Hi there, it's Toshi. Today I'd like to update you all on the kayak tour in Lake Chuzenji that was featured here last week. For the first time ever on 'Everio Video Hunters!', we tried out a marine case! I'd always wanted to get my hands on one, but this was the first chance I'd had to try a case for real. I've been kayaking a few times, so I'm pretty confident as far as that's concerned, but I'm a novice when it comes to marine cases... it's all pretty exciting!

On this trip, I used the WR-MG270 marine case! Inside the case I had an Everio GZ-HD620. The marine case, which is really compact, is specially made for use with Everio. With the case on, you can still use the zoom (tele/wide), start/stop recording, still shooting, and Power ON/OFF functions.

Setting Up the Marine Case for Filming

Before getting started with the marine case, there are a couple of points to check. It's best to have some idea about them, so I'll explain them briefly here. Saying that, I was really careful about getting everything just right as I'd never used a case before...

• 1) Apply the anti-fog liquid on the inner side of the front glass.
• 2) Remove the O-ring from the main case for inspection.
  (The O-ring and mounting area are the most important parts of the marine case. Make sure there are no foreign objects like sand or hair in the groove of the mounting area, and check for scratches and cracks. Be sure to check the O-ring itself, too.)
• 3) Apply grease to the O-ring and reattach it to the mounting area.
  *You MUST try submerging the case in water once without the camcorder inside to make sure that there are no leaks. Remember to close the case!

• 4) Insert the drying agent at the back of the base.
• 5) Insert the Everio along the attachment groove in the base.
  (The Everio LCD monitor can be tilted upwards to a maximum angle of 30 degrees, allowing you to check the visibility.)
• 6) Close the case tightly, and hold the case underwater to make sure there are no leaks.

Preparations are complete, and now we're ready to go!

Time for Some Underwater Filming from the Kayak!

We have a two-seater kayak for this trip. Once we've got to grips with paddling, I can leave the steering up to the person in front and start filming with the marine case. You can use the camera just above the surface of the water without worrying about it getting wet. It's not often you get the chance to take dynamic footage like this! Time to head in to the lake...it's cold but it feels great! We're getting some great footage of the bottom of the kayak and the paddles going into the water - things you never usually get to see. You sure can get some cool footage with a marine case.

OK, it's time to head to the area that Eri talked about last week - Akaiwa, near the rock wall. Though the person rowing up front is a beginner, right now I can't think about anything but the marine case. The kayak just doesn't seem to go where we want it to! Avoiding tree branches on the way, we finally arrive at our destination. The water surface looks beautiful, sparkling with the light coming through the trees. But when you have a marine case, it's the underwater world you really want to see. Without further ado, it's time to start filming. Wow! The underwater light looks amazing! I've been kayaking several times, but I've never seen anything like this.

>> Continued next week

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Hello everyone, it's Eri. Are you all enjoying the summer?
Although the blistering heat in Tokyo is reaching temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius, the hot summer is when we should all enjoy being active! At least that's what outdoor guru Toshi believes, so he proposed that we all go to Tochigi Prefecture to visit Nikko City's Lake Chuzenji for a kayaking tour! We also planned to set up a day camp by the lakeside after kayaking. This was going to be a pretty exciting day.

So with much anticipation for the vast natural beauty and the unpredictable things that were bound to happen, we set off with our Everio and backup battery at six in the morning!
For this shoot, I decided to use the Bluetooth-compatible Full HD Memory Camcorder GZ-HM550.

Arrival at Nantai Mountain View Spot!

After driving for about 2.5 hours from Tokyo, we arrived at the Akechidaira Station drive-in, which has a wonderful scenic view. On stepping out of the car we were showered with positive energy from the overwhelming Nantai Mountain view! This is also the station where the Akechidaira Ropeway, which travels up to the observatory, makes its way back and forth. As such, I was able to capture the ropeway as it traveled downwards with Nantai Mountain in the background.

Kayak Experience on Lake Chuzenji!

After a light meal, we headed toward our goal of Lake Chuzenji.
Since it is Japan's highest-altitude lake*, even in the heat of the summer it is relatively cool and quite comfortable to visit.
The kayak we were trying out is actually a type of canoe. It looks like a banana with a hole carved in the middle of its body and is equipped with a double-blade paddle on both of its sides, which makes controlling it a bit of a tricky task. First, we learned how to paddle while on dry land, and then we prepared to shoot some video on the kayaks.
For this occasion, I brought with me a special clip-on type pod and it was so easy to secure to the kayak! As soon as I was ready, I jumped in the kayak and off I went!
*Among natural lakes larger than 4km², excluding man-made lakes.

I immediately began shooting with the kayak-mounted Everio. Although it was a bit unfortunate that I was not able to capture the mountains in the background (since I couldn't adjust the pod's height), I had however positioned the camcorder at the front of the kayak, so I was able to capture a very dynamic video that looks as if it's cutting right through the ocean! Since we were on a two-man kayak, my partner was also shooting video from behind to capture me paddling from a very different and interesting perspective. In the beginning it was difficult to move straight ahead, but I was still able to experience a feeling of having the entire lake to myself!

GPS-Recorded Kayak Route!

Once we began getting a handle on maneuvering the kayak, we set off to adventure further into Lake Chuzenji! The location from where we set off was now just but a speck, so from here we were really heading into uncharted waters. We were excited about what awaited us next! As I was shooting with the Bluetooth-compatible GZ-HM550, I was able to record our Lake Chuzenji kayak route on the GPS! What a feeling of wonder to be able to leave tracks in the middle of the lake. As my canoe route has been converted into a kmz file for Google Earth via the Everio MediaBrowser, you can download using the link below and check it out on Google Earth.

Kayak_GZ-HM550_Route.zip

The greatest appeal of kayaking is that it enables you to reach small hidden attractions you can't normally get to. Our tour guide took us to the Akaiwa rock wall, where the bottoms of these enormous rocks were scraped away, and the portions in the lake were shining in a beautiful emerald color.
Truly a moment of encountering the mysteries of nature!

Castaway on an Uninhabited Island? Landing on a Beautiful Beach!

As soon as we became a little tired from our very first paddling experience, we landed on a beautiful beach with a short rest in mind. This is a beach that can only be accessed either by foot or from the lake. As we got closer to the beach, the water below became ever clearer and the bottom of the lake could be seen crystal clear! Just listening to the gentle waves hit the shore provided a feeling of liberation.

Shooting with the Majestic Nantai Mountain in the Background!

After resting on the beach, we headed back the way we came, towards Nantai Mountain. There's no predicting the weather on a mountain. The lake was gentle and quiet when we came, but on our way back the waves were getting a bit rough and so our kayaks were bobbing up and down, making paddling a little bit more work.
Nantai Mountain, which can be seen from Lake Chuzenji, is a famous landmark of Nikko. As such, I used the wide conversion lens to shoot a still photo. By using the wide conversion lens, I was able to capture Nantai Mountain in its entirety within the picture frame!

During the kayak experience at Lake Chuzenji, I was able to shoot a bunch of beautiful scenery that captures the 'hunting' spirit of the Everio Video Hunters! So much, in fact, that I cannot begin to show all of it here. Aside from what I shot here, next week Toshi will introduce video and photos that he took using the marine case, and we'll also show some of what we captured during the day camp. I hope you're looking forward to it!

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Hello, it's Eri again. Continuing on from the previous week, we are challenging ourselves in shooting with Everio's unique features.
I headed off to Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise's Dolphin Fantasy!
The main attraction here is the tank that enables visitors to watch the beluga whales in a 360-degree view! The belugas are often called the canaries of the sea, as their cries are much like that of a bird and they look truly adorable.

Beluga Whales Bubbling

The beluga whales are very curious creatures. When we walked up to them with our camcorder in hand, they began making air bubbles and playing in front of us! They are so cute! At this point, we decided to begin shooting with the GZ-HD620. What they are doing here is called bubbling. The beluga whales are unique with their soft layers of fat in their faces and heads, which allows them to turn their necks freely. Watching these beluga whales that have such a variety of facial expressions, we were overcome with a wonderful feeling of calm.

Beluga Whale Capture with Auto REC!

We wanted to try using the Auto REC function on the GZ-MS230.
The Auto REC is a function that automatically begins recording when an object comes into the square frame in the middle of the LCD screen and stops when the object goes out of the frame. This is a function recommended when trying to capture animals in the wild, but it can also be very useful when shooting beluga whales that are swimming freely in a tank. So we set up our tripod and waited for the beluga whales to come in front of the camera. Ah, and there was a beluga whale right in front of us! Auto REC begins!

Here is the actual video we took using the GZ-MS230 Auto REC. Notice the beluga whale's beautiful white body. It swam faster than we expected, but its swimming form is very graceful.

After enjoying our recording of the beluga whales, we went off to take a break. At this same time, we set up our tripod and used the Time Lapse REC function to capture the ocean scenery that can be seen from Hakkeijima. What we captured were ships that were coming and going on the ocean, as if they were skating along on the sea surface. The ship in the middle was moving in a pretty humorous way and it was fun to watch this ship many times over! Since you never really know what you'll capture with the Time Lapse REC feature, it's exciting every time you use it.

After capturing many sea creatures that cannot be seen normally at the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, we finished off the day with some lovely sweets! As we munched on the famous dolphin-shaped "Irutan Yaki" sweets, Sakura and I enjoyed sharing the videos that we took. It's really great when you have scenes that capture the wonderful expressions of animals. Since the Everio has so many different unique video functions, shooting becomes so much more fun!

Our next article will be posted on Friday, Aug-20th.

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Hello, it's Eri from the Everio Video Hunters! The first two blogs about the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise were covered by Sakura. This time however, I'll be moving to the aquarium's main attractions, which are of course, the sea creatures! To start, I will be shooting our friends from the sea using a number of Everio's unique functions.

Filming the World's Largest Crab, the Giant Spider Crab, with Low-light Shooting

To begin, we set off up to the Aqua Museum's 2nd floor. On this floor, where the lights are dimly lit, there are a number of tanks that are illuminated and on display for visitors. One of the most intriguing tanks holds the world's largest crab, the Giant Spider Crab, which lives in the seas surrounding Japan. A large male's legs can reach up to 3 meters. As they normally live 200 meters underwater, the lights are kept quite dark. My eyes met with the eyes of a fish lurking in the dark - pretty scary! But putting that aside, I went to test the upgraded Everio 2010 model's low light sensitivity with its Super LoLux feature, and so I set up the tripod and started shooting!

First, I started with full auto shooting. I captured the aquarium 'as is' and the lighting was adjusted naturally. Then, I tried it with the Night Eye mode. With this feature, the lighting increases, making the fish in the back visible as well! The scariness of the sight decreased slightly... However, with the Night Eye mode, the camera gets a bit shaky and so a tripod is definitely necessary.

Now, to the Marine Mammals Show!

As the rain started to let up, we decided to go off to see the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise main attraction, the Marine Mammals Show! Alongside dolphins, the show features sea lions, penguins, beluga whales and other creatures taking part in the presentation at one of Japan's largest stadiums. Since we had to follow each animal's unpredictable movements, we hoped to capture some moments of truth without using the tripod! We did this despite the strong wind, which made it quite difficult to keep the camcorder secure.

What I really wanted to do was capture the dolphin jump in high speed. So I tried capturing these moments, hard to see with the naked eye, using the GZ-HM545's high-speed continuous shooting! As dolphins cannot actually see where the ball is with their eyes, they must remember where the ball is after repeated practice. These are therefore some exciting moments that result from hard work. I am also very impressed with their effort!

Now I tried the high-speed video recording feature. Watching the movements in slow motion, I can even notice the details of the water splashes. The video really captures the dolphins' energy!

>> Continued next week

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Continuing from last week, this is Sakura, and I'm starting our journey at the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise gigantic pilchard pool.
With the aqua-tube that goes through the pool and an upstairs view, the pool provides various angles for different shooting scenes. However, the reflection on the tank's glass is something you cannot seem to avoid when shooting.

The circular PL filter is the key to aquarium filming!

As long as there were no reflections, it would really look like you went underwater and filmed all of these beautiful scenes. This is what you would think, but it is actually really difficult to avoid this effect, no matter the angle of your camera. The circular PL filter should allow for us to remove the reflections in the water and glass, but with these being so obvious, we were doubtful of the result. With our doubts firmly in mind, we went ahead and attached the circular PL filter, turning the filter screw on its side and adjusting the setting. And the results?

Well, you may not believe this. At least I was really surprised, since it was the first time I had ever tried this! The panel light reflection that was showing had completely disappeared. After using it once, I was hooked! Since I now wanted to try this on the water surface, I decided to film the dolphin waiting for the show in the corner.

In the beginning, I was only able to see the dolphin's face that was sticking out of the water surface, but as I put the circular PL filter on, I was able to see the entire dolphin, as if its whole body was coming out of the water. To be able to film visuals that even the naked eye cannot see; this really allowed me feel the possibilities of camcorders! By using the circular PL filter, you can really experience the difference in effect with various angles of light reflection, since it effectively removes this surface reflection. I found that you can take beautiful shots by not only turning the adjustment dial, but also by changing the location or angle from which you are shooting.

Now, I'll provide just a bit of additional information for everyone. Aside from the circular PL filter, we also borrowed a cross screen filter from Boss. This is a filter with grid-type grooves in the lens, which allows cross lights to show up when filming night scenes and illuminated subjects. With this, we tried filming at the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise just after sundown.

Although this was the first time I have ever used a wide conversion lens and circular PL filter, they really helped for this aquarium shoot! And since they allow for different effects compared to normal shooting, it really made the shoot a whole lot more enjoyable! I hope you can all try it out for yourselves. The Everio Video Hunters discovered there are so many interesting shooting subjects at the aquarium! Next week, Eri will be reporting about the wonderful sea creatures we met at the aquarium! We hope you are looking forward to it.

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Hello everyone, Sakura here. Hope you're all doing fine!
It's July already, and to re-energize ourselves for the coming summer, Eri and I decided to visit one of the biggest aquariums in the East Japan area, the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise!

Even as Everio Video Hunters!, we seldom have the opportunity to film creatures in the water. When I consulted with our boss (we call him 'Boss'), he recommended to "try out the wide conversion lens and circular PL filter" as he passed me his favorite accessories. This is Boss's typical way of thinking... Even though it seems a very high hurdle for us as video shooting beginners, we went ahead to challenge ourselves in using these tools for the shoot!

The Everios we used for this shoot are shown below:

Let's prepare for the aquarium shoot!

Generally at aquariums in Japan, visitors are allowed to take videos and stills as long as they do not use their flash. However, since aquariums are usually dark, coupled with the far distance of the subject and the reflection of lights on the glass, shooting in aquariums is difficult. According to Boss, it is in this kind of environment that his 'secret weapons' really work. For this shoot, we borrowed his wide conversion lens, circular PL filter and cross screen filter. We brought the tripod as well.

Arrival at Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise!

What welcomed us when we arrived at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise Aqua Museum main facility was a yellow tang. Apparently these bright yellow fish are the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise's mascot fish.

Filming with the wide conversion lens at the gigantic pilchard pool!

Once you go through the entrance and enter the aquarium, the first thing you see is the gigantic pilchard tank, housing 50,000 pilchards in its pool, which is one of the greatest in Japan. As it is made to recreate the natural environment of the great sea, the tank provides visitors with a view of 30 different species, numbering up to a total of 60,000 creatures, including eagle rays and tiger sharks.

For the sake of your viewers, you certainly would want to capture the pure scale and awesome panorama of the pool. In person, it really seems like you are actually looking into the sea, but it is extremely difficult to capture with regular angles of normal shots. And when you try filming away from the pool, you can only see a part of the actual view. We soon understood that it is at these times that the wide conversion lens should really do the trick! The wide conversion lens is a wide-angle lens that allows for wide shots even in areas where you do not have much distance with the subject. I attached the special adapter for the GZ-HM545 and then put on the wide conversion lens. It lends a decent weight to the camera and feels very professional. However, its effect is so evident that it can be noticed even by an amateur!

Since the school of pilchards was shimmering so beautifully, we filmed them in a close-up!

We tried using the wide conversion lens for the arch-shaped pool in the 'Dolphin Fantasy' and show and noticed that the 'perspective' reproduction of the wide conversion lens had been enhanced as well.

>> Continued next week

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Hello, it's Eri. How were the Time-Lapse videos in the articles from the past few weeks? We hope you all enjoyed them and felt you'd like to try by yourselves.

This week, actually we are having an early summer vacation. Even on vacation, the members of Everio Video Hunters are running around with Everio to catch interesting moments for this Blog.
Look forward to the future postings.

But for people who can't wait one week, here's a one-minute clip from a summer resort in the south part of Japan shot by GZ-HM1.

See you next week!

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Hello, continuing from last week, it's Eri writing this article. About a month ago, our "Boss" showed you the beautiful green of Japan's cherry trees (2010/06/04(Fri) Everio Video Hunters! Green with light and shadows). However only one month had past, Japan is now in the middle of the rainy season, known as Tsuyu. In this season, it gets hotter and more humid every day! Tsuyu is the last barrier for Japanese to achieve the bright summer sunshine.

Even the weather makes it hard to plan outings, Everio Video Hunters are running around with Everio to catch interesting scenes. So for the last to introduce Time-Lapse Rec mainly, we would like to show you other videos shot in Time-Lapse mode through our little field trips. Let's start the show!

First, here's a video of Banksia Rose blooming; a kind of video that is a classic of Time-Lapse videos.

We shot the roses for more than 10 hours from early morning but the whole video came out in just a minute and 47 seconds. When shooting subjects which moves very slow as plants with Time-Lapse, the footages are quite interesting. Don't you think?

Today's second video is a little alike to last week's videos (2010/06/25(Fri) Everio Video Hunters! Unique videos on your own - Let's try Time-Lapse Recording - Part 2). It is shot at Odaiba's waterfront park in the early-evening. The boats look like they are skating on the water.

Next, we shot a video with the camera lens facing "down". It's a video shot near Waikiki beach, a famous resort area in Hawaii.

You can see the different moves of the cars, people and the waves in one video.

There's another video from outside Japan; from Brussels, Belgium. One of our members went to Brussels and took this video during sightseeing. It's a five-minute walk from Grand-place to Manneken-Pis; a popular tourist spot in central Brussels.

It might be unique using Time-Lapse recording feature with the camera in hand. Also, seems interesting that people and buildings are passing at quite a pace.

For the last video of introducing Time-Lapse, it is a scene of coloring a picture.

The subject changed completely from others and it might seem too ordinary but recording the process of producing something is always impressive.

Now, how about shooting your own Time-Lapse video masterpiece? No need for special equipments, just one unit of 2010 Everio. Set the recording interval, press the recording button and shoot. You can have unique videos to share with your friends and the world.

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Hi, it's Eri again. In the last article, we introduced Time-Lapse Recording technology; how processing is done in Everio. Now we will stop talking the technological side.

We asked one of the members of the Tech team what kind of object is interesting for Time-Lapse. And we received his comment;
"Footage of the sunset of a clear day with some clouds in the sky is surprisingly beautiful. Also when it's cloudy and windy, you can get a magnificent video by just pointing the camera to the sky. It might come out as a very mysterious image like a scene in a movie. You will find interesting scenes you have not recognized in your daily life."

So here's some clips shot by JVC staffs. Seeing is believing! Let's take a look and see what you can do with Time-Lapse Recording feature. Based on his advice, we collected footages of the sky. The footages are full of beauty in nature.
First is the art created by the clouds and the wind.

The clouds are moving dynamically. This kind of footage is one of the best parts of recording videos.
Following are clips of sunrise and sunset with the dramatic movement of the sun.

JVC's early bird shot this video at his vacation in Okinawa. It seems like a sacred moment when the sun comes up between the mountains.

On the same day, he also shot the sun set over the sea. You might have seen these kinds of videos on TV or on the Internet, but you can shoot these on your own.

Lastly for this article, I would like to introduce two videos shooting the city in the summer twilight.

Words can't describe the beauty. Don't they look like the clips which were taken from a scene of a movie!? The scenery is fantastic when night time arrives gradually and the lights of the building and traffic turn on. The videos were recorded on different days, but both videos are shot at almost the same place. Not a special place, these are recorded from our office building. With the clouds, wind and the sun, these amazing scenes occur daily but you can't really recognize. As I said in my last article, by Time-Lapse Recording feature, you can see another interesting side of the world.

Introducing Time-Lapse videos will be continued for next week. This week was focused on clips shooting the sky. Next we will show you other footages.

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Hi everyone, it's Eri. Have you ever seen a video which looks like it's played at fast speed on TV or on the Internet? A video that can't imagine how it's recorded but something really attracts you and something magical; suddenly a flower starts blooming or a pupa becomes a butterfly. Here is an example.

Many of these moving images which remind you of fast forward videos are shot by a unique technology; Time-Lapse Recording. With this technology, although you play back the movie in normal speed, it comes out as watching a video on fast-forward when you shoot slow moves in a long period of time; for example clouds floating in the sky or growth of plants. Recently, you can search with the word "time lapse" and there are many videos on YouTube and other video-sharing sites.

Then how can we shoot these unique videos on our own? Actually, Time-Lapse Recording mode is a standard feature for 2010 Everios. No need for special software. Just go through the video mode menu and select "TIME-LAPSE RECORDING", choose the interval you prefer and shoot. That's all. It seems very simple. However Time-Lapse videos are provided by delicate processing in the camera. This time we asked our engineers to show us the underside of the technology of Time-Lapse Recording.

It's quite technical but this is how it works. For normal videos, the moving picture consists of 30 still pictures per second in NTSC format (broadcast system adopted in North America and some countries in Asia) and 25 still pictures per second in PAL format (broadcast system mainly for Europe and Asia). In case of NTSC system, if you shoot a video in 30 frames per second and play back the video in the same speed, it will be shown as a normal clip. On the other hand, when using Time-Lapse Recording mode, the camera is controlling the interval of the shots, or how many frames will be shot in one second. Here is an example. When you choose the 5-second interval mode, a 5-second scene which normally consists of 150 pictures comes out by only one picture. Then, if you play back this video in normal speed, the flow of time in the video looks 150 times faster than real life. In this way, it is possible to record fantastic, sometimes mysterious, movies when you shoot subjects which move very slow.
This might be a little too technological. For your reference, this is a figure of the processing done in the camera.

Processing of Time-Lapse Recording

The footages won't get jumpy and the moves come out quite smooth. Here are two clips recording the same subject one in normal Auto mode and the other one in Time-Lapse Recording mode.

Aren't they interesting?
2010 Everios allows you to choose from 7 modes of recording interval. Select longer intervals when shooting subjects change slowly and then you can confirm smooth continuous process. Choose 40-second or 80-second interval when shooting blooming or emergence of an insect. On the other hand, subjects which look fast in an ordinary situation like traffic or a crowd might be interesting shooting in 1-second or 2-second interval.
At actual shooting, the time course which is indicated on the LCD will be useful information for you. They are shown in two different time course on the LCD, one is the actual recorded time of the video and the other is elapsed time after recording started.

Indications during Time-Lapse Recording

In case 12 hours had passed in 40-second interval mode, the actual video is only 24 seconds (for NTSC). It might be really exciting to watch the footage.
Additionally when the recording interval is set longer than 20 seconds, the camera switches to the power-saving mode so Time-Lapse Recording is available only using battery power.

In the next two weeks, we are thinking to post special articles of Time-Lapse videos shot by members inside JVC. You might find new sides of everyday life.

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Summer is getting closer as the weather gets warmer!
I, Ayako happen to live in the Odaiba area, which is located just by Tokyo Bay. These days, I enjoy taking walks along the coast as I let the refreshing night breeze cool me off. But the biggest advantage of being an Odaiba local is that you can see the beautiful night view every evening. Since I wanted to share this beautiful view with everyone, I decided to take night view shots with the GZ-HM330 for this blog!

GZ-HM330 Full HD Memory Camcorder

Odaiba's glimmering night view

Odaiba is a relatively new district, with its fixed living and business facilities as well as coastlines and parks being established only 10 years ago. However, it is already one of Tokyo's premiere tourist spots, in league with Ginza and Akihabara.
Every year, tourists from all around Japan and also from overseas visit Odaiba. The night view of the Tokyo Tower and the Rainbow Bridge is especially beautiful, and widely known as a famous date spot for couples.
As I had very little experience shooting night views, I was a bit unsure as to whether I would be able to capture the scenes beautifully, but this was a good opportunity to try out a few settings and challenge myself a little.

So, with the Everio and a tripod in hand, I was off.
As the cool night breeze blew gently by, I walked along shooting the views that caught my eye.

According to the Tech Team, the back-illuminated CMOS sensor in the GZ-HM330 has greater sensitivity than conventional models, allowing it to take beautiful shots even in Auto Mode. With this in mind, I started out shooting in Auto Mode.

From the Rainbow Bridge to Tokyo Tower to the Statue of Liberty!
Did you know that there is a Statue of Liberty here in Odaiba? The one standing now is a replica. However, in 1998, during the "French Year in Japan", the actual Statue of Liberty was sent here from Paris, France. Odaiba was the first place it was shown to the public outside of France.

And then there is the Ferris wheel that is continuously changing illumination. Finally, I shot the coastline near my house to the glimmering city of Odaiba.

When I look back on the video I took, it seems like I created a collection of shining night views that could be placed in a jewellery box. The Odaiba scenes that I experience every day feel very special when looking at them this way.

Trying out a night view capture with different settings!

The videos above were all shot in Auto Mode, but depending on how you choose to make your manual settings, there are the Night Mode and Night Eye Mode selections that can accommodate different scenes.
Since I was curious about what kinds of videos you can take with these modes, I challenged myself to capture some footage with them.

First, I tried out the Night Mode, in which you are able to shoot natural-looking night views.

Compared to the Auto Mode videos, there is a dramatic change in feel here.
It appears very soft and a little romantic, as if you were looking at the scene from a bar in a hotel. Very typical of a night view, it looks very much like what the scene would look like when seen with the naked eye.

Finally, I tried out a unique function within Everio's Night Eye Mode, the Time-Lapse REC function.
"In the Night Eye Mode, the sensitivity will automatically increase and make it brighter, so when using the Time-Lapse REC function in this mode, the headlamps from moving cars might appear to flow like a river of light through the video," I was told from the Tech Team. Wow! I really wanted to try this!

This is very beautiful! It's as if the lights of the automobiles are flowing downstream!

If you try a few settings during your night view shooting, you can really capture videos with a totally different feel to each other. This makes it a lot more fun!
I hope you all challenge yourselves to capture some night views with Everio. When doing this, go ahead and try out the settings that work with your taste and approach.

Looking ahead, the next 'Everio Video Hunters!' will be a Time-Lapse REC special!
For this edition, I shot some night views using the Time-Lapse REC. This function can make some really interesting videos, offering fresh enjoyment every time you shoot.
We plan to provide you with detailed info on the Time-Lapse REC function as well as show some experimental video shoots using this function.
We hope you enjoy it!

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Hello again, 'Boss' here. I hope you are all doing well.

Can you believe it's already June? It's almost halfway through 2010. Outside, the greenery is exploding in the early summer light. And now as promised, I'm bringing you our Green Edition!

Once again, I tried out the Everio in its easy-to-use but powerful manual mode.

My partner on this outing is the new GZ-HM330. Its striking black design fits comfortably in my hand, and the device feels trustworthy despite its small size. Selecting the manual mode from the menu, I can adjust exposure compensation and focus using the laser touch, giving me smooth control when shooting.

GZ-HM330 Full HD Memory Camcorder

In my previous article (2010/04/23(Fri) Everio Video Hunters! Spring has come!), I went on a video hunt through my neighborhood, looking for the soft and light colors of cherry blossoms. Today, I retraced my footsteps through the same area looking for vivid green colors. My mission was to capture the light and shadows of May, hiding within the many faces of the nearby scenery and vegetation.

Although a bit of a tough mission, I went forth to capture a video sketch with my Everio.

Revisiting the cherry blossoms

First, I captured a video sketch of the cherry trees that have changed since April.

On the cherry trees next to my house, I discovered that there were already some small green cherries. Taken by the sight, I wanted to capture the bright green of the cherry leaves, shining green in a shower of light.

Next, I went to visit the cherry trees near the Ondagawa River, but I wasn't able to really capture the light as I saw it dancing brightly on the river surface.

Everio MediaBrowser smart editing

Once again, I put together all of my neighborhood's greenery in a video sketch book. With the Everio MediaBrowser HD edition, editing HD video is really easy, and you can even upload the video in the same high quality directly to YouTube, to be shared with everyone in the world. Amazing.

So, I hope you enjoy the green, light and shadows of my neighborhood. I think I've succeeded if I captured not only the greenery but also the flowers and plants bringing change to the scenery, capturing the light's performance in everyday 'Everio' life.

So, what did you think? I think it turned out a lot better than I had originally thought when using a camcorder with such a small body. I think I captured the greenery with a vivid clarity that made me say, "Wow, I did it!" when I saw the video.
This time, so that I didn't have people pointing out embarrassing things, such as a dirty lens, I prepared properly and visited the Tech Team with confidence. However, I was once again faced with another sobering comment.
"You may have been limited with the angles at which you can shoot the light on the river surface, but if you had matched the camera's height to that of your eye, it's easier to capture the moving image that you want.
Also, it's quite remarkable as it is but if you want to make your footage better, you need to be careful of the iris when shooting something with a bright background; like leaves with the sky in the back. It looks like your iris was somewhat closed, making the footage dark. If you look closely at the leaves, you'll see they are not as clear. In such situations, it's best to increase the light or use the backlighting compensation function."
Well - alright - that's too bad. Video shooting is obviously quite deep.
But, I feel like I have taken another step forward and making these video sketches is becoming a lot more fun!

Until next time!

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Hi there, it's Toshi again.
After publishing my piece on the in-car video shoot last time, I got a comment from one of our employees who said: "I'm actually a bike enthusiast myself, and I've taken video with the Everio mounted on my motorcycle."
This I had to see! I asked him to send me the video right away.
Since this is exactly the kind of response I hope for when I write this blog, I decided to introduce this motorcycle-mounted video into this issue.

Motorcycle mount for bike enthusiasts

The person who provided me with the motorcycle-mounted video was Mr. M. Chiku from the Patents Group. He is a real bike enthusiast who got his license at sixteen and immediately bought a secondhand YAMAHA XS650E, which he rode around everywhere. After getting married, he settled down for a while, but the motorcycle bug bit him again in his fifties. He currently rides a GSX750S KATANA (1982 model), which, as he says "is the motorcycle that really does it for me." Through his bike riding, he's living the years of youth once again.

Being a bit of a bike nut, his motorcycle-mounted video was something a little bit different than what I had expected!
The video was shot in the hot summer of last year, on a mountainous road.
The Everio used was the 2009 standard definition memory camcorder GZ-MS120.
Please start by watching the video.

Motorcycle-mounted capture method to shoot your own riding style

Was this shot from the back of the motorcycle?
Although we see many front-mounted cameras and videos done with motorcycle mounts, his goal was to somehow shoot his riding form, which he has been perfecting since his younger years. After much trial and error, and by using the Moto-GP onboard camera as a hint, he managed to secure a tripod on the back seat.

The method is quite simple. You should start by securing the tripod's legs underneath the seat's belt, and then keeping it down in place with a touring net. Thanks to his previous work experience in the technology field, Mr. Chiku could demonstrate his motorcycle setup clearly and understandably.

Rear-end capture method with motorcycle

Explained in such simple terms, it looks like anyone could do this.
The GZ-MS120 that was used for the shoot is a small, lightweight memory cam, so you don't have to worry about its weight for this kind of shooting.

For motorcycle enthusiasts, since your own riding style might be something of interest, this way of shooting from the back can help in cornering practice. I was pleasantly surprised to find such an innovative method for shooting video.

As an additional note of caution, please make sure the camera sticks out less than one meter from the back of your bike, as it may obstruct the vehicles behind you. (It is a violation of the Road Traffic Law in Japan to have something stick out over 2.5 meters from your own vehicle.)

Let's all try vehicle-mounted video shooting!

Well I hope you enjoyed the past two weeks of Everio vehicle-mounted video shooting articles. We, the Everio Video Hunters, are constantly looking for great locations to demonstrate the many uses of the Everio.

You can now watch all the videos uploaded to the blog on a YouTube channel.
JVC Everio Video Hunters! Official YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/EverioVideoHunters

Note: When using the camcorder for vehicle-mounted recording, you are responsible to abide by the traffic laws in the respective area and any other relevant laws. This blog refuses to take any responsibility for accidents or camcorder damage that may occur as a result of vehicle-mounted recording using the camcorder.

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As most of our readers already know, JVC's 2010 high-end camcorder GZ-HM1 has been awarded the Best Expert Camcorder prize in the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA)'s prestigious TIPA Awards 2010. JVC is receiving TIPA for the first time in 3 years. Last time, GZ-HD7 was awarded in the same category in 2007.

So today, Mr. Shuji Tsuchiya, chief engineer of development of GZ-HM1, commented the joy in receiving the award.

Q1. Please tell us the first impression when you heard about receiving TIPA.

We were very pleased and honored to receive one of the most prestigious awards of Electronics in Europe. As an engineer, TIPA gives us confidence which valued our commitment to basic video features.

Recently the camcorder market is facing tough time for the bad economic situation world wide, but taking this occasion we would like to appeal the quality and the usability of JVC's camcorders. Also, we will make continuous effort to develop products to fulfill customers' needs.

Q2. Which part of the development did you suffer the most?

Honestly speaking, the picture quality in low light and the new image stabilization system were the most difficult parts of the development.
GZ-HM1 was designed to be the successor of GZ-HM400 which was JVC's high-end model for 2009. GZ-HM400 gained favorable remarks from the market in high resolution and high performance. We much concentrated to enhance GZ-HM1's performance in low light and anti-shake.
The big improvement of the pictures in low light situation is provided mostly by the new back-illuminated 1/2.3" 10.62M pixel CMOS sensor. But at the same time, generally the brighter the picture becomes, the noisier it gets. And then trying to minimize the noise, applying too much noise reduction affects the sharpness/resolution of the video. So it was quite hard to reach our ideal balance of brightness and resolution.
On the other hand, the improvement of anti-shake performance was also a key factor for GZ-HM1. In addition to JVC's unique O.I.S. system using two active prisms in front of the lens, the new Advanced Image Stabilizer system was developed to reinforce stability in the wide-angle.
For the development of both functions, we examined not only in the studio but real situations that our customers might confront. Near JVC's Headquarters, there's Yokohama Port and China Town so we made some field trips to check out. It was quite difficult to find out the right balance, keeping the best signal-to-noise ratio and tuning for both features however those examinations helped us to achieve GZ-HM1 as the "Best Expert Camcorder".

Q3. As an engineer, which feature do you recommend to the users to enjoy their video life more.

From my point of view, High-speed recording for ultra-slow motion playback and Time-Lapse recording are the two unique features. You can get interesting videos without any extra software or some difficult techniques. Generally, people might think these video shooting modes are for special occasions, like shooting the burst of water balloons for High-speed recording or monitoring the sky and clouds with Time-Lapse Rec etc. But I recommend you to try shooting scenes in your daily life, like monitoring your whole day with Time-Lapse Rec.; you can realize how much you move at home, or shoot a video over your friends' shoulder with High-speed recording function; you might be able to capture unique faces which you haven't seen before.

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