HMC40 for no budget feature

J

jemduff

Member
Hey folks,
I'm planning on shooting a no budget feature length flick later this year and I have the following items on my shopping list for the camera side of things and would appreciate some thoughts on the HMC40 as my one and only cam. ( I have a canon sx1 that might get used as a b-cam in a pinch )

HMC40
Panasonic AG-MYA30G - XLR Microphone Adapter and Mount for Panasonic AG-HMC40
Panasonic VWW4307HPPK 0.7x Wide Angle Conversion Lens (43 mm)
4x8GB SDHC
Panasonic VW-VBG6PPK (7.2V, 5800mAh) Battery
camRade WS-AG HMC40 wetSuit
43mm UV
ND Filters.


I'm also considering sticking a 24" LCD monitor into a abs road case to monitor and replay in full HD on set via HDMI.

So does the HMC40 output full HD from the HDMI when shooting?

Am I nuts to think that I can shoot a feature on this camera?


###### EDIT ##########


OK Here is some more info......thanks for all the comments


I wasn't going to muddy the waters by posting the rest of my rig, though it seems like it might be useful.

Audio.

I'm planning a on purchasing a rode nt1 & vibration mount plus I own a m-audio micro track 2 tracker plus set of NT5 mics plus a bunch of studio condensors and mic amps protools rig etc.

Lighting.

3x Red heads on stands plus a bunch of clamps, mic stands , various pieces of foam backed card, an improvised soft box some cheapy floods.

Thinking of getting a mess of LED lights & torches for location work in a forest from dealextreme.com ( I have a few scenes in a fern forest that might be getting a bit dark.. but they need to be dark.. so long as I can make the keylines punchout I should be good) .

I have descneta monfrotto tripod,a homemade pvc dolly and a shoulder/ hand rig plus a bunch of knockoff release plates I got from India.

Anybody scene any flickering on the cmos at 1/50th? on the HMC40 where LEDs are being used?

So it might not be No budget but pretty close to it.. I mean I have little money for the actual production which will be a single shack location, a dense forest gully and a couple of run and gun YTB gorilla locations in the near by small town.


There wil be some paced action, but just from a budget point of view a CCD of adds and extra 1k to the price ( I still need to add a big battery and a weather cover to the 150 if I went in that direction...) and I think I can work with the squigles ( I own a canon sx1 that shoots full HD but it is a b**ch to run as it lacks decent focus and exposures controls so im familiar with the slanty stagger of the CMOS senor if you getn careless). Having said that the 150 does look nice and super smooth and even a bit film retro ( ok no flamewar please!) with nice colour bloomage(sic).

Really I want whatever comes out to compete with the Scarlet from the big four in a years time but I want the flick in the can(or sd chip) before the end of the year!

All feedback is greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!

Thanks in advance,
Jeremy.
 
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it honestly seems like youd be better off going for the 150 since its a ccd
and yes it outputs full hd to a monitor
 
wannabeapilot said:
it honestly seems like youd be better off going for the 150 since its a ccd
and yes it outputs full hd to a monitor
Click to expand...

Without knowing more, it's impossible to conclude that an HMC150 would be more ideal, simple by virtue of employing CCD imagers (low res ones at that, leveraging pixel shifting technology absolutely to the hilt, in order to even reach for anything close to getting near resolving 1080 lines of video)!

Actually, without knowing more, I'd arguably make the case, that the noticeably sharper image from an HMC40 would likely make it the superior cam for shooting an independent film with - especially if there's any thought of film transfer. Contrary to what a lot of folks may think, not everything turns to jello, when caught in the same neighborhood as a CMOS camcorder, and camera flashes on movies sets are somewhat limited.

It's not nuts at all to think you can shoot a feature with an HMC40. All things considered, if you have good control over lighting, and especially with no budget, it may indeed prove to be an excellent choice for the job.
 
Jeremy,

I'm going to assume that money is VERY tight here from your words, "No budget feature", correct?

Lighting, is it in well lit places OR is it in dimly lit places? The HMC40 kicks *** in well lit locations, but does poorly in low level lighting.

Another issue is will you be adding lights or just using existing lighting?

AUDIO: Subject to the location, a shotgun mike on the camera may not be good enough. I'd need to know the type of location and what you want recorded.

Sorry to answer your questions with more questions, but it helps to understand what you are trying to do...


Bob Diaz
 
With a little ingenuity, you can work wonders with a couple halogens and some white extruded polystyrene panels from Home Depot - the DIY, way under $100, light up your set kit.
 
Robert M Wright said:
Without knowing more, it's impossible to conclude that an HMC150 would be more ideal, simple by virtue of employing CCD imagers (low res ones at that, leveraging pixel shifting technology absolutely to the hilt, in order to even reach for anything close to getting near resolving 1080 lines of video)!

Actually, without knowing more, I'd arguably make the case, that the noticeably sharper image from an HMC40 would likely make it the superior cam for shooting an independent film with - especially if there's any thought of film transfer. Contrary to what a lot of folks may think, not everything turns to jello, when caught in the same neighborhood as a CMOS camcorder, and camera flashes on movies sets are somewhat limited.

It's not nuts at all to think you can shoot a feature with an HMC40. All things considered, if you have good control over lighting, and especially with no budget, it may indeed prove to be an excellent choice for the job.
Click to expand...
i know its a great cam ,i just said that mainly based on what he was buying as extras for it ,xlr adapter wa lens etc
 
with all those accesories you are in range of a 150. you can definitely pick up a used one and with the 150 you wont need the WA lens/XLR box or ND filters. I would pick the 150 over the 40 for a feature. I have shot 2 features on a DVX and our 3rd on the 150. It kills the 40 in controls and low light and is plenty sharp. The only advantage I see with the 40 is its size which would be easier to use with a handheld stabilizer and the mega sharp image if thats your thing. personally i like a more organic looking image and i prefer CCD over CMOS any day.
 
Shot exactly the same (well lit) scene, with an HMC150 and with an HMC40, both at 1080p, then view the footage on a nice big 70" television. I'd wager the HMC40 image is noticeably crisper (finer detail).

The HMC40 isn't what I'd call a real lightweight, when it comes to controls. Of course the HMC150 will be much better in dim lighting. If you are shooting on a set where you have full control over lighting, that's absolutely a non-issue though.
 
its still cheaper.. you can pickup an hmc40 with all the accessories ( xlr box, 5800 battery, rode nt2, rain cover, wide apapter and 2 16gb sticks for less than 3k .. HCM150 is 3450 ;)

That gives me 500 to hire a pretty AD to keep all the blokes in line!
 
What Robert said is pretty much dead on.
Iam shooting a low budjet feature very soon,
But iam will be shooting on a panasonic tm300 whitch is like the the step brother to the HMC40. Not so manny belles and whistles, however iam recording the sound sperateley and taking the hdmi output and will stick it in to my mac via black magic intensity and record staright to prores 422 hq.

i would defenatley try to get your mike on a boom pole, even if its a broomstick.
 
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