DV EXPO (Mostly HMC40 comments)

BobDiaz

BobDiaz

The Professor
DV Expo provides a great chance to get my hands on equipment, like the HMC40, that up to now all I can do is read about it and download samples of the video. I must admit that once I could play with the unit, I got a better feel for how it works.

The zoom rocks! The zoom is not just 1 or 2 speeds, but a full range of speeds depending on how hard you press. If the soft landing is activated, when you come to the end of the range, it slows down, rather then a sudden abrupt stop.

The iris wheel is easy to use, press the wheel down to switch from auto to manual and press it again to go back to auto. The wheel does not have any click stops in it, so the only way to really know what you are doing is to look at the status of the display. I would have liked the feel of little clicks, but at $1,995 street, you can't have it all.

The camera is very light and well balanced. This should make it easy to handhold for long periods of time.

I did manage to slip an SDHC card into the camera and get some video. Overall, very good looking video. Remember this video is indoors, but in a well lit room. Some gain was needed to shoot indoors, but not too much gain, because the noise level does not stand out.

As for the digital zoom, I'm not a fan of such features, but I'll admit that the 2x zoom is OK, but does show some loss of sharpness. In a pinch you could use it, but the 10x digital zoom is a joke. Unless you wanted some weird effect.

The menu system was a breeze to work with. Even with my big fingers, I could flip through the options and select what I wanted.

Overall the feel of the camera was solid. There was nothing on the camera that I found that felt Mickey Mouse.

I have photos that I took, but that will have to wait for now. I'm a bit torn today, yesterday my son, Michael was pushing me along, so I didn't get as much time to play with things as I wanted to. I could go back today, but there are other things I should be doing.... Still today is my last chance to play with things and compare the HMC40 to other cameras.....

As for comments on other things, that will have to wait too.


Bob Diaz
 
I never have been a fan of touch screen menu systems.

But the one implemented on the 40 is pretty darn good and simple to maneuver.
 
You went? Good for you. I decided not to go. I played with the HMC40 at NAB, so the only thing I was interested in was comparing sensitivity. I think I will just go to Fry's and compare my SD1 with the TM300, which should be pretty close sensitivity-wise.

The touchscreen on the TM300 and on pre-production HMC40 is worse than Sony's: it does not register light touches and it is impossible to change a value QUICKLY, it takes some tome to flip from one value to another. I assume that the HMC40 is similar, but not having used a proper production model I should not be commenting :-) One thing for sure, Sony uses larger virtual buttons, and it is more convenient.

So, are you closer to buying one? ;-)
 
I have a feeling the HMC40 will be the start of every other future generations of Panasonic cameras that will come with touch screen menu systems.

Hmmm... another case of miniature development starting from small that will eventually take on bigger camera models perhaps?
 
I was this idea for a long time: you have a viewfinder and you have the LCD. The pros use viewfinder more often, especially on a shoulder mount cam. Duh, then use the LCD as a control panel with virtual buttons. Invoke a control menu, turn the LCD over and close. Now you have it flush with the body of the camera, full of buttons, CUSTOMIZABLE buttons at that. And you have normal image in the viewfinder.

It is that easy, I am really surprised no one is doing this yet. I would expect this from Sony, say on the S270.

The problem with this approach is that the buttons have no tactile feel, but this can be resolved, you can get tactile feedback from iPhone, can't you?
 
BobDiaz said:
The iris wheel is easy to use, press the wheel down to switch from auto to manual and press it again to go back to auto. The wheel does not have any click stops in it, so the only way to really know what you are doing is to look at the status of the display. I would have liked the feel of little clicks, but at $1,995 street, you can't have it all.
Click to expand...

Actually this is how I want it to work! Thanks! Real lenses don't have clicks in the iris. Ir's smooth. Does it transition smoothly or are their drastic differences as if it clicks instead of infinite smooth iris?
 
BTW, does the HMC40 have infinite aperture setting? Consumer Panasonics do not have it, the Canons have.
 
Bob, glad you got to try out a HMC40. I still have not had time to do much with mine. I was going to go, after hearing the traffic report did not want to deal with driving out there. Anything other good things at the show?
 
Cranky said:
The touchscreen on the TM300 and on pre-production HMC40 is worse than Sony's: it does not register light touches and it is impossible to change a value QUICKLY, it takes some tome to flip from one value to another. I assume that the HMC40 is similar, but not having used a proper production model I should not be commenting :-) One thing for sure, Sony uses larger virtual buttons, and it is more convenient.
Click to expand...

As I said, the convenience, utility and easy of use of the touch screen has been a pleasant surprise to me, and apparently, to Barry as well.

But I'm using the actual cam not a pre production model
 
Barry_Green said:
Agreed. I was dreading the touchscreen but it actually works just fine.
Click to expand...

Touch Focus is nice, too. I've used the camera extensively over the past week and have used this feature quite a bit in various situations when focus assist would have been too distracting to make both proper framing and focus on the run.
 
Cranky said:
Thanks Sony for inventing it.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a PC vs. Mac comment.

Look, it's a feature that could be useful to a fair number of users. Whether it was introduced by Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Canon or Brand X is irrelevant. What matters most is what features are available on any given camera for the user to make the best images possible - and in a way which the user is most comfortable, confident and capable. Any device - whether electronic or otherwise - is just a tool.
 
There's an old saying, "A man with one watch knows exactly what time it is, but a man with two watches is never quite sure."

In this case, I decided to test the HMC40 at the different gain settings: 0dB, +3dB, +6dB, +9dB, +12dB, +15dB, +18dB, +21dB, and +24dB. The idea was to look at the image to see where the noise level was acceptable and what level was just a bit too much.

Now I know that this is a subjective thing, so I've posted the file for others to download in VIMEO: (The downloadable .MP4 file only stays up for 1 week.)

http://vimeo.com/6755296




Special thanks to EVS Express Video Supply for allowing me to run the test in their booth.

The comment about the man with two watches applies here, because when I look at the file on my iMAC and then look at the same file on my 37", 720p LCD HDTV, I get different answers for how far can I push things.

So depending on what I'm looking at and how close I sit, +12dB, +15dB, and +18dB gain seem to be the upper level for allowing some noise in the image. Sit about 2 feet from my iMAC and +12dB is the upper level. Sit 4 feet from my HDTV and +15dB is the upper level. Sit 8 feet back from my HDTV and +18dB seems to be the upper level.

An interesting test would be to compare the HMC-50 to the HMC-40 at different gain settings. Does the noise level fro the 150 at +12dB look the same level as the 40 at +12dB? I'm just not sure. Maybe the 40 would have to be pushed to +15dB or +18dB to look the same as the 150 at +12dB. The problem is that I saw the HMC-150 at the different gain setting about a year ago and I can't be sure if my memory distorts the amount of noise I saw.

If one can have a higher gain setting on the 40, compared to the noise level on the 150, then the 3 stop difference would turn out to be less.


Bob Diaz
 
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Hi Bob,

The footage looks pretty good. I am not clear on this camera, is it a one chip or three chip camera?

Thanks.
 
Bob, Barry already have shown that 18dB is the max. About the same is for the 150. So 3-stop difference remains.
 
Cranky,

IF the noise level at +12dB for the HMC40 was less than the noise level at +12dB for the HMC150, one could go to a higher gain setting in the HMC40 and end up with the same noise level on the videos. For example, say we do a side by side test. We decide that +12dB is the upper limit for the gain on the HMC-150. Assume that on the HMC-40, we find that we have to go to +15dB to get about the same noise level. That would add 1/2 a stop to the upper limit to the HMC-40.

In this hypothetical example, when pushing everything to the limits and still getting a reasonably good image, for the same noise level, the difference would be 3 - 1/2 stops = 2.5 stops.

Maybe I'm wrong and remembered the noise level on the HMC-150 a bit higher than it was. It would take a side by side test on a good A/B input monitor to compare the noise levels at higher gain levels.


Bob Diaz
 
larrys said:
Hi Bob,

The footage looks pretty good. I am not clear on this camera, is it a one chip or three chip camera?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The HMC-40 is a three chip camera.

With a street price of $1,995; this camera should be of interest to those who can not afford the more expensive cameras, like the HMC-150 (street $3,4995).


Bob Diaz
 
I too saw the HMC 40 at both WEVA and DV Expo....a very nice cam indeed! It looks like it would kill my HFS-10 in functionality. If the HMC40 had only been available in July....I would have got it over the Canon. Sometimes a small cam like that is just what is needed. Some of my clients seen intimidated by larger cams, the compact dimensions of the '40 would be of benefit there.
SW
 
Photos From DV Expo

Photos From DV Expo

I regret the fact that I didn't take more photos of the show. Here's some of the photos that I did take:

The waveform monitor on the HMC40 is really cool.
DSCF0020-1.jpg


I noticed that there aren't too many photos of the XLR microphone adapter from this angle, so I decided to show it:
DSCF0006.jpg


Bernie Mitchell, Silver Platter Productions, gave the talk on the HMC-40 and also worked in the Panasonic Booth:
DSCF0008.jpg


Steve Golub, Product Manager-Panasonic, shows off the HMC-40:
DSCF0009.jpg


Here I am checking out the Schneider Optics wide angle adapters:
(Photo take off an HDTV monitor.)
DSCF0010.jpg


The JVC HM-100U video camera:
DSCF0011.jpg


HM-100u other side:
DSCF0012-1.jpg


Litegear LiteRibbon looked interesting:
DSCF0015.jpg


The Panasonic booth was the biggest booth there and was the first booth you saw as you entered:
DSCF0018.jpg



Bob Diaz
 
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