Footage looks soft

The HMC150 isn't the most hyper-crisp camera on the market, but it still produces lovely HD images.

Here are a few things to consider, for getting the sharpest images:
1) Is there any filter on your lens? Anything between your lens and what you're shooting, has the potential to impact the sharpness. A cheap UV filter can have a significant effect. If you're going to put a filter on, it should only be the very best highest-quality filter you can find; otherwise, everything you shoot will be degraded by the filter. I recommend B+W or Heliopan, and they're not cheap -- but cheap = soft, so you don't want cheap anyway.

2) 1080p = sharper than 720p. If you're shooting 24p or 30p, use 1080 mode. If you're shooting 60p, use 720p mode.

3) Don't go to f/11. Keep the iris at f/8 or more open. Shooting at f/11 can cause the image to be softer due to diffraction.

4) In general, wider-angle = sharper, but I think there might be a limit; at the extreme end the lens may not be quite as sharp as when it's zoomed in a little. I haven't really tested that, it's just a guess based on general lens performance. In general, no lens performs at its best when pushed to its extremes (maximum aperture, full wide or full tele, etc).

5) Detail level and coring can have a huge impact on the perception of sharpness. The higher you set the detail level, the sharper/crisper the image will appear to be (although too much will make it look artificially edge enhanced, and noisier). The higher you set the coring, the softer the image will look. Coring is used to counteract noise, but it also can smooth out and mask fine detail. As an experiment, set detail and v-detail to +7, and coring to -7, and compare that to detail/v-detail -7 and coring +7, and you'll see that it's night-and-day different.

6) finally, there are sharper cameras out there. In bright daylight, an HMC40 will deliver a noticeably sharper image than an HMC150. When the light goes down, the HMC150 destroys the HMC40, but in broad daylight the HMC40 can show significantly sharper images.
 
That image does look softer than it should - examining it in Photoshop there's a 2-3 pixel blur across the whole image. The blur doesn't seem to vary between the nearest and furthest objects so I'm not sure that misfocus is the problem (although there's no close objects that could provide a better test of that). The blur isn't directional so no indication of camera shake. Did you have a filter on? Was it bright (and therefore perhaps at f11)? If no to both of those, you might want to do some test shots on a sturdy tripod to look for a focus issue or perhaps even a lens alignment problem.
 
abcdefg said:
I always use AF for longlens, MF for fisheye.
Click to expand...

My experience with the HMC is that I find AF on long lens is almost always soft.

I always MF for long shots (in fact MF 98% of the time). Try the shot again with MF and see if there is any difference.
 
And to nail your focus, zoom in most of the way to your subject, then throw focus assist on, set your focus, then zoom back out again. Your most recent shot looks a little out of focus to me.
 
What's the best way to get the crispest footage possible on the HMC150 without adding digital grain?
 
You may get a "sharper" look shooting in the non cine gammas as well. The CineD and V gammas are less "sharp" at the same detail settings compared to Black Press etc.
 
Try a system reset. Also ABB you cam every time you power up.

I had soem weirdness with noise till I did a system reset. That was the first month or 2 I had the cam. Has been great since.
 
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Oh damn I completely forgot about black balance. I've had the cam since February and I have never black balanced. I'll try a system reset and i'll start black balancing every time I power up and come back here if I still see problems.
 
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