JVC GY-HM170 deal - a 4K professional camcorder with free XLR adapter & dual card slots for $1795

The Rodney Dangerfield of camcorders

JVC is a video camera company with many years of professional camcorder heritage - and they make great cameras - but that doesn't seem to get them much respect.

The big buzz in high end prosumer camcorders last year was the Ultra High Definition "4K" Sony FDR-AX100, which lists for $1698 (on sale right now for $1598).

But few reviewers (or camcorder buyers) seem to be aware than JVC offers a professional UHD camcorder at about the same price, the $1795 JVC GY-HM170 (on sale right now with a free XLR adapter and top handle) .

Case in point: there was a big update/review of the Sony AX100 at Cinema 5D recently - in part because Sony recently updated the camera with 100mbps Ultra HD.

Lost in the excitement over the AX100 upgrade, however, is the fact that the HM170 has been recording UHD at 150mbps since its release last fall.

Sony has also recently released an XLR adapter for the AX100. The $598 Sony XLR K2M adapter mounts on the AX100's non-standard hot shoe.  This addition gives the AX100 XLR mic inputs - but appears to make the camera a little top heavy and awkward. There's still no top handle.

The HM170's $399 XLR adapter, on the other hand, is built into a standard pro camcorder top handle. With the top handle mounted, the HM170 looks like its big brother, the HM200.  In fact, they become identical cameras, with the exception of the HM200's live streaming feature.

The pro HM170 has other standard features the prosumer AX100 lacks - such as HD 4:2:2 color subsampling, dual SD card slots and manual control of color (e.g., color gain, gamma, master pedestal).

At $1795, the HM170 is only a couple of hundred more than the AX100 - but, as of this post, it is the only professional 4K camcorder you can buy right now for less than $2000 (the $1999 Sony PXW-X70 doesn't count because you have to pay another few hundred to upgrade it to 4K).

To be fair, the HM170 is a traditional 1/2.3" sensor camcorder and the AX100 (and the X70) sport the larger 1" sensor.  If you need a 1" sensor, the HM170 is not the camera for you.

That said, if your budget is less than $2000 and you want a 4K camcorder with manual color control, XLR inputs and dual card slots, the $1795 JVC GY-HM170 deal with the free XLR adapter/top handle is pretty much the only game in town.

I have shot with the HM170's large sensor 4K stable-mate, the JVC GY-LS300, and the latest generation of JVC camcorders are the real deal.  Great image quality, good low light performance, pro ergonomics and reasonable prices.  They ought to be selling a whole lot more of them.

Sony Announces 4K Full Frame A7s - How Does It Stack Up Against the Panasonic GH4?

Sony unveils the A7s - a full frame, interchangeable lens 4K video camera

This is a big turnaround for Sony. A couple of months ago, in an article entitled, "Sony: Consumers aren't quite ready for 4K recording", Sony executives were quoted as saying, "Some competitors have already introduced 4K recording models so it is a point of differentiation that we don’t have at the moment but we see the need for it."

But with the firestorm of interest around the new Panasonic GH4 (and Sony's own FDR-AX100 4K camcorder), Sony seems to have changed its tune. At the end of today's press event at NAB 2014, Sony unveiled a new full-frame, interchangable lens camera based on the A7 - the A7s (high level specs on the slide below):



The headline number is clearly the ISO. In fact, the "s" in A7s stands for "sensitivity".  It is clear that Sony is going to make the case that low light shooters should buy this camera instead of the GH4.

But the rest of the specs aren't really competitive.  An optional XLR input doesn't match an optional quad 4K HD-SDI output. The A7s' slow motion will be a relatively lo-res 720/120p against the GH4's full HD 1080/96p.  The A7s' XAVX-S 50Mbps will certainly look nice, but if it is 8-bit 4:2:0, it won't grade as well as the GH4's 100Mbps 10-bit 4:2:2 HDMI output.  As for shooting LOG, the GH4's CineLike D will at least give S-Log2 a run for its money.

The elephant in the room, however, is price.  How much will this camera cost?  If, like the A7r,  it is a few hundred dollars over $2000 - I don't think they'll sell a lot of them.  If, however, it is closer to the price of the A7, the GH4 may have a fight on its hands.  Of course, that will kill A7 sales and create a lot of angry A7 owners.  It will be interesting to see what Sony does.

Really looking forward to getting to Vegas tomorrow!

EDIT: Just saw that DJ over at DSLRFilmNoob is reporting that the A7s cannot record 4K internally and that the price will be $2500.  If true, I don't think they're going to sell a lot of these cameras.

EDIT 2: The press release seems to confirm that the camera records 3840x2160 to an external recorder and 1080p to the internal card.  For cinema shooters who want DCI compatible 4096x2160 and prefer to record internally, this is a non-starter.  It looks like the GH4 is the winner on resolution, internal 4K recording and price.

EDIT 3:   Here's the first video shot with the A7s.  Compressed for YouTube and not downloadable:



 EDIT 4: Andrew Reid at EOSHD is reporting that Atomos has announced the Atomos Shogun external recorder for the A7s.  It will be "less than $2000" and will record the A7s' 8-bit 4K output as 10-bit ProRes.  So you'll need to add a ~$2000 recorder to the A7s' estimated $2500 price to get 10-bit 4K (transcoded from 8-bit).  That's a lot of money for a transcode.

If you've been waiting to see what Sony would do before deciding to pre-order your GH4, and this post has helped you make a decision, please pre-order through one of the links above or the display ads below. It won't cost you anything extra, and it will help to keep these updates coming. Thanks!

Slashcam 4K Shootout - Panasonic GH4 vs Sony AX100 vs Blackmagic Production Camera!

 

German review site Slashcam has done the first side-by-side of the first generation of <$3000 4K cameras, the Panasonic GH4, the Sony AX100, and the Blackmagic Production Camera.

Although the clips suffer from YouTube compression and questionable color choices in the grade, there are a couple of things that are clear. First, the GH4's 50ns shutter readout is almost as good as a global shutter. I had to freeze the frame to see skew/rolling shutter in the "whip pan" at 0:32. It wasn't distracting at all as I watched the motion video - unlike previous generation CMOS cameras.

Second, there is a lot to be said for the AX100's resolution, baked-in color rendition and power zoom. If you don't plan to color grade and don't need the flexibility of interchangeable lenses, this is a terrific little Handycam.

Here's the video:



Without access to the original files, this comparison is suggestive, but not definitive. That said, the accompanying review provides more insight. Here's another link to the full review. The translation is a little rough, but, thanks to Google Translate, I can't complain about the price.

These are all great cameras for their specific purposes. If you want cinema standard 4096x2160, internal recording to SD cards instead of SSDs, interchangeable lenses, a great viewfinder and in-camera color control in addition to gradeability - get the $1698 GH4 .

If all you need is UHD, but you want a Super 35 sensor, RAW (eventually) and no rolling shutter - get the $2995 Blackmagic Production Camera - but be prepared to buy external batteries and an external monitor or loupe (at the very least).

If you just want to pick up a camera and shoot stunning UHD without the hassle of color grading or changing lenses - get the $1998 AX100 - but be prepared for skew/rolling shutter if you pan too quickly.

If you know what you're getting into, you can't really go wrong with any of these cameras.

First Hands-On with the Panasonic GH4! [CORRECTED]

The great review site, "What Digital Camera?" in the UK, has the first hands-on review of the new Panasonic GH4 (published before the official rollout, pulled, and now re-posted).

Their bottom line? "For videographers the GH4 is currently peerless..."

Here's why: 4K at a maximum frame rate of 96fps (!) [EDIT: I was wrong about this - the 96fps frame rate is only available at 1080p], a 200mbps non-AVCHD codec, an OEM Interface Unit (pictured below) with 2 XLR inputs, 4 (!) SDI outputs, color bars, an audio tone and TBC. But for the lack of RAW, a shoulder mount and a built-in ND, this camera has everything on my list.

The new Panasonic microP2 UHS-II card makes these insane bitrates possible. It transfers files at up to 2.0Gbps (!) and is available now at Adorama and Amazon.


If the price point for this camera is really $2000, the 4K/30p cameras on the market, the $2K Sony AX100, the $4K Blackmagic Production Camera, the $4.5K Sony AX1 and especially the $12K Canon 1D C all seem suddenly overpriced.

That said, if you need a 4K camera now, and can't wait for the the GH4, please order it from the links above or the display ads below - it won't cost anything extra, and it will help keep these blog posts coming. Thanks so much!

In NYC? 4K Blackmagic Production Camera Demo on Feb. 11th!

Thinking about ordering $3995 Blackmagic Production Camera and want to actually see it before you pull out your credit card?  If so, and if you're in the New York City area, you can see the camera and demo footage in person, at the Moving Picture Collective ("Mopictive") meeting at AbelCine in the City on February 11th at 6:30 PM.

The Diamond Brothers have been shooting with a beta version of the camera for a while, and have some demo footage to show, along with the camera.

Looks like the ship date for this camera is getting close.  And with the upcoming Panasonic GH4K announcement and the new Sony AX100 shipping in March, this could be the real beginning of the affordable 4K "Ultra" HD era.

Sounds like a lot of fun, and I wish I could be there.  If anyone in the area does go, please post pics and your impressions in the comments section !  And, if seeing the camera in person moves you to pre-order the camera, please come back to the blog and click on one of the links above or the display ad below, thanks!