HD200/250 Feedback?

[Troy Teuscher]

I'm really interested in the JVC 200/250. I would like to hear some feedback from someone who has shot with it. Does it meet your expectations? Is the picture sharp in detail and rich in color? How does the picture compare to the XLH1?

[Ronald Wilk]

Hi Troy:

I am asking the same questions. I have, for the most part, decided to purchase the GY-HD250U but before doing so I would like to have some image confirmation vis-a-vis quality. I have scoured the net but have found little if anything that would serve to make me feel more comfortable about the purchase and I know from past experience that specs do not always tell the whole story. So, you're not alone!

Ron

[Justin Ferar]

We purchased two HD200's and are currently evaluating. The big hold up is waiting for the new JVC 20 inch pro HD monitors to ship. Without the monitors we can't really say much.

We have SD CRT monitors but displaying downconverted 720p60 and commenting on it is really not useful for anyone.

So far all we can say:

Ergonomics are superlative for run and gun
No SSE at all
colorometry out of the box appears same as GY-DV5000U (which is a good thing)
You can really bump up gain with the super encoder for shooting low lit events

More later...

[Tim Dashwood]

I used the HD200 to conduct my HZ-CA13U test last week.
I was pleased to find that there are now 5 levels of black stretch. Unfortunately, I didn't really get enough time with it to study the rest of the menus.
I only shot in 720P60 mode, but the encoder seems to hold up well.
See this thread for the results.

I'm picking up a HD250 in a couple days and will be putting it through its paces. I'll have some real quality time with it so I can really experiment and compare with the HD100.

[Don Bloom]

I can't really say much since I don't own the camera in question but the ABC affiliate here in Chicago has 2 of the HD250s that they use on two of their live trucks and since that station is the first in Chicago to deliver local news in HD including live remotes (probably one of the first in the country I'm guessing) it speaks a lot for the camera. The image quality as expected is terrific.

Don

[Dave Beaty]

We have two of the HD250's. We are very happy with the added features over the HD100. These are the BNC component outputs, Genlock and TC slave inputs. The Anton Bauer mounts are standard, however, we had to replace two of the backplates out of the box, because they do not come with screw holes for wireless holders.

The picture quality is VERY similar to the HD100. We've looked very hard to see noticable differences with the super encoder. We also have not been using 60p as 30p has a pleasing film like motion quality. All in all, we are happy with the picture.

We also purchased several DR HD100 firestores. It's a long story for us about these things. They are not compatible recording QT on the 250, so if you edit on mac, consider every shot will need to be converted in MPEG Streamclip. They are working on a fix. This could be a day, a week a month, a year? No one has offered a timeline. We hope to one day drag clips from the FS into FCPro without digitizing and also solving the following problem.

On tape, the clips can get split in FCPro. This is another "issue" with this codec and we are not sure if it's Apple, JVC or who's problem it is. For instance, if you shoot one long shot for 5 minutes, like an interview, then cature this clip via firewire, the clip can be broken up during capture. At each break, the first 3-4 seconds of material will be missing. So keep this in mind if you shoot and edit in FCPro.

HTH

Dave Beaty

[Justin Ferar]

Our thinking going in was that we will be converting to DVC Pro HD for editing. Also, split clips are not an option. So we budgeted for a Kona/Decklink card. At this point you pretty much need one of the cards to work efficiently.

I can also comment on the Anton Bauer ABFSKIT2 which allows you to attach a wireless bucket and and/or firestore. Works like a charm for you run and gunners out there.

Peace!

[Ronald Wilk]

Hi:
Please excuse my newbe ignorance but I have a question in regards to the Kona or Declink cards for the MAC. I realize that both producers offer different models, however, am I to assume that with either, one can capture directly from camera/tape into an NLE such as FCP 5.1.2? If so, how is the interface accomplished since the cards that I have seen (photos only) have BNC connectors and, if the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, would the use of such a card potentially resolve the problem of interrupted or shortened clips as described in one of the above posts?

Thank you in advance,
Ron

[Justin Ferar]

Ron,

The cams have BNC component out connectors to connect to the card. One can grab TC via the firewire port BUT the JVC HDV deck BR-HD50U is a hassle free solution.

The Kona/Decklink should resolve gap problems during capture.

Best.

[Ronald Wilk]

Hi Justin:

Thank you for your assistance. The BR-HD50U would probably be the best solution, however, it does not fit into my budget at the moment. On the other hand, a Declink or Kona card could be be squeezed in somewhere. Do you have any suggestions as to which one would best suit my needs vis-a-vis direct tape transfer from the 250 into FCP? (Mac g5 dual 2.7ghz, 2gig ram).

Ron

[Justin Ferar]

Ron,

I would venture to say that there is no consesus that favors one manufacturer over the other.

Using the camera as a deck with you sysytem you should be looking at the Kona LH (for PCI-X)

Unfortunately the DeckLink HD Pro (for PCI-X) does not have analog component inputs so with your dual 2.7 PCI-X system you are limited to AJA Kona LH. I would however not look at this as a limitation. AJA is a MAJOR broadcast player.

Sorry to hijack the thread!

OOps! The 250 has SDI so you could use the DeckLink HD Pro PCI-X as well.

[Ronald Wilk]

Thanks Justin, I'll check them both out but I will definitely consider the HD50U after I have recovered from the HD250U purchase.

Ron

[Stephen L. Noe]

Originally Posted by Troy Teuscher

I'm really interested in the JVC 200/250. I would like to hear some feedback from someone who has shot with it. Does it meet your expectations? Is the picture sharp in detail and rich in color? How does the picture compare to the XLH1?

I can offer This thread (click here) as a comparison between the HD-100 and HD-250's encoder. Comparison between the XLH1 and HD-250 is non-existent AFAIK.

[Ronald Wilk]

Hi Stephen:

I enjoyed your comparison demo, it's very revealing and has helped me with my decision regarding the purchase of an HD 250U. I do have one question, however, that you may be able to answer. A prior review of various cameras, including the H1 and HD100, raised the issue of "sticky details" with the HD100, which I interpreted to mean lack of movement in areas of fine detail where actual off camera movement was visibly apparent. Is this a noticeable issue with the HD 200/250?

Ron

[Jonathan Nelson]

Originally Posted by Ronald Wilk

Hi Stephen:

I enjoyed your comparison demo, it's very revealing and has helped me with my decision regarding the purchase of an HD 250U. I do have one question, however, that you may be able to answer. A prior review of various cameras, including the H1 and HD100, raised the issue of "sticky details" with the HD100, which I interpreted to mean lack of movement in areas of fine detail where actual off camera movement was visibly apparent. Is this a noticeable issue with the HD 200/250?

Ron

I don't know about the hd200/250 and other jvc's, but I have never seen sticky details come out of my hd100s.