JVC GY-HD100 Digital Camera Review (page 2)

In our lab tests, the contrast chart displayed even steps between each bar. The color charts revealed that the yellows and reds are a little oversaturated. The color, however, is extremely sharp and we didn't notice any bleeding. In the field, the contrast and color performed equally as well and held a good amount of detail in highlights and shadows. The color reproduction is very nice as well.

Reviewing more test footage on our HP 42" Plasma proved that focusing the GY-HD100 using the viewfinder is not as difficult as it might seem. Only a couple of shots were slightly soft, something a good production monitor or using the Focus Assist may improve. We also put the macro-focusing ring to use, and got up close and personal with a few objects. We noticed that slow pans and tilts were smooth, but faster ones were jittery - an artifact common to 24/30 progressive scan technology. Fortunately, the GY-HD100 has a Motion Smooth feature that will help with that jittery effect. The images we were viewing at 720/30p were pleasantly sharp and enjoyable to watch.

Professional manual controls, HDV and more advanced features than we could fit into this review are surely a successful match for the pro videographer. While it does carry a relatively high price tag, we think the GY-HD100 is worth every penny for someone who is doing serious work.

Format: HDV
Number of CCDs: 3
Size of CCDs: 1/3"
Pixels on CCDs: 1,200k
Video Effective Pixels: 921.6k
Focus: manual
Shutter Speed: manual/auto
Maximum Shutter Speed: 1/10,000
Minimum Shutter Speed: 1/6 (24p), 1/6.5 (25p), 1/7.5 (30p)
Lens f-stop: f/1.4-f/16
Program Exposure Modes: Full Auto
Optical Zoom: 16x
Focal Length: 5.5-88mm
Image Stabilization: n/a
Manual White Balance: yes (only)
Viewfinder: color (B&W for focus assist)
LCD Monitor: 3.5"
Progressive Scan: Yes
HD Modes: 720/24p, 720/25p, 720/30p, 576/50p, 480/60p, 480/24p, 480/60i
Video In: FireWire DV and HDV
Video Out: FireWire DV/HDV, Component, Composite
Mono/Stereo Recording: Stereo
Microphone In: XLR
VU Meters: Yes
Manual Audio Level Controls: Yes
Headphone Jack: yes (2) and line out
Speaker: yes, accessory ear monitor
Still Shot Media: SD Memory Card
Memory Card Included: no
Flash: no
Wireless Remote: no
External Battery Charger Provided: Yes, dual charger
Battery Type: Lithium-ion
Tape Loading Configuration: Side
Onboard Video Light: no
Accessory Shoe: yes

• Manual Iris, Shutter, Zoom, Focus (with Standard 16x lens)
• Motion Smooth
• Advanced Image Processing
• Macro view is easy to set

• Gain is pretty noisy
• Auto Iris noisier than some

It's time to stop dreaming and drooling. Anyone who has been waiting for a professional level HDV solution can get their fix, now.

Mark Montgomery is Videomaker's Editorial Assistant.