GZ-HD7 and manual control at DVinfo.net

Randy Johnson · May 6th, 2008, 06:05 AM

I am pretty close to buying 2 Eviros the HD-7s most likley but I have a question. All I need it for is to be a cover shot for one of my 2 GY-HD100s in a wedding scenerio. Can I manuly adjust the Iris? An sepratly manually adjust the shutter? In dark churches I sometimes drop the shutter to 1/30 to get more light on a wide shot the strobing effect is'nt noticable.

Thanks
Randy

Kaushik Parmar · May 6th, 2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy Johnson

I am pretty close to buying 2 Eviros the HD-7s most likley but I have a question. All I need it for is to be a cover shot for one of my 2 GY-HD100s in a wedding scenerio. Can I manuly adjust the Iris? An sepratly manually adjust the shutter? In dark churches I sometimes drop the shutter to 1/30 to get more light on a wide shot the strobing effect is'nt noticable.

Thanks
Randy

Randy,

HD7's biggest plus point are it's Manual controls! It's fantastic! See this link: http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp...Id=141&page=12

I am using it since last one year and I am fully satiesfied!.

Kaushik

Waldemar Winkler · May 6th, 2008, 06:58 PM

Yes, you can. On the back of the unit are three buttons. One sets aperture, one sets shutter speed, and the third allows exposure compensation in 1/3 stop increments.
Setting only one value (aperture or shutter speed) locks in in place while the other value will adjust as necessary.

There are two down sides to adjusting and locking either aperture, shutter, or both. The first is adjustments are only in full stop increments. The other is that if you have not disabled auto gain in the camera's menu it will still activate in low light situations. Auto gain doesn't appear to intensify more than 12 db, however.

In my experience taking advantage of the exposure compensation button (labeled "bright") is much more precise as the auto gain adjusts gently over time which is much easier to deal with in post as opposed to cameras that adjust quickly.

In low light situations it appears to be much better to lock the shutter speed as the camera will attempt to produce an acceptable image by dropping the shutter speed so low as to record unacceptable blurring.

Once you download the data, reduce saturation by about 10-15% before doing any extensive color correction.

By the way, I understand many of the best features of the HD7 have been removed from the newer model. Get them now, as the newer models are much more auto-function oriented.

Randy Johnson · May 7th, 2008, 04:38 AM

Thanks guys, Circuit city has em for $999 US with 18 months no intrest financing. I think im going to get 2.

Randy Johnson · May 7th, 2008, 10:33 AM

o.k. this is weird, I went to Circuit city to pick up my new cameras. I went in lsat week and they had a ton under the counter when I asked they told me it was being phased out(which I knew) I said you sold that many that quick? She said "We were robbed" the only ones left are open boxes which I think I will go back and get. They have them for $818 each although one doesnt have a battery. Will the JVC batterys from my GY-HD100 work with it? I hate the open box because I need to at least make sure I can use them with Edius my editing software.

Waldemar Winkler · May 7th, 2008, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy Johnson

o.k. this is weird, I went to Circuit city to pick up my new cameras. I went in lsat week and they had a ton under the counter when I asked they told me it was being phased out(which I knew) I said you sold that many that quick? She said "We were robbed" the only ones left are open boxes which I think I will go back and get. They have them for $818 each although one doesnt have a battery. Will the JVC batterys from my GY-HD100 work with it? I hate the open box because I need to at least make sure I can use them with Edius my editing software.

Robbed? That's BS. I'm sure the floor personnel were told to pull the product and have it packaged for shipping to third or fourth party discount dealers who will pick up the inventory and sell it online.

If the model number of the batteries match, they will likely work. However, the HD7 "data battery" contains circuitry that provides detailed voltage drain info to the camera which may not be contained in the HD100 batteries. This data link is critical for the camera to function.

After market batteries don't have this circuitry and won't power the camera if you simply snap them in place. They all come with a short cable that feeds power into the camera's DC power port. The camera functions because it has the power it needs. You won't have any idea of how much usable power remains in the battery.

Randy Johnson · May 8th, 2008, 03:32 PM

Well I gottem, I bought both at $818 each. They were wrong about the one not having a battery they both did. one is missing a charger though I wonder how much they are?

Wayne Avanson · May 8th, 2008, 03:51 PM

Seems like a good price to me, even given the dodgy circs of the open box situation.

I hope they work out fine for you, I'm sure they will

Randy Johnson · May 8th, 2008, 05:41 PM

I knew I wouldnt be THAT impressed with the image quality but for what I need it for it will be fine. I just need to learn how to get the most of it so I turned off the auto gain kicked up the sharpness a bit and it seems good. I'll take them on my first wedding saturday.I was impressd with Edius my editing software, I was able to hook up the camera copy over the files and go right to editing without any transcoding or drivers. . .nice.btw how do you format the drive or erase clips?

Waldemar Winkler · May 8th, 2008, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy Johnson

I knew I wouldnt be THAT impressed with the image quality but for what I need it for it will be fine. I just need to learn how to get the most of it so I turned off the auto gain kicked up the sharpness a bit and it seems good. I'll take them on my first wedding saturday.I was impressd with Edius my editing software, I was able to hook up the camera copy over the files and go right to editing without any transcoding or drivers. . .nice.btw how do you format the drive or erase clips?

What you were missing is the AC power supply, which will charge a battery IF it is attached tot he camera. A separate charger is around $70 at B&H.

Deleting clips: After turning camera on, press PLAY/Record button to get into playback mode. Open LCD. Play/Record Button is on left side of body of camera. Then press the "F" button (lower left corner of LCD). From there you should be able to navigate with the joystick to find the delete clip menu.

May 6th, 2008, 06:05 AM	#1
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	GZ-HD7 and manual control I am pretty close to buying 2 Eviros the HD-7s most likley but I have a question. All I need it for is to be a cover shot for one of my 2 GY-HD100s in a wedding scenerio. Can I manuly adjust the Iris? An sepratly manually adjust the shutter? In dark churches I sometimes drop the shutter to 1/30 to get more light on a wide shot the strobing effect is'nt noticable. Thanks Randy

May 6th, 2008, 06:58 PM	#3
Waldemar Winkler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Durango, Colorado, USA Posts: 711	Yes, you can. On the back of the unit are three buttons. One sets aperture, one sets shutter speed, and the third allows exposure compensation in 1/3 stop increments. Setting only one value (aperture or shutter speed) locks in in place while the other value will adjust as necessary. There are two down sides to adjusting and locking either aperture, shutter, or both. The first is adjustments are only in full stop increments. The other is that if you have not disabled auto gain in the camera's menu it will still activate in low light situations. Auto gain doesn't appear to intensify more than 12 db, however. In my experience taking advantage of the exposure compensation button (labeled "bright") is much more precise as the auto gain adjusts gently over time which is much easier to deal with in post as opposed to cameras that adjust quickly. In low light situations it appears to be much better to lock the shutter speed as the camera will attempt to produce an acceptable image by dropping the shutter speed so low as to record unacceptable blurring. Once you download the data, reduce saturation by about 10-15% before doing any extensive color correction. By the way, I understand many of the best features of the HD7 have been removed from the newer model. Get them now, as the newer models are much more auto-function oriented. __________________ Waldemar Last edited by Waldemar Winkler; May 6th, 2008 at 07:00 PM. Reason: Added additional information.

May 7th, 2008, 04:38 AM	#4
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Thanks guys, Circuit city has em for $999 US with 18 months no intrest financing. I think im going to get 2.

May 7th, 2008, 10:33 AM	#5
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	o.k. this is weird, I went to Circuit city to pick up my new cameras. I went in lsat week and they had a ton under the counter when I asked they told me it was being phased out(which I knew) I said you sold that many that quick? She said "We were robbed" the only ones left are open boxes which I think I will go back and get. They have them for $818 each although one doesnt have a battery. Will the JVC batterys from my GY-HD100 work with it? I hate the open box because I need to at least make sure I can use them with Edius my editing software.

May 8th, 2008, 03:32 PM	#7
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Well I gottem, I bought both at $818 each. They were wrong about the one not having a battery they both did. one is missing a charger though I wonder how much they are?

May 8th, 2008, 03:51 PM	#8
Wayne Avanson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lancashire UK Posts: 496	Seems like a good price to me, even given the dodgy circs of the open box situation. I hope they work out fine for you, I'm sure they will

May 8th, 2008, 05:41 PM	#9
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	I knew I wouldnt be THAT impressed with the image quality but for what I need it for it will be fine. I just need to learn how to get the most of it so I turned off the auto gain kicked up the sharpness a bit and it seems good. I'll take them on my first wedding saturday.I was impressd with Edius my editing software, I was able to hook up the camera copy over the files and go right to editing without any transcoding or drivers. . .nice.btw how do you format the drive or erase clips?