Focus Assist

[Daniel Patton]

Sorry Nate but I was also getting more confused with each new post, thanks for clearing that up.

[Nate Weaver]

Originally Posted by Jim Giberti

I actually never even considered this camera as a serious tool in goo part because it was either ignored or bashed from everything from it's lens to design flaws to format.

I find the lens a nice, affordable piece of glass, I find SSE to be a non issue to this point, I find the VF also to be a pleasant surprise.

This is why people like myself, Stephen, and Tim continue to hang out here (well, if I may put words in their mouth)...we've found the camera suitable for use and to try to keep the internet FUD under control. People need to judge for themselves rather than taking some internet expert's word for it that this part is unusable, this issue is a disgrace, etc etc.

That goes for my opinion too. While everybody's entitled to my opinion ;-), in the end I really want somebody not just take my word for it, I'd like them to follow the same little experiments that I did and make up their own mind.

Then I'll argue endlessly with them on here :-)

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by Nate Weaver

This is why people like myself, Stephen, and Tim continue to hang out here (well, if I may put words in their mouth)...we've found the camera suitable for use and to try to keep the internet FUD under control. People need to judge for themselves rather than taking some internet expert's word for it that this part is unusable, this issue is a disgrace, etc etc.

That goes for my opinion too. While everybody's entitled to my opinion ;-), in the end I really want somebody not just take my word for it, I'd like them to follow the same little experiments that I did and make up their own mind.

Then I'll argue endlessly with them on here :-)

I agree. I sometimes have a love-hate relationship with the HD100, but ultimately it is the camera indie filmmakers like me have been wishing for for a decade. I mean it has HD, 24P, shoulder mount, removable lens, gamma response control, firewire, XLR inputs and it's affordable. The only other camera on the market that comes close to those requirements is the XLH1, but I would question "affordable," and as an experience XL1 and XL2 operator, I think the XL design it too front heavy to be called "shoulder mount."

Now of course the new camera I'm wishing for is "RED," but the HD100 will fit the bill until then.

Originally Posted by Jim Gilberti

I actually never even considered this camera as a serious tool in goo part because it was either ignored or bashed from everything from it's lens to design flaws to format.

You're right. It was bashed harshly by many people who had never actually touched it. It wasn't until Adam Wilt, Barry Green and company (Nate included) actually put the 1/3" cameras side by side that that sort of thing stopped around here. I think manufacter prepared literature can be very misleading, shouldn't necessarily be trusted, and I feel those guys put an end to image quality questions among the various 1/3" cameras. So cudos to them.

[Jim Giberti]

As I've commented more than once if you're a full time film maker and producer it's a lot more difficult than people might guess to test and evaluate the new tools you may be interested in.
If you're studios are on top of a mountain and you're productions take place on locations almost anywhere but LA and NY, then it's that much more difficult (not that I'm complaining).
So I rely a great deal on the experienced opinions of people I've grown to trust even though in many instances we've never even met.
It's either that, or as I was about to do, you buy 4 HD cameras and evaluate them all in real world circumstances.
That gets a bit logistically challenging for every big aquisition.

Speaking of the RED perhaps fitting the bill, that was one of the things I wrote weeks ago regarding a multi camera investment right now.
We need to be producing in HD today...from the Olympic work we just wrapped for the big show, to the TV and film work booked through spring.
I just couldn't see doing that kind of investment in time and money and systems if I were just going to step up to Varicam or RED or whatever really makes sense as things settled in the next year - which they will well beyond where we are now.

So yeah...3 HD100's @ $5k was kind of a no brainer once I got a chance to work with it in real production.
That's why I've gone out of my way to dispel the over the top comments about thel ens and the CA and the SSE (and whatever other acronyms people like to throw around).
If you can't do good work with an HD100, you can't do good work.

[Rich Everitt]

To what Jim said... If you can't do good work with the camera, you cant do good work. I whole heartedly agree. I just had an experience with an "off-the-clock" student shoot. In pre-prod we were discussing our options on which camera to run. I brought up the JVC to the group and was almost ousted! But now that the footage is being edited... They cant believe they ridiculed it so much. I still hear about how capture was not real easy because of the 720p24 but hey... I just go back to how good it looks and explain that we now have a capture session under our belt so the next should be a little better.

BTW Thanks to this community for being so helpful in your posts...