Has anyone tried this beastie out? It looks sweet, and sounds extremely versatile. A bit pricey, list is $4,995-no lens or viewfinder!
http://pro.jvc.com/prof/Attributes/features.jsp?model_id=MDL101367

Keith,
Do a Search on this. There are several folks who have this camera and I've yet to see anyone offer negative remarks. If you're looking for a high-quality entry-level shoulder brick this looks like a good choice.

Note, however, that once you enter the 1/2" world everything becomes more expensive. Lenses, batteries, tripods, etc. The $5k for the camera is just your ante.

Ken- I did do a quick search, and found nothing. I doubt that I would even be able to buy a lens for this beast, let alone the whole set up, but it did look feature rich.

I am most interested by the fact that most of these new cams have memory sticks. I saw one ad, maybe for the GL2, stating that the stick could hold something like 20 hrs of video? Maybe 1 frame a second, at 320x240! How much quality video do they expect us to be able fit on one?

Keith - Lou Bruno has at least a couple of threads on the DV5000, with this one (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3422&highlight=DV5000) as a starter. Plus, there are several other posts sprinkled about on the camera.

Flash memory storage is a common feature to many consumer and professional cameras today. As a facility for storing highly compressed video, it's silly in my opinion. But as a facility for storing camera settings and continuity onion-skin stills (such as on Sony's DSR 370 and 570 cameras) it's an excellent and handy feature. The GL2's application of Compact Flash, however, is not particularly useful.

(For intererested onlookers, here's the JVC DV5000u page (http://pro.jvc.com/prof/Attributes/features.jsp?tree=&searchModel=&model_id=MDL101367).)

Hey Ken- I did a search for JVC GY Dv5000U, and this was the only thread that showed. Could I have forgotten how to use a search? :)

Keith,
When it come to Search, less is more. Just use "DV5000". Try this (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=87419&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending).

Thanks Ken, that made all the difference. I instinctively added the "jvc gy", just to make sure the search didn't confuse it with, say, the sony dv5000? :)