JVC 4K professional camcorder now $1,495 – a huge $500 saving

(Image credit: B&H)

When you hear the word camcorder, you might imagine a huge shoulder rig-style camera with a tape recorder attachment. Thankfully, though, those days are over and you can pick up this 4K-capable JVC 4KCam professional camcorder for just $1,495 at B&H, saving you $500.

The Jvc GY-HM170 to give it its full title is a professionally camcorder reader to be used on documentaries or for your next indie project, the possibilities are really endless when you have an all-in-one package capable of recording 4K up to 30p and cinematic 24p at a bit rate of 150 Mb/s wrapped up in the friendly H.264 codec.

This camcorder is also able to record in full HD 1080p at 60p in 8-bit 4:2:2 and features a two-position ND filter of 1/4 and 1/16 so no matter the sunshine you can keep your footage at a constant exposure, so you are getting the best of both workflows to suit any output.

For monitoring your footage the flip-out LCD screen provides a detailed preview with 920,000 pixels, and also includes a 0.24 viewfinder with 1.56MP resolution when you want to gain critical focus on far away subjects. These monitor will come in handy, as you have the ability of 24x dynamic zoom or you can stick to the 12x optical zoom.

Another great feature of camcorders is they are very well suited for live streaming, and this model from JVC can output 4K over an HDMI connection and connect to a live switcher – making this an all-round workhorse suitable to cover many events.

Those who want a professional camcorder for run-and-gun productions can also take advantage of the top handle audio unit, which features two XLR audio inputs for use with external microphones – very handy when you need scratch audio from a shotgun microphone while having a live handled mic in the other slot for interviews on the fly.

These audio inputs are also switchable either to Mic, Line or Mic with +48 phantom power. Meaning that whatever audio you want to run, this option from JVC can handle any audio solution from enthusiast to high-end productions.

To top it off, this camcorder also offers dual recording options: a master at full resolution can be recorded to one card slot, while the other can receive either 1080p or low resolution. This is extremely useful when you want to edit the proxy first for offline editing before it gets sent “online” for a final production run-through with the full res footage.

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.

He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.

He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.

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