LS300 - On the fence...

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Ed Kishel

EDIT: I just found this thread, which confirms my concern:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/jvc-4k-p...3840x2160.html

Yes BUT

There is no reason to set VSM to 80%!

The LS300 has an alternate way of setting VSM. Attach lens and go to the VSM tool. Click to choose VSM = 92%. Zoom wide and look for Vignetting. If none, you are good to go for C4K -- which you should NOT shoot unless you a making a print for a digital cinema projector. The idea that a few more pixels in width is better is counter-balanced by the fact 4K does NOT have a 16:9 aspect-ratio.

So you should click to choose VSM = 86%. Zoom wide and look for Vignetting. If none, you are good to go for UHD. Yes, others are working at 90% but you should choose a VSM that matches exactly the recording format. So anything other than 86% involves scaling -- which is NOT ever what you want to do. (Unless the scale is a factor of 2.)

Bottom line, follow to the letter the instructions in:

https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/c...r-35-camcorder

That sounds harsh, but JVC has provided so little information that it took me months to try and figure-out what's going on inside. That means going to Japanese and German sites. Japanese reviews have the advantage they can get info inside JVC. The German sites measure everything! (I also find JVC in the UK seems to get more from Japan.)

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Steve Rosen

BTW, I tried the HDMI with the Gratical and I still don't get camera peaking (or the above overlay). Must be something with my camera...

I think SDI and HDMI output the exact same image.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Seth Diamond

I emailed Metabones; Hopefully I'll hear back from them about the Speed Booster...surely someone has tried it out. Thanks, guys!

i used the 0.7 Metabones with a Nikon F 1.8 50mm lens and it worked perfectly. Actually it worked too well because the LS300 recorded dark scenes brighter than the human eye can see. So to get "reality" I had to stop down a bit.

I'm not sure where the idea that the LS300 is not so good in low light came from. The Pana 3X f2.8 zoom will do a great job. And, of course, there are Primes. With Prime Zoom you still get a zoom lens.

See image in:
https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/c...r-35-camcorder

[Steve Mullen]

Part 2 of my LS300 review should be posted in the next 2 weeks.

Here is a nice short article on Canon log.

Canon DLC: Article: Understanding the EOS C300's Canon Log Gamma

And, for more on log:

https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/c...ge-adjustments

There will be a Part 3 -- using Davinci Resolve 12 to edit LS300 J-log footage. JVC has note communicated that J-log moves the humble LS300 into the very expensive class of S-log cameras. By using Resolve, I want to show the LS300 is not your father's JVC camcorder. (And, yet is, if you don't need J-log.) As some have suggested, Cinema mode -- which is never discussed -- might be perfect for those who want more DR than 709 and still want to use AE.

[Ed Kishel]

i pulled the trigger and got an LS300- the discount, the free lens, the cams specs and upcoming firmware: seemed like allot of bang for your buck. Thanks to Steve and the others here for all the great research and info :

[Steve Mullen]

Congratulations!

Now if someone will buy a fully powered LUMIX lens and give us a report.

I almost did because I can use it on a Pocket camera. But, who knows what BM will announce -- and not ship -- at NAB.

Please keep us up to date on your experiences.

[Noa Put]

Now if someone will buy a fully powered LUMIX lens and give us a report.

What do you want to know? I mainly have lumix lenses.

[Petros Kolyvas]

Not on the fence anymore...

Just a quick thank you to the small, dedicated group of you here. After being an AF100 pre-order customer, and enjoying many things about the camera with the exception of the very limited operating window of the imager, we ordered a GY-LS300.

AF100 will become our B-cam (mostly "B"ackup).

The usability features continue to put it head and shoulders above anything else in its price range and it's the logical step for us; allowing us to use the glass/adapters we already accumulated.

It was nice to see, the day we ordered, that JVC will be releasing yet-another feature firmware update., which is unlike Panasonic's penny-pinching with their paid firmware update.

We already have a green-screen re-shoot scheduled for this weekend which a great way to punish an 8-bit camera (and myself) from the get-go. It will be nice to see how it stacks up against the AF100 which was used for the original shoot (and recorded HD-SDI out directly into a video workstation.)

Thanks again.

[Stewart Chong]

I have pre-ordered the Ninja Flame | Atomos external recorder / monitor, and try to record a better codec and higher bit rate master file from LS300 camera body.

Is there a 8 bit or 10 bit HDMI uncompressed 4K from the LS300 ? Any firmware upgrade to 4KP60 at NAB ?

Best regards,
Stewart - Hong Kong
WOW Holdings Limied

[Steve Rosen]

Petros: I'll be interested in your impressions... I never use green screen, but it's a good test of how well the 8bit image holds up downstream.

[Jim Nogueira]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

Congratulations!

Now if someone will buy a fully powered LUMIX lens and give us a report.

I purchased the GY-LS300 camera a couple of weeks ago, and I am very happy with it so far. I have a Panny GH4 and Sony PMW-300 as well.

I bought a Lumix G Vario 14-140 3.5 HD lens that works very well on the LS300. Obviously not the fasted lens, but not too shabby either using it on this camera. The zoom range is great, especially combined with the VSM. All functions seem to work, although I am not sure about the OIS as it is greyed out on the JVC's menu screen. Picked up the lens for $400 on ebay.

I have only used the camera on one job so far, a two camera shoot with the PMW-300, shooting in HD. I was very happy with how the footage turned out, and was really surprised to see that the PMW-300's footage actually looked a touch soft in comparison to the JVC. I had the detail on the LS300 set to minus 2, shooting in ITU709. I'm looking forward to trying out the J-Log1 next.

One feature that I miss from the Sony XDCAM menu is "Last Clip Delete". I use this frequently and would love to see this added to the LS300 in a firmware update. Another small gripe is that when turning on the Histogram, it covers up the audio meter display on the LCD. I know there's only so much real estate on the screen, but I would like to be able to see both at the same time.

Again, very happy with the camera. Being a Sony user for many years, I started out looking at the FS5, but the kit lens problems scared me off, especially at $6K. Looked at the Panny DVC200 as well - a fine camera, but I wanted a removeable lens. Which led me to the JVC. Back in the day, I owned JVC S-VHS cameras, then a DV500 mini-DV shoulder mount. Those cameras had their quirks, but worked well for me. So I am back to this JVC, and glad to have made the move!



.

[Seth Diamond]

Hey everyone,

Apologies for not following up sooner. I can't thank you guys enough for your input and feedback.

The short version is that I'm still on hold per the LS300 - but I may be able to work something out with my local dealer, per the unit they have on hand. Plus, given that $3K is a lot of money on our really tight budget...I'd rather not be rushed by the instant rebate deadline/promo...but luckily the deal seems to still be holding for the moment.

The short version is that last week, I was able to check out the LS300 for the first time in person...and it was pretty incredible. Here's the short version of my impressions:

* Plastic-y as everyone said, but the cam was pretty lightweight
* Larger than my XF100 (I thought it would be smaller), but not too big
* Gorgeous DoF with the Rokinon T 1.5 - but a tripod/monopod would be a must
* A genuine, built-in ND filter was a godsend and how I have lived without it. Wished I had more than three options there, though
* Coming from EF lenses, the declicked aperture was nice on the T 1.5 and I could really used to that
* There's no way for me to handle a prime cleanly without IS - the footage seemed far shakier when I viewed it in the editing bay than on the monitor
* I couldn't test our stable of EF lenses w/ IS, as they didn't have a Metabones adapter available
* The Panasonic 12-35 and the 70-300 were great. The real-time AF worked, but it struggled to determine what to focus on if it was close up - I'd probably grab a 12-35 for all our run-n-gun footage and use EF for everything else
* The internal mics were surprisingly clean
* I didn't test 4K footage (I didn't have capable SD cards on-hand) but the 1080p was great
* I'd totally go for an EF Metabones 0.71x Speedbooster (I heard back from Metabones per definitive compatibility)
* Unlike the XF100, very concerned about hitting focus as the EVF/LCD weren't good enough...next time I'll learn how to set up the focus peaking
* The fact that it can turn every lens into a zoom? That blew my mind. Totally a game changer. I'm trying hard not to just buy the camera for that function alone.

I'll keep you guys posted; hopefully I may even have a chance to borrow the camera for next weekend to test out more comprehensively and in the store.

Regardless, I'm glad that this discussion is provoking some thought and is helping others here who are bravely jumping over to JVC! I'm all about a good underdog - and this camera may be the best kept secret out there right now.

Cheers and thanks!

- Seth

[Noa Put]

There's no way for me to handle a prime cleanly without IS - the footage seemed far shakier when I viewed it in the editing bay than on the monitor

Any camera that has no inbody stabilization has this problem, it's not jvc specific.

The Panasonic 12-35 and the 70-300 were great. The real-time AF worked, but it struggled to determine what to focus on if it was close up - I'd probably grab a 12-35 for all our run-n-gun footage and use EF for everything else

I use the 12-35mm for all run and gun work at weddings and it's the best lens you can get right now for that purpose, I use a mixture of auto and manual focus depending on the situation, if I shoot at 12mm the autofocus works fine but like you said you need to be careful if you shoot at f2.8 and shoot a subject up close or when you zoom up to 35mm, the autofocus will do it's job but not always reliably.

The internal mics were surprisingly clean

I have the opposite experience, I find them very noisy and don't use them, the supplied shotgun mike is also not good, instead I use my own audio technica shotgun which is a lot better.

Unlike the XF100, very concerned about hitting focus as the EVF/LCD weren't good enough...next time I'll learn how to set up the focus peaking

If you don't use peaking, which btw is very good and reliable, you cannot use the screen to determine if you are spot on. For critical focus in darker venues I use peaking, black/white screen and magnification which works very well.

[Seth Diamond]

Hey Noa - Thanks for your responses!

1) You're absolutely right about that per primes. We first tried on our 24-70L on our 5D MkII...only the 24-105L with IS made it useable. For whatever reason, I guess I had been hoping that my handheld technique had improved over time!

2) Per the Lumix 12-35, I think those results I achieved matches what you're saying here. But it was pretty stellar, and I think we'll grab one if we do go the LS300 route as it was just so useful!

3) I'll have to listen super-carefully per the internal mics next time with my monitor headphones. I read that the JVC external mic is junk; which AT mic do you use? I'm would save my AT875R from the XF100 and throw it on there.

4) Good to know per peaking on the LS300. Critical focus is key...never had that problem with the XF100...but we're talking a much more shallow DoF here with a larger sensor...which means a smaller window of getting focus right.

[Noa Put]

I have a at897 and eventhough it sounds great I find it too long.