In the last few years JVC have popped there head up a few times with some interesting products. At the start of last year they released their GY-HMQ10, which attracted a fair amount of attention at first because of its cheap price for great feature ratio – 4K for $5000. Now they are back with a camera thats able to shoot 600fps for just under $1000, JVC GC-PX100. However there is a slight catch. 600fps will not be glossy HD at 1920 x 1080, it is likely to be standard def (maybe 320 x 176). It may still be usable for some people though and its exciting to see higher fps heading to the consumer market.
Here are the specs
- 1920 x 1080p 60fps at 36Mbps
- Back-Illuminated 1/2.3-inch 12.8 Megapixel CMOS Sensor
- 5 Shooting Speeds Up to 600fps, 12MP Still Images at 9fps
- Built-In Wi-Fi
- SC/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card Slot
- 29.5mm F/1.2 Wide Angle Lens
- 10x Optical Zoom & 16x Digital Zoom
- 3″ Touch Panel LCD
- Optical Image Stabilizer with A.I.S.
- K2 Audio & Zoom Microphone
A feature that I am looking forward to seeing is its WIFI ability. It will be able to view liveview video on a tablet or smartphone directly from the camera. This is a nice feature and hopefully we will carry on seeing more and more devices being released with this option. Here’s what they say from the press release:
With Wi-Fi connectivity, video and images can be wirelessly sent to and viewed on a smartphone or tablet. And for coaches and others with an interest in analyzing an athlete’s performance, the free “JVC CAM Coach” app for iOS and Android allow annotations to be made on the playback image. Flaws in an athlete’s form can be noted by drawing on the screen and easily seen by both coach and athlete using the large screen a tablet provides, and without the need to disturb the camera setup. There’s also Twin View, which enables simultaneous side-by-side playback of two different video clips after they’re transferred to a tablet, for comparative viewing.
Also the Twin View option could be a really handy feature when comparing different takes. However it does say ‘after they’re transferred to a tablet’ so I am assuming you will have to transfer the files to the tablets harddrive,which could be a slight problem if your device is full of other things you use. Either way its still quite a handy feature.
There’s nothing “standard” definition about 320 x 176. That resolution is absolutely abysmal. Perhaps a bit of fun for very specific incredibly low-quality applications, but not worth a grand. That is the definition of a gimmick.
Meanwhile, I’m wondering what frame rates it can do at useful resolutions? Such as actual standard def (which is 720 x 576) or more importantly 720p?
This only mentions full HD which is a pretty useful 60fps apparently; definitely a more impressive feature than hopeless quality ‘super slo mo’
Look out for the FS700 for real super slo mo; at useful res. And it can do 4K.
I mentioned standard because it wasnt HD. I understand it will not be great and barley useable for most filmmakers but it is great news because its a stepping stone for whats to come.
I am also excited to see what fps it can do at 720p. The FS700 is great for slow-mo yes, I have not had the chance to shoot on one yet but I hear good things. The FS700 has the possibility to shoot 4K yes, but at a heavy price. To be able to shoot RAW 4K you are looking at an extra $6000 on top of buying the FS700.