JVC GYHM70U HD Shoulder Mount Camcorder

First of all it is nicely styled and very light weight, like a feather compared to a standard broadcast camera. Weight makes it feel a bit less professional, but it sure is easy to carry, so I like it. Very nice video, looks superb even on an 80" set. The controls are well place and easy to use, would like to see a professional microphone connection instead of the 3mm job but it all works. The battery run time is great, and the hot swap is real nice too, and the dual SD card slots are very good also, plenty of capacity and run time here. The flip out monitor is OK but would like to see it a bit more stout, and the eyepiece monitor is not very color correct, but OK for what it is. The zoom is pretty good and F1.2 is nice but a detatchable lens would have been super cool. Over all a nice little rig, that if something really bad happens to it in the field you won't be crying as much as if you were using a $20-30K rig.

After testing this camera on several shoots as part of a class assignment, I was pleased with the quality of image it produced. The battery life is acceptable, and the camera has room for two batteries, making it even more reliable. The menu and interface is nearly identical to the JVC Everio line. The most noticeable differences between this model and the JVC Everio is the build (being shoulder-mounted), the added focus ring (which still feels like a simulated rather than mechanical function), the buttons on the body of the camera allowing for adjustments to the picture (iris, white balance, gain, shutter, all being adjustments with a simulated feel), the eyepiece, and the different recording formats (including 60p). White balancing is easy; other controls are not so naturally adjusted, such as iris and shutter speed. There are definite sacrifices made in terms of usability and functionality, but I feel that it is still worth the ~$1,599 price tag.

Awesome camera. Use it for live broadcasts as well as hd recording. Vivid viewfinder - easy to focus. Great quality recording. We've used it for weddings as well as baseball games.

This camera actualy was purchesed for the recording of my sister's cooking shows. According to her her recordings have improved gratly.

I love this camera! The JVC GY-HM70U is an affordable pro-sumer camcorder loaded with some amazing touches that makes it stand alone in it's category. I was looking for a camera with decent compression, and at 28 mbps, the image is outstanding. Color reproduction is pretty rich considering this camera has only single chip CMOS. This camera performs very well at low light levels, but does however top out at a 5.6 F stop, and unfortunately this camera lacks a built in ND filter. Also there are no XLR inputs, so if professional audio inputs are what you are looking for in an HD camera, this one is not for you. But back to the positive, this camera also offers high speed recording at 300 fps, time lapse, and a variety of recording settings if you are also looking to record in standard definition. The built in still camera (with 12 megapixels!) is a nice touch as well, and the color LCD viewfinder compliments the fold out LCD touch screen for both shoulder mounted shooting and the old under-slinging method of shooting. This is a great camera for the price and it gives you a nice alternative to the shaky palm sized camcorder.