-
Stick with JVC for multi-cam production environment?
A little over a year ago, my church bought our first video camera — a JVC GY-HD110U. Overall, I’ve been mostly satisfied by the camera. A little disappointed at the noisy image in low light, but we’re always adding more lighting, so it shouldn’t be too big a deal.
I’m getting ready for our next BIG step — going with 3 cameras on sticks and one shoulder-mount, all connected to a production HD switcher, so we can create a television show for broadcast in HD.
I’d like to buy new HD700’s. I’ll be live-switching and recording direct to my Mac Pro, but I like the option of also recording to SDHC on each camera so I’ll always have alternate angles I can pull in post if necessary.
Unfortunately, I don’t see a studio configuration option for the HD700’s. Being that I’ll be using volunteer camera ops, I definitely want remote CCU ability.
Am I just stuck with HD250’s?
Any thoughts? Opinions?
-
4 Replies
-
The HM700 is a great camera. I’ve been working with one since May.
JVC makes 2 CCU units that work with the HM700.
If you’re on a budget, the RM-LP55U might be a good choice. Its $600 from B&H.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/76033-REG/JVC_RM_LP55U_RM_LP55U_Full_Function_Hand.htmlIf you’re looking for a more professional studio setup, then there’s the RM-LP25U. Its $4185 from B&H.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/507740-REG/JVC_RM_LP25U_RM_LP25U_Local_Remote_Panel.htmlHere’s a good link from JVC to check out when searching for accessories for the HM700: https://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/accessories.jsp?model_id=MDL101851&feature_id=05
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com
-
Hi Mark,
I’m new to the site (used to be on FastForwardClub forum but that isn’t to be found now.) but your question caught my eye. Also that you are shooting in church. I’m an American missionary serving in Thailand for around 30 years. We shoot evangelistic films in the native languages here. Now you know a bit about me.
We shoot with VERY old JVC KY17s and KY25s. Great workhorse cameras for their day but the chips are shifting color and we need to upgrade. Problem is what do we upgrade to (besides the money issue)? JVC Bangkok suggested that if I didn’t want to get their studio cam adapter to look at the 200 model to save money. I have been live switching through a four channel Panasonic for years but that all has to change as it is only 4/3 aspect and its highest signal is Y/C and not component. All my gear is long in the tooth and needs replacement. I would also like genlock that does come with the studio adapter. Another problem is the 200 is a tape model. I still like tape but only being able to shoot for 60 minutes is a drag. I’m interested in what you would decide to do and work arounds you may find. The 700’s would be nice but to replace switcher, cams, purchase studio modules and RC units is a killer on my budget.
When shooting movies we shoot with a JVC GY-DV5001 PAL camera with a Focus Enhancement’s hard drive recorder. It’s still running great and excellent picture. We will continue to use it for some time as Thailand hasn’t gone HD yet.
I should have mentioned that we have a 43’X32′ studio with 21′ ceilings and 12′ grid.
Great to read about your work and hope to hear from you soon.
Tom Silkwood
-
We have decided to push ahead with the 700’s since they don’t need a studio kit (they come with all the connections we need right on the camera.) It’s going to be a gradual process.
One of my camera volunteers is a former field news cameraman. We’re going to buy one 700 and let him roam with it during services, recording straight to SDHC card. I’ll pull his footage into Final Cut Pro after the service and combine it with the footage from our main tripod-mounted camera (110U). We’ll run this way for a while and see how well that flow works for us. We’ll add cameras as the budget allows, and eventually add a live switcher. Probably a Panasonic AV-HS400A.
Are you on churchmedia.net? I have found their forums to be EXTREMELY helpful. Pose your scenario to the folks there and I’m sure you’ll get a ton of helpful advice.
-
By the way, if you’re interested, I’ve posted a high-def video of Sunday’s service. This was all recorded to tape on our lone 110U, dumped into Final Cut Pro where I did a bare minimum of post work (fade in, fade out, EQ’d the audio just a bit) and compressed it down for upload to Vimeo.
Lighting is a huge issue for us. We just haven’t had the time or money to do our lighting right yet. I have to run the iris wide open the whole time. After hearing nothing but badmouthing of the JVC’s low-light operation, I’m actually quite impressed with the result. I downloaded a low-light scene recipe from a DV forum and it seems to have helped quite a bit.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up