JVC HD100, how much light?

[danny vegas]

Hello. I'm trying to find out how much light the jvc hd100 really needs to display a nice picture as i often hear how much light it requires to produce an acceptable image. Im coming from a sony vx2100 background so i'm very used to filming the majority of my work (music vids, documentaries, short films) with very little light setup. In a real world situation how does the image compare to say some of the other cameras out there around the same price (hvx200 etc), i ask this as i often hear people slating the stock lens and i wouldnt be able to afford a new lens. Thank you

[Tyler Purcell]

Not to get into too much detail, but the JVC is a pretty decent camera, its only serious weakness is the MPEG2 it records.

 

I'd rate it at around 320asa, perhaps a tiny bit more, depending on which lens you use. If the gain is off, and the shutter is low, you can achieve fantastic images, even in the dark. MPEG2 is great with low motion, so slow dolly shots and not much action happening on screen and you'll capture a great image. I usually light for film with the JVC, but I don't use the stock lens. If you can't afford a lens right now, you can always buy a still lens adaptor and buy some cheap photographic primes which will help with depth of field issues the stock lens has.

 

I personally like the JVC over the Panasonic or Sony, though the new EX Sony camcorder is finally getting better with 1080p and 1/2" chips, your still stuck with a built-in lens. I think the versatility of using multiple lenses is crucial to a cinematographer and thats what makes the JVC's stand out from the pack. Sure its 720p and sure its HDV MPEG2, but if you buy the firestore HD and use FCP to edit, man... the entire package is worth its weight in gold!

 

Hope that helps a bit... E-mail me if you have any questions, I know a whole lot about this camera... tye1138@mac.com.