HPX 170 vs HMC 150 vs ??? for documentaries

The only "downside" to HPX170 is the expensive P2 media. If I remember correctly, shooting at 1080p24 will get you about 1min per 1GB with DVCPROHD. So a ~$500 32GB P2 card gets you 32 MINUTES of recording time! Yikes! 4:2:2 is nice, and DVCPROHD grades beautifully, but you have to pay for it.

Alternatives include running 720p24n and getting double the record time (32GB card gets you ~64mins). Or using an external device such as a Firestore or Nanoflash. I have a 160GB Firestore, and we can record a 160mins/2 hours and 40 mins... Pretty good all told.

If you can spring it, the HpX170 with the HDSDI out gives you so much more versatility down the road. Currently, HPX170s have been seen for $3000-$4000 used with P2 cards usually. Thats a good deal for a great cam.
 
I have found just in a few short weeks of shooting P2 all the time my thinking has changed a little in the way I shoot. One user button set to "Delete Last Clip" is super useful. I also find it's almost like being in school and shooting film, I'm a little more judicious about what I shoot, and I like this. I only had one day so far where I maxed out two 16gb cards, and I was shooting 1080, 60i. I find in some early testing that 720/24 however looks fine for almost everything, as I won't likely have anything I shoot projected to a 50' screen anytime soon. And with that, two 16gb P2 cards last 80 minutes. If I need more, I can always borrow more cards.

I also believe that card prices will continue to drop. Eventually 64gb cards will be a few hundred dollars. If one buys an HMC150 you can't ever upgrade the camera to 4:2:2 DVCPROHD without buying a new camera, but you can always buy/borrow more P2 cards. That was my thinking anyway.

This chart may help on times:

p2chart.gif

Link to bigger chart.
 
For my work, the HPX170 is simply one of the finest toughest cameras ever made for outdoors work with unpredictable creatures and travel. I have several, and each one is custom setup for specific kinds of shots. Along with our 200a semi-permanently attached to a century 2x, I love them so much that I will probably buy a couple more used as soon as people start really getting rid of them. I could easily produce my series for the next five to ten years with that platform and never think twice.

That being said, the HMC150 is right up there with it in my opinion on many levels. No it doesn't use the same battery, doesn't record intra-frame, and is lacking in features such as some of those that Barry mentioned. But for extended recording on cheap media, solid state reliability and so much of what makes an HPX/HVX great, I would have no problems at all using well shot footage from it for broadcast. There is a lot to like about the HMC150.

As a footnoote the P2 card reader (AJ-PCD2) may be a "convenience" for some. But I can dump my P2 cards 3x-4x faster on my MacPro than I can coming from the firewire on the HPX170 or the 200a. For me that's not a convenience, that's indispensable.
 
Thanks for the post FlashBeaver. How lucky of you to live in Coquille and be working at what you love. If the work ever becomes overloaded, let me know, I'll move down there in a heartbeat.
 
Hey there neighbor! hehehe It's nice down here but its a days drive for the money. Yes as soon as it does get overloaded I need to let me know too! LOL :) Have a super day up there in PDX!
 
Yes, people in the rest of the state think all the jobs are in Portland, and all the people in Portland dream of moving somewhere pretty and quiet like Coquille and carving a niche. The Douglas Firs are always greener...

:Drogar-Shock(DBG):
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top