JVC Launch 4K Camcorder

JVC’s answer to the call for 4K acquisition, the new HMQ10JVC Professional today announced the GY-HMQ10 what they are calling the world’s first handheld 4K camcorder, which captures, records, and plays video images at four times the resolution of high definition television. Powered by JVC’s Falconbrid large-scale integration (LSI) chip for high-speed signal processing and a 1/2-inch CMOS imager with 8.3 million active pixels, it delivers real-time 3840×2160 footage at 24p, 50p, or 60p. 4K recorded to four separate card slots.

UK price has been announced at £5090. The camera doesn’t have genlock but it is thought that the HMQ10 will be the first of a range of new 4K camcorders with various stages of professional features with the same chipset.

High resolution 4K still picture imaging has been around for several years in DSLR cameras. Motion video capture with these cameras has always been done at a lower video resolution because of lack of processing power. Likewise, high end digital motion picture cameras may capture 4K images, but often provide a raw data output to an external storage array for later processing—again due to lack of processing power in the camera. There just hasn’t been the ability to capture, process, display and record full 4K images in real time until now.

JVC’s Falconbrid LSI processing takes raw image data from the camera’s CMOS device and dematrixes (de-Bayers) it in real time. Unlike many high end 4K cameras, the GY-HMQ10 is able to output 4K images to a monitor or projection system in real time with virtually no latency. This capability opens up applications in cinematography, medical microscopy, telepresence, specialised observation / surveillance, and live wide-view event coverage.

Using MPEG-4 technology and a variable bit rate H.264 codec operating at up to 144 Mbps, the GY-HMQ10 records up to two hours of 4K video to SDHC or SDXC memory cards.

In addition to 4K imaging, the GY-HMQ10 also captures and records 1080i or 1080/60p full HD, with its 8.3 megapixel imager. HD is recorded on a single memory card in a format compatible with most editing systems.

Another feature requested was the ability to crop an HD image from a 4K frame. This can be accomplished in post production or in real time during camera playback. The “trimming” feature makes HD cropping easy using the camera’s touch panel LCD monitor.

The GY-HMQ10 includes a build-in F2.8 10x zoom lens with optical image stabilizer, as well as a colour viewfinder and 3.5-inch touch LCD monitor. The GY-HMQ10 has manual level controls for audio, with audio metering in the LCD and viewfinder displays. A microphone holder and two balanced XLR connectors with phantom power are located on the handle. The camera is equipped with a built-in stereo mic for ambient sound pickup.

Other features include JVC’s patented Focus Assist, as well as manual and auto control of focus, iris, gain, shutter, gamma, color matrix, and white balance. Plus, the camera has the unusual capability of live 4K output via four HDMI terminals.

JVC’s approach to professional 4K will be unveiled in a series of industry announcements beginning at CES and continuing throughout 2012.

Specifications

• Optical image stabilizer
• 4K2K recording: 3840 x 2160

o    MPEG-4 AVC/H.264(.MP4) 4-stream separate recording

o    60fps/50fps/24fps Progressive 144Mbps

• Full HD recording: 1920 x 1080

o    AVCHD progressive (.mts)

o    60i/60p or 50p/50i

• “FOCUS ASSIST” function
• Full HD (1920×1080) trimming function
• Manual level controls with audio meter
• XLR inputs with phantom power
• Connections:

o    HDMI (mini) x4

o    USB

o    Headphone(φ3.5) x1

o    Ext. mic (handle with XLR connections),

o    SD slot x4

o    Remote (φ3.5)

o    DC in