixing" it in post.

I just use 4K to my advantage in another way like you do but this doesn't mean I don't take pride in delivering a shot like I envisioned as well. Just saying as you make it sound now I don't.

I'm not criticizing or putting anyone down... I'm just expressing a basic philosophical difference between those brought up in film and - well - these days most everyone else. With film you had a to adhere to a strict discipline, there was - isn't - an option to change the framing in post... so you had to be on your game all the time.

I prefer to stick with that discipline because it makes the act of cinematography more challenging, and more interesting, and more fun... When the fun is gone, what's the point?

Hi Noa,
Thanks for the bokeh info and that was much appreciated.

One more question, if I may ask, and this is probably going to be harder, how do you think the color or look of the video of the FDR-AX100 would compare, or match up, with the LS300?

It’s been said that Panasonic, JVC, and Cannon have sorta the warm and creamy look while the Sony has the sorta cool and sharp look. What would probably make it tough, is the choice of lens and the settings used. Anyway, I was just wondering how far apart the 100 and the 300 is. Would the two clips clash if put together or maybe just look a little different? Really noticeable or somewhat noticeable? Not looking to pixel peep or nit pick. Obviously a prime lens will look different.

The other thing is the AX100 has a 1” sensor while the LS300 has a Super 35 sensor and size-wise there is a fair amount of difference.

Personally, I’ve got a couple Nikon lenses and given the adapter that would be needed it is the least cost, and the shortest length (bringing the center of gravity of the lens closer in), so going the Nikon lens route would help me out. Would really like some kind of a + or - 10X power zoom lens in the kit, though, and haven’t come across one yet. Can’t always be running around wearing a lens vest. I really like the AX100 and it’d be nice if it could somehow work, even conditionally.

P.S. I’m an old film guy too so I know where Steve is coming from. Film was expensive and trying to save a bit and squeeze an extra frame out of the roll sometimes would cost the whole roll. Talk about a bummer. Today the only cost of 4K is storage but at least it’s coming down in price.

And another P.S. That was a really nice link to the video of the dog shooting a GoPro. Really, really good! And not just the dog, the whole video was good. Our dog passed away but if he was around I’d almost consider getting remarried. But that video was sooo good! Thanks for sharing. Did you notice near the end when the couple kissed the dog kinda looked away? Wonder if this was an accident or if he didn’t care for them getting married?

John, sorry, the last Sony I used was a DSR500, and that was 15 years ago, so I can't be of much help.

I do know that, while setting up my Pockets Cameras, I was unable to perfectly match a friends Sony footage (sorry, I don't remember which camera, but it was of fairly recent lineage) with the BM footage.

I AM able to match the Pocket with the LS300 though - that's one of those "If A equals B, and B equals C, then A must equal C" assumptions. So my guess would be the Sony footage might get close, but not be a perfect match.

One more question, if I may ask, and this is probably going to be harder, how do you think the color or look of the video of the FDR-AX100 would compare, or match up, with the LS300?

I will send you a link to a photo you can download with a ls300, gh4 and ax100 headshot from myself, it's a small crop taken from a 4K frame, all where set at the same whitebalance, the ls300 and gh4 where set at iso 400, with a 25mm lens at f1.4, the ax100 was a bit zoomed in but was already at 15db gain. Pls only use it for your own reference :) I also had to move the gh4 further back a bit so the framing is a bit off compared to the ls300, this is because the ls300 doesn't crop as much in 4K like the gh4 does.

The jvc has some really nice cinema like color science going on, when you place it next to the gh4 you"ll notice the gh4 doesn't give nice skintones at all, at least not in standard, natural and cine-v modes, only cine-d comes closest, the one I used had contrast and saturation dialed back, not specifically for this test but it was already preset like this from another shoot.. The ax100 would be possible to get close enough with some colorcorrection because it has much more contrast and more red/magenta color when I look on the vectorscope. What do you think?

This is only in regard to skintones, I will be doing some more shooting the next days and will take my ax100 along as well so will let you know how that matches up, it's a combination of camera's I am planning to use in the future so I have to know.