AG-HMC40 Pricing Announced
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Goldenplates
Member
Will you put a link to the dealer you ordered from? That price seems very low compared to the original MSRP of $3,195
D.R. Gates
Well-known member
I'd rather get the Lumix GH1 to use alongside my 150. Cheaper, and most likely a better picture.
Either way, I'd still be buying Panasonic.
Either way, I'd still be buying Panasonic.
Panasonic has officially dropped the price to a MAP of $2295 in a press release dated today. XLR adapter is additional.
"SECAUCUS, NJ (July 20, 2009) – Initially previewed at NAB for $3,199,Panasonic's professional AG-HMC40 AVCCAM handheld camcorder will begin to ship in August at a significantly lower price, widening its appeal to a much larger customer base, the company announced today. Panasonic also announced that shipments of the new HMC40 camcorder will come initially (from August 2009 through March 2010) bundled with free EDIUS Neo 2 video editing software (Retail Value: $199).
Compact, 3-Megapixel AVCCAM Handheld Ships in August for $2,295.
The optional AG-MYA30G XLR adapter will be available in August at a suggested list price of $300"
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Funny that the AG-MYA30G seems to be exactly the same adapter as on the DVC30. Panasonic's list price for it is $250, not $300: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webap...alogId=13051&itemId=70145&surfModel=AG-MYA30G B&H does not have it in stock, redirecting to a "successor model" from Beachtek. Apparently Panasonic stopped manufacturing these adapters along with cancelling the DVC30, and then decided to reuse it in the new HD model, along with the hideous handle. But if such reuse helped dropping the price, I am all game. I have $2K ready.
studio1972
Well-known member
Cool, will be really interested to see the low light performance, and how well it cuts together with HMC151 footage.
MadHMC150
DVXuser Sponsor
Ah, I was set on the GH1 - now another option to consider... Coming from the HMC70 1/4 CCD, I want low light and 1/4 usually doesn't cut it.
The brochure for the HMC40 lists the minimum luminance as:
Approx. 1 lx (Gain: +34 dB, Slow Shutter: 1/2 sec.)
Which sounds a little crazy considering they are using 34 dB gain with a shutter speed of 1/2 second. I can just imagine how "wonderful" video shot at these settings would be.
Panasonic Brochure for the AG-HMC40 Camera
ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/business/provideo/brochures/AG-HMC40_brochure.pdf
Approx. 1 lx (Gain: +34 dB, Slow Shutter: 1/2 sec.)
Which sounds a little crazy considering they are using 34 dB gain with a shutter speed of 1/2 second. I can just imagine how "wonderful" video shot at these settings would be.
Panasonic Brochure for the AG-HMC40 Camera
ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/business/provideo/brochures/AG-HMC40_brochure.pdf
34db and 1/2 second? Right. The SD100/HS100 are also rated 1lx in Magic Pix mode. These numbers are bullshit.
D.R. Gates
Well-known member
What a joke.
One rule of thumb is to never trust a manufacturers lux ratings.
My guess is that it's no where near the 150's picture quality, and as such, they dropped the price substantially.
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RaviSun3D
Well-known member
It's a really crazy Joke!
Good to know, becides making great cameras, Panny makes Jokes too!
rogar-BigGrin(DBG)
Mike Harvey
Veteran
I have a hard time seeing how 1/4 chips that were 1920x1080 would do really well in low light. Them's are some dinky little pixels. The flip side is that when well lit, this ought to be a very sharp image. Couple with a 35mm adapter, this could produce some very good images.
I also saw, reading the brochure, that it's going to come bundled with Edius Neo 2 as part of a limited time offer.
I also saw, reading the brochure, that it's going to come bundled with Edius Neo 2 as part of a limited time offer.
Funny how people whined that the cam was too expensive. Now when the price has dropped people say this is because the camera sucks. I am saying this camera will become hugely popular. Image quality is pretty good from what I saw.
MadHMC150
DVXuser Sponsor
Are they serious??? Approx. 1 lx (Gain: +34 dB, Slow Shutter: 1/2 sec.)
That will make for terrible video.
Lux ratings are not even standardized. Its hard to even trust Lux when its within its own single manufacture.
SOMEONE needs to come out with a low-light standard of measurement, even if the manufactures don't want to use them. They just want to say whatever the hell they want about their camera's performance. And then its only an Approximation???? COME ON PANNY!
That will make for terrible video.
Lux ratings are not even standardized. Its hard to even trust Lux when its within its own single manufacture.
SOMEONE needs to come out with a low-light standard of measurement, even if the manufactures don't want to use them. They just want to say whatever the hell they want about their camera's performance. And then its only an Approximation???? COME ON PANNY!
I don't see how they can standartize sensitivity rating. For example, CCInfo is looking for a particular output strength (50IRE) in auto mode, and the light required is the sensitivity.
You can require that they measure sensitivity at a certain shutter speed, this is easy. I mean, this is easy for a camcorder that allows to set shutter speed explicitly (Sony AVCHD camcorders do not allow this).
But what about noise? What about resolution? You can require then turning gain off, but what is gain? The sensor itself has amplifiers in it, AFAIK this is one of the differences of (C)MOS vs. CCD that the former has amplifiers right in the sensor. You can add more amplification on a later stage, but anyway, how do you separate allowable amplification from "bad" gain? These become pretty much the same, the difference is only in the level of gain applied.
More gain -- more noise, so you can try limiting image by noise level, setting some acceptable noise level after which measurement is considered bogus. So you have to come up with noise value common for all different models of camcorders, and limit gain so the camcorder stays below this noise level. This might work if a camcorder allows controlling gain manually.
But what about noise reduction? Some heavy noise reduction can supress noise at high gain at a cost of resolution. Are you going to come up with the minimum resolution value? In this case you basically require that a camcorder MUST provide some baseline resolution, otherwise it won't even be considered for a test. Maybe this might work, different resolution baselines for different recording standards, at least one for SD and another for HD. But while say the HV20 may struggle putting out 700 lines, the EX1 will have no problems with 900 lines. So, the EX1 with high gain and heavy noise reduction can produce the same resolution as the HV20 and have magnitute higher sensitivity. Is this a fair test?
So, I don't know can this be standardized at all. One can do several tests, come with sets of numbers for resolution, gain value, and noise and then decide for himself which setup/camera suits him better.
You can require that they measure sensitivity at a certain shutter speed, this is easy. I mean, this is easy for a camcorder that allows to set shutter speed explicitly (Sony AVCHD camcorders do not allow this).
But what about noise? What about resolution? You can require then turning gain off, but what is gain? The sensor itself has amplifiers in it, AFAIK this is one of the differences of (C)MOS vs. CCD that the former has amplifiers right in the sensor. You can add more amplification on a later stage, but anyway, how do you separate allowable amplification from "bad" gain? These become pretty much the same, the difference is only in the level of gain applied.
More gain -- more noise, so you can try limiting image by noise level, setting some acceptable noise level after which measurement is considered bogus. So you have to come up with noise value common for all different models of camcorders, and limit gain so the camcorder stays below this noise level. This might work if a camcorder allows controlling gain manually.
But what about noise reduction? Some heavy noise reduction can supress noise at high gain at a cost of resolution. Are you going to come up with the minimum resolution value? In this case you basically require that a camcorder MUST provide some baseline resolution, otherwise it won't even be considered for a test. Maybe this might work, different resolution baselines for different recording standards, at least one for SD and another for HD. But while say the HV20 may struggle putting out 700 lines, the EX1 will have no problems with 900 lines. So, the EX1 with high gain and heavy noise reduction can produce the same resolution as the HV20 and have magnitute higher sensitivity. Is this a fair test?
So, I don't know can this be standardized at all. One can do several tests, come with sets of numbers for resolution, gain value, and noise and then decide for himself which setup/camera suits him better.
It looks like the HMC-40 could be a good B camera to the HMC-150.
1. It shoots in the exact same modes and has the same scene file settings, so it should match.
2. It uses the same batteries!
3. Same SD media of course.
4. The menus are the same and the controls are very similar.
We will have to see how the low light and picture quality are. If the 1/4" 3MOS sensors are scaled down form the HPX-300 1/3" 3MOS sensors, it should be pretty good and may have better bright light resolution than the HMC-150.
I need another HMC-150, it may be tough to get another 150 with the 40 over $1,000 USD less expensive. I thought about the JVC briefly, but the HMC-40 price point kills the JVCs chances of going mainstream.
What do you guys think?
1. It shoots in the exact same modes and has the same scene file settings, so it should match.
2. It uses the same batteries!
3. Same SD media of course.
4. The menus are the same and the controls are very similar.
We will have to see how the low light and picture quality are. If the 1/4" 3MOS sensors are scaled down form the HPX-300 1/3" 3MOS sensors, it should be pretty good and may have better bright light resolution than the HMC-150.
I need another HMC-150, it may be tough to get another 150 with the 40 over $1,000 USD less expensive. I thought about the JVC briefly, but the HMC-40 price point kills the JVCs chances of going mainstream.
What do you guys think?