To sum up, the JVC GY-HC550U is an excellent camera, it renders a fantastic picture and is busting with options when it comes to connectivity and recording.
Lately, it seems like most of the camera talk focuses on cinema cameras and mirrorless cameras, which at the end of the day, are really similar in function and results. It’s not as often new “fixed lens long-format” cameras make headlines. While many have been released in the past few years, these workhorses don’t get near the recognition of their cinema and mirrorless brethren. At the same time, cinema and long-format cameras have been converging, bringing all the power and connectivity of long-format cameras to the form and function of a cinema camera. Cinema cameras have started integrating many of the long-format strengths concerning audio connection, recording media, recording run time, and servo lenses.
Anyone who is familiar with fixed lens long-format cameras will feel right at home with the unit.
However, there are some situations where a long-format camera is going to be a better option. Things like instruction or a conference shoot where a talking head is walking around, situations where the focus is continually changing, or the camera operator has no control of the situation or environment. While both cinema and mirrorless cameras can function in those situations, the long-format fixed lens camera simply shines. JVC hasn’t given up on the long-format camera, and their latest release in the arena is the GY-HC550U.
There is a lot to like about this camera. Anyone who is familiar with fixed lens long-format cameras will feel right at home with the unit. The lens itself has an impressive 20x zoom as well as focus, zoom, and iris rings. However, in HD mode, it offers 40x dynamic zoom, which is more than enough to reach the stage from the back of most churches. But remember, these are infinity rings, so they will continuously turn around the lens even after reaching the maximum or minimum adjustments.
High-quality professional switches and user-assignable buttons adorn the left slide of the camera, along with large network and status LEDs. These LEDs, along with the ample tally light, will all flash red when the battery is close to dying, so a dead battery will never come as a surprise. The size and weight are on the larger side, but not uncomfortably so. The HDMI and SDI outputs are independently controllable. So you could be recording 4K internally and outputting 1080 psF on SDI and outputting 2160/24P on the HDMI.
You can also add lower-third graphics to any recorded or streamed content coming from the camera without the need of an external production switcher or character generator. Just use your smartphone or tablet. That’s a very interesting feature for smaller churches or one-man-band operations.
This camera is in JVC’s Connected Cam family, which means it can connect to a network wirelessly. Once connected, the GY-HC550U can import metadata, but it is also possible to upload and view recorded clips remotely, and to control the camera remotely. Also, it can stream directly to Facebook or YouTube using the RTMPS protocol. And. if combined with a decoder or PC application that supports it, it can live stream anywhere using H.265/HEVC. All of these features make this one of the more versatile cameras on the market with regard to file distribution.
If live streaming isn’t enough, internally, it can record to SD card slots located under the viewfinder. It also has an expansion slot that will allow the use of an SSD media adapter. With the price of SSDs coming down and the need for large 4K files becoming more necessary, this is a great option.
In my testing, I filmed a 30-minute interview and ended up with ten clips each about three minutes in length and about three GB in size, so the entire interview was 36 GB. I recorded my test footage in Jlog1. While I had never used that specific log gamma, I found Jlog1 to be not near as flat as some other alphabet log profiles, but it could still be pushed considerably without falling apart. The image was tack sharp and, on an HD timeline, it could be scaled and panned significantly with almost no loss in image quality.
While the overall the camera is great, I did discover issues during testing. The menu structure is not as intuitive as some other manufacturers, and many of the functions, once changed, have to be confirmed. The confirmation button is neither the navigation nor selection button, but a third button. While this is a minor issue and one that is easy to overcome once you are aware of it, initially, it can cause the user to think they have made a change in the menu, but because it wasn’t confirmed, the change was not recorded. Once you have a handle on how to change menu settings, there is another oddity because changing things like the recording format, frame rate, or output connector type cause the camera to shut down and reboot. While the reboot process is fast, it’s far from instantaneous, and the constant restarting of the camera may increase user frustration, hypothetically.
Also, the demo unit didn’t come with a battery charger. To charge the battery, you have to plug the camera into wall power with the battery connected. I was torn on this because if you have multiple batteries, this is going to be a tedious process that requires an expensive piece of gear to perform a job of something you should be able to pick up at a big box store. That said, it is one less piece of needed gear and the fact the camera can run and charge the battery while on wall power is appreciated.
While silly, my absolute favorite feature of this camera is the lens hood, which has an integrated two-position shuttering lens cap. Opening and closing the lens cap might be one of the most satisfying things I have ever experienced on a camera. It’s a great practical feature, but the sharp opening and closing is just amazingly gratifying and feels like it should come with its own theme music.
To sum up, the JVC GY-HC550U is an excellent camera, it renders a fantastic picture and is busting with options when it comes to connectivity and recording. The autofocus was snappy, and the body design is familiar while remaining customizable at the same time. If you don’t need the look associated with cinema and mirrorless cameras, the GY-HC550U is a great option. When it comes to IMAG and sermon recording, it may not make your Sunday morning message look super cinematic, but it could record it, IMAG, and stream it all at the same time. This camera is an excellent reminder that the fixed lens long-format camera is here to stay.
