HMC 40 and 7D, any sense in using both?

E

Elasticminds

New member
Hi I am a new member of this forum. I have had on and off experience with shooting on various consumer formats over the last 10 years. I recently made the choice to go with an HMC40, for moviemaking and documenting our film making process. I have just started looking into a 7D system, and after seeing the low light performace, Im just stunned by how good it all looks.

Is there any sense in using both cameras in a movie making situation or is the quality that markedly different?

also does anyone know what mb/s 7D shoots at? from judging by the specs, is it close to 50mb/s vs AVCHD's 21-24?
 
Well there's definitely value in combining the HMC40 with a large sensor interchangeable lens camera - the two will complement each other's weaknesses. Can't comment on the 7D but have you considered the forthcoming GH2 - since both are Panasonic I would expect it would intercut better than the 7D.
 
I use both cameras and there are a large number of differences between them, but for the sharpest image in good light, the HMC40 usually wins, especially for landscapes.

The Canon 720/60P mode, in my opinion, is totally unusable. This leaves the Canon with no worthwhile 60P option.

The Canon can perform better in low-light with the right lens.

The build quality of the 7D is excellent, which makes working with the camera a joy. The build quality of the HMC40 is nowhere near that of the Canon.

The HMC40 LCD and EVF stink, but are moveable. The Canon LCD is beautiful but not moveable and can be a literal pain in the neck (the new 60D solves this).

The Canon will burn through 3 batteries and the HMC will still be going strong on 1 extended battery.

These are just a few that come to mind.

I recently made a comparison between the Panasonic HDC-TM700 (similar in quality to HMC40) and the 7D:

http://www.vimeo.com/16598062 (7D)

http://www.vimeo.com/16597179 (TM700)

Good luck with your choice.
 
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from reviewing the footage, both look very good. I decided to get a 7D, and so far the night shots have been incredible vs the unusable HMC40 nightshots. The DOF on my 7D works wonders for achieving the film look. For some reason the film look on the 7D looks more movie like than what I have got from the HMC40 so far.

Was debating about sending off the HMC 40, but I have noticed so far its a clear winner in terms of color definition. Hard to decide which im gonna keep, or if im gonna keep both.

btw, I grew up in Avondale Arizona, used to go to wickenburg all the time as a kid. Made me miss the desert for a second.
 
now you say with the right lense it can look great in low light, I got the 28-135 lense, and so far it has been picking up light that I cant even see. is there another lense that your referring to?
 
The 28-135 kit lens is a good lens (I have one too), but being a f3.5-5.6 aperture it can't compete with the HMC40s f2.0 aperture lens. Obviously there are other factors like sensor size involved, but in my experience I've found the 7D struggles to compete with the HMC40 with anything smaller than an f2.8 aperture lens, and at that aperture 7D DOF may be too narrow. Your mileage may very, but a low-light shot which the HMC40 will handle nicely at 1/30sec shutter, f2.0 aperture and 18db, will require at least an f2.8 lens, 1/30 second, and ISO1600 with the 7D. In my opinion, beyond ISO1600 the 7D image begins to be unuseable.

The good news is, while we can't change lenses on the HMC40, we can with the 7D.

Good shooting...
 
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