Barry_Green
Moderator
Hah! Well, most of those can be addressed right now, based on what we know, so let's take a stab...
Do you need CCDs instead of CMOS? If you absolutely need a CCD, get the HMC150.
Does weight matter to you a lot? The HMC150 is substantially lighter, like two pounds lighter, than the AC130/60. If you need the lightest handheld camera, the HMC150 has a big advantage.
Does ultimate image sharpness float your boat? The 130/160 will be noticeably and substantially sharper than the HMC150.
If you need zoom range, the 130/160 have a 21x lens, vs. the 150's 13x lens. Both have the same wide-angle capability, so all the improvement is in the telephoto range of the 130/160.
Do you need standard-def DV recording or firewire streaming to a computer? Gotta go with the 130/160 if you need that.
Do you need simultaneous recording so you have two copies of the footage? If so, get the 130/160.
Do you need to hand a copy of the footage off to your client at the end of the shoot? The 130/160 are ideal for that, the HMC150 not as much. You can still do it with the 150, but with the 130/160 you can keep a copy of the footage for yourself too, which can really save your bacon and make your client love you if the client somehow manages to lose or delete or otherwise mess up the card with all the footage.
No-brainer. If you can possibly afford it, get the 160. If you can't possibly afford the 160, get the 130.
Good question, I don't know. I think so.
Definitely.
Definitely not.
No physical follow focus at all would be best. Use an electronic one instead, such as the FoXi, the VariZoom, or the Manfrotto. Physical follow focuses could work, but won't work better than an electronic one (it's an electronic lens after all). And electronic ones can do things that physical ones can't. And as far as pricing goes, you can't really buy a decent physical follow focus for anywhere near what you can get a good electronic one for.
The new line of Panasonic Pro cards, or the Hoodman Raw Steel, or the SanDisk Extremes, or the Panasonic Gold.
Backup, always. Relay isn't really necessary -- you can get six hours of footage on a 64GB card, do you really, really need more than that? Really? If you do, go with relay, but otherwise use backup. Everything you do, everything you record, every dollar you spend on production, it all comes down to the footage on the cards. Have two copies. It just makes sense. And for people who refuse to follow the advice in the prior question (which is the best card) and who insist on trying to save five bucks by buying from ebay or from some noname seller in the Amazon marketplace and who therefore will get burned by getting a counterfeit card, well, at least having backup recording will give them two shots at getting the footage instead of putting all their eggs in one (counterfeit) basket.
I feel like I just wrote it. :thumbsup:
