Review of JVC GY HM 100

Please check out my blog here for more info, but here is the video review of this cool little camera

You can download a 1080p h264 version by signing up to Exposure Room below or by  joining vimeo where it’s available for download if you are a member.


[xr_video id=”a4bfbc8d1bed44248b4a0c784dfe5862″ size=”lrm”]

39 comments

  1. It’s 3:30 in the morning here in NYC but it was worth staying up to see your review. I don’t really care about timelapse or interval recording the picture quality is more important to me and from the footage I just saw it really looks good.
    Thanks for the review.

    -kaj

  2. Thanks Phil I’m UK time and stayed up until 7:00am but had to go out then to take my wife to airport. Back now and always like your reviews and footage. Depth of field looked quite interesting which some people said would not allow you a shallow field due to the size of chips. I thought there was some nice effects there which I take you did with out the letus?
    Many thanks for the first English review of this camera. I want a camera I can take anywhere and not always have to way up whether I should I take an EX3 leave at home when travelling. Like you, this is a far more interesting camera than the HM700

  4. Could you PLEASE explain in detail what compressor settings you used (if you used compressor 3)? Thanks!!
    PS
    GREAT job on the video review – Thanks for doing that!!! Very much appreciated!

  5. …and it’s 7:00 am here now in north Dallas. Thank you so much for reviewing this new JVC GY-HM100. i’ve been waiting for a decent review from anybody but i dont need them anymore, i found you…thanks a lot for doing it. More power to you, Philip.

  6. Mr. Bloom, I have only been introduced to your site and expertise in the last month or so, but am becoming a huge fan!

    Very much appreciate your review of the HM-100…I’ve been wanting to get a camera for sometime now, and have been iffy about getting HDV. Been wanting to get a tapeless, and this looks like it might be the one!

    Cheers for your review, and a hello from Canada!

    -Jer

  7. Philip-
    Great footage from the HM 100. And glad you shot the stuff on Auto to show what the camera is capable of without tweaking.
    I recently owned the JVC GY HD110U and loved it. Great skin tones. Shot a feature film [nightbeats-movie.com] with it and worked very well at night.
    Curious about two things on the HM 100:
    1 How was it in low light? In natural street light at night on +6db gain?
    2 With the 110U there were some problems with white pixels showing up on occasion. There’s a complicated process where they can be scanned out, but that’s only if you recognize the issue beforehand. And could change with the simple changing of the camera battery. Has JVC resolved that issue?
    Thanks-
    Mike Carroll
    Sacramento, CA, USA

  8. Hi I am a 20 year old aspiring DP / Colorist living in Canada (Born in London, England). Really have loved your videos so far…, as they have made it easier to learn the things I need rather than perusing for hours on blogs and forums to learn stuff. Still have never figured out how to properly color grade from those forums but just watched one of your magic bullet videos and it helped a lot. Would love to see some grading you do with keeping the skin tones intact in your grades with a limit effect or something. Like the grades we see in a lot of feature films. Anyway just commenting on how much I like your blogging so far, a great learning experience.

  9. Hello from Cleveland, Ohio, Philip. I stumbled across your wonderful, content-rich web site last week while searching for reviews on the GY-HM100.

    I just ordered two for my communications staff…we were leaning toward Sony, but loved the compact size, pro features and SDHC media of the JVC…your review [and the .MOV native files for FCP] swayed our decision. We’ve used Sony camera for 10 years (mostly bio-medical production work…)

    And, I have learned so much in one week from your site…thanks for sharing your expertise…

    I’m looking at Letus adapters now, thanks to you 🙂

    Best…

  11. I like very much your work, your films. However, I am disappointed enough by the test of the JVC GY-HM100. I would have liked seeing images to their natural state. Such as you filmed them. Your images are so handled that they lost their natural qualities. As a result, we know nothing more of the capacities of the JVC.
    You would have been able to film with any camcorder, the result would have been the same.
    I am audiovisual journalist and director. I collaborated to numerous magazines in France and in Usa. During my tests, I have never modified my images afterward.
    I think that the effects are good for a fiction, not for a report.
    I bought the GY-HM100. There is also this difference of depth of field which I see on your images and mine. I do not have the same quality. Sorry. How did you do ?
    Too many effects kill the effect…
    Best regards

    Pier-Yves

  12. On the contrary Pier-Yves, I find seeing the finished result after it has been graded very helpful. Most of the work that I’m involved with at the moment goes through a grading process and so I feel that it is beneficial to know how far an image from a camera can be pushed before it starts to fall apart. I also find it encouraging to see such cracking results from such a small bit of kit…. (I’ll avoid the temptation to make a crude metaphor here) graded or not.

    Thanks for posting these reviews Philip, they’re a great excuse for a cup of coffee!

    Andrew

  13. Thank´s a lot for this beautiful video
    It shows what kind of footage a creative person can achieve with this camera and that´s exactly the inspiration I needed.
    I got the JVC GY-HM 100 a few weeks ago and this clip was one of the reasons to get it. I´m using the Letus Mini on the JVC now and it´s a fantastic handheld rig.
    I´m not a professional audiovisual journalist and director and therefore I had to watch the video carefully: I observed a moment when it said “Ungraded JVC GY HM 100 footage” and wonder wether this could be the “natural state” of the images Mr. Merkhoff was talking about.
    But then again I´m just an amateur…
    Thank´s again Philip

  14. Hi, im new to videography, being a nikon DSLR shooter. How much better is the image quality on HM700 compared to HM100? There is bviously a better lens on HM700, is there a better possibility of shallow dept of field with the canon lens on the HM700?

    Regards

    Per Nicolaisen
    Greenland

  15. hi Philip, am a young aspiring independent movie producers but right now am confused i dont know which hdv camera to buy and my budget is between $1000-2500. i just need you to give me some suggestions..

  17. Hi Philip. I just got the HM100 last week. I was a happy owner of JVCs HD100 for over a year, and my experience with that and your review sealed my decision to go with the HM100 over the Z7U that I originally was set on buying.
    Shot a couple of hours, and I’m reviewing the footage now. First impressions, I’d say that the 720p24 SQ (19Mbs) doesn’t quite stack up to the HD100’s: more artefacting, less resolution, and movement in 24p actually seems a little choppier. But then it’s a smaller chip. Will run some tests on 1920HQ this week. But overall, for the price tag and the other advantages (my kit now fits in an old LowePro still-cam hipbag), I’m pretty happy with it as my principal camera for docs.

    One question: I’m looking at getting a DOF adapter. Is there a big difference in the quality I’d get with a Letus compared to, say, the Jag35? Do you start seeing the difference at higher rezes like the HM100s 1920 HQ, or are we talking more about differences in build quality and features? I imagine where it really counts is the quality of the ground glass and condenser lens…?

    Gavin Andrews
    Amapá – Amazonia – Brazil

    1. hi Gavin, not to do the jag35 down, it is good for the money but even Jehu at jag would say the letus is much better. especially with the 100 which has poor low light you need an adaptor that isn’t light hungry. The jag is. The Letus isn’t.

      p

  18. Hello Philip,
    I have an HM-100 and as you are a DOF kit guru, I would like your advice about a dof kit…
    I’m wondering between sgblade with a 46-72mm step up( who dont exist a the time), letus mini with step-down ring 43-46mm??? or a letus extreme…
    Is a 1/4 ccd ship camera like the hm100 is ok with a dof kit…
    An other related question, if i take the sgblade with two step up ring 46-58mm and 58-72mm, is it a problem to have two step up ring…

    1. step ups are never ideal, but the Blade might be better if you plan on using larger cameras at some point…

      not tried hm100 yet with my mini but am sure it’s great.

      1. Thanks for the answer.
        So for you, there is no problem to use the hm100 (46mm) on a 43mm dof adapter?
        I will not see the step down ring in the frame?

        For the sgblade, there is no 46-72mm for the moment, is it ok to put two step up ring, for exemple 46-58mm + 58-72mm?
        Is there any problem to do this?

        Thanks!!

        1. Hi Geraud,

          did you eventually decide on a particular solution?
          I’m in the same boat: got me an HM100 and now trying to figure out if the SGBlade won’t show one the 2 step up rings …

          Thanks,
          /. Bart

  19. hi there, just got for 3 month after i learn the camera from your review and it’s really amazing !!! awesome ..thank’s to you mr bloom.. anyway just curious about the combination with the letus mini ? can you review that ? thank’s a lot guru … =)

  20. Hey Philip,
    Have finally decided to buy the HM100 after seeing your test shoot and review. Thanks! I am actually not crazy about the picture quality, and had a look at your Letus test shoots to see what can be done to enhance it. Perhaps you can advise me on which Letus to get? and tell me if there is something I should be aware of using one with the HM100?
    Thank you for a great blog!
    Best
    Marie

  21. Hey Philip

    A WARM welcome from Dubai. Thank you so much for these videos. I leave your site, informed, immersed and incredibly inspired. Your videos are truly stunning

    I am looking at buying the JVC and possibly and a 35mm adaptor. Which adaptor would you reccommend for the GY-HM100, on a relatively tight budget? What is the best value?

    Is there a camera in a similar price range with a 1/3″ sensor? Would it make a huge difference with the adaptors, or is the HM100 okay in this regard with its 1/4″ sensor?

    Loving your Ducheness video, love the artistic/stylized look, its mad!

    Kind regard

    s

  25. Hi, Philip, those ungraded images you’ve showed yet have gamma setting changes, haven’t they?
    Could you tell me what kind of image settings you normally work with ’cause I can’t get this kind of contrast and sharpness on either cameras I own (JVC GY-HD100 and SONY HVR 270) without grading… (I work with Color) Thanks.

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