Happy with your HMC150?

R

rbtjonas

Member
I am the happy owner of the dvx100B, and I need another camera to record concerts and to do nature-music videos. What should I buy? I want to stay in Panasonic territory, so I'm considering the HMC150, the HPX170 and the HVX200. What's the current favorite if cost is relevant, but not the primary issue. Has anyone recently compared the final product of these cameras? Given what you've learned, what would you do?
Thanks for your advice.
 
1001 post like this...

Its really if you need the few more features a HPX/HVX offers...

I shoot live events & concerts - love the 150 and wouldn't trade it for P2 work flow - especially noting the long record times usually needed with live events.
 
MadHMC150 said:
1001 post like this...

Its really if you need the few more features a HPX/HVX offers...

I shoot live events & concerts - love the 150 and wouldn't trade it for P2 work flow - especially noting the long record times usually needed with live events.
Click to expand...

+1 to this.
 
Agreed...I use my HMC for lots of shoots, and the long record times with SDHC are really convenient. Sure, I'd love to have some time-lapse (interval recording) and a tape transport would be handy once in a while. But the lower cost, both of the unit AND the media - the HMC is a clear winner for lots of uses.
 
rbtjonas said:
I am the happy owner of the dvx100B, and I need another camera to record concerts and to do nature-music videos. What should I buy? I want to stay in Panasonic territory, so I'm considering the HMC150, the HPX170 and the HVX200. What's the current favorite if cost is relevant, but not the primary issue. Has anyone recently compared the final product of these cameras? Given what you've learned, what would you do?
Thanks for your advice.
Click to expand...

Friend,
Welcome to what is probably the best resource anywhere to answer your questions on this specific issue.
Read through the posts and you will find TONS of info to help you make your camera decision.
I think the HMC150 is an amazing camera for the money. It has awesome features and there are lots of accessories available. Many items that fit on the DVX100 move to the HMC 150 seamlessly.
Good Luck!
 
BrianMurphy said:
Many items that fit on the DVX100 move to the HMC 150 seamlessly.
Good Luck!
Click to expand...

All except the batteries. Which sucks if you own DVX/HVX/HPX batteries. Otherwise you're golden.

On the flip side, I think all new cams will be suing the HVX style batteries.
 
RBTJonas,

I recently made exactly this decision; owning some DV gear, including a DVX100a, and deciding what cam to move into HD with. In my case, I looked real hard at the recording media, including some SDHC issues, and decided to go P2. No doubt P2 is more reliable than SDHC cards, more wrangling hassles, and more expensive too. Though there are new cam direct P2 offload drives coming on the market, and P2 is coming down also. Another reason to go P2 is it is a more accepted standard (DVC-HD) for broadcast work which is where I want to go. I went with the HPX. If I were a wedding shooter or needed the cheaper long form media, the HMC150 would have been a no brainer Not an easy decision!

Regards,
Grant
 
rbtjonas said:
I am the happy owner of the dvx100B, and I need another camera to record concerts and to do nature-music videos.
[/B]
Click to expand...

Much of it will come down to how long you want to record in one go - either unattended or simply because you don't want to 'cut'.

If you shoot in short 'takes' and can off load cards regularly then P2 is very nice. But if you want to shoot longer sequences the cost of P2 media really starts climbing.

I shoot a lot of weddings and there is no way I was going to be able to afford 10x16GB P2 cards at the same time as buying the cameras.

So what is you budget? I know it's nice to think about 'what if budget were no concern', but unless you just won the lottery budget is almost always a concern when it comes to actually spending the money.
 
Thanks everyone, for your advice. This helps. Since I do a lot of nature video, the longer record times seems nice, and the 150 is lighter than the step up to P2. I'm glad to hear, Brian, that my dvx100b lenses (Century Optics tele-converter), will transfer. My last concern has to do with the video format. If I understand correctly, the 150 is high def, but that one can clearer see better resolution with the high def of the HVX and HPX cameras. Is that right? Also, Grant says that the P2 cameras are more broadcast ready. But what does that mean? If I buy a 150, I will capture the files from the camera, bring them into Final Cut, and then use Compressor to create files that I can give to my local TV station. Is that right? Whether I have a 150, a 170 or a 200, I'd be doing the same kind of operation: camera to capture, capture to timeline, timeline to compressor, compressor to Broadcast file. So, what's the difference? Discernible resolution at the end or something else?
 
rbtjonas said:
If I understand correctly, the 150 is high def, but that one can clearer see better resolution with the high def of the HVX and HPX cameras. Is that right? Also, Grant says that the P2 cameras are more broadcast ready. But what does that mean?
Click to expand...

AVCHD is not the same animal as the DVCPRO-HD, they both have their limitations and advantages. As far as I know, its very hard to tell the difference. Depends on transcoding, compressing and playback that will make more of a difference.

As far as the exact differences - This one maybe Barry could chime in on...

Broadcast ready means that the majority of broadcast companies use or are familiar with the p2 workflow. There is little or no transcoding and compressing required.

You would probably not want to show up with a SDHC card...
 
Last edited:
rbtjonas said:
I'm glad to hear, Brian, that my dvx100b lenses (Century Optics tele-converter), will transfer.
Click to expand...
Will it? Has anyone successfully done it? I don't know whether it will or not; you might have to have Schneider re-mount it.

If I understand correctly, the 150 is high def, but that one can clearer see better resolution with the high def of the HVX and HPX cameras. Is that right?
Click to expand...
No, they all deliver about the same image; the chips in the HVX200A, HPX170, and HMC150 are all the same.

Also, Grant says that the P2 cameras are more broadcast ready. But what does that mean?
Click to expand...
P2 is the format of choice for about 80% of the world's broadcasters, and DVCPRO-HD is a standard format for all editing systems and a delivery format too.
 
camera to capture, capture to timeline, timeline to compressor, compressor to Broadcast file. So, what's the difference?
Click to expand...

It's no longer Log & Capture, now it's Log & Transfer... what he means by P2 being more Broadcast Friendly is that he's able to walk into a News Set and hand them the card and they could cut it instantly, because they have their workflow around P2 technology. SDHC is good if you're the one doing the editing/workflow
 
Well, here's my 3 cents worth; I operate my video business in remote Northern Michigan. I do mostly events, concerts, school functions, etc., but a wide variety of other things, as well. Previously I had a Sony V1-U, and now I have 2 HMC-150s.

I love these cameras. The biggest features for me are the low light capability (especially compared to the V1U, which was sub-par for the stuff I shoot) and the ability to shoot without tape. Shooting HDV on MiniDV tape caused at least one or two dropouts on every single job I shot. And logging and transfering is much more convenient than logging and capturing (I use a MacPro and FCS2).

For the wide range of stuff I shoot (just in the last week I've done a dance recital, and figure skating show, and a home inventory job) the 150s are perfect.

The only thing I miss from the V1U is the LCD screen; it was much better than the 150, but I have a Manhattan LCD monitor for one of the cameras.

Lastly, I have shot hundreds of hours of video on these cameras, and have not had one single problem with my 32GB Transcend SDHC cards. Flawless.
 
Hi MdHMC150. What you say about the format/transcoding issue with respect to the 150/175/200 difference, "Depends on transcoding, compressing and playback that will make more of a difference," makes sense to me. Is Barry or anyone else available for input on this question?
 
rbtjonas said:
Hi MdHMC150. What you say about the format/transcoding issue with respect to the 150/175/200 difference, "Depends on transcoding, compressing and playback that will make more of a difference," makes sense to me. Is Barry or anyone else available for input on this question?
Click to expand...

Well tell us what medium you plan on making the videos for - Web, TV Broadcast, DVD, projection, Blue ray?
 
Hi everyone (and thanks, Barry) for your reflections. I'm going for the 150, and I'm excited to get started.
Good shooting everyone!
 
I love my 150 and would buy it again- for me, it's as close to perfect as $3200 will get you :)

and when you do get one- the rattle in the lens when turned off= normal. And no- the shell is not plastic, it's metal alloy
 
Totally happy with my 150. Worry a bit about the broadcast quality issue, but haven't run into it yet, and assume that my ability to give a broadcaster ProRes after L&T will be fine. With FCP or Vegas I can give them any dang format they want, and can use Windows to run the Panasonic app to transcode from AVCHD to DVC Pro. If I get to a point where I need a second camera I'll probably consider moving to P2 for the abilities to switch off. But that brings other issues...sigh...

just buy the 150, unless you want to do time lapse, you'll be fine. I shoot lots of wildlife with it.
 
Thanks, 8string, A follow-up question. What's the difference between doing time lapse as you shoot (with the 200, say), and timelapse that you can do in Post with FCP, by changing the speed?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top