Getting the best out of my GY-HD100U

[Chris Cherrett]

Hello!

This is my first post to this forum. I am very new with PRO video and have some big questions :) I have been researching lots but often don't know what I am reading or if it is something that is important to me.

I purchased a JVC GY-HD100 (A) with an IDX battery as well as a Manfrotto 3221WN Tripod Package with 501 Pro Video Head.

I am wanting to shoot 24p video for film like results.

I was wondering if you could provide a list of things that I could do to get the best out of my new camera. What I was looking for was a list breakdown of things that a new user could go through to know how things are done.

It is tough to break into video being that there is so many factors. It would be really nice if some pros could help a guy like me out to understanding quicker! :)

I hope this is not too much to ask but I believe that a good breakdown would not only help me out but make a great sticky!

Thanks

[Chris Cherrett]

Me again!

I just found the scene recipe from the stickies at the top of the forum (should have read first!).

It sound like these are great settings to use. I have already calibrated my camera to these settings and look forward to seeing the results. Not that I understand all that took place but I will learn soon. :)

http://www.paolociccone.com/hd100-calibration-3.html

Any other pointers would be great. I have been reading through the forum and have learned so much already.

Thanks

[Justin Ferar]

The best advice I could give you is to go shoot a bunch of footage and find a way to monitor your stuff in HD. You will see what you did right and what went wrong.

Then report the stuff you are having trouble with.

My 2 cents...

BTW- It's daunting at first but in time you will gain confidence. Congrats on jumping in with a sweet camera.

[Chris Cherrett]

Thanks Justin,

I just about bought a Sony HVR-A1U. I did not really know what I was doing I just knew that I wanted a camera with XLR inputs because my last camera did not even have a mic input :(

I was just about to buy the Sony and decided to do another round or research. I heard very good things about the JVC and decided to get one.

When my camera arrived I turned it on and the screen was half green and half red. Here is a sample clip.

http://www.tsiwebdesign.com/testing/final_split.mpg

I sent the camera back to the dealer (Texas Media Systems) and it was replaced with no hassles.

So here I am :) I have not been able to film anything I really would call good yet but I am trying hard.

I watched the filming of Christmas in Wonderland. They filmed in HD and had some nice monitors setup. I got to watch a cool crane shot that really inspired me to try some new things. It was really great to watch how a production is done. So I have some good ideas as to what I need to do but at the point the whole color balancing thing is hard to grasp.

Thanks

[Brian Luce]

Do you have a case?

polarizing filter?

wide angle adaptor is nice to have.

[Chris Cherrett]

Hey Brian,

I built my own case out of a hardshell suit case covered in bullet resistant material with custom cut foam. It is working very well for me.

As far as a polarizing filter I just never thought of that. I bought one for each of my lenses for my SLR but did not think of it for my video camera. Do you have any recomendations as to what filters are good for this camera?

Is there a standard wide angle adapter you buy?

Thanks for the help! :)

[PJ Gallagher]

Hi Chris,

The standard wide angle convertor for the JVC is the Fujinon WCV-82SC Wide Conversion Lens. It's only a 0.8 convertor, but every extra bit of width helps :-)

For a polariser, you need one with an 82mm thread. I'm using a Hoya on mine. They're pretty widely available, just check your local camera store or even Ebay for decent prices. But beware if you buy the super cheap ones from China or India, they've been known to be in pretty poor condition when they arrive.

Cheers
Pat
www.caliburnproductions.com

[Chris Cherrett]

PJ:

Thanks for the advice :)

would you say the wide angle lens is worth it for what you get. Does it justify it's purchase in what it will do for me? I don't real know what the 0.8 will give me.

I just finished watching Tim's video on the different settings shown on a program being outputted from the GY HD100. It was cool to watch the gradients change and to look at the curves change as the settings changed. I look forward to playing with those settings on my own.

I take it that you can go out to a monitor straight from the camera (I don't know how to do this yet). If so do you have to go out to a HD monitor or will a regular monitor do? What is the difference? Can you get away with one of the small field monitors, say a 7'?

Thanks

[Brian Luce]

most people seem reasonably pleased with the WA. It's pricey though. I think about 500 bucks. I'm trying to work something out for .5 adaptor, for around half that price. will post results in a month.

I've been using the cokin system of filter adaptors. there's a polarizer that comes with it. very affordable.

[Chris Cherrett]

EDIT: I found the system :)

Brian:

Thanks for the post :)

Do you have a link to the system you are refering to? I found the lens filters but it sounds like you are talking about more than just a polarizing filter.

I look forward to hear about your Wide Angle experience :)

[Brian Luce]

i'm still working out that WA with my friend. we're making it. He made one already and it works really well. will keep the forum posted.

[Chris Cherrett]

Hey Brian,

If you can get a picture of the WA and possibly a sample screen of the output, that would be cool :)

[Keith Jenne]

Hi Chris,
This is my first time posting, but anyway I also have a GY-HD100ua. I like the camera but as said before go out and shoot alot of footage. One think I found out about the camera was for me was focusing. The eyepiece just does't work for me and the flip out monitor is a little bit better for focusing but when dealing with HD you will see very quickly when your out of focus. I had converted a 17" LCD monitor in conbination with a composit converter to SVGA to be my camera monitor. WOW now I can see if I'm in focus or not.

[Jan Van der Heyden]

One thing that I can recommend is going out in as many different "color" situations as you can. In the morning, in the afternoon, at dusk and take with you some different items which are all different in color, some bright and some very pale.

Put them together, start up the camera and try every time to get the picture just right (or at least as life-like as possible) fiddle with white balance : don't ever go out without your white card, play with shutter speeds, f-stop (please put it in manual mode, you'll learn so much more) and then compare the results. Once you have mastered these "on camera settings" start playing with the menu settings like the ones from Paolo Ciccone, which are the very best out there by the way.

You can only learn by doing, not by reading stuff.

As far as your question for a film-look is concerned, the film look is not only acquired by shooting in 24p, it is also a matter of image composition, focus and depth of field, camera-movements, sound,....

What I used to do is take a DVD of Lost (one of my all time favourite shows, even if only for the colors used) and write down for every scene what they were telling : anger, fear, love,...and how they would do it : in or out focus, close ups, movements, colors used in the background and if you do that, you'll pick up a lot as well.

Did you realize that in every scene where they are running, there is always one shot where you can't see the actor, nor the "hunter" only some leaves or foilage that are very hard to recognize ? They do this simply to give you the impression that even the cameraman was running without seeing what he shot.

Analyze some of your favourite shows and you'll know what I mean.

Good luck and keep us posted !

Jan