Are many people here still using their HD-1/10s?

[Dave Eaton]

Originally Posted by Greg Toope

Also I went and filmed a buddy of mine get his black belt today (thought I may as well get a bit more footage before having to send the camera back). It was not overly well lit and I was pleasantly surprised as to how well it recorded. There were a few spots where it lost focus but quickly found it again once I stopped moving the camera.

Cool. I might have locked the focus but sometimes the auto stuff works pretty well. Wonder if adding a 10-20w video light would have helped. I've been thinking of getting a small fill-type on-camera light. I'll have to play with some follow focus stuff as shooting moving objects and manually focusing can be a chore.

I did some playing around shooting some backlit buildings locking the exposure for the zoomed in building exposure. Zoomed out and the sun lit stuff was very washed out. I unlocked the exposure and ran another test zoom and it look good wide and as I zoomed in the camera adjusted gradually enough that it looked like I was manually opening the iris. Not objectionable at all.

[Greg Toope]

yeah i could have done a manual focus, but to be honest i kinda wanted to see what the camera could do. Plus they were moving around quite a bit and there was no place to really lock the focus. And I have a 5 watt light, 50 watt and 100 watt light. But again kinda wanted to test out the camera. Wasnt anything that was gonna be pro. Just did it so that I could test the camera and he could have a souvenir of the day. So it worked out pretty good. And definitely nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of color correcting.

And the camera is now gone. :(

Hopefully be back sometime next week.

by the way here is a link to the blackbelt clip.

Its not in full 720p but you can see the quality in non optimal lighting.

http://www.videopartypatrol.com/JPs_Blackbelt1.mov

[Greg Toope]

sorry, that link isnt working. Ill post a new one as soon as it uploads.

[Dave Eaton]

Originally Posted by Greg Toope

And I have a 5 watt light, 50 watt and 100 watt light.

I don't have any on camera lights yet. I see 10w and 15w and I think of a 10w light bulb in a lamp and wonder if that could be any good. Am I mixing apples and oranges? I assume that I don't need a 500w on camera light. For regular stuff I'll be lighting the set but was thinking a light for general personal playing (annoying the dog, etc.) would be fun to have. What wattage should I look for -- maybe as an outdoor fill, too?

Just did it so that I could test the camera and he could have a souvenir of the day.

Definitely a GREAT souvenir. I have belts/sashes (none black) in several martial arts and someone taped one of my tests and I was real happy to get a copy.

And the camera is now gone. :(

The time will fly by.

I just had an interesting experience with B&H. Just received the Giottos quick releases and plates I ordered. The info on the site states "Mounts onto anything with a 1/4"-20 or 3/8" camera screw." They left off the "provided you buy or already have an adapter". I have two 1/4"-20 tripod heads I wanted these for.

I called and a "pro" support guy argued with me saying that I misread it. He said it does mount on anything with the proper adapters. He then suggested that I should have gone and looked at my tripods and known I needed to order a couple 3/8" to 1/4"-20 adapters. Huh?

Telling him the only way I'd have known that was if it said "Mounts onto 3/8" tripod screws, requires an adapter for 1/4"-20." got me put on hold. Then I was disconnected. I called back and got a message to call back during normal business hours. Grrr.

[Damon Gaskin]

Dave: Its not the same B&H Imho... The "hold button" seems to be a new universal answer...

[Greg Toope]

It seems that I may have lucked out with the guy that i got to speak with at B&H. The only thing that didnt work for me was that he gave me JVC's number so that if i had any further problems I could contact them, problem is that im in Canada so the number he gave wouldnt work. All I got was a message saying that I couldnt connect from my area code.

Does anyone know if the extra warranty that you can buy from B&H is worldwide or just for within the states? And how long after your purchase can you buy it?

And the karate clip is still encoding. I encoded it once but it squeezed into a 4x3 window. Not very pretty. So re encoding 16x9. Should hopefully be done soon.

[Damon Gaskin]

Not sure about the other questions but I think someone mentioned you can purchase the JVC warranty up to the 90 days after you recieve your camera..

[Dave Eaton]

Originally Posted by Greg Toope

Does anyone know if the extra warranty that you can buy from B&H is worldwide or just for within the states? And how long after your purchase can you buy it?

This is for the U.S., which should cover you since you purchased it from a U.S. dealer. The extended warranty B&H sells is through Mack's Camera and Video Service center. You have 30-days from the original date of purchase (invoice date, not delivery date) to purchase and activate a Mack warranty.

It's a profit center for them and B&H (and other dealers that sell it) as a small percentage of cameras covered will ever be sent in for warranty. According to their web site it is a worldwide warranty, though. You may/may not need to send it to the U.S. I would think not sending it to New Jersey for a service would be to you benefit for less volume and wait time.

Surf and see what you find out. I found some complaints on time stiff was in the shop (not repaired by JVC) that caused me to want to go with another company.

http://www.mackcam.com/warranty.html

This should be JVC Canada's number: 1-800-964-2650 I'm kind of curious of what they say since you didn't buy from a Canadian dealer.

https://www.jvc.ca/en/consumer/service/warranty.asp

JVC, US has an arrangement with Satisfusion and they say that as long as your camera is covered by the manufacturer's warranty, you can buy an extended one. For the GR-HD1U that's 90-days (parts and labor, 1-year parts) from date of purchase. Once the manufacturer's warranty is over it's too late.

[Greg Toope]

thanks for all the links. Hopefully I will never need them, but great to have.

Ive also reposted a bit of the karate video. Let me know what you think of the color especially in reduced lighting. I thought it looked pretty good. The clip is not in HD as file size does become an issue.

http://www.videopartypatrol.com/Blackbelt.mov

[Dave Eaton]

Originally Posted by Greg Toope

thanks for all the links. Hopefully I will never need them, but great to have.

You're most welcome. I'd call JVC - Canada, JVC - US, and Mack and see what your options are before the 30-days runs out. I'm not sure if Satisfusion will work with you in Canada but they might, ask JVC - US. I'll probably be signing up for the extended on mine soon, before I forget. The prices are reasonable and you can get 2-5 years.

Ive also reposted a bit of the karate video. Let me know what you think of the color especially in reduced lighting.

Looks pretty good. I'd expected white gi's, nice of them to wear red so you could check color in low light. :-)

[Dave Eaton]

Originally Posted by Damon Gaskin

Dave: Its not the same B&H Imho... The "hold button" seems to be a new universal answer...

I think it depends more on who you get to speak with. I called B&H again this morning, and got a friendly customer service rep. He transferred me to the same sales guy that argued with me last night. He started out like he did last night but must be in a better mood as he stopped himself, re-read the description, and told me I was right, the adapters should have been included. Told me to tell customer service that he said they are to comp me the adapters. They said they would and will fix the web site so it's not misleading.

[Greg Toope]

well i just contacted JVC canada in regards to the warranty of cameras purchased within the US. This is what they said in their email.


"If the unit is purchased in the USA then no we do not cover the
warranty, you will have to call the USA at 1800-252-5722.

Thanks"

Just so everyone knows. Im going to try and contact the US JVC site and see what they have to say.

[Dave Eaton]

Originally Posted by Greg Toope

well i just contacted JVC canada in regards to the warranty of cameras purchased within the US. This is what they said in their email.

"If the unit is purchased in the USA then no we do not cover the
warranty, you will have to call the USA at 1800-252-5722.

Thanks"

Just so everyone knows. Im going to try and contact the US JVC site and see what they have to say.

That's kind of what I figured. I know some companies are very strict about their distribution channels. Nikon, for example, if you buy a grey-market Nikon product then the U.S. warranty is void. Canon, on the other hand, figures that as long as their name is on the product they'll cover it. They will not offer any extended warranties, etc. to grey market items though.

Some "creative" dealers are disguising their grey-market merchandise by advertising that it has a "U.S. warranty" knowing that's what most people here will look for. What they don't disclose, until after you get the items, is that it's a Mack or other repair place's warranty, not the manufacturer's.

JVC U.S. should cover you for the 90-days labor/1-year parts but you'll need to send it here.

This has me thinking about the extended warranty I want and questioning why I'm waiting, so I just called Satisfusion. Naturally, their systems are down so they'll call me back. :-)

[Dave Eaton]

I'm glad the extended warranty topic was brought up. I debated on getting one until I read about someone whose Firewire port died requiring a new PC board and what it cost to get it fixed -- $1,100 (Canadian). OUCH!

I called Satisfusion this morning and was told that they can not sell me an extended warranty on the GR-HD1 as it's been removed from their list, probably due to the original date of manufacture. That leaves Mack as the only option and they require that you sign up within the first 30-days (although I heard there's some leeway there) not 90-days like Satisfusion and since I ordered my camera on 5/9 that puts me at the end of the window. Had I waited longer I'd have been out of luck.

What's interesting is that B&H has raised the price on the GR-HD1 to $1,299.95 and the Mack warranties they're selling don't match Mack's price range coverage numbers. I called Mack to make sure I buy the correct one and they told me that for the GR-HD1 ($1,200 and less) I need their #1040 (B&H # MAEWVC42) 4-warranty which is $89.95 at B&H (going by the mfg number).

However, B&H is listing the Mack #1056 (B&H# MAEWPDVC4) 4-year warranty for $129.95 as the one for this camera and I think that was based on the camera's original sales price. Stranger, B&H lists the same Mack #'s for a variety of equipment price ranges, Mack's not sure why that is. VERY confusing.

Of interest is that the warranties include "One head cleaning per year at Mack Camera and Video Service." that didn't seem all that exciting until I was told by B&H (verified with Mack) that means a full cleaning; including CCD, heads, as well as a head alignment. That in itself is worth the price. Mack assured me that repair turn around time is usually two weeks if they have the parts.

I ordered the the #1040 warranty.

[Dave Eaton]

FYI: Steve Mullens "Tiny JVC Guide" tips on using the JVC GR-HD1 and JY-HD10 is still available:

"just send me an email. It's free."
d-v-c@mindspring.com
__________________
Best Regards,
Steve Mullen
Digital Video Consulting

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