Planning to get JVC HD100, need some input

Evan Agee · October 17th, 2009, 12:23 PM

Thanks Ted, I forgot to mention that I also borrowed Tim Dashwood's DVD from a friend, already learned a ton and haven't even got the camera yet.

John Vincent · October 22nd, 2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Davis

Definitely buy a system with the AB battery system. Just for kicks, I removed my AB system and tried to run my HD100 on the stock JVC batteries. What a joke - I can't believe anyone actually does that. In actual use you'll get maybe 45 minutes on a battery. My AB Dionic will operate it for about six hours.

All-in-all, the HD100 is the best camera you can buy for under $2k. I love the operation of it, love the image, and I love the professional "look" of the camera (an under-appreciated aspect.)

Keep in mind there is no auto-focus. I use my camera mostly in a studio setting, so that's not a problem.

I'd echo these comments - I shot a feature w/ the 100 (it premieres next week) and I'm very happy with it. SSE not an issue unless very low light (my movie was shot almost entirely at night and we had maybe 3-4 shots w/ SSE). That said, it is a light hogg - hard to run and gun with no lights.

Other than that, I love the camera. Both the image and form factor are pretty much unbeatable for $2K. I've thought about selling mine for a Mark II/D7, but I just can't do it. The 100 is tough, makes very good, true HD pictures and def has that "Wow - their shooting a movie" factor. Easy to use and there's lots of color combos thanks to people like Paulo, Tim, etc.

Also, no frakin jello-cam effect.

MUST have the Anton Bauer or IDX battery pack though. The supplied battery I have last about 20 minutes. The IDX will go several hours with heavy use.

john

Jay Webster · October 22nd, 2009, 03:17 PM

"MUST have the Anton Bauer or IDX battery pack though. The supplied battery I have last about 20 minutes. The IDX will go several hours with heavy use."

Definitely!
Don't even think about taking this camera out on a job without either AB or IDX power!
Jay Webster
Director/Cameraman
NY

Evan Agee · October 22nd, 2009, 05:43 PM

Thanks guys, I did end up getting the AB Gold Mount which came with a couple of VERY old AB batteries that are pretty much useless. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with these 3rd party batteries that work with the Gold Mount?

4500mAh Battery for Anton Bauer Digital Dionic 90 NEW - eBay (item 380164200152 end time Oct-31-09 19:30:38 PDT)

Anyone know what sort of performance you can get with them?

Alex Humphrey · October 24th, 2009, 11:26 PM

it's a decent $400 battery 90 wh, but for $525 you can get 140 wh. thats new at one of our sponsors sites...

Evan Agee · October 25th, 2009, 06:20 AM

Sorry Alex, I don't understand. The ebay link I posted was a buy it now $125 battery that's supposedly compatible with the Gold Mount. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these.

Don Bloom · October 25th, 2009, 06:36 AM

as an old AB kind of guy first let me say I've never used the knockoffs you linked to so this is a one sided opinion.

First these batteries are not the same as an Anton Bauer just the same as most of the Steadicam knockoffs are not the same as a brand named Steadicam. AS I recall the batteries in question will not charge on an AB charger, I will guess they do not run as long and if something goes wrong with it who do you call. I've used Anton Bauer service on a few occassions and they are great.One call, send it in, get it back it works. While the Anton Bauer products are pricey (and some say over priced) when you buy a top of the line anything that has a solid reputation and solid service to back it up you are not spending money you are investing into gear that will outlast a lot of the cameras you'll use it on.
For the money you might spend on the knockoffs which you might have to buy 2 times as many as the original AB batteries, for my money I'd get the ABs. Heck get 2 Dionic90s and a Trimpak14 and you'll roll pretty much all day without worrying about running out of batteries.
Now before anyone jumps on me about my statement I am NOT talking about the IKAN stuff. I have never looked at nor used the gear so I can not speak to it, I am only talking about the EBay specials that the OP linked to.
I know one guy that had the particualr batteries in question and after using them for a short time (maybe a month) he got rid of them. That's all I'll say.
YMMV!

Alex Humphrey · October 25th, 2009, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan Agee

Sorry Alex, I don't understand. The ebay link I posted was a buy it now $125 battery that's supposedly compatible with the Gold Mount. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these.

Evan, sorry, slow internet last couple of days. (broadband is slower than dial up right now) gave up waiting to get to the link for ebay and read the AB D90. Hmmm got to the ebay site this morning. 4500 mAH. pretty low. by my math mAH/1000 x voltage this gives a WH of 64.8 for this aftermarket battery. The AB that it is standing in for is 90 WH. My IDX Endura 7s are 71 WH and last me (on my JVC HD1110) maybe 2.5 hours with tape, LCD open, 48v phantom and topping off power to my battery powered FE DTE drive via powertap. IDX batteries (incompatable with your system) are $200.

So the math is that its a cheaper battery, but probably not a bad deal. I noticed that the battery indicator is more like an IDX (cheaper) where you press the (check) and you get a led read out of approx how much storage left. The AB has a nicer battery reader. This AB knock off shows 5 position. my IDX shows 3. More is better.

so no, no experience here. But if may very well be worth the gamble for 1 (ONE) to check it out if no one here has any first hand knowledge. At best it will be 1/3 less run time and warranty could be tricky a year from now. Cheaper but decent battery. You might be able to get 2 tapes off with it with standby time before swapping to 2nd or third battery for the day. For the money it's hard to beat for the wh, so if 1 works, then get a few more since.

Alex Humphrey · October 25th, 2009, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan Agee

Thanks guys, I did end up getting the AB Gold Mount which came with a couple of VERY old AB batteries that are pretty much useless.

so which models of old AB did you get? Trimpack 14 or Dionics?

Dennis Robinson · October 25th, 2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan Agee

Thanks a lot guys, appreciate all of the feedback.

If there's no autofocus how can one expect to get decent footage for less planned shoots like documentary filmmaking, etc? Sorry, I'm new to this :)

Oh that's funny, do you mean to say that you dont know how to focus a camera? You certainly wont be able to use the JVC if thats the case.

Enzo Giobbé · October 25th, 2009, 09:02 PM

Funny or not, OP's not the only one that thinks AF cameras are a necessity.

A few years ago I was talking with director David Lynch about digital vs. film (he had just shot "Inland Empire" on mini DV), and he said that from then on, he would only shoot on digital, and ONLY with cams that had full autofocus capabilities.

Does that mean David wouldn't be able to use a JVC HD100? I think not.

We all have our own personal comfort zones...

Evan Agee · October 26th, 2009, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Humphrey

so which models of old AB did you get? Trimpack 14 or Dionics?

The system I got came with an old Magnum 14 and a Trimpack 14. The Trimpack no longer holds a charge and the Magnum gets about 2 hours give or take.

Evan Agee · October 26th, 2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennis Robinson

Oh that's funny, do you mean to say that you dont know how to focus a camera? You certainly wont be able to use the JVC if thats the case.

Go ahead and laugh all you want. I have worked with lenses on still cameras and I'm fine with manual focus on those, but I didn't have any experience with using manual focus on a video camera. Since then I've got the HD110u and I'm having no trouble at all thanks.

Evan Agee · October 26th, 2009, 03:42 PM

Do I understand correctly that any 1/3" bayonet mount lens will work fine with this camera? I know I can get into Letus adapters, etc but I'd love to start by finding some lenses that can replace the lens that's currently on the camera.

Don Bloom · October 26th, 2009, 04:46 PM

no not all lens will work. the lens mount has to fit and the electrical connections also need to be the correct ones for everything to work properly.
if you put a lens on that doesn't have the right e-connections you could have a problem.

October 25th, 2009, 06:36 AM	#37
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	as an old AB kind of guy first let me say I've never used the knockoffs you linked to so this is a one sided opinion. First these batteries are not the same as an Anton Bauer just the same as most of the Steadicam knockoffs are not the same as a brand named Steadicam. AS I recall the batteries in question will not charge on an AB charger, I will guess they do not run as long and if something goes wrong with it who do you call. I've used Anton Bauer service on a few occassions and they are great.One call, send it in, get it back it works. While the Anton Bauer products are pricey (and some say over priced) when you buy a top of the line anything that has a solid reputation and solid service to back it up you are not spending money you are investing into gear that will outlast a lot of the cameras you'll use it on. For the money you might spend on the knockoffs which you might have to buy 2 times as many as the original AB batteries, for my money I'd get the ABs. Heck get 2 Dionic90s and a Trimpak14 and you'll roll pretty much all day without worrying about running out of batteries. Now before anyone jumps on me about my statement I am NOT talking about the IKAN stuff. I have never looked at nor used the gear so I can not speak to it, I am only talking about the EBay specials that the OP linked to. I know one guy that had the particualr batteries in question and after using them for a short time (maybe a month) he got rid of them. That's all I'll say. YMMV! __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

October 25th, 2009, 09:02 PM	#41
Enzo Giobbé Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hollywood, CA and Roma, Italia Posts: 155	David Lynch won't shoot with anything but... Funny or not, OP's not the only one that thinks AF cameras are a necessity. A few years ago I was talking with director David Lynch about digital vs. film (he had just shot "Inland Empire" on mini DV), and he said that from then on, he would only shoot on digital, and ONLY with cams that had full autofocus capabilities. Does that mean David wouldn't be able to use a JVC HD100? I think not. We all have our own personal comfort zones... __________________ Enzo Giobbé www.enzogiobbe.com

October 26th, 2009, 04:46 PM	#45
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	no not all lens will work. the lens mount has to fit and the electrical connections also need to be the correct ones for everything to work properly. if you put a lens on that doesn't have the right e-connections you could have a problem. __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

October 17th, 2009, 12:23 PM	#31
Evan Agee Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 93	Thanks Ted, I forgot to mention that I also borrowed Tim Dashwood's DVD from a friend, already learned a ton and haven't even got the camera yet.

October 22nd, 2009, 03:17 PM	#33
Jay Webster Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 131	"MUST have the Anton Bauer or IDX battery pack though. The supplied battery I have last about 20 minutes. The IDX will go several hours with heavy use." Definitely! Don't even think about taking this camera out on a job without either AB or IDX power! Jay Webster Director/Cameraman NY

October 22nd, 2009, 05:43 PM	#34
Evan Agee Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 93	Thanks guys, I did end up getting the AB Gold Mount which came with a couple of VERY old AB batteries that are pretty much useless. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with these 3rd party batteries that work with the Gold Mount? 4500mAh Battery for Anton Bauer Digital Dionic 90 NEW - eBay (item 380164200152 end time Oct-31-09 19:30:38 PDT) Anyone know what sort of performance you can get with them?

October 24th, 2009, 11:26 PM	#35
Alex Humphrey Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: california North and South Posts: 642	it's a decent $400 battery 90 wh, but for $525 you can get 140 wh. thats new at one of our sponsors sites...

October 25th, 2009, 06:20 AM	#36
Evan Agee Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 93	Sorry Alex, I don't understand. The ebay link I posted was a buy it now $125 battery that's supposedly compatible with the Gold Mount. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these.

October 26th, 2009, 03:42 PM	#44
Evan Agee Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 93	Do I understand correctly that any 1/3" bayonet mount lens will work fine with this camera? I know I can get into Letus adapters, etc but I'd love to start by finding some lenses that can replace the lens that's currently on the camera.