JVC GY-HM100U Review

Weighing in at less than 3lbs. fully loaded, JVC''s bantam GY-HM100U is surprisingly ergonomic.
Photo by D.W. Leitner

Recently, a filmmaker friend of mine confided to me on the eve of her trip to Baghdad that her 5lb. Sony HVR-Z1U would be too heavy for all-day use in the wilting temperatures of Mesopotamia, so she was also taking along a tiny consumer HDV camcorder. I knew she would favor it. I''ve had this size/weight discussion of late with many filmmaker friends, and many, to my surprise, agree with her.

Surprise, because hailing from an era of “dockable” three-tube Betacams, which added 17lbs. of pressure to my spine (Digital Betacams still tipped the scale at 15lbs. two decades later), I find today''s Handycam-type camcorders to be featherweight and liberating. I guess it all depends on what you get used to.

It may also be a matter of body build. I''m not stocky, but I''m solid and can easily hold a Sony Z1 in front of me for hours (done it many times). I''ve noticed in discussion with many camerapersons over the years that it''s hard to predict according to a person''s size and build whether they''ll possess the upper-body strength and lower-back endurance to shoot comfortably for hours. That''s why, I think, some people take delight in handheldcamcorders while others insist on shoulder-mount designs.

In a flash, the GY-HM100 breaks apart to mimic a consumer camcorder.
Photo by D.W. Leitner

If JVC''s new GY-HM100U had been available a few months earlier, I think my friend would have swooned over it. It has a solid, full-size handle with two XLR inputs, a comfortable, full-size color view¬finder (not the dinky sort found on most miniature camcorders), a zoom rocker switch that''s sensitive enough to produce slow controlled zooms, and perfect ergonomic balance. Oh yes, and fully loaded—battery, recording medium, mic—it weighs less than 3lbs. (I was shocked how small and light the cardboard shipping box was when the review unit arrived.)

Many will come to treasure the HM100''s defining feature: a removable handle. I did a shoot in northern Pakistan several years ago with a Sony HVR-A1U, another bantam HD camcorder the same weight as the HM100, which, like a portable assault weapon, could also be broken down into smaller parts. By unscrewing and disengaging the A1''s XLR audio adapter—which did not incorporate a handle, let alone a full-size one—and by removing the lens hood, I instantly converted the A1 into a tiny amateur camcorder.

This can be a lifesaver in a dangerous corner of the world. (I think my Baghdad-bound friend would concur. She reports that Sony Z1s are used for news in that part of the world and are considered fully professional. In other words, targets.) In safer realms, it can spell the difference between stealing a shot or coming away empty-handed.

Perhaps it''s unusual to get this far in a new camcorder review without a single mention of the usual tech specs, excluding size and weight, but I''ve taken this path because for the people who are going to flock to this sub-$4,000 camcorder—and flock they will; it''s going to be a hit—tech specs will be secondary to the considerations mentioned above. You only have to pick up a JVC HM100 to appreciate its petite dimensions, smart design, and solid build quality.

JVC''s innovation doesn''t end with body design. The HM100 introduces three advanced recording techniques:

1. Capture to Sony''s XDCAM EX MPEG-2 format, either at 1440x1080, 25Mbps constant bit rate (HDV equivalent) or 1920x1080, 35Mbps variable bit rate, both of which can be contained (“wrapped”) in either an MPEG-4 file format (.mp4) as Sony does or ...
2. as an alternative, contained in Apple''s QuickTime format (.mov) for direct drag-and-drop playability in Final Cut Pro—no need for a “clip browser” or other intermediary plug-ins. A camcorder first! (AJA Video Systems'' imminent Ki Pro compact solid-state deck converts uncompressed HD to Apple ProRes 422 and also directly produces QuickTime files. A trend?)
3. Lastly, file recording to cheap, tiny SDHC Class 6 cards, which Sony PMW-EX1 and PMW-EX3 camcorders accomplish only with an adapter card. (Panasonic''s upcoming AG-HMC40, which is about the same size as the HM100, captures AVCHD to SDHC cards. Definitely a trend.)

Further, the HM100 offers choices of 60i/30p and 24p as well as 50i/25p—definitely a “worldcam”—in both HD flavors, 1080 and 720. (720p formats are 19Mbps MPEG-2.) Of course, 720p/60 yields smooth slo-mo when conformed to 23.98fps in Final Cut Pro using Cinema Tools.

The GY-HM100 has two slots for tiny, cheap SDHC cards (Class 6).
Photo by D.W. Leitner

Although standard-definition recording is not available, the HM100 provides 480i downconversion over its analog component connection and 480i or 480p over HDMI. (Yes, High-Definition Multimedia Interface also supports SD.)

Under CAMERA PROCESS in the menu, DETAIL LEVEL can be set from -10 to +10 or turned off completely. Balance between vertical and horizontal levels of detail can be adjusted using DETAIL V/H BALANCE. Knee can be adjusted in increments from 85 percent to 100 percent or set to auto. GAMMA settings are none, “standard” (what does this mean, Rec. 709?), or “cinema.” (You''ll have to experiment.) For the latter two, there''s a GAMMA LEVEL setting from -5 to +5. (Again, experiment.) COLOR MATRIX choices are off, “standard,” Cinema Vivid Color, and Cinema Subdued Color. (Again…) Whichever settings you prefer, you can save them as a single profile to the SD card—up to four profiles in total—which you can load and reuse at will.

Other pro touches include manual control of f/stop, manual control of shutter (1/3.75 to 1/10,000—great!); a microtoggle for L/M/H gain settings from automatic to 18dB; a micro¬toggle for preset/A/B white-balance settings; and zebras which can be set in five-point increments from 0 percent to more than 100 percent luminance. (Now that''s amazing.) There is no switch dedicated to zebras, however, so one of three user-assignable buttons must be selected. (Higher gain settings yield remarkably smooth results, perhaps slightly softening the image but not coarsening it much.)

All of this is mighty impressive. So what''s the catch? There isn''t one, except for the limitations inherent in a sub-$4,000 camcorder.

The HM100 uses a 1/4in. progressive 3CCD sensor block that, per JVC, features “diagonal offset.” That''s another way of saying that both horizontal and vertical pixel offset are needed to interpolate a 1920x1080 result. Although a smaller CCD makes for a smaller camcorder, there''s a price to pay, including smaller, less light-efficient pixels, image degradation from diffraction caused by smaller-diameter irises, and greater demands on lens resolution in the case of HD.

The 10X Fujinon zoom (3.7mm-37mm) in the HM100 does a superb job under the circumstances, but it''s less than 3in. long. Smartly, the iris is limited to f/8 to deter softness from diffraction. When fully open to f/1.8, the iris has a four-sided diamond shape. The reason this matters is that it affects the appearance of out-of-focus detail. (See “bokeh” in Wikipedia.) You will see these shapes at times in internal flares and reflections, for instance at night when shooting into headlights of oncoming cars. At this time you will also see the vertical smear that CCDs are well-known for, plus a pronounced crossed-sword effect resembling a star filter—possibly the result of an optical anti-aliasing filter. Taken together, this creates a distinctive 6-point star pattern. Problem is, you can''t turn it off.

There is a single lens ring that alternates between zoom and focus, selected by a switch on the side. (I always use manual focus.) An adjacent two-position switch selects on or off for the lone ND filter. You have to dig deep into the specs to discover that “on” means something called “+1/10 ND.” Ten percent transmission? If so, we''re talking about slightly more than three stops, or 0.9 density, the standard designation photography and cinematography have used more than 100 years. (Confused labeling of ND is a personal pet peeve, and all video manufacturers are guilty. No clue why they do this.)

I quite like the lens hood, which attaches readily using a bayonet mount and incorporates a sliding shutter to protect the lens when not in use. (When you start the HM100 and it sees black for any reason, it admonishes, “Check lens cover.”) When the hood is off, the lens directly accepts a 46mm screw-in filter; when the hood is attached, the hood further accepts a larger 72mm filter. These things count!

CCDs run warm compared to CMOS and slurp more juice—a challenge to battery time. On the HM100, a fully charged BN-VF823U Data Battery reads only 110 minutes. I know this because even when the HM100 is not powered, I can press the “Index” button at the edge of the LCD panel and the HM100 will query the battery, then display the results in the form of an eye-catching fuel-gauge graphic. (There''s no tape path to power up and down, so power draw is predictable.) Fortunately, the HM100 favors the same BN-VF823U battery common to JVC''s MiniDV and Everio cam¬corders. They''re cheap, plentiful, and easy to find.

Upon connecting via USB, QuickTime files are instantly available on a Mac.
Photo by D.W. Leitner

The color viewfinder offers a comfortably wide diameter—yes!—with a generous exit optic and large floppy eyecup. Furthermore, it can extend an additional 3/4in. from the HM100''s body and tilt up to a more natural viewing position. (Additional points for ergonomics here.) The viewfinder''s internal display is LCD and rather flat in contrast, but it''s bright and easily up to the job of fine focusing. The 2.8in. LCD is bright and sharp too. (Be careful of viewing angle.) Peaking is present in both but not adjustable.

There is no 2X magnification function, but JVC includes its Focus Assist feature, which momentarily converts the color viewfinder or LCD to black and white and adds red contouring to in-focus details. (You can choose blue or green, but red works best.) Focus Assist works OK but disappears in low-contrast or low-key scenes, where you''re on your own.

A bone to pick at this point. Like zebras, you have to assign Focus Assist to one of three user-assignable buttons. There are two on the lens barrel and one hidden under the folded LCD. But the natural position for Focus Assist is the button on the user side of the zoom rocker switch. This is very nearly a convention, like the gas pedal on the right and brake pedal on the left (regardless of right- or left-hand traffic).

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On the HM100, that button instead is dedicated to still photos—one of the most useless and decidedly nonpro features on small camcorders. (I mean, no one uses a camcorder to take stills. Ever tried taking a vertical with a camcorder?) Sony''s HVR-Z5U at least allows this pointless stills button to be reassigned. I would suggest JVC do the same in the next iteration of the HM100. (Likewise, AE exposure functions don''t belong in a professional camcorder.)

While we''re on the subject of user interface: Despite terrific use of graphics—the Index button not only displays a fuel-gauge for the battery, but also an impressive pie chart indicating usage of each SDHC card—the menu tree is poorly organized. As one example out of several, individual audio settings exist at the same root level as CAMERA PROCESS and FILE FORMAT, cluttering navigation.

The five-way mini-joystick on the LCD is mechanically perfect but inconsistently assigned. Sometimes you press to exit; sometimes you press instead the MENU button, which is ordinarily hidden by the closed LCD panel. And that''s a problem. You can''t access menu settings with the LCD closed. (I suggest adding secondary menu control to the existing rotary headphone volume adjustment to the left of the battery. Perhaps a double-click to enable it.) And why can''t the menu be accessed in the first place by pressing the mini-joystick, instead of each time having to reach into the side of the camera to locate the small MENU button (no pimple or special texture), which is impossible to see in dark circumstances? Hint: the mini-joystick''s AE and zoom functions (redundant to the rocker switch) are less than essential.

Audio, last but emphatically not least, is handled well. A side benefit of Sony''s XDCAM EX format is that both 35Mbps and 25Mbps record uncompressed 16-bit, 48kHz PCM audio. Built into the HM100''s XLR adapter on the handle are standard Channel 1/Channel 2 input switches including phantom +48V and auto/manual level controls. When the handle with its XLR adapter is removed, the HM100 automatically reverts to its internal stereo mic. You''re never without uncompressed audio of some sort.

Transfer of MOV files to Final Cut Pro (FCP) is an absolute joy. The HM100 knows when it''s attached to a Mac via USB; you don''t have to switch it to a media mode. A volume called “Untitled” will appear on the OS X desktop. You do have to drill down through five folder levels (Untitled > PRIVATE > JVC > CQAV > CLIP), but there they are: icons of your QuickTime files. You can drag them directly into FCP''s Browser window—or even more remarkably, prior to dragging them into FCP, first play them from the camera by double-clicking them. They play immediately in the QuickTime Player. Or—get this!—you can click the picon (picture icon) in either column view or Cover Flow view, and it will play too.

I repeat: This is directly from the camera, folks. How convenient is that?

People certainly judge how satisfying a camera is by how accomplished its images are technically, but they also judge a camera by how it makes them feel when they''re using it. Do they feel freer, more creative, more inspired? In this last regard, there''s no question that JVC''s HM100 is a lot of fun to carry around and use, and to transfer from later on.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that all HD is not the same, and that it needn''t be.

Company: JVC
pro.jvc.com
Product: GY-HM100U
Assets: File-based recording using Sony XDCAM EX formats, either 25Mbps (1440x1080) or 35Mbps (1920x1080); choice of file type, either MPEG-4 or Apple QuickTime for direct drag-and-drop into Final Cut Pro; recording to cheap SDHC cards; removable full-size handle with two XLR inputs; comfortable, full-size color viewfinder; sensitive zoom rocker switch; ergonomic balance; weighs less than 3lbs.
Caveats: No SD recording available, but offers downconversion; smaller 1/4in. CCDs; no 2X magnification; Focus Assist poor in low-contrast or low-key situations.
Price: $3,995