How many still using the HMC 150/151?

F

firehawk

Veteran
Been a number of years since it came out. An "a" or "b" version never came like with the DVX100.
Who's still using it and what for?

I have 3. Use them for events (performing arts, weddings, etc) mainly. Moved to S35 for most corporate work.
 
I used one again just last month - outdoor live event stuff - those things STILL do a fantastic job. Everything in focus. Everything sharp and colorful. Just pick it up, turn it on, and hit the red button.

Man, if that's the job...all the DSLR's and cameras like that are NOT the right tool.
 
It depends. . .guarantee you folks are using the DSLRs and other large sensor cams for that kind of stuff (I might be one of them at some point soon). I would never have thought one would do weddings with those kinds of cameras but they absolutely do. Whatever makes you happy/pleases your clients. I am with you though. Is that pretty, shallow DOF worth potentially missing shots? Probably not.
 
Recently sold mine as we now have an AC161 thats replaced the HMC151, but it was a great workhorse camera for corporate events, weddings and other run & gun style jobs that don't have the luxury of time for lens changes or that need the OIS, I got a LOT of use from that camera.
 
The HMC150 still makes a great b cam to my AF100 which makes a great b cam to the GH4 which makes a great b cam to the DVX 200 which makes a great b cam to the Varicam LT which makes a pretty great lineup over the years. I only have the first two. I'm sure I missed a combo or three, some may even swap the b's to a's, but if you're fortunate enough to own any combo of your choosing, then I'd say you're do'n ok.
 
Josh Bass said:
It depends. . .guarantee you folks are using the DSLRs and other large sensor cams for that kind of stuff (I might be one of them at some point soon). I would never have thought one would do weddings with those kinds of cameras but they absolutely do. Whatever makes you happy/pleases your clients. I am with you though. Is that pretty, shallow DOF worth potentially missing shots? Probably not.
Click to expand...

Shallow depth of field = pretty at a wedding?

Just looks blurry to me.
 
jeff9329 said:
Shallow depth of field = pretty at a wedding?

Just looks blurry to me.
Click to expand...

To me it depends. You can slightly blur a nice scenic background behind the bride and groom and it looks nice. You can still tell what the pretty background is whereas a super shallow DOF would just make it look like a big indiscernable blur.
Sometimes it's better to blur things out but sometimes it looks more pretty to be able to see everything :)
 
Also, the HMC-150 is the last CCD camera that can be used to capture motion correctly. Think helicopter blades or soccer ball rolling.

At this point several years into CMOS, most people have forgotten what good motion video even looks like.
 
jeff9329 said:
Also, the HMC-150 is the last CCD camera that can be used to capture motion correctly. Think helicopter blades or soccer ball rolling.

At this point several years into CMOS, most people have forgotten what good motion video even looks like.
Click to expand...

Had two HMC150 and an AC130 and held on the HMC150 just because of that argument, i shoot mostly live events at night and once in a while sports football matches, i cannot claim to be an expert, but all my HMC150 and the AC130 behave the same in football matches or music concert when it comes to motion, i have tried to see the difference but still nothing to pick on, maybe i have the wrong settings.
 
I was pleasantly surprised by my CMOS cameras that they didn't have more rolling shutter problems than they do. I was expecting worse. But I still like the old global shutter CCD cams for helicopters, cars, stripes and flashes , hahaha
 
Just used my hmc 150 cameras at two more dance recitals this weekend. 720 60p at one and 1080 30p at the other. Still looking good but i dislike that lousy low res low quality LCD screen!
 
I have six of them and I use them nearly every weekend. Mostly do theater, concerts (live switch), cheer and dance, recitals, and figure skating. Looking at upgrading to ux 180 but will probably never dump my 150's.
 
Sold mine after 6 years of ownership :( It was my first real pro piece of gear, so I was a bit sad to see it go. It still produces great quality in certain aspects. The CCDs are wonderful for motion and the color science is really top notch. In fact I wish my newer cameras could mimic its color better.
 
I still use mine for weddings, depositions, recitals, events, speakers, etc... 8 years and going strong. But yes, it is time to upgrade so looking at HC X1 and probably a GH5.
 
I am still extremely happy for mine and use it all the time.
They are beginning to get sold quite cheaply here in Denmark now, I suspect people are moving on to 4k, and I am planning to buy 1 used.
I am shooting theatre performances and also planning to buy a UX180.
With the UX180 and 2 hmc151, I will be quite happy and won´t need to rent additional cams. For quite a while it should be possible to do small teasers alone on the 180 (meaning 4K) and longer and full performances in 1080p.
Wondering how they fit together though, but it sounds like they fit quite nicely.
 
I just purchased a pristine, low mileage (185 hours on the clock) Panny HMC150 for legal video work: depositions, medical exams and site inspections. The legal video profession is transitioning from SD to HD and most of my clients are now requiring HD. I've been shooting SD with a pair of Sony DSR 250 cameras (arguably the best SD depo camera ever made) and HD with a Panny GH3. I love working with the GH3 but its inability to burn in date & time on the video has been a major hassle. I've been using SuperDVDate in post to add date and time but it is time consuming and a PITA.

The list of HD cameras that will burn in date and time is very short and I wanted to stay in the Panasonic family because of my excellent experience with my DVX100a and DVX100b cameras over the years for news, documentary and corporate work. I looked at the AC130 and AC160 but couldn't see spending $3k to $4k for an AVCHD only camera. If I were going to spend that much, I'd plunk down an extra grand and buy a DVX200. I stumbled across a few reviews of the HMC150 and downloaded Panny's HMC150 brochure and was delighted to confirm that it will super date and time on video and even down-convert HD to SD and output in 4:3 as required by a couple of my clients.

There were over a dozen HMC150's on eBay and their condition varied considerably, along with their prices. I settled on one from Adorama because it came with a 30-day money-back guarantee plus a 90-day warranty. They were asking $1100 and I offered $900. We settled on $1,000 and it arrived a few days later. It looks like a slightly larger version of my DVX100b, with similar positions for controls and buttons. I was instantly comfortable with it and I am delighted with the video and audio quality, more than sufficient for legal video work.

The only noteworthy negatives I've found are it's limited to SDHC cards with a maximum size of "only" 32GB. From a practical sense, this is not a deal-breaker because at 1080/30p each card will hold over three hours of video. I bought a dozen of the SanDisk Ultra Class 10 cards for $13 each, so I'm set. The other negative is the finder/LCD resolution. Both seem lifted directly from the DVX100b, with identical size and pixel counts. Definitely not HD but good enough for most purposes. When shooting depos, I use an Atomos Ninja Blade with SSD's for recording "backup" and the Ninja's 5-inch screen is HD and makes up for any shortcomings of the camera's screens.

All in all, I'm very impressed with my "new" camera that I got for little more than a song. I'll be 70 in June and expect this will be my last "depocam." It does everything I need it to (and then some) and the price was right.
 
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Shot 3 dance recitals today and used 3 AG-HMC150s along with AG-AC90A AG-HMC40 and DMC-FZ2500. The old 150s still work good for these events but I still strongly dislike their wretched low-res LCD screens. From now on I'm using an Atomos for a monitor. I think my eyes are getting worse which doesn't help, either ;)

Gotta say the 4K UHD of the FZ2500 and 20X zoom is niiiiiiiice. Man you can count the freckles on the girls faces! Wonderful skin tones too.
A few of these may eventually replace the others in my lineup, but for now HD is good enough.
 
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