Why I Sold My JVC HM170 4K Camcorder with samples
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- Опубліковано 8 гру 2016
- I contacted JVC about the mushed colors issue, this was their response in its entirety:
"Hello besides the iris you can try the knee function or the wide dynamic range options in the camera."
When I responded and said I was not having any luck with those remedies and if they could recommend some specific setting:
"You are going to have to experiment."
They either don't care about the issue, or they know about it and are just trying to hope it goes away somehow.
Sample video shot with the HM170 in 4k:
• Video
Pros:
-Lightweight
-Plenty of recording options/codecs
-Physical Toggle switches
-Decent image under ideal lighting
Cons:
-Poor LCD screen
-Sensor can't handle bright lights/colors from certain stage/DJ lights rendering image unuseable
-Soft images when Iris is wide open
-Detachable Handle isn't such a great idea after all
This would be a decent camera for news gathering, sports coverage like basketball or football games, or something where the lighting is constant and predictable.
This would be a TERRIBLE camera for wedding receptions and live event coverage in places like bars or venues with strong uplighting.
Overall I am super bummed because I really wanted to LOVE this camera, especially for that price!
For those thinking about getting this camera, I did a lot of homework before I finally decided to buy it.
I've found it to be terrific for the corporate work I do. Especially considering the price.
It has some quirks (such as - the iris starts to close when you zoom right in) but there is no perfect camera regardless how much you spend. Nothing does everything perfectly you just have to learn to work around any issues.
I've NEVER experienced the strange lighting effect going on in the example shown here, this includes shooting with DJ lighting mentioned in this video.
There are countless settings on this camera. If it was put back to its basic settings I'd be amazed if this still happened on a camera that wasn't faulty in some way.
You should aim to shoot around F1.8 to F2 and higher. When you do, the picture is fine, not soft as mentioned.
The audio attachment has never given me any concerns and has never come loose. (I leave it on all the time. If you were to take it off continuously you may have issues)
I'm sorry this guy had problems with it but I'm very happy that I bought mine.
I am having a hard time figuring out how to get cleaner (low noise) image from this camera(HM170) for talking head videos shot indoors at night. I have 2 dracast LED lights and one YN300 light. No combination of these lights helped. There is always noise at eyebrows and below chin and hair. Having a Green screen behind the person makes it even worse with same settings somehow. Any color adjustments in post and noise stands out. Gain at 0. Everything else manual. F2.2. Shutter 1/48 (also tried 1/24 with similar results). What other options are there to look for? I am new to video cameras (coming from DSLR) so I may be missing something basic due to terminology disconnect. Any help appreciated.
BadWolfKnight
It's hard to tell what is going on without actually seeing it but I get excellent shots using a two or three light setup. You said 'at night'
that shouldn't make a difference. Are you mixing light sources? Try a bit of scrim over the lights to soften it a bit. Use the zebras on the camera. If you don't know how to use them there are a lot of great videos on UA-cam which will show you how. Good luck.
Best review for someone considering buying this camera because you showed footage of what actually happens versus just talking about it. Thanks.
Thanks!
I just watched this literally 5 mins before i sent over money on a selling app to buy it ....THANK YOUUUU SOOO MUCH , I do weddings and this would have been devastating to see after the fact... Thanks again!
I was an early adopter of this camera and sold mine as well. You[re absolutely correct. In good lighting this camera was pretty good. Any other lighting it was total crap. I hope you had another camera going at that wedding. What can you possibly tell the bride and groom?? I just picked up the new Panasonic HC-X1 and have been putting it through the passes. So far very pleased.
The LCD screen doesn't represent the image at all. 100% agree with you. I thought about selling mine within the first 9 months of ownership.
Nice video and I share the same views about this camera although that purple fringing is something I have not experienced. But I haven't used it in that kind of lighting scenario. I actually posted the camera on ebay for 1 day and took it down. I couldn't bring myself to sell it. Despite the horrible performance in low light, it just does so many other things well. I have a dslr that I use for low light and just bought the JVC ls300 - love it so far, but I want to have the ls300 and strong camera with a fixed lens, decent lowlight and all the quick switches and buttons, unlimited record time and long battery life that is priced similarly to the hm170u. It's hard to find. Did you replace your 170u with something different?
John Lange What about the problem you mentioned with dual cards and pre-record with panasonic. Has that been fixed via firmware yet? I actually use both functions on my JVC. Yeah, having a long powered zoom is why I would like another camera other than the ls300, however it does come with a nice prime zoom function where it crops in the sensor and allows prime lenses to zoom to about 2.3x. And I can try the 14-140 micro 4/3 lens with it. Only problem is that lens isn't fast. Not sure what I'm going to do yet, but your two videos were good. Thanks for the info.
Notice comment above, the purple thing was fixed in firmware. Update your firmware.
Is the 170UA version any different- updated?
From what I can tell this may not even be a problem in the first place with this camera. He might have mistaken this for the HM-200 because that's the only camera that i've ever heard of having this problem. Also, I can't find any more videos or even blogs posting about this problem so i'd say he's either trolling or mistook this for the HM-200.
HM200 and HM170 are pretty much the same camera, give or take a couple of outputs. The HM170 now comes bundled with the XLR handle.
I have the Sony FDR AX100 4K camcorder. The reason I prefer it is because it has the Zeiss lens. The JVC GY-HM170 4K does not use a Zeiss lens. Any photographer or videographer knows that the lens is the most important part on a camera or camcorder. Quality built lenses are what makes the pictures come out great and you won't get that in cheap lenses.
thnx you just saved me a lot off money
Glad I could help
So what camera did you end up buying?
Panasonic ux90
Thanks. I DUMPED THE JVC. What an awful camera, my little Nikon Coolpix blows the JVC out of the water, sharper images, truer color etc. Piece of JUNK, Sent the JVC back for refund. I considered the UX90 but bit the bullet and just paid for the Panasonic UX180. I don't think there's a perfect camera out there even if you $8,000 there's always something negative to find, but I think the 180 will do everything I need for my business self promotion, and work with my audio equipment. Should have listened to you in the first place, cheers.
I heard the color matrix can fix those purple blotches. But given the low price for the camera, I'm wary of the model
You did not mention subpar image stabilization - traditionally for JVC products of the last decade - but you said you mostly shoot from a tripod, so probably was not an issue for you.
ConsumerDV you are right. I found it to be on par with image stabilization from 10 years ago. Not worthless, but not great. But ya I rarely used it handheld so I didn't care.
I've been wondering if anyone else was having issues. I would describe it as not being able to get a sharp image. In low light it was a disaster! For me it couldn't handle the color red! Another reviewer on youtube found that there is a second peaking menu setting that is defaulted to around 1 with range choices between -7 and 7. That setting I realized was making the image in the LCD look unsharp causing me to try to refocus. Lots of bells and whistles but if you can't get a sharp image.... Will be getting another camera. My first clue was just how plasticky it feels. Very!
Wish I’d seen this video prior to purchasing 😩
Hopefully it works for your setup, it might.if not, keep the receipt! Also, if I remember correctly, there might be a firmware upgrade out that addresses the main issue. Check with JVC
JohnnyNerdOut thank you! I was thinking I should to the firmware upgrade
You get what you pay for. We have Sony PDW-320's that have difficulty with LED theatrical lighting. It is, what it is. JVC has a made a niche out of budget friendly video equipment.
OMG 😞 I was about to by one
To be honest.. I'm laughing so hard at your review... I got this cam recently from work.. its a sleeper cam... I tweaked the settings and fixed the issue with LCD..I'm getting the right colors and on top of that I'm filming Flat with this cam in 4K, even in low light with no noise at all. So if u happen to sell it because u weren't happy with what u got outta of the box it basically means u didn't know what the cam is capable of or how to tweak its settings.. JVC wouldn't give u custom settings as that varies between camera operators, that's why they said.. "You'll have to experiment"
Since this review, they issued a firmware update that supposedly addressed those 2 main issues I complained about. Sounds like they did then, glad to hear!
I had the custom settings done on the old firmware of 2016 and after updating to the 2017 firmware I didn’t really see any change except for 120fps filming
Hi! how you fix the issue of the LCD screen?
That is a feature
review is. bs , great cam in right hands for mere 1300$...
A hater review and a lot of exaggerations in the clip which qualify you. It's like saying JVC engineers are stupid and you are so smart. This camera has the best quality/price ratio on the market and you must be very subjective not to apreciate this camera or somebody from competition paid you.
Paul. Galea I don't know, the footage backs up my claims. It's a great camera for the right person for sure. Just not me!
lol my panasonic g7 blows this camera out of the water and at only $400 without kit lens.
No audio features though. I have the DMC G7 and you can't plug in a mixer, they block anything except their own microphones. Thats why I bought this one to check out.
@@SDPickups You think having an audio mixer is a must? Not for me. I shoot weddings with my g7's and believe me, I do not need mixers and all that stuff to produce my work.
I bought one and sold it in a week. Its a terrible low light camera and the colors are bland and washed out. I got tired of having to fiddle with the contrast and color in my editing software. There are better cameras
JohnnyNerdOut, you are not trained to test a shoe. You don't know how to use a camera with many possibilities of color temperature settings, with more than 7 focus assistants. Maybe your favorite camera is a gopro with infinite focus and no buttons. I hope you found that simple camera. (jajajajaja)
I respectfully disagree! I've owned many cameras, and this was by far the the camera that I wanted to like the most. Mainly because it is so much more affordable. It filled my needs 95%for the shoots I did, but for certain events it was garbage. I understand they have since fixed the issues I discussed, so I guess this is for nothing......
It is very respectable to have personal preferences for some technological products, but to pretend to influence a market that is not known, with cameras that even share licenses with each other, it is at best, daring.
Recently, Panasonic released 3 camcorder models “copying” the JVC strategy, aimed at the semi-professional market. I don't think JVC is garbage. Neither do Panasonic, Sony, Blackmagic, Z Cam, Arri Alexa, Red. The policy is to cut manufacturing prices, but there is no crap.
@@KAIXOTVdonostia I like JVC and have owned several car and home stereo's by them. That specific camera could not handle certain light patterns. For me, because of that, was worthless. I couldn't charge people to hand over footage that looked terrible. I am not partial to Panasonic, just have had very good luck with them. Sony makes excellent stuff as well. I was just stay away from that hm170u unless you get the model that was fixed.