Is anyone else having issues with the slow startup time of the ls300? It takes 10 seconds until I"m able to record, that might not be an issue in controlled environments but for run and gun it is. In comparison my gh4 starts up instantly. The last firmware update had made this camera almost perfect for any kind of job but the very slow boottime has forced me to keep this camera a lot longer in standby mode at weddings during moments where I know I need to react quickly and it has also caused me to miss moments that I consider important. It's frustrating to see something happening you need to capture NOW and then counting down the seconds before your camera gives you a image.

Not that I have this camera yet (lost a regular gig and waiting for funding for a doc) so I can't answer you at all but I have a question you can answer:

How much power does the camera draw when on and idle? I know how little the other modern JVC cameras draw power. Also does the LS300 use the same batteries as the HM series of JVC cameras?

The LS-300 uses the same battery as the HM models

SSL-JVC50 - IDX (http://idxtek.com/products/ssl-jvc50/)

It's a feature, not a bug... According to the Manual, page 17:

The camera recorder may not show stable pictures for a few seconds immediately after the power is turned on, but this is not a malfunction.

I can understand the camera needs it's time but 10 seconds is a very long time if you need to take a shot like NOW, especially because all my other camera's start up instantly. Another thing, allthough not as time sensitive but lets say you want to change between HD and 4K when the camera is on and in standby mode, I just timed it, on my gh4: 2seconds, on my JVC 25(!) seconds.

I don't expect this can be solved as I cannot imagine that JVC would delay the startup time on purpose so it's most likely a hardware limitation but a very annoying one if you need to react quickly.

How much power does the camera draw when on and idle?

I have not tested it but I shoot an entire wedding on a SSL-JVC50 and a SWIT S-8150

This was the first complaint I had about the LS300. Being an old documentary film guy, I like to be able to shoot the instant I see something.

Someone told me, when I asked about black balancing the 300 (I thought it was on this site but it must have been elsewhere) that this camera does a function check every time it boots - including a black balance. Don't know if that's true, and there's certainly no documentation from JVC - surprise surprise,

I just leave it on all the time now - the stock battery lasts 3 hours and I keep another in my pocket and two more in the car.

And yes, it does take forever to do a record function change, but since I no longer care about 4,K it hasn't been a problem (I shot the initial project with this camera in 4K for a picky client - he's not so picky anymore (since we looked at 4K vrs up-resed 1080 on a jumbtron).

The time it takes to switch between HD to 4K is no big deal but the startup time can be, I also leave it in standby at moments where I do expect something to happen.

In my case - because I use a Gratical - leaving everything on's more of a problem because of the EVF (about an hour) than the camera battery. Luckily vests with big pockets are still in style...