Requested refund on GH3 preorder to buy another HMC40

Felipe Henao said:
Want more pay more
Click to expand...
Glad to hear you've come to a decision that makes sense for you. Yes, the old "you get what you pay for, if you want more, you have to pay more" axiom still holds true (among comparable-generation technology, of course) and the AC160A has a lot of features that the AC90 doesn't have, and it has much higher sensitivity. I hope that it will serve your needs well.,
I personally prefer the HMC40 over the AC90 BECAUSE OF THE SIZE.
Click to expand...
I totally understand. The HMC40 is a wonderful size. I bought a little Boda camera bag, made for DSLRs, specifically for use with my HMC40 because it was the perfect size. The entire camcorder fit in the lens compartment. That's why I think the HMC40 will remain a competitive model in Panasonic's lineup, and the AC90 won't be a "replacement" for it, because -- the HMC40 holds a unique position because of its size, and truthfully, it puts out a great picture too. The AC90 is somewhat sharper and better in low light, but in daylight the HMC40 is a real gem and delivers very sharp, crisp, very nice images. And I miss my HMC40 specifically because of its great size.

But since my idea is to step up I'll go with 160A, Again thank you for your answers to the some times UN respectful questions.
Click to expand...
Hey, I'm glad to help, and I also appreciate how frequently you've been here to answer questions and give advice to prospective HMC40 users. You have really taken a lot of time to assist our other members and that's what makes DVXUser great and we appreciate it. Best of luck with your AC160A!
 
Hey Felipe

Moving up with the big boys now??? Well, hope it gives you what you need!! Personally (and this is my very own personal comment) I STILL think I get a better end product with my HMC82's ...Yes I know 1/3rd chips are better but my 130's just had no WOW factor at all .... I can shoot with the scene files on the 80 at default and get magic footage and I struggled for days to get the scene file parameters on the bigger cams looking good!! Then again it depend what you are shooting ...With my weddings I still get better results on the 82....maybe the old optics are better??? I have no idea .. I mainly shoot outdoors and I found what I have works better for me..If I was doing dance recitals and theatre performances I would buy a 160 in a heartbeat cos I think it would be an awesome camera for those events...I'm sure you will give us your feedback when you start shooting on the 160!!

Chris
 
Last edited:
Chris, I think the HMC40 + The 160 are going to make a nice team, another point is that I'll be freelancing for a TV station live shows, and the HD-SDI CONNECTION is required.
 
Hi Felipe

Your comments on physically having a 160A in your hot hands will be interesting. Hope you are thrilled with the performance!! Let us know anyway???

Chris
 
ChrisHarding said:
Hi Felipe

Your comments on physically having a 160A in your hot hands will be interesting. Hope you are thrilled with the performance!! Let us know anyway???

Chris
Click to expand...

Sure Chris, 1/3 chip, Uncompressed audio, SDI, 1080 60p, White balance in close Kelvin steps, looks like a dream, I should have it for the end of this month, The people at the TV station are working with P2,
But the cameras belong to the station, I'll be freelancing with the AC160, They told me that this should match well with their P2, so besides this camera is getting me a new client.
This live shows, are an entire new world for me, since I have been into recording video not transmitting TV signal live. The set is like say 3-4 cameras are connected to a switcher via SDI connection
so each camera man has an intercom radio and the producer tell the cameramen which camera is transmitting, as I told you they all have P2 so this will probably be the start of a new type of cameras for me.
HOWEVER the HMC40 will be all the time with me.
 
Lance nice comment. is easy to work with a camera like the HMC40.
Regarding the Moire aliasing issue on the GH3 one the number 1 fans from this camera Andrew Reid just posted the Moire issue.
In fact I just forgot about the GH3, this Andrew is a Pro he knows how to use the camera take a look at this. GH2 was a nice camera for video, but the new sensor
and stills priority Lumix gave to the new model made disasters in video, take a look

 
G Gariques said:
I own the HMC40 and the AF100 and outdoor the HMC40 is a killer , good color and sweet for handheld .
Click to expand...
I've been shooting video a lot with Canon DSLR cameras, that with Magic Lantern and Mosaic engineering VAF filter are just Fantastic, BUT not to the point
to make me think that my Lovely HMC40 can be replaced, This camera HMC40 is unique, IN QUALITY, BUILD, I'm sorry Panasonic opted not to make this size cameras
with this quality, Pana went to larger cameras, with smaller chips and cheaper optics like the AG-AC90, Is that a camera like the HMC40 is too expensive to build ?
 
This is an interesting thread. However, I have yet to see side-by-side comparisons of the HMC-40 and the AC-90 by the OP.

I WANTED to like the HMC-40 but it was abysmal in low-light and I needed something that provided better results in a similar price range. I loved the size, form factor, and picture of the 40 only when shot in bright light but it fell on its face........No, it fell down a whole flight of stairs in low light so that's why I sold mine and bought the 90 instead.

Is the AC-90 perfect? Heck no, but for the price point it is as close to perfect as you can get (for now) for an event camera.
 
Last edited:
I've posted several times scene setting for optimal results, with DRS 1 you can go up to 12 db , and with DRS off up to 18 db, besides you can bring down speed down to 1/40 with optimal motion results in an event.
AC-90 has not even parfocal lens. I understand AC-90 Owners want to like the camera , The only fact is that The HMC40 Is not available no more and I can't find in Panasonic's line nothing similar , Probably in Canon's camcorder line, but the Jeep build from the HMC40 Doesn't exist in this planet any more .
 
Felipe Henao said:
I've posted several times scene setting for optimal results, with DRS 1 you can go up to 12 db , and with DRS off up to 18 db, besides you can bring down speed down to 1/40 with optimal motion results in an event.
AC-90 has not even parfocal lens. I understand AC-90 Owners want to like the camera , The only fact is that The HMC40 Is not available no more and I can't find in Panasonic's line nothing similar , Probably in Canon's camcorder line, but the Jeep build from the HMC40 Doesn't exist in this planet any more .
Click to expand...

I tried settings like these and never got the results that I needed. It just wouldn't go bright enough for me even with grainy gain. I'm not saying that it wouldn't work for some but it didn't work for what I needed. I don't care what camera I have as long as it does what I need. The HMC40 didn't give me what I needed and the AC90 did. Funny thing, I've been using the lens as if it is a parfocal lens and it has performed as such from the get-go. If it is NOT parfocal you'd better tell my camera that :)

I will agree with you on the build of the HMC40 (somewhat). As I said before I liked the size, the form factor, etc but I never liked the picture in low light. That was my main gripe with it.

If they were to build an updated HMC-150 with all of the same controls, same low-light performance, but with a new full-raster 3CCD sensor block I'd be all over it but they did not so for now, at least, I'll use my AC90.
 
Parfocal is in manual focus you zoom in focus and then zoom out, then you can zoom in and out without moving camera position and focus will be fine. What AC90 does is in auto focus . That is another animal.
One of my partners have one and regrets every day, as well gain is higher or makes you think is higher and with less noise to the price of interpolating pixels, Will not discuss more on something I see
every day with this partner. Enjoy your AC90 , Looks big Looks pro don't forget fine thing come in small packages
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top