True HD at under 3K, a great idea and a fantastic Camera!
Written: Mar 10 '04 (Updated Apr 13 '04)
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Pros: HD / SD / DV All cables and software provided. Great manual controls, durable, affordable.
Cons: Firewire Jack placement, Edit Software could be better.
The Bottom Line: Amazing image quality and clarity for the price. Worth every penny to videophiles.
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| flindingo's Full Review: JVC GR-HD1 Mini DV Digital Camcorder |
Wow! Ok, let me try to get to a more in-depth review now. First of all don't think that this HD is the same one George Lucas used to make Star Wars, it's not, that's something totally different. It's also not the camera your favorite episode of Will and Grace HD was shot on, but what it IS, is a fantastic Pro-sumer/consumer HD camera.
Using CCD technology, this camera has a single CCD which can record 1.8 Megapixels of information. But don't get confused with the '3CCD is better', it doesn't exactly apply here. The CCD Technology used in the JVC is that which is found in Digital Cameras, and those turn some fantastic Hi-Res images with perfect color representation. Digital cameras in the past used 3CCD's one for each color Red Green Blue, and that provided a very nice picture, but the JVC has a post filtering for the Single CCD it uses providing very sharp colors.
Ok now HD / SD/ DV... WHAT?! Ok this camera does it all, now an explanation of the formats before everyone is totally confused. Good 'ole VHS and most broadcast TV is at a resolution of 640x480 resolution, imagine that as a little box 640 dots wide, 480 dots tall. VHS runs about 352x240, almost 1/2 the resoultion of TV. Ok DV and DVD resolution are at 720x480, notice how when you watch a DVD then put the same movie on your fancy VHS player, it looks a little muddled... that's resolution. Ok, so what is SD? SD is 720x480 at 60p (i'll explain the p and i in a sec), and HD is 1080x720 (i/p). Are we all confused?
the JVC does all of this, the max it does is 1080x720 30p, so that means it takes an image at 1080x720 at 30 progressive frames per second.
DV Video does 60 fields per second (interlacing). What is interlacing you say? Interlacing is how NTSC signals are displayed, they are displayed in a series of rows of constant moving streams, that interweave to make a single image. A FRAME which is used in HD is a single solid image, like a Photograph, or like a movie in the theater. With Progressive frames, you get a much more 'film' like look and sharper images, as an interlaced field is only 50% of the image (notice those jagged lines when watching cartoons?).
Ok, so what's the difference between HD, SD, and DV. DV is 720x480 interlaced, so it'll always look like Video. SD is 720x480 (same as DV) BUT! it's at 60 FRAMES per second, which provides extra sharp smooth playback on HD Tv's the playback is twice as fast as NTSC, and the images look amazing, because you have twice as many frames in a single second of video. HD is 1080x720 at 30 frames per second, this can provide some shaky fast movement, but it's resolution turns some fantastic images, and at 30 frames per second it turns a very good Film look. Film in the movie theaters runs at 24 frames per second.
Ok there's the technical mumbo, now about the camera... WOW, it's packed with everything you could ever need, it has complete manual controls for the big 52mm lens, it has a rotatable hand grip for some fantastic angles while shooting. A Full Color hi-res flip out screen and eye piece. To change between HD/SD/DV there is a switch you just flick into place and start shooting. The camera has a nice sturdy feel to it, and fits well in an average sized hand. It is very easy to control, and get to the zoom and record buttons. The built in Mic is placed at the front of the camera away from the recording mechanism providing almost silent record of the audio. The manual focus ring is big like on a professional camera and easy to control all the way.
Editing, ok so you shot some fancy HD footage, now what? Well JVC leaves you with everything you'll ever need, including a XP Capture utility and an MPEG editing software bundle. You can capture HD signals through the firewire port (not DV Video) using the special utility and store them on your PC. Then using MPEG Edit the included editing application you can chop up your video and make some sweet movies. They also include a DVD burning utility to output your final project. The Camera was a little difficult to get the driver right, but that was my fault for not reading the directions (read carefully!!!). And good news, is there is a way to capture on OS X using a Developer Tool for firewire called 'DVHS capture utility' free from Apple.com, I haven't been able to edit yet on a MAC without buying an additional software bundle.
If you want to watch your HD movie on your TV, JVC came through with all the needed cables, just take your Component cable provided by them, plug into your camera, and viola! HD home movies.
All in all, I'm in awe of this camera, I'm going to rush out and try to shoot some movies on it. I recommend this for camera junkies, it's not quite for beginners. The software setup is a little tricky, and editing as well is hard until Adobe or Apple openly support this new format. But JVC has brought the face of the future to Video, and it's CCD technology.
There is a professional model the JY-HD10U, which includes 2 XLR connectors for Microphones, as well as Color Bars generation. By the way I purchased this camera from Buydig.com, excellent service and delivery time.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2000
Recommended for: Professional Videographers - Broadcast Quality Videos
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Epinions.com ID:
flindingo
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Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 120
Trusted by: 35 members
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