HMC150 4 Short Film

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FlyingDorkProductions

Member
Hello Everyone,

This is my first post, so I hope that I don't sound completely stupid. I'm looking to get a new camera to replace my old Sony HVR-A1U. I finished up film school recently and I want to keep making shorts for festivals, hopefully for small commercials and maybe music videos. I got my A1U before film school for fun little projects but I want to get a better look.

I was originally thinking about getting a JAG35 DOF adapter with a good lens, follow focus and support rails for my A1U but I would drop around $800 and I figure maybe looking at a new camera would be money better spent.

So, I just recently caught all of the craze over the Panasonic GH1 and thought it seemed like a very intriguing option for a short film camera.

I was also looking at the Panasonic HMC150 as an option but I was worried about the label of "Wedding videographer" camera. I know that it is just a label and no insult to wedding videographers, it is tough work, an artform unto itself. I just would want something that would hold up well for festival level short films. I recently went to a short film festival where I was lucky enough to show something I made during film school which was shot on a Sony Z1U and it held up ok but I couldn't help but feel a bit out of my league with cameras shot on the Red One and others near that level. Anyways, I guess that is a direct example that it isn't always about the tools but I would definitely like to upgrade my images now that I don't have a film school backing me up.

I really wish that I had huge amounts of money to pour into all sorts of fancy things, but the reality is that I don't. That is why of coruse the GH1 looked so attractive. I realize that it has it shortcomings in terms of audio but it seems that could be remedied by recording audio seperately or running a Beachtek adapter to the camera.

Sorry for the long chunks of text but I wanted to get some opinions on what might be a wise choice. Would the GH1 be a decent way to go for short narrative and commercial work. Or would a HMC150 with a potential 35mm DOF adapter being added on at some point be smarter. Or is there any other ideas or options you think would be good? And trust me I do realize that none of the above mentioned cameras are a Red One or some other $50,000 camera but again, I would like to maybe get a better look than the HDV of an A1U.

Thank you all so very much for your time!

Jeremy Pommier
www.flyingdorkproductions.com
 
Jeremy -

I was in a similar boat recently, trying to decide what camera was going to be right for me. I will tell you now that I ended up with an HMC150 and couldn't be happier. Obviously money, for the indie film maker, is always going to be an issue. The best thing I can say to this is, invest once and invest wisely, weigh all your options and don't rush into anything. For instance with the HMC150 we KNOW it can produce some great images, but if you don't have the computing power or know how to deal with AVCHD your gonna be outta luck. The GH1 can also produce some great images, but as you mentioned audio is going to be an issue, and if you have to drop money on recording your audio separately ect. look at your end result of your total cost of the GH1 and factor that in. Know the workflow of any camera you'll be looking at and see what you'll need and what you already have to deal with that.

You don't have to jump in right away to get a lens adapter. In fact most will probably say its better to get to know your camera with it's bare lens and how to manipulate the image to make it look more filmic before you move on to 35mm. At least that's what I would say.

Heres my first short shot with the HMC150 with a bare lens, it might give you an idea of what kind of look you can get with the camera. http://vimeo.com/6134651

(The story probably doesn't make much sense, but just look at the image.)

Anyways, I'm sure some other people will tell you the same thing on here, there is a lot to consider when looking at the purchase of ANY camera, including the GH1 and HMC150. And you just gotta remember; technology will always be moving faster than you, you just gotta decide when you wanna jump in and start swimming.

Hope this helps a little. Best of luck.
 
I wasn't aware that the hmc150 screamed "weddings" since it's the hi-def version of the indie filmmaker's favorite weapon: the dvx100 :)
 
One of the main features that have made this camera so attractive for event videos is the long record times on low cost media. However that does not make the cam exclusive to this market.

Your concern about the "label" says more about you than about your camera.

If I want a Picasso in my living room, all I need is some paint, brushes, and a canvas...right? Wrong- it's the artist and not his or her tools that makes the work what it is. With the moving image, the audience doesn’t care- they want a good story. Make it for them and not some other DP that may snicker at your camera. Besides, there is probably some 35mm Panavision user snickering at them as well :)

Whichever camera you choose, it's your talent that will make the difference. Without that, it won't matter what camera you are using.
 
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The HMC150 is a super versatile camera.
From weddings to fiction is a realy good camera. Is there any camera for this price range that come with professional features like a waveform monitor, and a vectorscope, man these features just helped me a lot and I think it will be difficult to do a job without this tools anymore.

I used to have a DVX100 and with that camera I did many jobs from institucional company to short films that actualy entered in the AXN Film Festival. Now I own a HMC150 and I am ready to just continous the job in a HD way. If just I had this camera befora I am sure the results would be even better.

I had roll some projects with the HPX170 and with the HMC150 and they just perfect match. Don't have time lapse, slow motion, one shot rec, loop record, just one card, comparing with the HPX170, but even with this out, I sense that is a camera with a more modern upgrades. Things like battery time remaing to the new menu (more modern, not like MS-DOS). Well this dont really is the factor that is a better camera, but it is a camera that for me is the DVX100 in the HD era and it will be here for a while.

And have the 3-year-warranty PASS, that is just a wonderful program and place to be update with the equipment.

Well, this is my version of the story, hope to helped.
 
FlyingDorkProductions said:
I was also looking at the Panasonic HMC150 as an option but I was worried about the label of "Wedding videographer" camera.
Click to expand...

The camera I've seen used by many wedding shooters is the Canon XH A1, but I doubt that anyone is going to label it a "wedding camera".

If appearances are a big deal, then I would be concerned that clients might see a DSLR camera ( like the GH1 or 5D MKII ) and wonder if they've hired a video professional.

In buying a new camera this Spring, I went for the HMC150 because I wanted a camera that I could just set-up and start shooting. ( and because I could not afford to buy 8 hours worth of P2 media if I went the HPX170 route ) At one point I considered getting a DSLR ( Canon 5DMKII ) to shoot video, but with a client on set I do not have time to deal with a finicky DSLR camera.

At some point in the future I will buy Canons' next generation of the 5D MKII, for those shoots where I have the time to get everything just right, but for now the HMC150 does everything I need it to do.
 
if your focus is exclusively short films, i'd go with the gh1. half the price, same recording medium/format/options as hmc150, but with interchangeable lenses and shallow dof.

however, if you want to be able to do more than that and would like the extra controls, features and performance that the hmc150 offers, then you're better off going that route.

i am loving my hmc150 more and more each time i use it, but for certain types of work, like short films, i think the gh1 would be the better tool for the job.
 
Thanks for taking time to give me some really good advice and some things to think about. Also thank you DigitalNoir for posting the link to your footage. It looks great! Very tough decision but again, thank you all for the info.
 
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