Feedback on HMC-150 Equipment List for Weddings/Corporate

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indieanajonze

Member
I’m getting back into the wedding/corporate video business after a 3-year hiatus of sorts. I have most of the gear I need and I considered at one point buying two used DVX-100a’s to go along with the one DVX-100a I have now so I’d have three cameras. After doing additional research and math, I’m going to go with two HMC-150’s.

I just wanted to rattle off my list of equipment I’m looking to purchase and get some feedback/suggestions in case I may have overlooked or failed to consider something.

I haven’t had much time to compare pricing, but I have bought from B&H in the past and in my limited research on pricing the HMC-150, they seem to have the lowest price.

So here is my list along with a few questions.

HMC-150 - B&H $3289.95
1. If you know of a reputable dealer with a lower price, please let me know.

Panasonic Secure Digital (SDHC) Memory Card 32GB Class 6 - B&H $273.95
2. Is this the best SD card at the best price?
3. As I understand it, in PH mode the HMC-150 can record 180 min. In the past, I’ve recorded approx 4-5 hours at a wedding. I’m thinking it would be wise to purchase two 32GB cards for each camera.
With a 32GB does the HMC-150 record 180 min in both 1080 and 720?
4. The card description says it read/writes up to 20mb/s - doesn’t the HMC-150 average 21mb/s and max out at 24mb/s in PH mode? Is this anything to be concerned about?
5. Could I use my MacBook Pro on a shoot to dump the footage from the card?

Panasonic VW-VBG6PPK 5800mAh - $164.95
6. For a wedding (6-8 hour day) would I be good with buying one of these batteries for each camera and alternating between the this battery and the one that comes with the HMC-150 or should I be safe and buy two of these for each camera?

I have the DVXUser.com battery for my DVX and it lasts me all day. I know they don’t work on the HMC-150, but considering there is no tape drive on the HMC-150 I imagine the battery will last as long, if not longer.

Bogen/Manfrotto 521PFI Focus Remote Control - $315.00
7. I may wait to purchase two of these, but does the HMC-150 support LANC?
8. Is this a good zoom/focus controller or would you recommend another?

Bogen / Manfrotto BO055XB503H 055XDB Pro Tripod with 503HDV Fluid Video Head - $466.90
9. I have one tripod, but will need another. Any other suggestions for a sub $1000 tripod.


Panasonic AG-YUSC150H Elegant Soft Case with 3.0 LCD Hood - $149.95
10. Any other suggestions for a good bag for HMC-150.

Audio is my weakness . I plan on using my 8 year old Samson Micro32 wireless system.
11. Any suggestions on a mic system or approach to capturing audio from podium readings, etc. other than on camera mic?
12. Would you suggest buying an on camera shotgun mic to capture ambient sound or is on-camera mic sufficient?

13. Last question. Is there a good consumer grade AVCHD camera I could get to use as a third camera, lock-down wide shot that closely matches the image of the HMC-150?

Thanks in advance.
 
I have never shot a wedding but have done a bunch of corporate and exercise videos/DVDs---and regarding sound, I always use top-of-the-line Sony radio mics (I have a pair) and feed into input 1 and 2. I set input levels on the camera.

If I need room atmos and/or to capture a voice at a distance, I use a longer shotgun and a Wendt X2: a fantastic little two-channel mixer that has absolutely top-end pre-amps; I will have an assistant swinging a boom with the shotgun (or mounted on a mic stand if a long presentation and I cannot get a feed from the PA) and he/she will monitor/set levels from the Wendt while I concentrate on the radio mics.

If you need more channels, then consider recording the shotgun and other inputs via a small mixer to a solid state recorder. If you need sync on these, make sure the camera can see a slate or some clapper arrangement at the beginning or end of the second system's recording.

This approach give maximum flexibility for the least outlay, IMO.

I do not think there is a consumer AVCHD camera aout there whose quality visually would match the 150---but I was considering a JVC Everio at one point:

http://camcorder.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL027875

hth, kl
 
I would really recommend two of the bug batteries for the 150....they do not seem to last as long as say, Sony 970's or Canon 970's.

Maybe look at something loke an AT4053A, if you must shoot from the back of the church/temple.
 
Try ebay for 16GB Class 6 SDHC; for about $30 tops. You should be able to find good brand 32GB SDHC's for about $130US.
Best value is naturally getting a stack of 16GB cards.
 
edy4eva said:
Try ebay for 16GB Class 6 SDHC; for about $30 tops. You should be able to find good brand 32GB SDHC's for about $130US.
Best value is naturally getting a stack of 16GB cards.
Click to expand...

So as long as the card is Class 6, it will be reliable? In other words, the brand name doesn't really matter? In shooting weddings, I obviously want to go with a highly reliable card.
 
Class 6 is what you're after. I tested several brands (Adata, Sandisk, Panasonic) as well as no name brands; they all performed the same: HDTACH transfer rates was spot on 20MB/s for all of them.

Most cards use the same memory chip inside. Panasonic charges too much for its card for what it's worth.

Some manufacturers like Adata, Kingston and Sandisk even offer a lifetime warranty on their products (not that I've had any of these fail). Save your cash and get a good Class 6 card.
 
Actually, the minimum you need for PH mode is Class 4. Class 6 is nice for faster offloading, but you don't actually "need" it. Check Newegg.com for some of the best prices.
 
I filmed a wedding yesterday with a HMC151E and an SD100 as second cam.

These are a nice combo as the both use the same panasonic batteries. The sd100 will go for 4 hours on the '260 battery which comes with the 151, or 2 hours on the '130 battery which it came with. Batteries are difficult to get at the moment so I only have 2 x '260 and 1 x '130. This is manageable as long as you charge them back up while everybody is eating and don't leave the camera running all the time when there is nothing to film.

I would say that a large battery plus a '260 should be plenty for each camera for a wedding.

I would recommend the SD100 as a 3rd cam for you. I will be getting a second HMC eventually and will then have the same arrangement myself. Obviously the image is a little different than that off the HMC as you would expect. Check out the link below for a short exercise vid I did with both cameras and you can see the difference:

http://www.vimeo.com/2444547

The HMC really excells in low light, but the SD100 can struggle in a disco unless you have some extra light. A nice feature of the SD100 is that it has a manual focus ring.

Regarding memory cards. I have 5 16gB ones by a company called "Patriot". They are class 6 and I've had no problems. They cost me about 25GBP each including tax.

I use a Sennheiser radio mic kit, but if our existing kit is ok I can't see much reason to change it. I also use a Zoom H2 sound recorder for readers etc. and for disco music. This does have a problem in that it's clock runs at a slightly different speed than the cameras so every few minutes you have to correct it to get it in sync. There are alternatives which maybe don't have this problem, such as the edirol.
 
indieanajonze said:
I'm sorry, what do you mean by 'bug' batteries?
Click to expand...


Batteries with bugs all over them, of course--

Actually that was a typo, I meant the bigger 5800 mah Panasonic batteries. Always carry backups on items like batteries, in case one decides it doesn't want to hold a charge on the day of your event.
 
I purchased 3 Class 4 Lexar 16 GB's for all my media -- and wish I would've gone Class 6. It's reliable but would've been worth the extra cash for the quicker offload. Dumping a 16 GB card takes about an hour. (Anyone know if or how I can speed this up, or how long this takes on a Class 6?)
 
indieanajonze said:
Bogen/Manfrotto 521PFI Focus Remote Control - $315.00
8. Is this a good zoom/focus controller or would you recommend another?

Bogen / Manfrotto BO055XB503H 055XDB Pro Tripod with 503HDV Fluid Video Head - $466.90
9. I have one tripod, but will need another. Any other suggestions for a sub $1000 tripod.
Click to expand...


Have you considered the Bogen 522P camera remote handle? You can get them used at B&H for $330.

I would actually recommend saving up a bit more and going with the Bogen 532 ART Roadrunner and 516 head (this was my old set up). I’m actually just about to buy the Sachtler Speed-Lock CF HD with mid level spreader and DV-12SB Fluid Head (around $6800 with shipping and accessories). I need a run and gun set up that will work with my light weight HMC-150 and fully loaded Silicon Imaging SI-2K camera body + camera accessories.

-John
 
Mike Harvey said:
I've been using the Class 6 8gig and 16gig cards with no issues so far, and they're a heck of a lot cheaper than the Panasonic cards.
Click to expand...


*IMO* if you shoot video professionally (meaning you are paid) then forget about Transcend and go with Panasonic or Sandisk Extreme 3 cards (Transcend should be ok for non pros). I had a bad experience with Transcend when I noticed some digital photography files had some random horizontal banding. We sent the D2X and card to Nikon and they informed us it was a ‘defective card’ (apparently Nikon sees this a lot with Transcend).

-John
 
indieanajonze said:
So here is my list along with a few questions.

HMC-150 - B&H $3289.95
1. If you know of a reputable dealer with a lower price, please let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

not to be a total jerk, but the B&H price is $200 under MAP. I do not know of a single reputable dealer that would dream of selling this camera any cheaper than that. Technically B&H is violating the panasonic agreements by advertising the camera at this price without an add to cart for lower price deal. Speaking from a dealers perspective, I really wish someone from panasonic had the guts to cut off B&H for their pricing on this deal. I am all about getting a product at a reasonable price, but selling a camera that close to cost is rediculous.
 
John DeLuca said:
*IMO* if you shoot video professionally (meaning you are paid) then forget about Transcend and go with Panasonic or Sandisk Extreme 3 cards (Transcend should be ok for non pros). I had a bad experience with Transcend when I noticed some digital photography files had some random horizontal banding. We sent the D2X and card to Nikon and they informed us it was a ‘defective card’ (apparently Nikon sees this a lot with Transcend).

-John
Click to expand...

Bwahahaha......

Nice!

Did they sell you any Nikon cards by chance? :)


I hear what you are saying but there are actually very very few manufacturers of Flash memory. There are of course differences in batches even within plants and some are set for premium but the Transend class 6 has proven itself.

Always do an in camera format and then do some test footage with transfers and you should be good.

You can also test by transferring on and off the card with existing footage.

But, you do not need to throw money at Pani for memory cards. That's a bit silly.
 
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