Yes, very true.. We are waiting till the am when the store opens to request saturday delivery for ours, so hopefully we will be playing on sat with our new cams. :-)

it's all been ordered, now i get to play the waiting game...

Hopefully will be here early to mid next week. So exciting

More testing. Went into an industrial area yesterday, shot some people grinding metal, and a very low angle shot of a guy welding under a truck -- almost everything was dark except for the arc of his welder, came out very nice.

I stood outside in the bright sun and shot pans into some large open bay but very dark truck stalls, locking the exposure for the outside and then panning again locking it for the inside. No problems at all, exposures looked like they should have.

As soon as you get yours someone here will teach you the secret handshake and GR-HD1/JY-HD10 walk so we'll know you on the street, even without the camera. :-)

LOL, ours are ordered also. Will be here tomorrow morning/afternoon! Can't wait to be honest. My friend ordered the kit, but I just got the camera and figured Iwould start that way.

Dave: That is great to hear! I really look forward to testing it out tomorrow after the battery charges. I will have to pick up some JVC tapes(I have sony's but if it's anything like the sony I have now, it is picky as far as brand of tape is concerned) and I will be good to go for a few. I think I will pick up a polarizer and maybe a ND next week also after I have had a little time on this cam. I also will try without my varizoom with only the rings. BTW, how are they for you in your testing? I really am excited also and cannot wait! :-)

Damon

Im sure we all want or have the Canon XH-A1 or maybe a Sony product, but are any old-timers (with the HD-1/10 that is) still using their HDxs?

I still have and use mine quite a bit, but I think it's time for me to start capturing all the old tapes on a hard drive for the future when I no longer have it.

These HDx threads are certainly slowing down and will even more as XH-A1 prices come down (and there is a $250 rebate!).

Funny, since I got my JVC HD110 I forgot that I even still had a HD10. HA HA HA HA.. But I guess I'll keep it and train an assistant to have some back up shots for live events. Just for cut aways etc.

That is great to hear! I really look forward to testing it out tomorrow after the battery charges.

It will take a bit to charge the battery but I think you can play while it charges using the AC adapter cable to the charger. I lucked out in that the generic charger I bought ages ago for my Canon came with a Sony and JVC adapter. Works fine. Bought an aftermarket V428 battery off ebay for $15 delivered (U.S.).

I will have to pick up some JVC tapes(I have sony's but if it's anything like the sony I have now, it is picky as far as brand of tape is concerned) and I will be good to go for a few.

I've been running my tests with some Fuji tape I have. I have a few boxes of Panasonic as well. Once those are gone...we'll see.

I think I will pick up a polarizer and maybe a ND next week also after I have had a little time on this cam. I also will try without my varizoom with only the rings. BTW, how are they for you in your testing? I really am excited also and cannot wait! :-)

I'm looking for a Tiffen Black Diffusion FX 1/2 right now (only see "film look" 4 filter kits at B&H and all I want is the one filter).

Won't be getting/using a ND or Polarizer for a while (may have some 49-58mm ones in my still camera bag) as I doubt I'll need them just yet. Polarizers can be weird here, I've had 1/2 (or less) of the sky go nice a rich blue and the rest look unaffected and light. The resulting images have looked splotchy and like mistakes so I'm semi-paranoid of using Polarizers for anything other than reflections.

Going to order a Giottos quick release assembly (GIMH652) and add it to the top of the Bogen 3063 floating head's QR plate as the hex plate it has is too big -- you have to remove it to be able to rotate the grip. I LOVE the rotating grip!

Also, will be adding a wide angle adapter, 0.7 or 0.5x and maybe a third battery.

Have fun!

well i ordered mine with a .9 ND filter an extra battery, tripod, dolly wheels, and a Tiffen Steady Stick. I currently have a JVC GY-DV300u camera (which also has a 52mm lens) so I can use my current filters + hopefully the 3 batteries that I have for that camera. Cant see them not using the same style of battery. That camera also came with a dual battery charger so thats nice.

When I bought the 300u people said that I should stick with JVC tapes as well but i never found any difference with what kind of tape I was using. Good to hear that this camera doesnt have any issues as well.

Hi guys!

Dave: Thanks for the tips on everything once again. My friend actually ordered the kit they have for 1499 and to a certain extent I wish I would have also, but its not a biggie as these things I can always add on. But hers came with the wide angle adapter. I was actually thinking about a Century adapter but I have not decided on the wide as of yet. I am sure I will play a bit with hers and see if I like that one, maybe I will just purchase one of those. But I know I need another battery, though on my sony I really only use the stock one since I mostly am a viewfinder shooter. But its always good to have two or three. I also have some Sony tapes here, which probably will work(those excellence tapes), but I am like you with the polarizers, noided about it due to experience. I may try it though, don't know yet to be honest.

And I was telling my friend about the diffusion filter you mentioned. I haven't checked it out, but I am thinking it probably should smooth the rough edges if there are any a bit. I know one thing... LOL I will post some youtube images after I play with it a bit.. He He He Not that those are the best looking, but ahh, I have another source, I just have to remember how to do it..

But my main first accessories are going to be extra battery, camera case(I saw in B&H's Summer 2007 catalog on page 216 top right, Hakuba aluminum cases large for 69.95),wide angle lens and a video light. Not to mention a slew of batteries..

I also am thinking of picking up a Cavision rod system, their microphone holder and holding handles to convert it to a shoulder mount type of setup. But I haven't fully figured that one out as of yet to be honest. I would like one of their matte boxes so I can use the filters instead of screw on's, but at the same time, I have a tiffen setup like this also, so I may just use that, as it is much cheapter. But of course, the look of the rods system and matte box cannot be beat... LOL

D

BTW, have you used yours as a webcam yet? LOL I am just curious how it looks compared to the inexpensive ones from logitech and the like. I would think the picture would be excellent.

My friend actually ordered the kit they have for 1499 and to a certain extent I wish I would have also,

Hi,

Really? I looked at the kit and didn't think you got much for the extra $300. I know nothing of the Raynox 0.45x they include ($90 separately), I have a $15 generic BN-V428 battery from ebay that works well and has a warranty, didn't need the bag or the UV filter so I passed on it. I hate how JVC has a 90-day warranty on the GR-HD1 but a 1-year on the JY-HD10, almost bought the JY-HD10 for the added warranty and the other features as that seemed like more bang for the buck than the kit items to me.

I normally pass on extended warranties but read of a few expensive repairs (bad Firewire port -- camera is useless then, dirt inside the lens and another I've forgotten) so I searched for info on the Mack warranty B&H sells. There's mixed reviews, quite a few complaints and one person saying they had his camera for six months. Sounded like they had too much on their plate.

I called Mack Camera & Video (they're a camera store and repair shop) http://www.mackcam.com/ customer service and the person I spoke with was friendly and they seemed like a nice outfit but I still have my reservations from what I've read. JVC and a lot of corporations use Satisfusion for their extended warranties, they get $70 for a 2-year, $90 for 3, $125 for 4, and $150 for 5, I'm thinking of going with them for 3-years. Couldn't find anything negative about them.

Weird thing is that the GR-HD1 doesn't show up in the model numbers on the registration list. Not sure what that means. https://merchant.satisfusion.com/sf/WarrantyCenter/registration/secure/JVC/ESPLookup.jsp

I just called JVC while typing this, friendly and answering the phone on Saturday, and was told not to worry about it as the extended warranty is available on all of their items. Guy I spoke with said that Satisfusion is a reputable company and most likely would have any needed repairs done by the JVC factory. I like that idea.

You have until the JVC 90-day one expires to sign up for either.

I was actually thinking about a Century adapter but I have not decided on the wide as of yet. I am sure I will play a bit with hers and see if I like that one,

Let us know what you think. I have an Olympus 0.8x that I plan to test to see how it works. Not sure how wide I'll want/need.

And I was telling my friend about the diffusion filter you mentioned. I haven't checked it out, but I am thinking it probably should smooth the rough edges if there are any a bit.

My friend likes his. Said the #1 was a bit much due to blooming on lights but was excellent on flesh tones and other objects without taking away the sharpness. Said the 1/2 is perfect. The book I was reading recommended filters (black diffusion, black pro-mist, black frost, white mist, ultra contrast, digicon, et al.) for most pro cameras to smooth/tweak this or that. Reading that and having my friend mention the filter as well solidified my wanting one.

I also am thinking of picking up a Cavision rod system, their microphone holder and holding handles to convert it to a shoulder mount type of setup. But I haven't fully figured that one out as of yet to be honest. I would like one of their matte boxes so I can use the filters instead of screw on's, but at the same time, I have a tiffen setup like this also, so I may just use that, as it is much cheapter. But of course, the look of the rods system and matte box cannot be beat... LOL

I agree. I was considering a Sony A1U but decided against it due to the bottom load, touch screen (although the touch focus point selector was nice) and the small, $300 camera looking, size. Then I saw Cavision site where they showed one in assorted matte box and other add-on configurations. Whew. I then started referring to it as "the small camera that can dress up like a freight train." :-)

A matte box isn't on my list just yet. Think they look cool but I'll wait until I have a need for the function.

BTW, have you used yours as a webcam yet? LOL I am just curious how it looks compared to the inexpensive ones from logitech and the like. I would think the picture would be excellent.

No, webcams aren't quite my style. A friend in Canada talked me into hooking up my other camera that way for video chatting. Found it too distracting and I need a scenic screen behind me to cut down the comments on the lack of tidiness of my setup. :-)

Why are you reading this? Do you have batteries to charge and a manual to go through? :-)

LOL, hey Dave! Well, lets see.. Got my cam, battery has been charging for about an hour, installed the core filters,(my friend and I both broke fingernails, and I don't have any, so fingernubs!) my SD card wasn't in the camera or box so we had to report that to B&H also. I installed my wireless on the handle already, and for the life of me cannot figure out how to attach the varizoom to the editing cable!

I also like the rotating grip feature! It looks great. As for the Raynox, I don't know if either of us like it. It basically is spring loaded and doesn't seem to fit on too well(kinda flimsy), but we said we were going to play around with it to see how it works out in real world tests. It rained here earlier and now the sun is trying to come out, so as soon as we get the batteries charged, our tests will for sure begin. I am trying, really trying to wait for them and to pick up some JVC cassettes, but I am getting antsy with the excellence and other tapes sitting here.

As for the bag with the combo, its really nice. Very sturdy looking, so I believe I am going to order one.

And its like huge compared to the little camera I had. Its built nice and sturdy like a brick almost in its feel. And I have had the manual and brochures for it for a while, so I am sort of familiar with how it works but in practical use, I need experience.

And the Cavision setup is veyr sweet, but at the same time, I am not sure if its truly warranted at the moment. I would/will get the rails at least first. Maybe the mic adapter and then we will see....

We are also going to check out the filters.. This thing has alot of glass compared to my other camcorder also, which is a very, very good thing..

Gotta go and play.. I will report later...

D

my SD card wasn't in the camera or box so we had to report that to B&H also.

Look in the card slot, that's where mine was.

I installed my wireless on the handle already, and for the life of me cannot figure out how to attach the varizoom to the editing cable!

Varizoom?

pick up some JVC cassettes, but I am getting antsy with the excellence and other tapes sitting here.

I'm from the "use what ya got" school -- amazed there wasn't a JVC tape included with the camera to get us started. I think (remember, I'm no expert) that a lot of the discussion on tapes is from the old days. Haven't heard of anyone having a problem with switching brands of tapes, etc. Tape technology has improved.

As for the bag with the combo, its really nice. Very sturdy looking, so I believe I am going to order one.

Cool. I have a bunch of bags and a spare hard case or two for mine.

Have FUN playing!

Dave: That was the first place I checked. There wasn't one in the card slot at all. Also, I then checked both the box of the camera and there wasn't one there either.

Varizoom: Its a Lanc zoom controller that you can find at www.varizoom.com. The one I have allows for remote zoom, focus, data display, and also to review what I just recorded while still in videoing mode. The thing that is wierd is that the edit cable has a male cable but the varizoom also has male. So I think I may need a male to female converter or something to link the two together. But I am going to try and contact B&H.

Actually, I have discovered how to connect the two, but now I need a converter as the lanc jack is smaller than the extension cable that was given with the camera. Adapters, adapters, adapters.... Never ends... LOL

Dave: That was the first place I checked. There wasn't one in the card slot at all. Also, I then checked both the box of the camera and there wasn't one there either.

Hmm. I didn't think mine came with one until my friend said to look in the camera. Wouldn't have thought it would come installed. Surprised me. Being an 8mb card makes it pretty much useless. Luckily, SD cards are cheap now. Just saw a 2GB one with reader for $20, shipped free: http://www.supermediastore.com/sandisk-2gb-secure-digital-memory-card-sd-60x-combo.html?WT.mc_id=dealnews070504

I check here for Windows/general deals http://www.dealnews.com and here for Mac deals http://www.dealmac.com daily.

Varizoom: Its a Lanc zoom controller that you can find at www.varizoom.com. The one I have allows for remote zoom, focus, data display, and also to review what I just recorded while still in videoing mode. The thing that is wierd is that the edit cable has a male cable but the varizoom also has male. So I think I may need a male to female converter or something to link the two together. But I am going to try and contact B&H.

Okay, I know what those are, just didn't think you could get one to work with the GR-HD1. Let me know.

Hi Dave. Well, it is looking like you can't get it to work. Supposedly from the b&h site, with the editing cable you are supposed to, but the lanc jack is smaller than the cable/editing cord that came with the camcorder. I am not sure now if I simply require an adapter or this is pretty much a washout on the varizoom. I find the zoom control to be pretty nice actually. I will just have to get used to using it, but I could get by with it. So we will certainly see!! But I do want to use the varizoom for sure if possible.....

I am playing with it a bit now. I also had a tape in mine for some reason from the factory. It would have been nice for them to not include the tape and give me my SD card.. LOL I am however using the sony tape for my tests and all has gone well... I have the autogain off, recording to hd and messing with both zoom and focus. I like the focus alot and am getting used to it already... It is working well. I am shooting stationary shots though... Anyhew, I am off for more play...

Damon

im so jealous. My order still says its processing. Its driving me nuts!!

But I do want to use the varizoom for sure if possible.....

Well, if you get it to work, holler.

I am playing with it a bit now. I also had a tape in mine for some reason from the factory.

Hmm. Interesting. Tape was blank, right? Just curious if it was a returned unit. I, for about a minute, had considered returning mine and getting the HD10 but decided not to. Kind of wanted the XLR grip but decided I'd be better off getting a Beachtek XLR adapter, when XLR is needed, so I can have level controls.

For now, my mike needs will be covered by a shotgun and lavaliere I have. Internal mike works well, too, I talked during a lot of my testing and it picked up my voice quite well. Ambient sounds at the manufacturing company were quite clear, too.

I may get something like a low-end Azden wireless setup later, maybe not since wired mikes are less hassles.

It would have been nice for them to not include the tape and give me my SD card.

An 8MB SD card vs. a tape...hmm, that's a toss up. Personally, I'd find the tape more useful than the small card so.

I have the autogain off, recording to hd and messing with both zoom and focus. I like the focus alot and am getting used to it already... It is working well. I am shooting stationary shots though...

Found all the controls already? You're faster than I was.

Anyhew, I am off for more play...

About time! :-)

Gregg: Sorry dude! I think you will find its well worth the wait. It is a pleasant suprise for me and my friend. Its definately not a palmcorder and one that is deserving of a tripod. We found this out while shooting at the local skate park. I will post some piss poor clips in a bit or maybe tomorrow.

And on the varizoom, to be honest, I don't even know if it's worth the hassle after the last test outside at the skate park. You simply can tilt the tape mechanism forward and have access to the zoom mechanism which is actually pretty smooth. The tripod is what is going to be the test on whether or not I require the varizoom. For handheld, definately not required and probably would not only be in the way, but a bit of a hassle.

The tape is an interesting one. It basically is a test tape with I believe they are called "color plumes" that they measure resolution with. I and my friend believe it was a test tape and my unit was one of the randomly selected to test for quality and resolution. Which to be honest makes me feel more comfortable. I do know because of this that my unit was manufactured or at least tested in August of 2006. LOL But I also believe this is why there wasn't a SD card in the unit. I simply think they forgot to put it back in. But best buy has a 1GB SD for 19 bucks, so it's not a biggie. But I did pay for it, so I would like it..

And the controls are pretty easy to get to, so it is not quite like second nature yet, but I will say if I play with it for the next week for at least an hour a day, I will have it completely down I think.

And the wireless I have is one of the Azden inexpensive units and they work well enough. And it's easy to be honest. Basically just like a shotgun with a single plug and thats about it. There are two channels which are indicated by the color of the light on the reciever, and this will tell you what channel your on. I also have an Azden shotgun which to me is a bit noisy, so I will be looking at another shotgun. Possibly a Rhode unit.

I did think that the dvd was a bit informative as there were things like the ND filters that they recommended that I was wondering after reading some posts on the necessity for them on this unit.

Well, I am off to eat and try to get the video into Premiere(another issue that I found annoying and disturbing with the age of this unit, but this may be an issue with my machine and setup).

But if I can get the Varizoom to work, I will let you know for sure and how I get it to work. I am thinking and just need to investigate and that I simply need an adapter for the sizes. I will call Varizoom next week to find out though, or I may call B&H.

Ok, I am out dudes! I will post links to view tomorrow... Have a great evening..

D

im so jealous. My order still says its processing. Its driving me nuts!!

Sorry about that. Their short work week, Paypal validation process (mine took a day or two) and shipping to you will slow things a bit. In the interim you can read the manual (again), surf, and think of all sorts of things you're going to shoot with it when it does arrive.

The time will soon pass...

well im sure that when it all gets here ill be having a blast. Im looking forward to seeing some of your sample clips so that I can see what this cam is caplible of. I watched lots already, but always interested in seeing more.

thought you guys might want to see this, as some of you were talking about some cool accesories for this camera. Here is a site that sells a nice universal matte box.

http://www.imagewest.tv/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=27

Looks like a great deal.

Its definately not a palmcorder and one that is deserving of a tripod. We found this out while shooting at the local skate park. I will post some piss poor clips in a bit or maybe tomorrow.

My friend told me that now I should work on on my holding and panning techniques, and learn to do a "steadycam walk" for smoother hand held work. He made one of the steadycams from the link I posted a few days ago and said it needs a few tweaks but it works pretty well -- he has some commercial ones as well but loves to tinker.

I do know because of this that my unit was manufactured or at least tested in August of 2006.

Is the tape dated or something? You compare serials with your friend?

But best buy has a 1GB SD for 19 bucks, so it's not a biggie. But I did pay for it, so I would like it.

Understood, I have this strange desire to get what I paid for, too. You saw my note with the link for the 2GB card with the reader and free shipping for $20, right?

And the controls are pretty easy to get to, so it is not quite like second nature yet, but I will say if I play with it for the next week for at least an hour a day, I will have it completely down I think.

I'm at the point that I can pretty much do what I want without too much thought now. I juggling regular work, learning the camera, relearning the NLE apps, etc., but I'm getting there. Playing with the camera is the most fun though. Nice that you have a local friend to learn with.

And the wireless I have is one of the Azden inexpensive units and they work well enough.

I also have an Azden shotgun which to me is a bit noisy, so I will be looking at another shotgun. Possibly a Rhode unit.

My mikes are Audio-Technica's that I bought a few years ago and were still new-in-box a month ago. They worked well in my tests on the other camera, I'll run some tests on the HD1 soon. For my needs wired mikes should work well, won't be very far from the people I'll be filming so the long run benefits of XLR's won't be needed (yet). Probably won't be using the shotgun much either, like the looks of it on the camera though. Dog and pony show appeal.

Here's my wireless mike story for you. A few years ago, just days after I got the Optura a friend asked me if I'd shoot his last teaching session before he moved to another state. I told him I couldn't as I was totally clueless at that point. He insisted and said he'd set up his Sony DV for me so all I'd have to do is watch it and change tapes. I could shoot long with his, experiment with mine, and edit in anything I liked from mine. Silly me, I agreed to do it.

It was a comedy of errors:

1. He was running late and there was zero setup time. As opposed to the half hour he promised me I got a darn fast 1-2 minute rundown and he took off for the front of the room which was 80-100'+ away from me.

2. The place was dim, VERY dim. Worse, seems he knew less than I did and adjusted the brightness on the LCD (not the gain on the camera) to make it look like it was capturing nicely in the dim light. I was thinking my camera sucked as his LCD was looking nice and mine was barely showing an image.

3. He had a nice expensive wireless setup that was around the corner from where I was in a very hard to get to place (had to move my camera to get to it). We quickly did a sound test while he was in the back with me. I took the headphones off to play with my camera as he ran to the front to start the class. When I stuck the headphones back on and they were dead silent, I could head him faintly in the background.

It took me ten minutes of climbing over people and staring blankly at equipment I'd never seen before with a borrowed a cigarette lighter for light to discover the antenna on the receiver was fully down. I extended it and the meters. Whew, that was the only thing I knew to check.

4. Back at the camera, feeling a bit better, I heard him announce to the SRO audience that thanks to the efforts of his talented buddy, me, there would be tapes of the class available in a week or so. WHAT?!?

It was a two-hour class and the tapes from both cameras were as close to blank as you could get -- can you say "black cat in a coal mine?" That's when I learned to never buy a bottom feed camera again, too. What a pain.

Well, I am off to eat and try to get the video into Premiere(another issue that I found annoying and disturbing with the age of this unit, but this may be an issue with my machine and setup).

What issue about Premiere is annoying? I was rather pleased that the issues those first adopters had with the NLE's I have and the HD1 were in the past and solved. Being on the bleeding edge isn't always fun.

But if I can get the Varizoom to work, I will let you know for sure and how I get it to work. I am thinking and just need to investigate and that I simply need an adapter for the sizes. I will call Varizoom next week to find out though, or I may call B&H.

I must not know how a Varizoom works or where you plug it in on the HD1. I don't see a Lanc connection. Then, I didn't see the Menu or Backlit buttons either. :-)

Dave, wow, that was alot. I am going to try and remember everything. And yes, that is another thing myself and my friend were talking about: That we need to improve on our handheld techniques. But I feel like an old man with unsteady hands... LOL But definately needs work. I got some footage and made a dvd just for my friend to show her husband, but I will do a short capture of my tank(saltwater) for you guys, that stuff was just too shaky. But it certainly looks good.

And yes, the tape is dated August 6, 2006. It is sort of funny to be honest. And nope, I didn't compare serials with my friend. I figured I have the warranty, the camera works well, and I will as you suggested purchase the extended JVC warranty, so I think I am good on that.

And yes, the strange desire to get what you paid for, seems to be one that is on the decline or something as when companies don't do that, or people don't give you that, they think "you" are strange and try to poke holes in what your attempting to do. I haven't heard from B&H yet, but they are usually from my experience excellent with these sort of things. So from them, I to be honest am not too worried. The thought did cross my paranoid mind that they may say, send the whole camera back, which to be honest wouldn't make any sense just for the little SD card, but these days, you never know. And no, I must have missed the link. But I have a reader already, and simply need a card at this point. I checked the Best Buy ad this week, but forgot about the card.. So I will have to do that once again.

And yes, pretty much the same here with the guggling act. It is a neverending task I think we are all faced with..

And on your friends story, all I can say is "I am sorry dude".. LOL But you know, I think we have all faced that sort of scenerio in one way or another to be honest. Mine was a step show I did when I first began editing and videoing. It was a nightmare to say the least! Low light, people constantly in the way, walking past the camera making goofy faces(drunk people are simply retarded so I found out that night... Moreso than I thought) and more. The only saving grace is that one guy brought in a video light, so we could actually video with some light. So I feel your pain. I would also like to get some more wireless mics also maybe for her setup, like from what I saw diversity mics or something of tht nature. And yes, bottom loading tapes suck for sure! That is how my previous camera is/was, and it was a major pain.

And Premiere.. Urrgghhh.. I had to have a drink on this one. I had capture issues and that is all I can say. I am bound by NDA, so I can't really go into it. But I did and it was a major downer. What setting or preset do you use and which revision of Premiere are you using?

And the funny thing with the Varizoom is that there isn't a lanc jack. Supposedly from the instructions and on the B$H site, using the Svid/AV/editing cable, you should be able to connect the Varizoom. B&H sells them as an accessory for it. On the end of that cable, you will notice there is a hole in the plug next to the black, male editing cable. In that hole, I shined a light, and it is from what I saw actually a connector. I plugged in the edit cable extension and it snapped in without a problem, but the issue is that the actual Lanc jack cable from the varizoom is smaller than this editing cable connection. So I am not sure if this is compatable or not. But I guess I will find out one way or another if it is. But I am hoping it is, especially with the rods system and acessories I indicated above. The only reason I am even pressing it is that they do indicate it as an acessory and also with the editing cable, in the description they say it does have the function. I just need to find out how and if it's really possible. But I will let you know for sure the findings.



Greg: Thank you for the link on the Matte box but I will probably go with the two links below to build the system for this cam:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/442489-REG/Cavision_RS1580DSP_RS1580D_SP_Shoulder_Pad_System.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/335938-REG/Cavision_MB385M_MB385M_3x3_Matte_Box.html

I am not sure as of yet about the rails system for sure, as they have a few available. So I will fully have to see on that one.

Well, I am off to do a water change in the tank, a little algea maintenence and then to video the tank!!!

What setting or preset do you use and which revision of Premiere are you using?

I'm not using Premier. I'm on a Mac using Final Cut Pro. Thinking of trying Vegas on Windows in the not too distant future. I'm interested in DV Rack/On Location for direct to disk and some of the other features though so I may have a look at Premier CS3 eventually.

And the funny thing with the Varizoom is that there isn't a lanc jack. Supposedly from the instructions and on the B$H site, using the Svid/AV/editing cable, you should be able to connect the Varizoom.

This is out of my area, so let us know how it works out.

i too would sure like to know if you get the verizoom working as That would be a great accesory to have. I do a lot of tripod shooting so that would sure help with nice steady zooms.

Keep us informed.

Hi guys. Well, the Varizoom is definately a no go according to B&H and they are going to remove it from their site as an accessory. So that is the skinny on that one.

I got a clip of my tank, but it is too large, and the encoding I am not satisfied with, so I am going to try to reincode. I will try to post a link later though. I am in love with the look for sure!

I will be back later!

sounds good , looking forward to seeing your clip.

I am trying to upload a clip. The problem is that the site that I am able to upload to only allows a 20MB max. At that size, I am loosing all of the resolution pretty much. I have kicked out avi's of the clip, but they are 576MB. This is an area I am green on, any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am currently trying to send out a realmedia clip also, hoping it will look better than the windows media file. Keep your fingers crossed..

Damon

wish i could help but i do all my encoding on a mac with either quicktime pro or compressor.

Hmmnnn... I am trying to figure something out..

Yes JVC's do not work with or use Lanc devices. They use Jlip devices.

Hi Ken! Jlip devices? I will have to Google that one. Is there an adapter for lanc to Jlip then? Maybe that is the key?

Hi Ken! Jlip devices? I will have to Google that one. Is there an adapter for lanc to Jlip then? Maybe that is the key?

You can search this forum for info. The Jlip, Lanc and remote zoom/focus control for the HD1/HD10 topics have been gone over and I didn't see that a solution was found. Although, the threads were from 2004 and 2005, so maybe something else has come up since then?

Hi Dave! Nope, I dont believe after searching the net myself also that its going to work at all. But to be honest, the more I play with the cam, the more I realize that it doesnt even really matter. This one is working well for me, and the zoom toggle is pretty good, so its not a biggie at all. It would be a little icing on the cake, but definately not a requirement for my purposes and useage. At B&H they said they were going to remove this as an accessory, though after checking the site this morning, its still there. But it is a holiday weekend.

I have gone through almost an hour and a half of tape already just playing with it, and took a few stills to get used to that function also. Though I probably will not use the still function much at all. I also tried the webcam function just to see if it would work, and for me it did not with WLM or YIM. So that ends that, but I also did not purchase the camera for webcamming, so once again, for my purposes, this doesn't matter to me at all.

I am getting used to the rings a bit also, and their reversed(for my brain it seems reversed) turning and am getting pretty good with the focus in stationary. I am going to practice next trying to rack focus while panning and zooming. Once I get those down, I will be really doing something. But it seems pretty easy to focus with it. I still haven't gotten the hang of the zoom ring as it seems sort of jumpy. It definately isn't as smooth as the focus ring for me. But maybe it's like my mode switch and needs a bit of breaking in(the mode switch for me was very tight the first few times I turned it, and is just fine now) and practice time. Not sure, but the toogle is pretty good and easy at holding a nice slow zoom, so that works for me. Still a lot of practice on it though.

All in all, I really do like this camera. I need to figure out the flow to injest the video as quickly and easily as possible(device control with scene detect wld be nice), but I have discovered I can just as easily capture via component or svid and it looks great as well. So it will take a few more days and investigation(didn't realize I would have to do this with an older model camera) to get a solid flow and then I will be even more off and running...

D

Also, I did some low light tests and am very satisfied with the results. It easily from what I saw on the viewfinder of the FX7, matches that performance with the gain turned a bit up. I got a little noise from clips that are shot in very dark and I didn't manually white balance. But besides that, I love the look and the functions... I think its a great cam. Much better than the consumer tiny toy cameras for the same price range for a person looking at a second camera but not wanting to spend 2500 to 3 grand on a HD unit. I think its an excellent compromise of function, performance and cost...

I have gone through almost an hour and a half of tape already just playing with it,

Me, too, except I keep going over and over the same 10-minute area of the test tape. Looks good on the computer but AWESOME on the TV. I've been running my tests and burning DVDs to view them on my TV (no HD-TV yet) and I'm real happy with the results. Did some un-steadycam (while attached to a Great Dane on a leash) tests in a park yesterday and the colors, sharpness, etc. were very very nice. I'd have applauded if it weren't for the need to take motion sickness pills from viewing all the dog induced movement (and my own unsteadiness). :-)

I also tried the webcam function just to see if it would work, and for me it did not with WLM or YIM.

I've used mine several times with Apple's iChat with a friend in Canada. Slow frame rate though, could be my computer as it's getting a bit old.

I need to figure out the flow to injest the video as quickly and easily as possible(device control with scene detect wld be nice), but I have discovered I can just as easily capture via component or svid and it looks great as well.

I've done the usual continuous and batch log/capture and all is working well.

I think its a great cam. Much better than the consumer tiny toy cameras for the same price range for a person looking at a second camera but not wanting to spend 2500 to 3 grand on a HD unit. I think its an excellent compromise of function, performance and cost...

I definitely like mine. Makes me question a lot of the reviews I'd read.

Hi Dave:

Do you have your OIS turned on? I realized when I shot my first footage handheld that I had turned it off. I turned it on, and it smoothed things out considerably! Like night and day.

And I burned one dvd so far and it looked great. I am trying the footage now to encode at a very high bitrate(35Mbs) and trying to burn to standard disc. I don't believe the dvd player will be able to read it at all, but I wanted to just see what it will do and how long it will take to encode.

And for Premiere I am getting ready to try to get in there for a bit. I really have a project that I need to work on, and I got sidetracked after getting this camera. But I am going to try different settings to see how they work out with capturing. The goal ultimately is the workflow your speaking of and what I am used to with my DV cam.

And you know what, to be honest on your assesment of questioning the reviews, it does the exact same thing to me. It seems quite plainly that they didn't know what they were talking about, or maybe they had pre-production units, as this is really, really IMHO a nice camera. It has the few shortcomings of not being able to adjust and hold multiple manual settings at once for some functions, but besides that, I think its great too. The low light is nothing like I was afraid of at all. I am with you though completely. I read a few of the reviews on B&H for the camera and here, and simply inq about why they were such a contrast with the reviews that I have read. To be honest, the only review I read that was good for the camera was posted on the videomaker site. Everything else I have read was pretty much that the camera can't do this and the camera sucks at that, only to find out that maybe, just maybe they didn't spend enough time with it also. I mean, this thing to me, puts out a very nice image. I can't comment on the auto function as I have only been using manual(which is to be honest probably the strength of the camera) mode, but it has been great! If this is poor performance, then I am afraid of what great is!

And from what I saw and I will say it again, I don't see anymore noise with this one chip three or four year old camera than I did with the FX7 when I played with it in the store. And I had the gain on +9 if I remember correctly. On this cam, I simply have the gain off, I just began manual white balancing, I play with the shutter speed for the effect of the picture I want, I may mess with the exposure, I focus and simply go with it. I find it a real joy to work with. I am not going to say that the reviews are based on monetary means, but it is very strange that all you see is bashing everywhere on this camera and if you get or play with one, the video is very good. Maybe I just haven't had mine long enough, or don't have the critical eye or something... But it is like unfair to me, because it really does seem from the experiences I have had, a very good and viable cam.

Question on your webcamming, did you install the drivers for the cam(from the cd) when prompted or did they pretty much update themselves when you plugged it in? I can get the pictures fine from the SD card, but when I try to plug it in, it doesn't recognize that the cam is on and connected for some reason...

I wish there was a way to post a picture as I would post one of the low light stills I took on 500th shutter speed..

Do you have your OIS turned on? I realized when I shot my first footage handheld that I had turned it off. I turned it on, and it smoothed things out considerably! Like night and day.

They don't make OIS that strong. I had the camera in one hand and a 110-pound dog that wanted to run and play in the other. That's not easy to steady...without a steak. :-)

I mean, this thing to me, puts out a very nice image. I can't comment on the auto function as I have only been using manual(which is to be honest probably the strength of the camera) mode, but it has been great!

My guess is that people were basing things on unfair comparisons and unreasonable expectations for the money. It was the first HD camera under $4,000. People seemed to be looking for features, etc. that would have kicked the camera right out of the price range. My friend's attitude when he saw it for $1,500 was that if it even worked it was a smokin' deal. He figured it was a "one job camera" and worth it for the price if that's all they got from it. Well, now they have several and are recommending them to friends.

His thoughts are that JVC put out a darn nice prosumer camera with prosumer features and excellent image quality that was for Joe/Jane hobby shooter to play HD with shooting the kids and vacations. However, pros took notice and started buying them instead of some of the real "pro" cameras which probably was not the design. The HD10 seems like kind of an afterthought with just the minor tweaks and the added unbalanced XLR setup. They were decent originally but at $1200-1500 they are seriously nice deals and an awful a lot of bang for the buck.

Question on your webcamming, did you install the drivers for the cam(from the cd) when prompted or did they pretty much update themselves when you plugged it in? I can get the pictures fine from the SD card, but when I try to plug it in, it doesn't recognize that the cam is on and connected for some reason...

Well...I haven't even touched the CD. On the Mac all I did was wrap the Firewire cable around the core filter, connect to the Mac and play with Final Cut Pro and iMovie in HD and DV modes. I clicked on Start a Video Chat in iChat and was good to go.

I then connected it to my Winbox in DV mode and ran Microsoft Movie Maker -- which I didn't even know I had until a friend told me to try it to see if it worked, just to check to see if the camera showed up. It did and I was able to capture and play in Movie Maker. That's all I've done on Windows so far.

LOL, steak! But I do understand that.

And hmnnn, your friends acessment sounds pretty good to be honest. I agree completely with the lot of bang for the buck. It is a really nice camera and as you and both have found out and agree with your friend, its fabulous for the price. I mean, for gods sake, I am comparing it to a 2700 dollar camera that is a couple generations later for HDV. And its still kicking well. I am glad that they didn't delete this thread! It has been instrumental in the purchase and playing with this camera.

And you know, Windows sucks for things of this nature. Apple/mac is far ahead. The strange thing that I cannot figure out is that premiere from Adobe's site says the camera is fully compatable. Maybe I have something set wrong in the output of the firewire or something. I have mine set to SW and have also toggled between the DV and Mpeg2 setting for playback, both with no joy with firewire. The component and Svid as I stated are working fine and I can pretty much capture in any setting that I choose. But the firewire is a completely different animal and I haven't been sucessful yet. But its brand new, and probably something I am doing, so I am just taking it as such and attempting to ask questions on it.

I will try to download windows movie maker to see if it will work with it just for kicks. But it would be really retarded if movie maker will accept it via firewire and premiere will not...

D

its fabulous for the price. I mean, for gods sake, I am comparing it to a 2700 dollar camera that is a couple generations later for HDV. And its still kicking well.

I was actually looking for a better DV than I have when my friend suggested that I look at the HD1 instead. Seemed silly to buy DV for the same or more when I can have HDV, too.

And you know, Windows sucks for things of this nature. Apple/mac is far ahead.

I can't agree with you there. While I like my Macs (I have six...aging though), they're just tools and there's a lot of stuff out there for Windows only -- notice there wasn't a Mac CD with the JVC?

I've pretty much decided that I'll be building/buying a nicer Winbox for video work fairly soon. I know how to use FCP but will be learning Sony Vegas in the not too distant future and possibly Premiere. I'm going to borrow a notebook with DV Rack and Vegas on it and I'm looking forward to that for the added control and dog and pony appeal of it.

The strange thing that I cannot figure out is that premiere from Adobe's site says the camera is fully compatable. Maybe I have something set wrong in the output of the firewire or something.

I haven't looked but I'd have thought all of that has been figured out and messages on how to do it posted here and elsewhere. You check the Adobe forums? Here?

I will try to download windows movie maker to see if it will work with it just for kicks. But it would be really retarded if movie maker will accept it via firewire and premiere will not...

I don't think Movie Maker will handle HDV, DV for sure. I'm kind of lost here as I thought you already had pulled in video and that's what you were trying to downsize, right? iMovie on the Mac was HD ready before FCP was, that was weird.

Do you have the correct settings in Premiere for the HDV file? Here's a shot in the dark, just found this link and maybe something you need is in it?

http://ppro.wikia.com/wiki/Software#Capture

Should be some help in this forum, too. Maybe start a new thread -- after searching for the answer first. Good luck!

i sure do enjoy reading all these posts and verifying that my purchase of the HD1 seems to be a good one. It seems my camera has finally started its journey up to Canada and is supposed to be here either wednesday or thursday. Until then ill have to live vicariously through you guys.

I cant wait to see how my Macbook handles the HDV footage.

It seems my camera has finally started its journey up to Canada and is supposed to be here either wednesday or thursday.

Congrats! I suggest you get a off-white #100 bib to control the drooling. :-)

I cant wait to see how my Macbook handles the HDV footage.

Should be fine, depending on the amount of RAM and the hard drive speed. I don't know if Apple is putting in faster drives now or not. I remember when I bought my G4 Powerbook we were whining that the fastest drive Apple was installing in the things was a 5400rpm drive (some were 4200rpm) while Dell was putting 7200rpm ones in theirs. Apple was running ads showing FCP on the 17" Powerbooks but never showed the cables that connected to the needed external hard drives. :-)

I don't know if the 7200rpm drives are still necessary or not. I have a friend with a HP notebook that has a 4500 rpm drive and he was getting errors saying his drive speed was too slow. He added an external drive which solved the problem.

Just a few more days, Greg...

Urgghhh, its a no go. I am using a workaround for the moment.. Oh well.. Nothings perfect I suppose.. I still think its a great camera!

if the internal is giving me problems, i have a couple 200+ gig firewire drives that i can use so drive speed shouldnt hopefully be an issue. Im very eager to get my hands on the cam. Ill probably spend a good deal of time this coming weekend playing with it.

If it does what im hoping it will do I may even look at picking up a second one this summer, for the price it seems like a steal. (and a beachtek box forsure)

Urgghhh, its a no go. I am using a workaround for the moment.. Oh well.. Nothings perfect I suppose.. I still think its a great camera!

Hi,

What's a no-go? Varizoom, editing in Premiere or ?

Heya!

Its a no go with the varizoom for sure. I actually am using the HD capture utility that came with the camera(another story) to capture to native ts files and then simply dragging and dropping them into premiere. They require no rendering and are simply ready for editing and effects if need be. But yes, I am editing in premiere!

And the second story is that I had to RMA the camera. I will have another one tomorrow, but it began timing out with XP during capture(playback mode) with the utility if it was just sitting idle for maybe 25 seconds. I was on the phone with B&H and JVC all day and it wasn't pretty. I simply decided to send it back for another one due to the lack of the SD card in the camera, the tape that I mentioned that seemed more like a testing tape(which could be bad or good and that I discovered had a blue colored dot on it with a number along with the box for the camera having the same dot and number as though it was sorted in some way), and then the timing out that my other camcorder never did, and neither did my friends that was purchased at the same time.

The timing out was really a pain because basically if I was rewinding the tape and walked to grab a glass of water, and came back, I had to restart the camcorder to get the device control back. If this had been an old camcorder I would have probably been like, whatever, but I haven't had it a week and these three issues popped up. So it was a sign to me! Just send it back for another unit!

I actually can't wait, as I played with my friends and the video of course was as good, and after using the utility to capture(if you have any experience with matrox products, they used to have a little external capture utility that would batch capture your clips for you), it is actually nice to not have to open Premiere to capture and simply use it to drag and drop captured clips that have been scene detected. So I have also figured out a workflow! So its not a total washout from my perspective.

I was dissapointed with B&H though, as I had to speak with multiple employees, recieved conflicting information and was bounced around for roughly 3 hours on this issue(most of which was spent on hold after answering the same exact question over and over). Not to mention, that I had to reference 4 different numbers for ordering and rmaing! This is the largest purchase I have made with them, and in the end I will have my camera tomorrow, but I had to fight for it tooth and nail on this one. Not at all the experience I have had in the past with them. I am very dissapointed to be honest on this one with them. This is what I meant by oh well, you can't win them all.

Question for you all. Your box, did the tape it was closed with have "JVC" stamped on it? The reason I am asking is because the JVC rep I spoke with indicated that if it came from them directly, the tape used to seal the box would have been logo'd with JVC. I am not exactly sure if I believe him so, I am curious. Mine and my friends were sealed(looked like original and I really looked hard after the issue today) with transparent packaging tape, but it did not say JVC on it. Just looking for input on this one.

I actually as U an typing this am transcoding some footage to a dvd. Its a short series of clips(approximately ten minutes), but it is taking a long time to transcode! Not at all what I am used to with DV. With the DV, I could churn out within encore a transcode at 7Mbs two pas in a little over realtime depending on complexity. This is taking a very long time! LOL But I had read that transcoding HDV takes alot longer. I cannot remember the ratio, but I was sort of expecting it. It reminds me of my first days of editing and leaving the transcode to run overnight. But the dvd looks great though!!!

Ok, I am off to sulk since I have to wait for my camera to take more footage!!

Later guys,

Damon

well that kinda sucks for you, but you are still going to get your replacement before I get my original cam. So at least they are getting it to you quickly.

Also its great that you have found a decent workflow. I know that as soon as i get mine i will be posting some clips. I have a fair bit of online space ready.

Keep us up to date.

Will do. :-)

Question for you all. Your box, did the tape it was closed with have "JVC" stamped on it?

From what I'd seen online they can come double-boxed with a brown outside box with JVC tape on it and inside that box is a black photo box, or they can just come in the black photo box. Mine came in the black photo box with basic clear tape sealing it. The outside box was a B&H brown box. The others may have come direct from the JVC store.

The reason I am asking is because the JVC rep I spoke with indicated that if it came from them directly, the tape used to seal the box would have been logo'd with JVC.

That makes sense except you got it from B&H and not JVC direct. B&H probably received them boxed four to six in a larger box (with JVC tape on them) and then opened the boxes to get to the individual boxes with the cameras like we received.

Ok, I am off to sulk since I have to wait for my camera to take more footage!!

You already cross-ship the other one back? Since the problem is timing out on playback I'd think you could still take lots more footage.

Hi Dave!

That makes sense with the box tape issue. Complete sense to me! I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't just me. But as long as this one works fine, it can be taped with duct tape! LOL

And yes, I did ship it back. My friend actually took some footage and I pretty much did a quicky edit on it(well, she did a quickie edit as I am teaching her or showing her the basics of Premiere) and shot it out to dvd. I should be back in buisness a little later today with the camera.

And Greg: I wish I had some online space. Do you have your own server? I want to setup one for about a gig of online space, but I don't want to pay for the charge my isp wants for the connection. I may though, I am not quite sure still on that one since it's not very often that need the space to be honest.

D

I have a few places with online space.

I have 2 domains plus a .mac account (which gives me 500 megs). My 2 domains have a fair bit of free space on their server, one is actually just sitting there with next to nothing on the server as the site is under construction right now. The other is close to full as its my own company website (surprising how fast 800megs gets used when you have a site that deals with video).

That site is ...

http://www.sandstormstudios.com

Just thought id throw that out there. And my .mac account is

http://web.mac.com/sandstormstudios