I am selling a real piece of digital camera history here,
and IT IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL! Up for sale
is my personal JVC GRHD1, a fully functional COLLECTIBLE 16X9 HD camera that
was the first professional grade HD camera that was made available to the consumer
market. Its original cost with all
accessories was $3400. It is a SERIOUS camera. I remember at the time that JVC was
advertising that noted filmmaker Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings trilogy) was
using a GRHD1 to block all the shots on his 2005 remake of King Kong.
All the original specifications are at the bottom of this
listing, but first, here are some of my personal observations of this
groundbreaking camera.
It will record, on mini DV tape, High Def 16X9 in MPEG-2 format,
and for the first time, would produce 1080i video at 30 FPS. You can play it back as 1280 X 720 or 1080i. You
could also choose Standard Def at 480, in 16X9 aspect, or 480 at 4:3
aspect. With the push of a button it
would stop video recording and take still photos at 4:3 aspect ratio with
resolution in 640X480, or 848X480, or 1280X960.
The still photos are captured on an SD card.
The professional grade F1.8 lenses, which are 10X optical, in my estimation is
certainly one of the best features of the camera. It can really reach out and pull in quality
images. The current point-and-shoot
cameras with their 1080 P resolution and (maybe) 4X optical zoom, and fuzzy
digital zoom algorithms really have nothing on this quality camera.
It was so far ahead of its time that there was no
existing software that could capture the M2T High Definition transport stream produced when
the camera is set to film in the HD mode, so the camera came with its own “HD
Capture Utility” and a DVD authoring program called “MPEG Edit Studio Pro 1.0
LE”, which I am including in the package, although the usefulness of both
programs stopped with Windows XP. This
is not a problem since modern photo editing software include capture programs
for HD cameras and the M2T format. I use
Pinnacle and have also been successful with Arcsoft and Hauppauge, and they are
easier to use than the original software that came with the camera. The preferred hookup for capturing the HD
stream is to use firewire, and the cables are included. It also says you could capture with USB but
I’ve never tried it.
The nifty 3.5 inch fold out LCD can be rotated into any
direction. I have attached a monopod to
the camera, extend it high above my head to get over the crowd to film my
grandkids, and angle the LCD down to my eyes to where I could see what I was
capturing – a really neat feature.
It also has a viewfinder which can be used in place of
the LCD, and you can select what kind of resolution you want on either display
device. Both displays are color.
I really appreciate the fact that this camera has a CCD
capture rather than the cheaper CMOS devices that now populate most digital
cameras. I am convinced that the CCD
images are sharper.
The only complaint I have on the camera is the standard
circular on-off switches that were common to all the camcorders in the early
2000’s. The switch is hard to actuate,
so I usually just leave the switch on, because you can shut off the camera by
either closing the LCD display or closing down the viewfinder, then when you’re
ready to shoot again, you just open the LCD or the viewfinder, and the camera
pops back on.
I am including everything that originally came with the
camera and is shown in the photographs.
At the time there was no case for the Camera (all they offered was a
bag), so I fashioned a foam-filled hard case from a VHS camera case. I am also
including the original manuals. You will
receive two batteries, one very good one, barely used, and an older backup
battery with less up time.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Digital
HDV Camcorder
- Records
1080I and1280x720p MPEG-2 HD 16:9
- 19.7
Mbps Transport Stream
- 1/3"
1.18M progressive CCD
- IEEE
1394 iLink connection
- F1.8
Lens for High-Quality Images
- Accessory
Shoe. A variety of optional attachments are available
- Mini-USB
B-type (5 pin)
- SD/DV
40x and 200x Digital Zoom
- 10x Optical Zoom
- 113,000-Pixel
- 0.44" Color Polycrystalline Silicon LCD Viewfinder
- 200,000
pixel - 3.5" Color Polycrystalline Silicon LCD Monitor
- 35
Lux minimum illumination.
- SD
and DV modes have Sepia, Classic film and Strobe effects and 9 transitions
you can apply both in the field shooting or during playback.
- Individual
lens barrel rings adjust focus. Auto focus is also available.
- Individual
lens barrel rings adjust focus. Auto power zoom is also available.
- RM-V717U
Multi-function Remote Control to operate the camera from a distance.
- Navigation
screen displays the scenes to select from.
- Optical
Picture Stabilization prevents image blur from camera motion when using
zoom
- Progressive
CCD recording captures digital stills without blur. 4 sizes to SD memory
card or MMC; VGA 640x480, Panorama 16:9 848x480 or 1280x720, and Megapixel
1280x960 still pictures. HD at 1280x720, SD 848x480 and DV 640x480.
- Program
Auto Exposure includes Sports, Snow, Spotlight and Twilight to best match
the scene.
- Image
exposure in 10 steps using the Manual exposure dial.
- Full
manual adjustment for shutter speed, iris and exposure control
- Backlighting
can be compensated via the BLC button.
- One
touch manual white balance.
- Pull out the viewfinder or open
the LCD monitor and the Camera automatically powers up and shuts off
to save energy when closed.
- For
transition from a high to low angle shot without removing hand from the
grip.
- High-Speed
Search Playback Possible.
- In
DV mode, Squeeze mode uses a wider view of the CCD (941x483 pixels) to
create a full image. This is fit into regular NTSC signal to play back on
a 16:9 TV at 60i.
- Communicate
via web-camera by running third party applications such as Windows
Messenger for teleconferencing, video phoning, webcasting or surveillance.
- SD
Memory card for storage of Digital stills.
- BN-V428U
2800 mAh, High Capacity, rechargeable battery Pack and AC charger
- Power
8.0 Watts using viewfinder
- 2.8
lbs (1,270g)
- Width
4.56 inches (114.5mm)
- Height
3.94 inches (99mm)
- Depth
10.75 inches (271.5mm)