HMC 40 vs Sony FX7

M

Mkvackay

Active member
I am an just starting off filming this fall and I have my eyes set on an HMC 40. A colleague of mine informed me recently of the HDR FX7 by sony. I know that the FX7 is much nicer and more expensive, so that is out of my budget. The HMC 40 is the top of my budget, and from what I have read and looked at it looks like this is what i need. Thank you
 
Probably the only advantages the FX7 has over the HMC40 are the additional physical controls on the body, longer zoom, and the easier-to-edit codec.

I have the FX7 and it is beginning to feel a little dated. The HMC40 will give sharper images and has a better compression codec (although usually requires transcoding for editing). The HMC40 also has the optional XLR adaptor which integrates nicely (although similar 3rd party adaptors are available which work with the FX7). It also has optional frame rates and the simplicity of solid state workflows.

Also if you are in the USA then I beleive the FX7 is actually slightly cheaper.
 
I sold my FX7 and bought an HMC40. Your key decision is whether you want tape-based HDV or SDcard-based AVCHD workflow - the latter with its somewhat more demanding editing requirements. (Although I transcode to Cineform, in which case there is no difference between the two workflows).

As DeltaJohn says, the FX7 has a longer telephoto reach for sport and wildlife, while the HMC40 has higher resolution, an XLR addon, and greater customizability of the raw image through scene files. Low-light capability is similar (i,e, poor) for both cameras.
 
I had an FX7 before. The only advantages of it over the HMC40, in my opinion, are the manual ND filters and the larger size/resolution LCD and viewfinder.
 
The HMC40 is really a much better camera.

The picture quality is much, much better.
It has a 1280x720 60p mode which is perfect for sports and slow motion.
It has a native 1920x1080 24p mode if your into the film look.

Vimeo has many and here is a direct link to one of them:
http://vimeo.com/11424454
Please keep in mind that it's obviously color graded.

OK so it's not a good example on how the colors actually look on the HMC40 but it's a cool video nonetheless. It's not mine by the way.
 
thanks guys that helps alot. after reading and watching the videos camera expert provided, i am 100% sure i am going with the HMC 40. It is slightly above my budget but that only means i will be working just a little bit harder for the cam. Thank you guys.
 
You won't be disappointed.

I went from a Sony V1 (the "pro" version of the FX7 with XLR inputs) to the HMC41 and I am not disappointed. Picture quality is superior to the FX7/V1, it's smaller, lighter, tapeless and packed with features. Low light isn't an issue for me, but the "gained-up" image on the HMC41 seems better than the Sony. (You'd sort of hope so, given that the technology is about 5 years newer).
 
One other issue that helped me to decide on the HMC40 was the resolution - FX7 is 1440 X 1080, not true (at least what I understand "true" to be - 1920) 1080HD
 
I went with the HMC40 over the FX7. My brother is a film maker, he produces commercials, and really is a pro with all this and I am aspiring to be more like him. He told me that if I bought the FX7 over the HMC40, he would beat me over the head with it. lol
 
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