Need HMC40 Systems Check Advice

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Denniscasey

Well-known member
Asking a lot, but are there standard functional tests some of you run to ensure camera is functioning properly before you take it on a shoot. Or the sort of tests camera rental shops may run to test camera before sending it out with a customer—or check after a return to be sure customer did not break something? I did a forum search but did not find what I was looking for (possibly wrong key words or whatever).

Reason for question: I will be receiving new HMC40 from B&H on Monday. I trust B&H, but I am not familiar with this camera or high def file based (memory card) technology. Given this situation, when I first turn camera on if it does not seem to work I won’t know if it is something I am doing wrong (most likely the case) or I have one of those rare cases when new camera is defective. If I had some basic start up tests I could run when I first turn camera on they could help determine if operator error or faulty camera. There is also the 14 day limit I think B&H has to return defective equipment entering my thinking here.

Given all the settings this camera is capable of I don’t expect start-up tests will test for everything, but would maybe at least test major components. I am hobbyist level coming from tape based standard def with Sony VX2000.
 
I would imagine that the best way to test the camcorder would be to, you know, record a clip and watch it...
 
I should have mentioned it is subtle issues I am concerned with. I have never seen video recorded on the HMC40 or any high definition camcorder (besides what I watch on computer monitor from tutorials and You Tube and so forth) so I don't know what HMC40 recorded video should look like when shown under real world conditions (in my case displayed on 42 inch 1080p plasma). My only baseline for high def quality is Blue Ray and high def broadcast TV. Assuming I get by obvious problems (i.e. camcorder won't turn on) my plan had been to minimize operator error by using "automatic" settings and record outside in good light. My expectation and hope is that picture will be great as described by many reviewers and people on this forum. In which case I can get on with learning more about and using many features of camera.

But my working life uses contingency planning. As example, if recorded video looks blurry or color shifted or something---unfortunately subjective terms--is that "normal" for HMC40 or if not normal how do I trouble shoot to determine if camera is functioning properly or it is operator error. Maybe like most things digital, I either get the right picture or no picture so I won't really be faced with subtle issues. If I get any picture at all or is not broken up or something horribly wrong then I can assume camera is working properly--in my example blurry picture means I just did something wrong with focus settings---or my subjective expectation of sharpness is too high (i.e. won't look as sharp as Blue Ray or broadcast high def viewed on same tv set).

And I have to admit to motivation to save significantly by buying from B&H instead of buying from local dealer who might have looked at recorded video and said it was ok.
 
The HMC40 should basically astound you immediately. Take shots in different directions from the sun, take some in the shade. Try some indoor shots, knowing that you'll need some light. Connect to your HD monitor and enjoy.

Then look up in Barry Green's book the pages on exposure, focus and focus aids, white balance, use of the touch menu, use of the iris control, the manual/auto toggle, and also try the zoom to be sure it can zoom verrrrrrry slowly. which it should.

I think this will tell you if it all works ok. Of course it's still possible something will show up later but this is really really unlikely. Also, like any electronics, the first month of real use is when any problems are most likely to show up. I know of no way other then this to accelerate this process. So shoot and view, and try some editing too.
 
jorxj said:
The HMC40 should basically astound you immediately. Take shots in different directions from the sun, take some in the shade. Try some indoor shots, knowing that you'll need some light. Connect to your HD monitor and enjoy.

Then look up in Barry Green's book the pages on exposure, focus and focus aids, white balance, use of the touch menu, use of the iris control, the manual/auto toggle, and also try the zoom to be sure it can zoom verrrrrrry slowly. which it should.

I think this will tell you if it all works ok. Of course it's still possible something will show up later but this is really really unlikely. Also, like any electronics, the first month of real use is when any problems are most likely to show up. I know of no way other then this to accelerate this process. So shoot and view, and try some editing too.
Click to expand...

Looking forward to being astounded. As mentioned in previous posts I am going from tape based standard def with Sony VX2000 edited on Avid/Pinnacle Liquid 7.2 to file based hi def with HMC40 to learning to edit on Avid Media Composer 5 (only because Avid provided a low cost upgrade to Media Composer since they were abandoning Liquid ). For me this currently is quite intimidating including learning best way to convert AVCHD output from Panasonic to a format Avid Media Composer "likes" to use. So I really appreciate patience of willingness of forum members to answer my questions. Dennis
 
I just got my 40 last week also and did some quick video in my den and my backyeard. Over all pleased but am surprised at how dark in doors is.... Anyway I also am a Liquid to MC5 convert and it was easier than I thought. I created a new project basied on 720p/60 which is what I have chosen to shoot and then hooked the camcorder to the computer via USB (I don't have a SDHC slot) and copied the media files to my desktops hard drive. (the path is a bit long on the SD card and I don't remember it right off hand) .

Then I imported those .mts files into MC which didn't take too long to transcode to the 145 codec and was able to play them and scrub through them with no problems. Not sure if I am missing any steps in doing this but for a quick test it worked ok.

Good luck!

Jeff
 
No problem. I have yet to video anything major and then see what is involved with really editing and then outputing to DVD or other format.

Jeff
 
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