As we reported earlier, JVC announced two new camcorders Monday on the NAB showroom floor, the HD200U and the HD250U (the latter being aimed squarely at studio and facility installations). I believe that these announcements have been somewhat overshadowed by the hype of the RED ONE camera release (well deserved hype, I might add).

There are several key differences between the JVC HD100U and the new HD200U/250U…

For starters, you’ve got the option of uncompressed HD-SDI output. 4:2:2 8-bit (Note, HD-SDI and genlock are only available on the HD250U). This info (the 4:2:2 colorspace) is NOT on the JVC press release, because the marketing dept apparently enjoys shooting the company in the foot. Whoopsie. This HD-SDI output can be captured and compressed (or not compressed) any way you prefer to slice it. You aren’t locked into a specific compression scheme or codec, just like with the Canon XL H1 you suddenly have the options you desire. Of course, for smaller projects, HD-SDI is probably too much to consider. For stuff like that, you still have HDV to tape. JVC has also mentioned a new direct-to-disk solution in the official press release, I have no real details on that besides the footnote that it will create FCP-compatible .mov files on the recorder Real Soon Now.

The new camera(s) outputs and records 60p to tape using an improved MPEG encoder and a 12-frame GOP at 720p60 or 6-frame GOP at 720p30. JVC’s HDV flavor, of course.
60p means perfect 50% slow motion playback (at a standard 30p playback rate) and perfect 40% slow motion when played back at 24p. Might I add that 60p is one of the vaunted and much-heralded features of the HVX camera, continually parroted by the Panasonic cult crowd. While the JVC apparently doesn’t ramp framerates at will like the HVX, I find it odd that so few people on the online forums have picked up on the 60p feature of this cam. Weird.

The new MPEG encoder is supposed to deliver a better quality image with the same HDV bit rates. I’m going to put an asterisk next to this comment, but as a side note I believe that Victor Company (JVC) actually licenses it’s MPEG encoder tech to Canon, and one would assume that it is used in the Canon XL H1.*

There are improved Cinema Gamma options, but as usual we’ll need to see test reports to see if these are additions of worth. One would assume that they are improvements.

There is now an option in the HZ-CA13U 16mm Film Lens Adapter that lets you use standard PL mount 16mm lenses directly on the camera (and 35mm as well, I assume). Let me say that again, slower this time.
You can now use readily-available, quality glass on a sub-10K camcorder.
This is a very interesting development indeed. Consider that there is virtually no market for 1/3″ camcorder glass, previous options for the JVC were basically the Fujinon (and not much else). This new adapter reduces magnification and allows users to draw from the tons of available PL-mount lens choices, not to mention standard SLR and prime lenses. Big development. Very big news.

Users of 35mm adapters like the RedRock Micro, Cinemek, and others will appreciate the Image Inversion feature. When you use a 35mm adapter on a camcorder like this, the image is displayed and recorded upside down and inverted. While flop-flopping the image in post is a pretty simple and plainless procedure, it tends to make framing and shooting in the field somewhat problematic. One solution is the use of an external LCD monitor like the Marshall 7″ HD LCD, just mount it upside down. Unfortunately that LCD sells for around $1300, and it’s one more thing hanging off your camera and begging to be lost or broken.
So RedRock worked with JVC to create the Image Inversion function. It’s a menu setting on the camera that inverts the image ON-CHIP (not just display) so it displays properly on the LCD sceen, VF, and is recorded on properly on tape and via HD-SDI. An awesome development.

As a side note, there are demonstrations of a FCP 5.1 update that allows 24p JVC HDV ingest, without jumping through any hoops. No specific release date has been mentioned, just that it’s coming Real Soon Now. It’s about time…

So, to recap…
Uncomp 4:2:2 HD-SDI output (HD-SDI only on the HD250U).
True 720p 24fps (and 25p/30p/50p/60p)
Ultra smooth slomo at 60p.
Cine-gamma.
Primes and other “real” lens options.
Simple, painless use of 35mm DOF adapters.
A usable NLE workflow.

This is gonna be a tough camera to beat.