FREE upgrade for U.S. owners to "A" Version

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Enzo Giobbé

So far, the "A" upgrade has worked for us, the only down side is that when the operator switches on the camera light (AB UL2 / 20W bulb) the viewfinder goes black for a minute. This did not happen before the cameras were upgraded. I though it might be an issue with the light cord running by the VF cord/plug (and we have a core filter installed at the plug end), but powering it from a non mounted light (cord nowhere near the VF cord/plug) does the same thing.

Any chance you had the iris set to auto? This could definitely 'blind' the camera momentarily until the iris can compensate. Why a black viewfinder? Because, if my suspicions are correct, this massive influx of light would cause the auto iris to overshoot towards full closed and then open back up.

-gb-

[Enzo Giobbé]

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Any chance you had the iris set to auto? This could definitely 'blind' the camera momentarily until the iris can compensate. Why a black viewfinder? Because, if my suspicions are correct, this massive influx of light would cause the auto iris to overshoot towards full closed and then open back up.

-gb-

Good point Greg, and one item easily overlooked, so thanks for the heads up. But no, all of our operators always (well, almost always anyway) use full manual everything (except for the zoom control) with any of the ENG cameras we use. if I could, I would Super Glue the switch to manual, as for some reason, it seems to be too easy to switch to auto (much easier than on other lenses :).

Near as I can nail it down, it's only on the updated units, and more or less when the battery reaches 50% capacity or less. Happens about 80% of the time at that point, and maybe 20% when the battery (AB HyTRON 50 or Dionic 90 depending on the lens installed) is near full. I don't know if its happening with all of our "A" units, but it just did it with the three I have with me. There is never a "hit" on the tape, so it looks like a low voltage VF problem.

I will call Anton about when I get some free time and see what they have to say. I edited my original post -- "minute" was just a poor figure of speech, "a second" is a better choice of description.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Enzo Giobbé

if I could, I would Super Glue the switch to manual, as for some reason, it seems to be too easy to switch to auto (much easier than on other lenses :).

Yes Enzo, I meant to ask in my earlier post if the iris had been 'accidentally' switched to auto because of the location of the switch. I can see it getting bumped pretty easy.

-gb-

[Enzo Giobbé]

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Yes Enzo, I meant to ask in my earlier post if the iris had been 'accidentally' switched to auto because of the location of the switch. I can see it getting bumped pretty easy.

-gb-

Greg, has that happened to you? Seems like the only real complaint I have heard about the camera. Operator goes to turn the iris ring only to find it locked (auto iris on). Maybe the lens control handle is a bit smaller than most?

[Trung Dau]

Have Anyone heard something about the upgrade in Europe?
It's been for a long time i'm waiting for that news. But there's nothing happens. WOULD Somebody tell me the reason? :)
thanks

[Carl Hicks]

Hi Trung,

Several European customers have had their cameras upgraded. Have you contacted your local reseller or JVC sales office?

Here's the contact page for JVC Pro Europe:

http://www.jvcproeurope.com/uk/pub/contact.html

Regards,

Carl

[Trung Dau]

I will contact them. THnaks for ur information.

[Enzo Giobbé]

First off, let me say that JVC has definitely changed their customer service to world class customer oriented status.

We let the other broadcast outlets take the cameras they have borrowed from us in for the "A" upgrade, except for the "fair condition" noted on their invoices :), everybody was impressed at the speed and "no hassle" the upgrades were performed at (most with a 24 hour turn-around).

Only one of the 12 cameras we have had a very slight SSE problem, and JVC calibrated that right out. Even with full on gain and shooting in the "toe" of the exposure ramp (Q: "What stop where you shooting at?" A: "I don't know, it was too dark to see."), there is no SEE evident now when viewed on any of our huge HD monitors. SSE should no longer ever be an issue with the HD-100 units, if it is, JVC can, and will, calibrate it out.

Some post upgrade feedback I have received: 3 of the upgraded cams are having a problem reading the remaining tape time correctly on startup (I cautioned every outlet to ONLY use JVC Pro HD tapes). The display says "Near Tape End" even with a new tape up. After the tape runs for a few seconds, the remaining tape time is shown correctly. This problem did not exist before the upgrade. The problem reoccurs after the deck has gone dark. Return video shows clean heads.

All of the cams are having the momentary VF blackout problem when using the Anton Bauer kit and turning on the Ultralight 2 with a 20W bulb installed. This happens with both Dionic 90 and HyTRON 50 batteries up and less than 50% capacity remaining on the meter. The VF "remaining time" display now works correctly, and it recalibrates itself just like the "big" cams do.

Now, I think I have found the problem with the VF blackout happening when the UL2 is switched on. One of the cams CNN borrowed actually had a couple of tape hits when this happened to them. This tells me that the cam shut down momentarily. So I believe the problem is that JVC has set the cam off voltage too high (at 12V., it cannot be adjusted lower via the Anton battery menu, only higher).

Most (if not all) of the other ENG cams we use have the shutoff set to 11.2 to 11.5V., and the alarm set at about a volt higher (user selectable, as it is on the JVC). I am thinking that with the battery at 40 to 60% capacity, turning on the light causes a momentary amperage hit that drives the voltage under 12 V. causing the VF blackout and in some cases a momentary cam stop (which shows up as a tape hit). This phenomenon occurs more often with the lower AH HyTRON 50s.

Tungsten lights use more wattage on startup then they do on run. It also may be OE (a manual light/camera run sync problem). The operator turns on the light and hits record at about the same time. Cameras that have an autorun light circuit built in -- sync the tape run and light on cycle so they do not occur at the same time.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Other than that, absolutely no problems after the "A" upgrade and every broadcast outlet is really loving this cam.

[Ian Savage]

As far as Europe goes I was told that upgrades were available for my 101E when I had the time to take it in to JVC (my camera was bought in Dec 2005) and I am taking it in the week after this one, it took a simple call to them to book a time to take it in and I have been VERY pleased with the service from JVC on all counts.

I will also say that I have had no problems at all with voltage's whilst using the PAG adaptor and C50 cobalt cells, very impressed with them, the C50 size cells seem to suit the 101 very nicely and will happily run the camera all day long.

[Carl Hicks]

Originally Posted by Enzo Giobbé

First off, let me say that JVC has definitely changed their customer service to world class customer oriented status.

We let the other broadcast outlets take the cameras they have borrowed from us in for the "A" upgrade, except for the "fair condition" noted on their invoices :), everybody was impressed at the speed and "no hassle" the upgrades were performed at (most with a 24 hour turn-around).

Only one of the 12 cameras we have had a very slight SSE problem, and JVC calibrated that right out. Even with full on gain and shooting in the "toe" of the exposure ramp (Q: "What stop where you shooting at?" A: "I don't know, it was too dark to see."), there is no SEE evident now when viewed on any of our huge HD monitors. SSE should no longer ever be an issue with the HD-100 units, if it is, JVC can, and will, calibrate it out.

Some post upgrade feedback I have received: 3 of the upgraded cams are having a problem reading the remaining tape time correctly on startup (I cautioned every outlet to ONLY use JVC Pro HD tapes). The display says "Near Tape End" even with a new tape up. After the tape runs for a few seconds, the remaining tape time is shown correctly. This problem did not exist before the upgrade. The problem reoccurs after the deck has gone dark. Return video shows clean heads.

All of the cams are having the momentary VF blackout problem when using the Anton Bauer kit and turning on the Ultralight 2 with a 20W bulb installed. This happens with both Dionic 90 and HyTRON 50 batteries up and less than 50% capacity remaining on the meter. The VF "remaining time" display now works correctly, and it recalibrates itself just like the "big" cams do.

Now, I think I have found the problem with the VF blackout happening when the UL2 is switched on. One of the cams CNN borrowed actually had a couple of tape hits when this happened to them. This tells me that the cam shut down momentarily. So I believe the problem is that JVC has set the cam off voltage too high (at 12V., it cannot be adjusted lower via the Anton battery menu, only higher).

Most (if not all) of the other ENG cams we use have the shutoff set to 11.2 to 11.5V., and the alarm set at about a volt higher (user selectable, as it is on the JVC). I am thinking that with the battery at 40 to 60% capacity, turning on the light causes a momentary amperage hit that drives the voltage under 12 V. causing the VF blackout and in some cases a momentary cam stop (which shows up as a tape hit). This phenomenon occurs more often with the lower AH HyTRON 50s.

Tungsten lights use more wattage on startup then they do on run. It also may be OE (a manual light/camera run sync problem). The operator turns on the light and hits record at about the same time. Cameras that have an autorun light circuit built in -- sync the tape run and light on cycle so they do not occur at the same time.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Other than that, absolutely no problems after the "A" upgrade and every broadcast outlet is really loving this cam.

Enso, thant for the detailed report. I have forwarded your report to product managers, and I will let you know when I hear something.

Regards, Carl

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Enzo Giobbé

All of the cams are having the momentary VF blackout problem when using the Anton Bauer kit and turning on the Ultralight 2 with a 20W bulb installed. This happens with both Dionic 90 and HyTRON 50 batteries up and less than 50% capacity remaining on the meter. The VF "remaining time" display now works correctly, and it recalibrates itself just like the "big" cams do.

Now, I think I have found the problem with the VF blackout happening when the UL2 is switched on. One of the cams CNN borrowed actually had a couple of tape hits when this happened to them. This tells me that the cam shut down momentarily. So I believe the problem is that JVC has set the cam off voltage too high (at 12V., it cannot be adjusted lower via the Anton battery menu, only higher).

Most (if not all) of the other ENG cams we use have the shutoff set to 11.2 to 11.5V., and the alarm set at about a volt higher (user selectable, as it is on the JVC). I am thinking that with the battery at 40 to 60% capacity, turning on the light causes a momentary amperage hit that drives the voltage under 12 V. causing the VF blackout and in some cases a momentary cam stop (which shows up as a tape hit). This phenomenon occurs more often with the lower AH HyTRON 50s.

Tungsten lights use more wattage on startup then they do on run. It also may be OE (a manual light/camera run sync problem). The operator turns on the light and hits record at about the same time. Cameras that have an autorun light circuit built in -- sync the tape run and light on cycle so they do not occur at the same time.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Other than that, absolutely no problems after the "A" upgrade and every broadcast outlet is really loving this cam.

You are absolutely right in thinking the camera may be doing a brief shutdown from low voltage. The phenomenon you discussed is called 'current inrush' and is definitely present with tungsten bulbs whose filament resistance increases a bit when hot. The best way to prevent this is with a 'soft start' circuit as can be found on the Canon VL10 on camera light. This also helps to reduce thermal shock to the lamp element which prolongs life. If the camera light has a dimmer knob, you can accomplish the same thing by having the dimmer rotated to minimum so the light won't suck in so much current (causing a voltage sag) at startup.

-gb-

[Greg Bellotte]

Originally Posted by Stephen L. Noe

BTW: When they recieve your camera they link you to an "accessory" page which offers a $2200 lens option. Is that the stock lens??? Click here The lens part number is LW30610-001B.

Any word on what lens this is??

[Mel Namnama]

Hi Guys,
My camera was just returned with the "A" upgrade. The
viewfinder voltage meter now reads anywhere from 14-16 v, with A.B. Dionic 90's attached...the minutes and percentage info. screen seem accurate. Should I be concerned about damaging/frying the cam? The voltage meter always stayed at 7.2 v prior to the upgrade.
I connected the camera to a another (brand new) 7/14 goldmount and still get 14-16v.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Ram Ganesh]

My camera just arrived from B&H -

How to check for "A" version?

I saw the serial number below the camera - no "A" Sticker!! Tho there is one one "A" sticker on the outside box (package)

Edit: Nevermind - saw (A) sticker hidden in below the shoulderpad

[Tom Chaney]

My camera just arrived from JVC with the upgrade complete, and it still shows the voltage between 14 and 16 volts as well.

I assume that it is okay.

Tom