I need your opinion: How suitable is it for Industrial Video Production?

10s

10s

Veteran
I'm in the market for a video camera to shoot industrial videos. Most shooting will take place inside a factory and will be used for creating VP annd Director level messages, news stories, some training and some other general interests type stories so it will be pretty safe from exposure issues.

So far the HMC 150 appears to have many appealing qualities that should fit the bill; good picture, decent size body (not too big nor small) an acceptable codec, HD, and many of the features I like about many Panansonic video cameras.

I would like to hear some comments from owners and users of this camera how it performs and if it would be the best choice for a $3200-ish camera.

How is it?

What does it lack?

What might work as well or better?

Thank you!
 
I don't have a HMC 150 or used one, I went from SD video to an HD-DSLR, and now have bought a Sony FS100. However, if I would not have gone the large sensor route, the HMC 150 was going to be the camera I got. I actually wish I had one, just to have around for situations like you describe.
 
I bought one a week after it was released and love it. As I've said in a few other places, I bought an AF100 a couple of months ago and love that camera... but the HMC is just so stinking versatile that I'm not going to get rid of it any time soon. It will do everything you need it to do, and it will do it extremely well. I can't speak highly enough of the camera.

With that said, I *do* plan on replacing it down the road with an AC160. I'm just not in a hurry to do so. The AC160 offers a couple of features that would be useful to me, but not for about a year. Even then I may still hold onto it for multi-cam event stuff. However, since you're in the $3,200 range, take a look also at the AC130 also. It's going to be a bit sharper than the HMC, and I've heard the colors are a little better (which says something, since the colors on the HMC are pretty stinking good). It also has a longer lens, offers the ability to dual record to two SDHC slots, a better LCD (It uses the AF100's, which is heads and tails better than the HMC150's). I *think* I've heard it's better in low light, but don't hold me to it, because I couldn't tell you were I heard it or if I'm just imagining that.

The HMC150 is CCD, the AC130 is CMOS. Both chip types have pro's and con's, so pick your poison which chip type would work better for you.
 
This is an area I know pretty well having produced a couple hundred training and other videos for a couple of the major aerospace companies. Back then they issued me a Sony VX2100 (after enduring a couple years with a Canon ZR-10, no kidding) , and that was great for the kind of work we did, filming all manner of manufacturing processes, training, etc.
I believe that an HMC150 would be an outstanding candidate for industrial-related videography. Like the VX2100, it's easy to get a good picture out of it, it is lightweight, durable, has good audio for this type of application. You should not be stressing its capabilities at all in that environment.
 
Similar points to Sewolla above, I also came from the Sony VX2100 after making a set of training DVD's etc., The transition from one camera and format to the other was quite smooth and I quickly started taking my new machine for granted. I love the fact that you can click on a thumbnail image on screen and instantly access a clip you have captured. I like the fact that you can set your audio levels independently to give yourself a little safety margin. Good quality SDHC cards are very cheap in real terms - and I always carry spares and always back them up as soon as I return from a shoot (I do this on internal, external drives AND DVD just in case!). I still think that the HMC is a bargain for what it does and it is a good all rounder. You will appreciate the wide angle end of the lens that is for sure.

Regards

Do you know anyone that owns the HMC so that you can give the cam a trial run (or can you rent one for a day)?
 
In your price range, the HMC150 is probably the best choice for what you're trying to shoot, in my opinion. It really "delivers the goods" when it comes to image quality vs. price with its feature set! Battery life is great, too.

The only thing I don't like on mine is that the viewfinder and the flip-out LCD are both pretty low resolution, and I find that unless I'm careful, it's easy to miss focus on the longer end of the lens. This is easily fixed with a cheap external monitor or HDMI out to a much larger monitor (I use a 23" computer monitor with HDMI input as an external display during interviews or studio shoots).
 
Some used HMC-150 cameras are starting to appear in the $2,000+ price range, as users upgrade to the new AC-130 / AC-160 models from Panasonic.
 
What I'm hearing so far is that this is a really good camera and will do the job well. The LCD screen/monitor is a bit of a challenge but overall it's a nice tool for the work. I'm also hearing that if a larger budget is found then the AC130 might be a good candidate also.


Sewolla: This camera is intended to visit many large new aircraft being built and their creators.


Thanks!
 
Then from my experience, I'd say you won't be disappointed. It's perfect for working in an aircraft manufacturing environment. Best of luck to you!
 
I use the 150 often - there's really only one thing you need with it (assuming you know how to get the most out of any camera and the HMC in particular) - you need a good quality HDMI monitor, preferably one that can be calibrated. The LCD is really bad on the HMC; the resolution doesn't bother me nearly as much as the terrible bluish color and crap viewing angles. Using a good monitor - just a small one on the hot shoe even - make the camera a joy to shoot with and gives you way more confidence on set.

To me, the two selling points on the newer 160 are the full-raster chips (but I do a lot of green screen and I can really really see the uprez and compression artifacts in 150 footage when tweaking matte edges) and the dual-card setup. My son's in film school used my 150 for a shoot and lost a day's work to a substandard card, and others here have the occasional problem; two cards gives you a nice safety net.
 
Michael Carter said:
The LCD is really bad on the HMC; the resolution doesn't bother me nearly as much as the terrible bluish color and crap viewing angles. Using a good monitor - just a small one on the hot shoe even - make the camera a joy to shoot with and gives you way more confidence on set.
Click to expand...

+1 to this. The AF100/AC130/AC160/HPX250 LCD is much better than the HMC150's. It's not unusable, but that blueish tint gets annoying sometimes.
 
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