I need help with a decision

A

AlexandreDesjardins

New member
Hey im a snowboard filmer and a 16 year old high school student and its time for me to buy a new camcorder, My choices are :

1-Used HVX200 with 2 batterys , 2 16gb P2 card for 3800$

2-Hmc150 Brand new for 3799$ ( no interest payment plan but i would have to buy extra battery and two memory cards for about 250$ total )

3- Try and find a used HMC150 kit for about 2800$-3500$

What do you guys think , im open to other possibility's

thanks you
 
hi - not easy at all... but i would prefer the hmc or if you wanna go with P2 the hpx171..

Why? The HVX is the oldest of these cams and HPX and HMC got some little improvements from what i heard...

And the recording time on a 16GB in highest quality isnt that long... The media is really good but expensive...

So if youre shooting long sequenzes you will need to think about aditional cards because as panasonic claims:

"For DVCPRO HD or AVC Intra 100, the data rate is 1 minute per gigabyte"..

SO your recording time is just about 32 minutes in highest quality.... on the HMC you will last about 90minutes with 16GB

Another aspect: The HMC/HPX is much more leightweight than HVX... So if youre shooting a lot handheld you will be thankful :-)

I would look out for a new or rare used HPX / HMC with guarantee
 
I would not go with the HVX in this case. I own a HVX and a HMC, and made a lot of side by side tests, in most cases the HMC was much better. It's much more lightweight, easier and IMO more ergonomic.

P2 cards are really expensive, and the firestore HD, don't even let me start on that one.. not a good thing when shooting actionsports.

HMC is the thing for you to go with, the SD cards are cheap as dirt these days, you get great imagequality, a camera that is very easy but at the same time has a lot of options when it comes to tweaking the image!
But the HVX/HPX has a little less noise in the image, people say that it's about 20% better when it comes to that.

The only thing to keep in mind, AVCHD is a struggle for many computers out there, so you will need to get a faster and better computer or decode the files to DVCPROHD format.

Whatever you take you'll get a great cam!
 
Everts said:
[...]I'd try and find a used HMC 150 first.
Click to expand...

Well, the HMC40 can be sharper outdoors in bright light than the HMC150. In addition, I didn't think he'd need XLR inputs.

No doubt the 150 is a better cam. Just considering the OP's needs.
 
plus the nd's on the hmc 150 are better ,considering the bright situations he'll be shooting.

I honestly can't take you serious with that avatar of yours Jordan :)
 
Advantage with the P2... reliability.
I've had the scary "Check Card" message come up. I've since invested in better SD cards, and haven't had a problem...yet. But I'm always scared it will happen at a critical time.
THen, from what I hear, you get better quality on the HPX170, especially when doing color work in post.
 
One potential issue with a used HVX is that if you go that route, make sure to get the "a" model/revision. The older 200 doesn't have as good a sensor block as the 200a revision (which incidentally is supposedly the same as the HPX170/HMC150).

If you can find a good used HMC, you might go that route. It's tapeless, so you don't need to worry about used tape heads or anything like that. But I personally would go the HMC route (used or new) and buy good SD cards. The upfront costs of the HVX might be the same, but the down the road costs of additional P2 cards won't be cheap for a high school student. If 2 16gig P2 cards are enough for you, more power to you as p2 is bulletproof. But if down the road you want to buy more, that could hurt the wallet.

However, if you're set on P2, have you looked at a used HPX170?
 
FYI the current price of the HMC150 is $3,279.00 (you have to add it to your cart to see this price). So adding $250 for battery and SD cards = $3529.

I'd also like to echo the HMC40 as another possible option. It has most of the goodies of the HMC150, including the waveform monitor, and it's $1,949.95 + battery & SD cards.

625605.jpg
 
If you are going to be moving and panning a lot then I would go for a CCD camera. CMOS just creates too many opportunities for problems in the shots. Yes, you can shoot with a CMOS sensor but you may have to plan around the camera rather than filming around the subject. With this in mind I'd take the 150 over the 40 any time.
 
I own both the HPX170 and MHC40, using the HMC as a B cam. They are very different cams with similar visual mojo. If I am going to be on a tripod and want-need all the stuff that is useful in a full feature cam, the HPX is simply wonderful. For smaller work, run&gun, guerilla shooting, and just a fun cam to use, the HMC40 is awesome....er well outside with some light. I haven't had any real issue with rolling shutter issues on the HMC, you must be carefull panning any cam in 24p or 30p.

IMHO: If you are moving around and want to shoot more like a handycam, put the HMC on a monopod and go wild. Though slightly larger than a handycam, it still handles like one, but has most of the manual control you need. SD media is less expensive than P2, but maybe less reliable, so if it is a once in a lifetime shot, think hard. Full auto on the HMC40 is better than I expected, not the best way to shoot but if you are in a real hurry, it works. Make sure you use a polarizer in the snow!

If you are not moving around as much, need more manual control, need reliable P2 media, and a better codec, then the HPX deserves a look. Note the HPX has important features that the HVX doesn't, such as better focus aids and a wave form monitor which is a good thing on snow. The HMC40 has this also. Forget the HPX on full auto.

I can't speak for the HMC150 except to say it is between the two mentioned above.
HMC40 and HMC150 = SD media and AVCHD codec.
HMC40 = CMOS imager. Given some light, the HMC is the sharpest of the three.
HMC150 & HPX170 = CCD imager. Better in low light.
HPX170 = better 422 color, DVCPro-HD codec


Grant
 
Thanks for the input everybody it really helped me , but allen i live in canada so the hmc is 3799$ here and ive already thought about the hmc40 but down the road i dont feel like upgrading from the 40 to the 150 or any other camera for a little while. I think im going to go for the 150 and try to find a used one in canada because i dont want the troubles of buying used outside my contry.

Alex
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top