HMC 150 for Documentary in Challanging Conditions?

M

moor71

New member
I've just been brought on the shoot a 3 month long form documentary in difficult and challanging conditions in Haiti.

I have never worked with the HMC 150 or with any solid state camera, however I have shot with the all the DVX models in different conditions and and they have never caused me any problems.

I wondering if anybody has worked with the HMC150 in similar conditions?

If so how has the camera handled and what challenges has the SD card work flow if any caused you in the field. I'm a bit old school and worry about the durability the SD cards as well and how to successfully and securely back up and archive shot material in challenging conditions. The idea of carrying a lap-top and external drives in the field worries me...

Any input, tips, and resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, BErnard
 
The SDHC cards are more durable than any "Mini DV" cassette.

In an ideal world you have enough SDHC cards that you don't have to "archive" until you return to your studio. For example, twenty 16 gig cards equals about thirty hours of "PH" recording. The cheap route is "Transcend" cards (favorable reviews in this forum) and the better route is Sandisk Extreme 3 "30mb/s Edition" or Panasonic.

There's a lot to learn with the HMC before you're really set to start shooting. Try to get as much playtime/practice as possible before you leave. It's easy to create bad footage with an HMC when you don't know what you're doing. It's an awful "prosumer" camera -- but as an HVX200A that records to SDHC cards -- it's great for professionals experienced with the HVX.

Barry Green will be releasing his book on the HMC in the relative near term. If you need something tomorrow -- try to get your hands on his "HVX Bootcamp" video -- a very large portion of which is a perfect introduction to the HMC150.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for your reply. If I go with the HMC 150 I will be sure to play around with it a lot before heading out on my shoot. I may even try to rent one first.

Why do you say it's a terrible prosumer camera? Are there any other prosumer SDHC camera's that you can suggest I might look into?

I will check out Basrry Green's book whe it comes out.

Thanks for your input, Bernard
 
Because its not a "prosumer camera" but a true professional camera more are less like the dvx with HD and 60 frames a second etc.
I do believe that the hmc 150 is a great docu camera ,cheap sdhc cards for quality images.
I think it would be best to try it out and edit a few hours of footage.
Most likely for now you will need to convert the avhcd footage to another format the edit it ,more reliable and stable .Especially if you will shoot 30 plus hours of footage.

One thing I miss about editing dv tape is the viewing and logging .You can sit back watch your footy and decide what to use ,soundbites ,shots & quotes.
Panny has the avccam vieuwer but its less intuitive imo .Then again the hmc 150 has this index feature that will help out selecting important clips.
Bottom line is new format new workflow .
 
Does Haiti ever get cold? like near freezing temp or below? Your HMC will be very difficult to manually focus in those conditions because the mechanics of the lens is a degression from your DVX.
 
Never gets cold there, wet, hot, dusty and high humidity. I also liked reviewing my tapes but that can be risky, I try not to touch my masters until post. That is what's so attarctive about the SD cards, at the end of the day I can just copy the clips over to my laptop, view them and even build some test sequences.

But the idea of the laptop and multiple hard drives storing all my media being exposed to the elements (humidity, extreme heat), even in Pelican cases worries me...at least through experience I know that careful storage of tapes usually avoids problems.

I checked out the HMC150 at B&H today. As far as the camera body, it would be perfect, I love the ergonomics and it's so light.
 
If you can afford it I would definitely skip the laptop + HD route and go straight to SD cards. Buy plenty of them and carry them like you would tapes. SD cards are super durable - we've heard reports of them going through the laundry (washer and dryer!) and still playing back without a hitch.

16GB Transcend cards are around $30/ea - so 20 is cheaper than a low-end laptop and if you really want you can probably sell them in a bundle when you get back.
 
Yeah, laptop hard drives are not the best when it comes to reliability in the field. I would go multiple SD cards... if you ruin or corrupt any - you won't loose all your footage, just a little.

They also make the media reader / hard drive that you can download you footage directly into. I don't have one, but was considering something like it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...SV_ND27252554_Nexto_Video_Storage_Device.html


Tiger: where you getting 16gb cards for $30? I'm seeing 40+ and could use a couple more.
 
I just spent three weeks in the Seychelle Islands in the Indian Ocean with my 150. We were shooting on a boat and the weather was hot and very humid. Had salt spray over the camera several times. I had one issue from salt spray where the record button must have been splashed and the camera would go into record when powered on. A few minutes with a hair dryer on low heat pointed at the power button took care of it. There was also a lot of condensation, taking the camera from air conditioned environments to outside, but it never caused a problem other than the UV filter fogging on the outside.

I'd recommend getting some of the little Pelican cases for your SD cards. Each card holds 8 SD cards and they provide waterproof, crushproof protection for your cards.

Cheers

JC
 
jchristie said:
I just spent three weeks in the Seychelle Islands in the Indian Ocean with my 150. We were shooting on a boat and the weather was hot and very humid. Had salt spray over the camera several times. I had one issue from salt spray where the record button must have been splashed and the camera would go into record when powered on. A few minutes with a hair dryer on low heat pointed at the power button took care of it. There was also a lot of condensation, taking the camera from air conditioned environments to outside, but it never caused a problem other than the UV filter fogging on the outside.

I'd recommend getting some of the little Pelican cases for your SD cards. Each card holds 8 SD cards and they provide waterproof, crushproof protection for your cards.

Cheers

JC
Click to expand...

I prefer footage but screengrabs would do just fine !
 
thanks

thanks

thanks all for your input...I'm going to go with the HMC150...i need to find a gig in the Seychelles!
 
I agree with all that people have said on here. I would buy a couple of card holders, you can pick 'em up at walmart, and get 3 months worth of SD cards. The 8 gig cards are even cheaper in comparrison, and so are the 4 gig cards. I wouldn't erase any of them at all, while you are out, but back them up maybe every other day... make sure to put the lock on them, label them, and back them up in the field. Y ou can also back them up to DVD if you keep the file sizes down too.


SD media is way more reliable than mini DV.. By a long long shot. I would encourage you to pick up quite a few batteries a well.. can never have too many of those on a long shoot out in the elements.

cheers!
 
jchristie said:
I just spent three weeks in the Seychelle Islands in the Indian Ocean with my 150. We were shooting on a boat and the weather was hot and very humid. Had salt spray over the camera several times. I had one issue from salt spray where the record button must have been splashed and the camera would go into record when powered on. A few minutes with a hair dryer on low heat pointed at the power button took care of it. There was also a lot of condensation, taking the camera from air conditioned environments to outside, but it never caused a problem other than the UV filter fogging on the outside.

I'd recommend getting some of the little Pelican cases for your SD cards. Each card holds 8 SD cards and they provide waterproof, crushproof protection for your cards.

Cheers

JC
Click to expand...
All good advice! I just got in last night from my second two week shoot in Barbados. It is Hurricane season there and weather is unpredictable at this time of the year. We had what was probably the last of the great days for shooting until November and December. Haiti will be much the same. Condensation is an issue especially if you keep your camera in a room with AC. You need to let it warm up for an hour to keep the lens from fogging there is lots of glass in the lens and it holds the cold temp for a while. Bring a lens pen and lens cleaner and lots of supplies and micofibre cloths. I shoot with a mattebox and rails and grips and use 4x4 filters so cleaning happens often. Obe thing I don't like about the HMC150 lens shad Design is it is a pain to use a circular polarizer. You have to pop off the lens shade...and find a place to put it and then adjust the filter.
I had no issues at all with hard drives for back-up and I am not sure why others here profess their high failure rate. The Nexto I bought still isn't working so I just backed up to USB drives and carried 4x320gigs @ 7200 rpm. I did do double back-ups however just in case one drive went down or missing. I also have had no issues with my computer in these conditions and even in the middle of the rain forest of Brasil it worked like a charm.
Screening you material on the HMC150 is a dream and you can bounce back and forth in seconds and it made my client very relaxed during the shoot knowing he could check shots and content.
I always carry giant ZIPLOCK bags with me me and they have saved my camera several times when the out of nowhere rain storm hits. I also use the mini Pelican case for my 8x 16Gig SD cards and find it great not just as protection but also keeps organization simple and safe.
I am sure you are aware of the safety issues in Haiti and the hard times there that can lead people to desparate measures. Be careful, low key and only carry what you really need and can go along with you when you shoot.
Hoep this helps and don't hestitate to pm me if there is anything else I can do. Oh yeh, how is your French? Oh yeh, pick up a kit of plug adapters for AC. Though it should be 100 to 120 most places the plug type can differ from place to place. Your HMC charger will work with any voltage from 100 to 240.
 
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