How is everyone liking it?

as far as liking it, I certainly do.... but I am still quite dissapointed in the fact that its 1080 mode is pointless since it takes up more space on the card than, is more compressed than, and is no sharper than- its 720p mode.

Also, given that focus in HD is so much more critical- the 150's focus assist features are below average when compared to the assist functions in Sony and Canon models in this price range. If you have a big on-set monitor- its fine, but when using the camera's LCD Sony's peaking function is much more accurate.

Those are my main gripes- other than that, its got too many other great features to send it back :)
 
Edweirdo said:
as far as liking it, I certainly do.... but I am still quite dissapointed in the fact that its 1080 mode is pointless since it takes up more space on the card than, is more compressed than, and is no sharper than- its 720p mode.
Click to expand...

Really, I thought that the 720p and 1080 modes took up the same space. I'll have to check.
 
The 1080 mode isn't a bad thing if it isn't much better, it is just another option. I don't think someone has done a direct test yet, but that mode may key better. What I found upsetting is that the lower quality modes are only 1080i. It would have been nice if 720p (or even 1080p) was an option at these modes. It really isn't that big of a deal, the highest quality files are still smaller than DV, but would have been nice to be able to set up the camera in a static spot to record 720p24 all day for events or timelapse.

Edweirdo, your review was pretty much right on, btw.
 
ilauzirika said:
Really, I thought that the 720p and 1080 modes took up the same space. I'll have to check.
Click to expand...
The bitrate is determined by the quality of the mode. At PH, yes they take up the same space. So if you compare 1080p24 and 720p24 in the same bandwidth, the 720 will have less compression artifacts. 1080 still does really well, just keep in mind that 720 will hold up better if there is a lot of motion.
 
mcsmooth said:
The 1080 mode isn't a bad thing if it isn't much better, it is just another option. I don't think someone has done a direct test yet, but that mode may key better. What I found upsetting is that the lower quality modes are only 1080i. It would have been nice if 720p (or even 1080p) was an option at these modes. It really isn't that big of a deal, the highest quality files are still smaller than DV, but would have been nice to be able to set up the camera in a static spot to record 720p24 all day for events or timelapse.

Edweirdo, your review was pretty much right on, btw.
Click to expand...

Hopefully (PLEASE!) someone will test a slow-shutter (1/30) on the lower-quality modes to see how good a "pseudo-progressive" result can be obtained... If the compression is smart enough, this could be a very useful solution...
 
Bucknfl said:
The only thing your giving up with the 150 is variable frame rates.
Click to expand...

With european version (HMC151) it is not so bad - it shoots at 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and, of course, 24p - this will do in most situations, I think.
 
ullanta said:
Hopefully (PLEASE!) someone will test a slow-shutter (1/30) on the lower-quality modes to see how good a "pseudo-progressive" result can be obtained... If the compression is smart enough, this could be a very useful solution...
Click to expand...
Ahhh, good idea. I don't have samples to post, but tried some quick tests. From what I have observed, it could give you passable results given the right conditions, but the codec can't really be smart about it since it just works with whatever is fed to it. So setting 60i to 1/15 and then reviewing the footage frame by frame, there is a slight difference from 2 adjacent frames (4 fields) that tells me you are not encoding less fields/frames. It may still be a little bit better since there is less movement between every frame to encode. On the other hand, it certainly does give a pseudo progressive frame. You just have to be sure your viewer and editor do a proper weave to assemble the frames the right way.

Keep in mind that 1/30 isn't exactly an ideal shutter speed and has quite a bit of blur (1/15 has twice as much). This would not be as much of an issue with low motion, and may actually be ideal in low light conditions and for time lapse.

I haven't done too much with anything below PH, but even the lowest setting (HE) may work if the camera is fixed on a tripod and there is not much motion. Camera in hand with any motion will start to show noticeable artifacts when examining frame by frame, but might still work for some applications, especially if downrezing to SD. I'm thinking HG (13Mbs) mode at 1/30 or 1/15 might be a good compromise for time lapse... will have to try. When 64 and 128GB cards are available, we can let these things run all day in PH.
 
Thanks for trying it out! I'd love to see some footage if anyone has a chance to post some. I do a lot of shooting in 30p with a 1/36 shutter on the HVX for live events... I like the look, and the low-light benefits; it also seems to play more smoothly on my clients' interlaced TVs than higher shutter speeds do. I wonder how close the slow shutter on the HMC would be to that...
 
Wow, today I did some greenscreen keys and they were truly easy!!! I can't even imagine how easy would it be if the avchd codec was 4:2:2!!!!!
 
Hi Iñaki,

If you can share a grab of the greenscreen, that would be great!

I'm sold on the HMC150, but I don't know when the 'when' will be. I'm supposed to go to do some teaching that entails this camera and the HPX170 - mostly post production work flow, but we do want to try them in the field on the cold-weather track.

I'd like to take my 150 with me, too.

You're using DVCPro as the key in Premiere?
 
Not a lot of time in so far; liking it a lot so far... but one DISLIKE is the menu system. Somehow seems much more cheesy and consumer-y than that of the DVX/HVX; also, requires a lot more scrolling since fewer menu options come up on tyhe screen at once. The "background" of the text hides a lot more of the image when in the menus, too... making it harder to compare settings.

It does seem really light and plastick-y. It's NOT... very solid. But coming from the HVX, it's a drastic difference. Like a billiard ball and a wiffle ball. If you want to pick a fight in a bar, choose an HMC owner, not an HVX owner!
 
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