GY DV300U for indie film making

I'm curious if there are any thoughts on using the GY DV300U for filmmaking? It seems like a great camera for the price. It doesn't seem to have variable frame rate, but it has lots of other features - good picture, manual controls, xlr audio, etc.

Just wondering if anyone had thoughts on this? Any use this camera for filmmaking?

One of the reasons I bought the camera was to expand the quality and features of what I was using before. (Gl-1). I feel the cam is better suited for indi films and I plan to use mine for just that once I get a script finished I am happy with. GL-1 is still a great cam though.

Currently I have only used it for weddings, but it is a great camera for the price. What is surprising is that these cams can be obtained for less than the GL canons. Lots of bang for buck in this cam.

I think it has great range and color which suites well for film making. I like the sharpness as well as well as the ability to compose a shot with the 16 x 9 overlay (however I would turn it off before recording so you have the flexibilty to capture extra and just go letter box or go anamorphic in post) I used to put tape over the LCD with the canon to see the crop letter box shot. Nice not to have to do that anymore.

I also like the way it outputs the display settings to a monitor (if attached) be great if you are going to shoot a scene and have the time to set it up perfect. You can also record 700 lines if you go strait to Harddrive or D-VHS (at least that is what I am told will happen) I have hooked it up to a 700 line TV and boy is the picture sharp.

I think Doug Turner has shot some short work. I have seen a few of the clips and the quality looked high.

I own the GY-DV300u and have been very pleased with its performance. I use it primarily as part of a telecine for transferring 8mm and Super 8mm movie film to video. 8mm film, because of the small frame size, is not the easiest film format to transfer. But the 300u, along with aerial imaging, has produced some very sharp, detailed transfers with good color rendition. It uses the larger 1/3" chips like the Sony VX2100, but costs less than the 2100. It generally is priced lower than the Canon GL2, which only uses 1/4" CCDs. It uses a lot of plastic on the outside and therefore is not as rugged as JVC's more expensive DV5000 or DV500 models, but the electronics on the inside appears to be first rate. I believe the 300u gives you the most bang for the buck.

Kent McVety

This camera delivers a lot of quality in the final image/sound for the money, and has as many professional features that a beginning filmmaker will need.
To reiterate about the quality, its image quality is very difficult to discern from the DV500 and the Betacam (standard of the ENG industry). Except under difficult (high contrast) lighting situations, this camera will basically do as well as any below $10,000-if you know how to use it. In high contrast situations, you just have to do a little more more, some of it in post production.
The higher end cameras definitely handle a higher range of lighting better. More money, better picture.
The lens is just a decent zoom lens, comparable to others in the price range. If you want extra sharp pictures, get the new HD version and put a prime lens on it.
If you are working on a film with a budget under $50,000, then this would be a very good choice. Use a lot of medium and close up shots, keep the lighting at a reasonable range of contrast. If you need a wide establishing shot, just don't do it with a super bright sunny day against the sky.
I fully expect some replys about my claim about the budget range.
Use a polarizing filter on sunny days.
Don't forget to use the ND filter and the black stretch on bright sunny days.
If you have any interest in camera moves, and your budget is small, then you will want to use a camera that is light enough for the hand-held camera stabilizers. This camera is easily hand held and you can get very smooth camera moves using a VreezeCam (what I use) or just the stabilizing weight of a monopod (also what I use in run-and-gun situations).
I promise I will have my latest work on my site soon, so you folks can see a few examples. I will post a notice when I get this done.
RayJ