Took the Digi-Camcorder Plunge

[Junkie]

Sooo...I bought a new camcorder.

I bought a JVC HD Everio GZ-HM30. It records to SD Card (got a 32 GB one) and now I don't have to capture in real time from MiniDV Tape anymore! YEAH!

Camera was on sales at Staples for $216...not too bad. It shoots HD (720p) and SD. Seems to be OK so far for what I do for SMA videos. Not many bells and whistles on this camcorder. It does have time lapse though, which will be great for filming longer builds and running them fast on the show. Color looks alright...as good as what I had with the other camcorder. It has image stabilization and a few other things but no real manual options....it's $200 right?

The catch is gonna be how easy it is to get the files into Adobe Premiere for editing. I'll have to wait until the morning to test that. I run an i7 quad core 3.sumthin at work with 16 GB of ram so editing speed shouldn't be a problem. I currently edit SMA on Adobe Premiere CS3 - but I'll be upgrading to 5.5 later this year.


If anyone has any info on this camcorder - JVC HD Everio GZ-HM30 - please reply. I have 30 days in which I can return, no questions asked. If this aint my best option in that price range then I can swap it for another.

Cool. No more capturing!

 

[ShutterAce]

Hey Scott,

I have an older SD model that I use to do my vids. I really like it. A friend of mine has the HD one like you. Kinda of funny because I was over there today and ended up helping them figure out how to process the files. If you record in HD you will get MTS files. I'm going to bet that Premiere CS3 does not handle MTS files. Maybe it does. If it does you're golden if not you'll have to convert them using another software package first. I haven't spent a whole lot of time converting HD to SD but what little I have done has not been perfect. Changes to display ratios and really soft images can and do happen. I'm sure there is a right way to do it but I haven't found it.

HTH

 

[spud]

Is 32mb small for hd? Just wondering because when I use my 5D my files for around a min of film is around a gig

 

[Junkie]

MTS files...yes. I think I"ll need to convert them. They are H.264 files, which is OK but the extension isn't recognized.

I'll probably shoot SD Widescreen - more than enough for youTube.

 

[Junkie]

Just Googled a bit and I'll have to convert the MTS to get them into Premiere CS3. Converters range from $30 - $50.

Premiere 5 handles MTS files natively but the upgrade is a wee bit more than $30 ~

If I have time today I'll work some tests and see what results I can get.

I edit with a premiere comp set to 640x360 (youTubes default window size) and pixel aspect ratio of 1:1 - since the output is destined for youTube (computers with square pixels) -

One big advantage of upgrading to 5.5 is the intergration between premiere and after effects. I tried the trial and it's really cool. No more titles in premiere - you can launch a AE project within, and embed it in premiere.

Some elements of SMA, like the Moment of Madness intro and the end credits are done in after effects and I'll really like to do more. Things like lower thirds to add the name of guest reviewer and stuff like that. Have it animate in and out a bit etc...

 

[Igard]

To convert the .mts files, you could try virtualdub with the directshow input driver plugin. I've never tried it, but it's free so....

Here's a link to a video help forum, where someone got it to work, though it's a couple of years old (some links are probably to obsolete versions) :-

http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/310525-Load-AVCHD-Lite-mts-files-into-VirtualDub

 

[Junkie]

I found a converter for $30 that works. Tried the demo.

It's like one step forward and 2 steps back though....get new camera to avoid capturing and then have to process all the files...

 

[Junkie]

Camcorder Test

 

[Carsenault]

Video quality looks pretty good Scott. Absolutely crystal clear with the smaller viewing window and still plenty clear in full screen on my 23" LCD Monitor. The close up shots of the X-Wing build look great too, even in full screen. We sell that camera too but I dont have much experience with that model. From my experience you should get about 24 hrs of SD video on the 32 GB card or about 8 hrs of AVC-HD.

ps: cool tip with the nitting thing/wax paper light diffuser. I must try that.

 

[spud]

damn now your ugly mug is clear now , Quality is realy good Scott nice upgrade.

 

[Junkie]

Thanks guys. I think I'll shoot a video soon showing you 'behind the scenes' at SMA. Show you might DIY lighting, diffusers, camera mounts etc... I've made a couple neat little things that might be useful to see.

 

[Tony lee]

Scott the test shot works for me,quality is good and the close up was just fine.
Best of all the price was right even with the converter at $30s. 8)

Tony lee

 

[Junkie]

Thanks Tony. Yes $30 for a converter is better than $300+ for an upgrade.

 

[TiM]

Looks good to me, nice dynamic range - no blowing out the shot with the fluorescent shining at the camera.

Might be worth testing autofocus in general to see if there's an area it tries to 'hunt' - where the camera isn't sure what to focus on. 8)

 

[Junkie]

It has that auto face detection feature that you see on these camcorders. I turned it off.

I think I'll wrap that flourescent in wax paper and attached a cardboard shade to it, just to see what results that yeilds.

Good call on testing autofocus though. I'll probably shoot a build segment this weekend and walk it through a 'normal' SMA video.

 

[fumblethumbs]

I don't know a darn thing about camcords but....

I'll probably shoot a build segment this weekend

....This gets my attention!!

Trial vid looked nice and clear here Scott.

 

[Junkie]

Nothing to over the top...but since I'll be modeling might as well grab a few minutes of footage.

 

[fumblethumbs]

Sounds good Scott...You're not really the personality type to take things "over the top".........Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha..... ;D

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Actually the picture is much sharper, despite it being the same native resolution that YT normally used (360p) The florescent directly behind you has a bit of a glow to it, but not to the point that it is effecting the camera....just maybe seems brighter because the picture is sharper to begin with.

 

[Grendels]

Congrats, and the test video looks good!