concerns for buying HMC150

C

camerapro

New member
i have been reading up on the file format for this camera (AVCHD) and people are saying that the video is cut into 4gb segments..what is that? is that going to decrease video quality?

Also the main concern i have, is that when you import the video into a program called Cineform that the audio will not match the video, is there a possibility that could happen in FCP?

Are there any other things that i need to consider before going to AVCHD?

Other then that i absolutely love what i hear about this camera and i cant wait to get my hands on it!
 
Others will be able to help you with your concerns, but I thought I'd let you know at B&H Photo the camera is now listed at $2795! The DVX100b is $2495.... only 300 bucks difference. I can't figure that one out, but sure is a great deal on the HMC..
 
Hi, The HMC150 does not have any recording limits besides the size of the SD Card. Some cameras like the Canon 5D for example have some recording limitations, but if you have a 16gb card in the HMC150 you can hit record and let it run for about 99 minutes and you will have one long file.

Additionally, as long as you capture the footage properly using FCP's log and transfer tool, the audio will match up!

enjoy the camera!
 
another concern i have about this camera is that from what i have been reading up on in this forum is that this camera doesn't have as good as resolution as the sony HDR-AX200 which is another contender that i am dealing with. is that true? if so is it night and day difference? another big deal for me is how will the hmc-150 be in low light compared to my sony fx1?
 
You will not have problems w/FCP. You can log/transfer your footage and never, ever even be aware of the file structure on your SDHC cards. We've been using the cameras for a couple of years now, and love them.

Cineform- I never use it. But I don't make movies, either.
 
ctb1010 said:
Hi, The HMC150 does not have any recording limits besides the size of the SD Card. Some cameras like the Canon 5D for example have some recording limitations, but if you have a 16gb card in the HMC150 you can hit record and let it run for about 99 minutes and you will have one long file.
Click to expand...

I don't believe that to be true. The HMC150 still splits the files in to 4GB sections, but smart NLE's such as FCP will concatenate them when ingesting so that it seems like you have one big file.

ctb1010 said:
Additionally, as long as you capture the footage properly using FCP's log and transfer tool, the audio will match up!
Click to expand...

Which of course it does with the 5d2 as well ;)

Don't let the 4GB file size confuse you or put you off buying any particular camera. They pretty much all do this because 4GB is the limit of 32 bits (32^2). Most cameras will simply close the file and continue writing to another file without losing any frames. Most programs designed to work with AVCHD will be able to rejoin the files when you import them.
 
No concerns regarding file limits. I've captured 100 minute clips with no issues what so ever. The camera also isn't the sharpest out there but it's a CCD so you won't see skew and wobble and mud. It's been a great camera for 2 years now. If you are coming late to the party then that's cool and you can get it for like 800 less than I paid. You won't be sorry as it's a solid camera and lightyears better in image quality than the DVX.
 
AX-2000 vs. HMC-150

AX-2000 vs. HMC-150

camerapro said:
another concern i have about this camera is that from what i have been reading up on in this forum is that this camera doesn't have as good as resolution as the sony HDR-AX200 which is another contender that i am dealing with. is that true? if so is it night and day difference? another big deal for me is how will the hmc-150 be in low light compared to my sony fx1?
Click to expand...

I sold my AX-2000 when I bought my HMC-150. Both cameras produce beautiful video, but the 150 is definitely better in low light.
 
Exact said:
The HMC150 still splits the files in to 4GB sections, but smart NLE's such as FCP will concatenate them when ingesting so that it seems like you have one big file.
Click to expand...

This is NOT a HMC-150 issue. The SDHC cards that the HMC-150 uses are formatted as a FAT32 partition. FAT32 partitions support a maximum file size of only 4 GB. Every camera in the world that uses SDHC cards is ALSO stuck with the 4GB maximum file size.

Fortunately the HMC-150 saves long videos as multiple 4GB segments along with meta-data that describes what the true file size should be, so the more sophisticated NLEs will read the meta-data and stitch together the 4GB segment files back into the proper file size on disk.

Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas Pro 9/10 ( using the Device Explorer tool ), and Premiere CS 4/5 are all able to utilize the data that the HMC-150 writes to the card and recreate a single video file on your hard drive.

So yes you can shoot 198 minute single video clip using PH mode and a good quality 32 GB SDHC card, and then use your NLE to recreate a single 3+ hour video file for you.
 
TheDingo said:
This is NOT a HMC-150 issue. The SDHC cards that the HMC-150 uses are formatted as a FAT32 partition. FAT32 partitions support a maximum file size of only 4 GB. Every camera in the world that uses SDHC cards is ALSO stuck with the 4GB maximum file size.

Fortunately the HMC-150 saves long videos as multiple 4GB segments along ........... so the more sophisticated NLEs will read the meta-data and stitch together the 4GB segment files back into the proper file size on disk.
Click to expand...

Isn't this what I said?
 
I ran into the 4gb limit problem and lost a couple frames and got an audio hiccup where they should join. I did a search on here and turned up a discussion where someone mentioned a program that will join separated 3.99gb files together.
 
Justinec101 said:
I ran into the 4gb limit problem and lost a couple frames and got an audio hiccup where they should join.
Click to expand...

Yes, no frames or audio lost if you use a NLE that can read the metadata on the SDHC card and output a proper single video file. I use the "Device Explorer" interface in Sony Vegas Pro to properly copy files from the SDHC card to my hard drives.
 
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