Negative Review on Amazon?

D

Dean Papoutsis

Member
Thinking about the AG-HMC150 camera as my first serious step up in a camcorder (I'm a wanna be indie video maker thinking about a first project). I've been reading all the reviews I can and stumbled into a pretty negative one for the first time which has shaken me up a bit.

http://www.amazon.com/review/RZLNOYWLYNVL6/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RZLNOYWLYNVL6
CONS:
* The auto modes are awful. This thing has an autofocus mechanism that just doesn't work and is unusably slow. I haven't seen an autofocus this bad since the late 1980's.
* The auto-iris is also quite bad. There are no zones for any of the auto modes, so it takes the whole image and does an average. A $500 camcorder has better auto capabilities than this.
* $3300 is very overpriced for this camera.
* No timelapse recording mode
* built-in mic is pretty bad.
* startup time is very long, and the standby mode is not designed well and still eats too much battery power.

The Pro's still do outweight the Con's so I can recommend this camera, but it is far from perfect.
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The first two items seem pretty serious, are they for real? I saw a video clip somewhere where they panned the camera past a bush that was in focus, and when it moved to the next plant a foot or two back it looked like the camera might have had some issue adjusting the focus.

Are these known issue I've missed in other reviews?

Thank you,
Dean
 
I think if you're serious about your work, you have to use your equipment in manual mode... focus, iris, audio (u need a real mic)
I see that review and makes me think that the person is an amateur or lazzy. Autofocus is not the best, but is ok (a little slower than my old Sony)
Is hard to give you a real answear as i use all my cameras in manual mode
 
Well keep in mind, the person did say they'd still recommend the camera. That speaks volumes.

If the person simply wants everything to be auto, then maybe they should've bought a $500 HD camera. From the times I have used auto, I haven't seen any of the problems mentioned. Maybe I would if I stayed with auto 100%. But I prefer manual whenever possible.
 
* The auto modes are awful. This thing has an autofocus mechanism that just doesn't work and is unusably slow. I haven't seen an autofocus this bad since the late 1980's.

I haven't been impressed when I have used the autofocus. The fps of the video will greatly change how well the autofocus works. Recording 24 with autofocus is pretty lame, make it dark and you've got useless.

* The auto-iris is also quite bad. There are no zones for any of the auto modes, so it takes the whole image and does an average. A $500 camcorder has better auto capabilities than this.

No idea... Who uses auto iris anyway?

* $3300 is very overpriced for this camera.

Depends on what you're going to GET OUT OF IT. Shooting auto it's a waste of money.

* No timelapse recording mode

Meh..

* built-in mic is pretty bad.

Most are.. I really can't notice the difference between it and my A1. I will say hearing the zoom servo is annoying.

* startup time is very long, and the standby mode is not designed well and still eats too much battery power.

I agree. Startup time is too long.
 
Autofocus works just fine in 60i/60p. If you put it in 24p mode it's very slow -- but then again, so is *any* camcorder when in 24p mode. There's nothing wrong with the 150's autofocus. If someone expects it to perform quickly when in 24p mode, then their expectations are unrealistic.

I have observed no problems with the auto-iris system, but then again, I rarely use it. I'll use it to spot-meter, but I set the iris to where the zebras tell me the image should be exposed at.
 
The auto-iris is ok. But you can use all the options of this camera to set the iris properly.

You can push the auto-iris button once, then push it back to come back to manual iris.

Auto-iris is one. But you also have 2 zebra modes (from 50 to 105 IRE customizable) and a waveform. When you know how to use them, it's hard to miss your shot.

And the iris is similar to the DVX100, that is a well-known and used camera.
 
I remember with the DVX, they were careful to call 24p autofocus "Focus Assist" or something like that. It's hard to focus automatically when the sensor is only updating 24 times a second.
 
Exactly. On the original DVX they flat-out disabled autofocus in progressive-scan modes because the performance wasn't comparable to what someone would expect from "auto focus". On the 100A they enabled it and named it "focus assist."
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the great comments. I have been reading that most pros don't use the auto functions much, but it seems helpful on my consumer camcorder for some situations. I hadn't thought about the challenges associated with 24P autofocusing (less sampling and slower I guess). Thanks again.
Dean
 
You say this is your first serious step up in a camcorder. You will probably find that when you do make that change you will go all manual anyway. The reason I say this is that to get the specific shots you want if you rely on automatic focusing, aperture and shutter.

I have an HMC151E (the EU version of the 150 I believe) and have not found it takes a long time to start up or had any problems with the focusing. The one thing I would say about the 150 is that you need to learn how to use the camera first. It's different even from other cameras in it's price bracket. By using the provided tools (zebra lines, waveform etc.) I believe you get a much better picture than any camera using auto functions.

Also, a little tip from another indy filmmaker. Be as professional as you can. That extends to the use of the camera. If a professional wouldn't use auto-focus then don't use it yourself. Ultimately you will learn more in a shorter time that way and also have fewer problem when moving between bits of equiptment.
 
Glad to help. The camera isn't perfect, but a lot of the shortcomings are either nitpicky, or in the case of the auto-modes, should be non-issues. If this camera is a step-up for you... practice practice practice. If nothing else, go to a road overpass and practice following the cars. Fortunately, the focus ring on this camera is really good for a camera in this range. Really, once you get the hang of manual, you'll never want to use auto again, and you'll be a better shooter for it.
 
Superfresa66 said:
I think if you're serious about your work, you have to use your equipment in manual mode... focus, iris, audio (u need a real mic)
I see that review and makes me think that the person is an amateur or lazzy. Autofocus is not the best, but is ok (a little slower than my old Sony)
Click to expand...

Totally agree here... I use to be an auto kinda guy with my sony's but that just made me lazy and not learn the camera. I shot with auto iris when it came to a theater show, and the HMC did terrific. The lights were super bright on the subjects and the rest of the stage and audience was dark. My sony had much more problems blowing the subjects out on auto.

To my point, if your going to use a HMC150 (and spend the $$$) - learn the camera in M and get a real mic

If you dont want to learn and be auto lazy - get a $500 HD 1/4 sensor POS

If your going to shoot a indy film, you cant do the latter.
 
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I bought this camera for my video production company in January. It payed itself after the second job. Many producers love the quality of the video and the convenience of the file transfer. I can transfer a 16gb class 6 in 10 minutes to a laptop. It is a good work horse camera. Shoot in manual mode like it is intended and you will not have any problems. Also it is the best camera for the price.
 
Obviously Panasonic didn't waste time, space or money on features that Pros or "semi" Pros wouldn't use, or care much about.

I'll keep mine!
 
Auto-focus is only useful on few circumstances, like when using the camera on a crane. In this case, you should use it in 30p, not in 24p, unless you're moving slowly!
 
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