HMC40 listed on B&H for 2,995.00
- Thread starter Johnnyfive
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Chris Light
Veteran
looks an awful lot like the new JVC GY-HM100. a souped-up consumer cam with a detachable handle/audio interface. i don't know....doesn't sound too enticing for the cost.
This might be the cam that makes me go HD. I'm in the market for a cam right now ... due to budgetary constraints I was going to go with old cheap and reliable, the DVX100b. But if I could spend 500 dollars more and get HD along with the professional features I need, I might have to go with the HMC40. The cam's not out yet, but does anyone know (or suspect) that there might be professional features that are present on the DVX100b that won't be present on the HMC40? It's got SLR audio, three CMOS chips (are these as good or at least equitable to CCD?), etc. What else should I be looking out for?
manglerBMX
Veteran
yeah it might be listed for that, but when its officially available i'm sure the price will be lower. thats how it was for the hmc150.
Barry_Green
Moderator
It's $1,000 less than the HMC150, and the imagers are 1/4" 1920x1080.
When I saw it at NAB, it basically looks like a lower-cost alternative to the HMC150, which gives you most of the "good stuff" (1080/24p, 720/60p, waveform monitor, etc) but it's smaller and (at least in good light) it should be capable of being noticeably sharper. And it's a grand less than the HMC150 or the JVC.
When I saw it at NAB, it basically looks like a lower-cost alternative to the HMC150, which gives you most of the "good stuff" (1080/24p, 720/60p, waveform monitor, etc) but it's smaller and (at least in good light) it should be capable of being noticeably sharper. And it's a grand less than the HMC150 or the JVC.
Barry_Green
Moderator
Not that I know of. It'd be nice to, but I haven't heard any word of a review unit coming.
Wow, the HMC40 suddenly sounds a lot more interesting. ( so something like a $2,500 street price with full raster sharpness in good light )
Barry_Green
Moderator
There's "street price" and there's "MSRP". The MSRP of the HMC150 is $3995. The MSRP of the HMC40 will be either $3195 or $2995, I've heard both numbers tossed around.
What that translates into as a street price remains to be seen.
What that translates into as a street price remains to be seen.
The HMC40 is the SD300 (card-only, not sold in the U.S.) in a larger body + 720p + 1080p + exposure adjustment lever + ND filter controlled with a button. This is pretty much it. The XLR adapter and the external mic are not included into the base configuration and the base price. The ugly handle is included, but why could not Panasonic copy a great design from the HM100? The viewfinder is wobbly and does not feel robust at all, again a far cry from the HM100. Video looks nice, I shot couple of clips at NAB, but promised not to put them on the Web.
Nevertheless, with the MSRP for the TM300 being $1,300 and the MSRP for the HMC40 being #3,200 isn't it too much a price difference for two buttons and native progressive modes? And let us not forget that Panasonic had native progressive modes on the "9" and "100" series, but switched to more consumerish 24p-in-60i on the "300". To me, this looks like a deliberate market segregation.
With the XLR block the HMC40 will cost about the same as the HMC150, it is ugly as hell, its viewfinder is about to fall off any minute, its XLR block wobbles under the handle and does not inspire confidence, its interface is the same touch-screen fare as on the "300", the same sensor, the same optics, the same thread size (43mm). Will I pay $3K to Panasonic for this piece of junk? Hell, no. I will wait for the price of the TM300 to drop below $1K and then get it. I will have to live with 24p-in-60i, but paying a hundred bucks for Cineform or getting DNxHD for free is much cheaper than paying extra $2K for the ungainly beast. Oh, I will have to pay for glass ND filters too as the "300" like all other consumer Panasonics has no built-in ND filters. Panasonic is really behind Sony and Canon in regards to having built-in ND filters. Every consumer HD camcorder from Sony and Canon has an ND filter. The HV soaks 3 stops of light, the HF soaks 4 stops of light. With Panasonic you can jump for a VariND if you don't feel like attaching and removing filters every minute.
Nevertheless, with the MSRP for the TM300 being $1,300 and the MSRP for the HMC40 being #3,200 isn't it too much a price difference for two buttons and native progressive modes? And let us not forget that Panasonic had native progressive modes on the "9" and "100" series, but switched to more consumerish 24p-in-60i on the "300". To me, this looks like a deliberate market segregation.
With the XLR block the HMC40 will cost about the same as the HMC150, it is ugly as hell, its viewfinder is about to fall off any minute, its XLR block wobbles under the handle and does not inspire confidence, its interface is the same touch-screen fare as on the "300", the same sensor, the same optics, the same thread size (43mm). Will I pay $3K to Panasonic for this piece of junk? Hell, no. I will wait for the price of the TM300 to drop below $1K and then get it. I will have to live with 24p-in-60i, but paying a hundred bucks for Cineform or getting DNxHD for free is much cheaper than paying extra $2K for the ungainly beast. Oh, I will have to pay for glass ND filters too as the "300" like all other consumer Panasonics has no built-in ND filters. Panasonic is really behind Sony and Canon in regards to having built-in ND filters. Every consumer HD camcorder from Sony and Canon has an ND filter. The HV soaks 3 stops of light, the HF soaks 4 stops of light. With Panasonic you can jump for a VariND if you don't feel like attaching and removing filters every minute.
Barry_Green
Moderator
Your comments are based on a preproduction prototype that was barely functional. That HMC40 at NAB had fewfeatures enabled and was most likely hand assembled. Wait for an actual production model before making assessments such as "its viewfinder is about to fall off" or "its XLR block wobbles".
