JVC Introduces New Cameras That Record In Final Cut Ready Formats

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Last week JVC announced the pending release of two new camera models; the GY-HM100 and GY-HM700.  But new cameras get released every month, so what’s the big deal with these models?

Well, they are the first cameras that record the footage in the QuickTime format…ready to drag and drop from the camera into a Final Cut timeline…maintaining the first-generation image quality (and saving a lot of transcoding time).

What’s more, the camera records to inexpensive SDHC cards.  You can get SDHC cards that hold up to 32GB for around $60 USD.  By comparison, the cards required by the poplular Panasonic P2 cameras run over $1,000 USD…for the same 32GB storage capacity.

Now granted, both the new JVC and Panasonic P2 cameras are pro-level gear…they run around $4,000 USD.  But these cameras are noteworthy to the “average Joe” for this reason.

Technology advances in cameras always trickle down from the pro level to the consumer level.  That means if you’re working with tape-based cameras (like me), the day will soon come where you can switch to solid state media without any headaches over importing the footage or worries over loss of quality.

In fact, I would expect to see even more camera models “teaming up” with the top video editing software packages (Final Cut, Premiere, Vegas), where the camera records in a format ideal for that package.

But until then, if you’d like to learn more about JVC’s new cameras, you can go here.

4 comments

  • Interesting. However, a question arises here: we know that the AVI format is the only uncompressed format. In HD video mpeg4 is used which is almost as good in quality as the AVI files. But how about the MOV formats? What is the tendency? Which of the three should be used for best quality?

    oliveR

  • Both MP4 and MOV files use the H.264 codec. However, they use different variations or flavors of the codec. So what usually happens when you import an MP4 video file into Final Cut is that you have to render the clip before you can really start working with it (and in some instances, you can’t work with the file at all). With the new JVC cameras, you can skip this…as the clips will automatically work in Final Cut without any rendering required.

  • @Alex – I couldn’t say, but most Flash based cameras use USB connections to connect to a computer, where the camera is just looked at as another storage device instead of a camera.

    You need to use a Firewire connection or an HDMI/video capture card in your computer to stream with Flash based cameras…plus there is the issue of HD. Some streaming services only accept SD, so the camera would have to be put in SD mode, if it’s available on the camera.