Railfan Technology > JVC GY-HM620 Camcorder reviews or recommendations

I'm thinking of purchasing the JVC GY-HM620 Camcorder, and wanted to see if anybody on TO has used one, and if so, would provide your thoughts and recommendations.  

Thanks

Ronnie McCallay
Cañon City, CO

I've got a JVC GY-HM150U, and I think it's a great camera. I mostly use the camera in full auto, but having the ability to shoot in full manual (white balance, shutter, f-stop, gain, focus, etc) is wonderful, especially around sunrise/sunset. You do have to have a general understanding of how to work all of the controls to shoot full manual.

There are a few quirks, such as you have to know which memory cards to buy with them, mine only takes class 10 or higher. That's not too much of a big deal, as a 32 GB, class 10 memory card is about $12 at Wal-Mart and gets me 2 hours, the same as the old 8mm/Hi-8 tapes.

The big quirk on mine, is that the .MOV files are not capatible with PC computers at all; I've never tried any other file types as I've got a Macbook for all my photo/video needs. That's absolutely something to know before diving into the world of professional video cameras. As a broadcasting major, I primarily used the HM100U in college, so I already had 3+ years of experience with the camera before purchasing it (which is how I learned about the PC thing), and that knowledge has been invaluable in the field.

I don't know how many people can shoot video an hour after sunset, but I'm able to do it with my camera (I was shooting video for the attached picture on August 12, 2016, taken at ISO 1600, f3.5, 1/8), and I've tried a little bit of pure after dark with some success. Hopefully you enjoy the camera, looks like a good one from a quick search!
~wko

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