hmc 150 versus hmc80

@dwelter

Thanks for considering the Ninja in this role. We think it's an ideal device because of it's long record times and extremely high quality. In the early days of legal recording, I remember there being some evidential reservations around long GOP recordings, because, in some sense, not all the frames were there. I've never thought that objection really held water but, nevertheless, he can't hurt to have extremely high quality recordings where every frame is reproduced in full, which is exactly what the Ninja does.

Dave Shapton
President
Atomos EMEA
 
The question mark on using an external recorder would be whether you could get the time & date to go out the HDMI while not having any other info out there. I think you're going to find that you'll have the red "recording" circle on your footage on the backup. Of course, if it's strictly for backup it's probably not much of an issue, but ... just pointing it out...
 
Barry, get Panasonic to make a shoulder mount 150...with better preamps for the sound recording and dual RAID like SD cards. That would be a nice small upgrade package. I'd sell my current 150 for one of those.
 
Barry,

Agree with all of this. With external recorders, you have to assume that you're getting a clean feed. Atomos products do have an internal clock\calendar, so date/time stamping is possible. This would be ok if everyone agreed that the Ninja is, effectively, the back-end of the camera. If there is a demand, we have the potential to make a specialized software version for this role, bringing these features to the surface. We'd need to understand how big the market is, though.

Dave
Atomos
 
So which is the best video camera then in the $2000-$2500 range? Is it the Hmc80 or the 150 or possibly an Hvx200?
 
I would say a used HMC150. The HVX200 (non A) used is less sensitive, has more noise, etc than the HVX200a and HMC150 that share the same CCD block.

And the P2 cards are much more costly than SDHC cards.

The HMC80 can be a good choice if you can avoid the rolling shutter issue of CMOS sensors and you are not shooting in low light.
 
The question of the time/date stamp for the HMC150 remains unresolved, though.

It is important that this be perfectly clear: for legal videography the Time/Date stamp must be visible without any other monitor items like the record light, power indicators, level indicators, etc. Anything else like that on the screen is totally unprofessional and unacceptable, even for the backup. One must understand that the backup recording can frequently become the only recording, and its best if the videographer can provide the client's final product without them even knowing the main recording failed.

So, Kenny B. said in a previous post that the HMC80 does have a proper time/date through the composite out. My camera, an HPX170, can not put the time/date out through the composite, thus making it a very BAD camera for depositions (hence my search here).

Can anyone tell me if the HMC150 (the one without a firewire out) can or can not perform this vital task?

(And if the guy from Atmos is still reading, if you included a burned-in time/date stamping feature in your device, it would overcome this deficiency present in many cameras. While I'm asking, a DV/firewire out would make it perfect.)
 
Well I'm not familiar with the regulations, so, bear that in mind, but, for me, a burned-in timecode (or timestamp) burned-in by the recorder would be an ideal way to do things. You could probably have much more control over the look-and-feel of it as well. What would the Firewire out be for? (Would it be for making a tape backup at the same time as the main recording, or for backing up the recorded file to another data device? If you mean the latter (which I don't think you do!) then the Ninja already has a Firewire 800 data connection from its docking station for making a data connection to a computer).

Dave Shapton
Atomos
 
The reason I ask is that some brand HD cameras do NOT put out a time/date stamp. I agree it would be ideal if they did, but they don't. The AG-HMR10, the Panasonioc AVCHD recorder unit, can do that. I thought it would be a great feature.

What I am asking for in the firewire out is so that one can connect a DVD recorder or (dv tape deck, or something else) and make a backup recording. Right now, in our business, a DVD backup is completely adequate, and very inexpensive. And I only say these things since you're here and I can. I know one request won't change designs.

But I really want to know whether or not an HMC150 includes the time/date stamp on its composite out signal.
 
Okay, I've answered my own question elsewhere. A guy selling an HMC150 on Ebay tells me that the composite out does, indeed, carry the time/date signal.

It would be amazingly wonderful if Panasonic had a firmware update for the HPX170 that would send the time/date signal out its composite channel.
 
Hjiorst said:
The question of the time/date stamp for the HMC150 remains unresolved, though.

It is important that this be perfectly clear: for legal videography the Time/Date stamp must be visible without any other monitor items like the record light, power indicators, level indicators, etc. Anything else like that on the screen is totally unprofessional and unacceptable, even for the backup. One must understand that the backup recording can frequently become the only recording, and its best if the videographer can provide the client's final product without them even knowing the main recording failed.
Click to expand...
To answer your question, yes, the HMC150 can display the Time/Date stamp in an external monitor from the composite output without anything else.

You can choose to display the Time, Date, Time & Date.

For that, you need to activate the Time Stamp in the "Recording Setup" and the Date/Time in the "Display Setup".
 
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Forgive me if this has been asked, but I am really looking for a solution that will allow me to shoot conferences, replacing my MiniDV workhorse camera. I'm looking to upgrade to HD without the hassle and expense of HDV. Shooting an entire conference on one 32 GB card very much appeals to me over shooting on tape. Can the camera record for hours without a break? I understand it might store the footage in pieces and reassemble them later, but technically, does it run for, say, 4 hours at a time?
Thanks!
Joe
 
Yes, AVCHD cameras can record for several hours without a break. On a 32GB card you can get over three hours, on a 64GB card you can get over six hours. If you use a lesser-quality recording format, you can double those recording times up to 12 continuous hours.
 
Long clips will be segmented in 4 GB files because of the FAT32 limit of the SDHC cards.

But depending on your editing program, it can read them by combining them or by importing them one after the other.

Or you can use an external software to merge them into on big clip, like the MTSMerger or with Panasonic MainConcept AVCHD to DVCProHD converter.
 
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