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Introduction:
This unit is arguably the best entry-level professional
camcorder on the market. The slightly more expensive
Panasonic DVC200 camcorder will give you use of the
larger (although more expensive per minute) DV and
some additional features, though with either camera,
you've entered into the world of professional video.
The "competitors" for this camera would be the Panasonic DVC200,
Sony DSR-250 and Sony DSR-300. The Canon XL-1s is not a competitor because
it is still ultimately a consumer unit. Why so? Read on.
Items to ponder about:
The accessories you will buy for this camcorder will
be 'broadcast' and 'professional.' This means small,
seemingly mundane things like microphone windscreens
and batteries that don't take much importance in the
consumer video world suddenly become important choices.
The cost of accessories also goes up another level. Be prepared to spend
2 - 5 times as much buying the same gear for your pro camera than a consumer.
For example, a $200 battery for the Sony PD150 could last you 8 hours. However,
a similarly priced battery for the DV500 will net you about an hour and a
half of good shooting, not including the $600 charger.
Luckily, most manufacturers in the professional world are reputable and the
added cost does come with benefits. For example, Audio-Technica gladly repaired
my AT835 mic's battery compartment for free out of warranty and returned
the same week.
Comments (in semi particular order):
- Shoulder pad
- The shoulder pad is hard and uncomfortable. You
should try to find a solution to cushion the pad
further if you plan to shoot a lot handheld, or if
you have a bony shoulder. In addition, the pad is
non-adjustable, which means you will rely on the
snoot of the viewfinder to make sure that the viewfinder
is flush against eye and comfortable. Not a big concern
for many, but larger or smaller operators than "average" stature
may run into problems. For example, when I operate
the Panasonic AJ-HDC-20A HDcam, the shoulder pad
is nearly up to the frontmost point.
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- Vent holes
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- Viewfinder
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 If
you can upgrade to the 116U viewfinder, I suggest
you do. The included 115U viewfinder works fine,
but its design is horrible. First, the contrast/brightness
control knobs are right where you'll hit them a
lot of the time while tilting the viewfinder up
and down. The 116U fixes that and puts them on
the front where they should've been in the first
place. Second, the 116U offers a higher resolution
tube, which helps with focussing. As well, it offers
a peaking control, which enhances and brings out
edges in the picture for further help with focussing.
Admittingly, I'm stuck with the 115U .
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- Tape well
 The
actual videotape is inserted via a slot on the top
of the camcorder, unlike other cameras that have
a lid on the side of the camcorder. The DV500's recorder
section is actually a modular device, the same module
used in their DV600 VCR.
This configuration gives both advantages and disadvantages. This design
does not require a mechanism redesign for JVC engineers, which probably
resulted in lower cost in manufacturing as well. As well, I believe the
designers considered using large DV tape as well, as the indent for the
tape well on the DV500 fits exactly that of the standard DV tape. And no,
there is no dual miniDV/DV module for the DV500. The new JVC DV5000 does
accept both mini and standard sized cassettes.
To the advanced end-user, I see this vertically-mounted front-loading (think
of a VCR flipped up) as a disadvantage. It prevents the user from manually
cleaning the heads and the tape path in the recorder although I believe
that most people will not attempt cleaning the tape path themselves as
it is very easy to knock things out of alignment. WIth such small components
and small tape, even the slightest misadjustment may result in complete
loss of video, crinkled tape, etc.
JVC touted its 'modular design' last year in several industry magazines
by demonstrating the field-replacable recorder module (over $1000USD).
I have yet to know of anybody who actually carries around a spare recorder.
The design poses a few interesting things with additional accessories on
the DV500. If you use a mic mount with a microphone on the camcorder, replacing
tapes may get tricky as you need to dive in between the microphone barrel
and the camcorder handle. Not a show-stopper, but slightly inconvenient.
Add the Portabrace shoulder case on top of that, and at least with the
Lightwave Systems mount, the flap just clears the microphone holder, so
the Portabrace fabric actually prevents the lid from opening fully. Add
another cable to an on-camera light, and that space gets mighty small,
about a 1.5" opening.
 The
space between the handle and the body also fits a miniDV tape, if
you wish to shimmy one in that way. However, if you have a camera
strap, The space is tight or next to impossible. Here, I am using
a camera strap from my previous Sony camcorder. Note that the buckle
actually blocks the 'cassette path.'
 If
you have large fingers, good luck. With my configuration
- a Portabrace shoulder case, Lightwave Systems
mic mount, shotgun mic and Frezzi mini-fill light,
it's a two-hand operation for sure regardless.
I normally hold the flap open (it flexes a bit)
with my right hand and nudge the tape out the top
with my left hand. This design does get in the
way of quick tape swapping. I've dropped a tape
in sideways accidentally (a bar inside does stop
the tape from hitting internal components), which
requires another "operation" to fish
the tape out and reinsert it correctly. -
- Tripod plate
- The tripod plate leaves something to be desired.For
some reason beyond me, JVC decided to go with a proprietary
plate design. Now, usually, if it's proprietary,
there could be value-added features, but no. In fact,
this plate is dangerous. The latching mechanism is
weak, and a camcorder you think is securely latched
may not be. It's also hard to align the camera to
put on the plate in dim lighting. Why JVC didn't
use a Sony mount like the DV550 or DV700, I don't
know. So, when you put the camcorder on the tripod,
make sure it's secure on the plate by wiggling the
camera around a little bit before you take your hand
off of it.
- The included microphone
- The included mic is fairly useless unless you want
to capture constant room tone! It is omni-directional,
although the quality isn't bad. So, that would mean
you'd need to purchase the shotgun microphone mount
from JVC. Before you spring for that option, let
me introduce you to Lightwave
Systems. They make a product called the "universal
mini-mount" that isolates the shotgun microphone
even more. It's a great mount, and can even be used
on their other products such as a boom pole attachment!
And it's only about $20USD more than the JVC, and
is much better.
Purchase or decide on a microphone first, like a Sennheiser ME-66 or Audio
Technica AT835b, because you'll need to specify the microphone mount for
your specific mic when you order the mini-mount from Lightwave.
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- Camera environmental protection
- I strongly recommend purchasing the Portabrace
shoulder case for this camera, so that it protects
your camera from scratches and dings. This helps
not only operationally, but also if you intend to
sell the camera later. And the shoulder case also
comes with a rain coat, which allows you to shoot
in a light drizzle or rain without harming the camera.
For camera storage and travel, You can use the Portabrace Quickdraw, Smuggler,
or Carry-On cases. If you have the Lightwave Systems mount, however, you'll
need to remove the mount via the quick-release (two philips-head screws)
before the camera fits into the Portabrace CO-PC carry-on bag. The Portabrace
shoulder case does not interfere with the mount, nor does the CC-22 QuickDraw
case that I have. The DV500 Quickdraw case fits only the stock configuration.
I had the CC-22 Quickdraw from a previous camera so I just used it. Call
up Portabrace and give them your camera configuration so they can suggest
a Quickdraw case size for you.
Portabrace - K&H Products
Shoulder case: SC-DV500
Rain slicker: RS-25
Storm coat: STC-5
Carry-On: CO-PC or CO-BB (larger)
QuickDraw: CC-210PW or CC-325P (smaller)
Polar bear (heated case): POL-5
Hiker Pro Case: HKP-3
Travel case: CTC-3
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- Batteries
- You should make a decision on how you will power
your camera. There are several manufacturers of battery
power systems for professionals. There are three (incompatible,
though expensive adaptor plates can be purchased) methods
of powering your camera. Each system has its pros and
cons.
Anton/Bauer "Gold
Mount" - This company is battle-tested,
and you'll see many professionals using their batteries,
nick-named bricks for their cube shape.
You're paying both for name, reputation and quality.
I would say that A/B can be considered the top
manufacturer of camcorder batteries. With the Anton/Bauer
system, you have a wide variety of batteries in
various capacities and chemistries (Nickel Cadmium
/ Nickel Metal Hydride / Lithium-Ion). A 100watt
battery will power a stock DV500 for about 5 hours.
The "Gold mount" system has features
such as Automatique, which switches an on-camera
light on and off automatically as you start and
stop recording. Their InterActive battery system
allows you to see in percentage how much battery
life is left. Neither the Automatique or InterActive
features work on the DV500, nor does JVC have any
plans to implement these features on the DV500.
PAG Pag-lok -
I've never seen this system being used personally, although
PAG is a European company, which means their system may
be more popular in Europe than in North America. PAG's
system is technically superior providing battery runtime
in actual time (minutes:seconds). This feature is not
supported on the DV500.
Sony V-mount -
is a drop-in loading system with their Lithium Ion batteries.
The features are similar to the Anton/Bauer system with
the battery readout in the viewfinder and the on-camera
light. Again, neither feature is supported on the DV500.
The IDX
V-lock and Aspen
A-mount system is compatible with the Sony V-mount.
Sony NP-format - the oldest and most
used battery system in professional cameras. Previously,
these "chocolate bar" batteries were terrible.
Because of restricted space, their capacity were limited
by the size of the cells that could fit in the enclosure.
Now, the NP-format is an extremely cost effective battery
system. The DV500 comes with a single NP battery holder,
and a 50Wh Lithium NP-style battery can power the DV500
for just over 2 hours.
Other battery manufacturers:
Aspen
Electronics - now bought by Anton/Bauer,
they were one of the earliest manufacturers to supply
NP-style Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. However, early
failures have plagued their batteries such as decreased
capacity before their scheduled lifetime end (300 charges).
I have purchased batteries from them before Anton/Bauer
bought them and can attest to that. However, I also have
two batteries after, and they're working fine for now.
((knock on wood))
IDX -
A long time player in the battery field, their flagship
system is the Endura, which has the ability to piggy-back
batteries for extremely long run times. The system uses
the Sony V-mount. With 164Watt-hours of power, two Lithium
Ion batteries could power a stock DV500 for over 8 hours
Switronix -
a fairly newcomer into the arena, they manufacture batteries
for all mounting systems. Their batteries are very inexpensive,
although they haven't been battle-tested yet.
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- Viewfinder output
- A description on how to obtain viewfinder data out
the video connectors is described on abcdv.com.
This section is just to clarify where the DIP switches
actually are.
The ROM board is located on the operating side of the camcorder. Here are
some pictures:
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