The HMC Book - now available

B

Barry_Green

Moderator
The new "The HMC Book" is now in stock and available for ordering. It takes the original "The HMC150 Book" and expands significantly upon it, adding over 40 pages and adding whole new sections for FAQs, workflow issues, tutorials on basic concepts such as exposure, white balance, and focus, and of course all the new features unique to the HMC40, including working with the touchscreen interface, dealing with rolling shutter CMOS sensors, and more. Several sections of the HMC Book have been rewritten to aim towards the new user, or the user for whom their HMC40 or HMC150 may be their first professional camera. Extensive descriptions of just about every function, button, menu setting, and feature are included, but done so in user-friendly language to make it approachable to users of all levels.

24 scene files are also included, on a CD-ROM that can be used to copy the scene files right to an SDHC card and loaded onto an HMC150. The HMC40 doesn't support loading scene files from an SDHC card, so every scene file setting has been printed to make it accessible to HMC40 users.

The HMC Book covers both the HMC150 and the HMC40. It's the same size, quality, and price of the HVX & HPX Book. For cost-conscious consumers who only need to know about the HMC150, the HMC150 book remains in print and is slightly less expensive.

Both books are in stock right now and can ship immediately.

For ordering info, click on the buttons in my signature, or follow these links directly:
The HMC Book (for the HMC40 & HMC150)

The HMC150 Book


Thanks to everyone for your patience and your support, and I hope you like it!
 
Got mine yesterday, and it seems outstanding.

When Barry Green says "ships immediately" he means it!

Excellent work, Barry!
 
My Review:

My Review:

First of all, let me say that my name appears on page VIII as one of several people who helped (in a small way) with the book. Other than getting my copy a bit earlier than most people, I do NOT receive any money from the sale of the book. I say this so that people will understand that I have no hidden bias here. What follows is my review of the book...


My Review:

The Panasonic User Guide tells you HOW to do things, but it really does not get into the WHY you would want to do these things. Barry's Book gets into the WHY you would select a certain setting or option, but does not get into HOW you make this selection. In order to have a full understanding you really need to read (study) BOTH books.

While I make reference to it as "Barry's Book", in a way it's several books in one.

The Book begins with the FAQ starting on page 1. This is followed by a string of short Articles starting on page 11. The first parts of the book are clearly aimed at the beginner, who may not know some of the important details about the camera and shooting video. As tempting as it might be for the more advanced shooter to skip over these sections, there are several parts that are very helpful and unless you have taken the time to study every aspect of the camera, you just won't know some things. Take my advice, even if you think you know it all, read this section anyway.

By page 81, the Book gets into the Unique aspects of the HMC40. While this section is not as big as other sections, it does contain things worth knowing.

The Scene File Setting, page 95, is an area where you'll want to sturdy this in detail. This is the section that's going to help you understand what the **** a given parameter setting does.

The Button and switch settings, page 115, covers the operation of these features. Not every operation is for the HMC40, there are some button settings that exist only for the HMC150.

The Auto Switch Settings, page 125, is great if you have an HMC150 camera, but for HMC40 users, you can skip this setting. It's not a big section, so not much to skip...

Record Mode, Time Stamp, and Audio Settings, page 129, Addresses the many recording features and options.

Timecode Setup, page 139, is more for the advanced user, but even a beginner should take a look at this section.

Audio/Video Output Settings, page 149, could be skipped if you never plan on using the audio/video outputs of the camera, BUT if you want to put your video on a monitor, either SD or HD, you'll want to check out this section.

Display Setup Settings, page 149, provides a good understanding of your display options. Very important to understand what the camera is telling you...

Card Functions, page 161, is a very short section, but still helpful to know.

USER File, page 165, is for the HMC150 only. It's a very short section you are likely to skip.

Meta Data, page 167, to be honest, I don't really use this data, but at least it's nice to know what it can do.

Other Function Settings, page 171, gets into the odds and ends of functions, like IR Remote, Power Save, System Info, and other things.

Playback Menus and Thumbnail Screen, page 175, if you've been working with the camera for a while, you know most of this, but with a beginner, you'll find this helpful.

Thumbnail Screen Menu Options, page 181, this is really a continuation of the Playback Menus and Thumbnail Screen, but still helpful.

Understanding Meta Data, page 189, as I said, I don't use it, but sttill nice to know what I'm missing.

Physical Switches, Buttons and Jacks, page 195, a nice review of the switches and buttons. Not that big a deal to me, BUT this book is for everyone, so I can see a beginner studying this section.

Sample Scene Files, page 224, OK, here's the section where you'll want to take you time looking it over. Now video displays use Additive Color, where Red, Green, and Blue are added together to make all the other colors. A printed page uses Subtractive Color, where Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black are used to block out the colors. The two systems are VERY different and it's impossible for an exact match, a reasonable approximation is possible. This is where the CD that comes with the book is so important. To get a really good idea who a given setting really looks like, go to the CD and look at the image on your monitor or TV. The pages of Scene Files do give the settings for the HMC40 next to the image in the book, nice!!! There are 6 extreme Scene File settings, you could use them, but they may not be the best settings. Plus there are 18 more Scene File settings. The 18 additional settings are the settings you are more likely to use to obtain a given look to your video. IMHO, this is a key section to the book and a very important one.

About The Author, page 237, I was going to write, "Who Cares!", but people may not realize that I was joking. Barry put a lot of work into this book, so he gets his one page of glory.

Index, page 238, helpful for finding the key things.

Reference Tables, page 243 - 245, I point out this section, because it's not listed in the table of contents, but is important for key things you'll want to look up later on. With this section, you don't have dig through the entire book, just go to the back to find it.


In Conclusion:

I can't think of a logical reason of WHY any HMC40/HMC150 User would NOT buy this book. Consider this, at NAB, Jan or one of the engineers from Panasonic might be willing to spend 5 or 10 minutes with me at most. After all it's a busy show with lots of people wanting to talk to them. So there's a very limited amount of time for me to gather an inside understanding on the camera.

Barry on the other hand has had a chance to really sit down with the people at Panasonic and ask all the key questions, he's had time to work with the 200, the 200a, the 170, the 150 and the 40. If you own the camera, why wouldn't you want to learn what he's discovered?

As for the person considering the HMC150 or the HMC40, this can provide a great comparison of the two cameras and will help show each camera's capabilities. Someone who's unsure migh find it worth it just to get the book to decide if either camera is right for them.




Sincerely,


Bob Diaz
 
Just got my copy, thanks Barry.

Have you ever thought of also providing purchasers an option to get a PDF version of the book? It would be nice to also have it on my iPhone for those moments when I have a few minutes to read.
 
I just got a new HMC150 from B&H and it came with the HMC Book. I also ordered the HMC 150 book, not knowing it came with the HMC Book. Is there any reason I should hold onto the HMC 150 book if I have the HMC Book?
 
This book is totally SICK. I am a noob and as I was researching camcorder issues, I wish I would have had this book. I have only read through page 80 and have learned a ton about how the camera works. There is a lot of detailed info on how the cameras process as well as how to get the best out of them. I would buy it a hundred times.

PS - I didn't help write the book and don't get paid either :( . Mine also came included with my HMC-40. AWESOME, AWESOME book very well written!!!
 
HMC-80 updated!

HMC-80 updated!

Awesome book Barry! Just purchased the new HMC-80 from B&H. Low and behold, your newest update of the HMC book, which now includes the HMC-80 was in the bottom of the shipping box. As stated by you, this book doesn't take the place of the owners manual, but it sure is helping me make sense of all the different settings and the use of scene files, something totally new to me coming from VX-2100 DV tape territory. I'm a mid-level hobby videographer and feel I'm going to have a blast with this cam once I ramp up the learning curve.
 
I think you will too. The HMC80 is really a great little camera at a steal of a price. I really grew to like it a lot when I had it for writing the book on it. Glad you're finding the book helpful!
 
I own an HMC 150 and HMC 40 and didn't know about this book. I would have definitely gotten the HMC Book. But I just bought to AG AF 100 and got the AF 100 Book. It seems based on the similarity of cameras, I don't really need the HMC Book. Am I missing much or are there still lots of goodies that don't show up in the AF 100 Book?
 
I was just given an HMC80 as a birthday presant (!) and was extremely pleased to see your book "The HMC Book" as part of the included items. I have to say that while Panasonic did a bangup job on the HMC80 (though I have some issues with it), the "User Manuals Vol 1 and Vol 2" that are included on the CD that ships with the cam do not go into the whys of most of the controls. For anyone that has an HMC40, 80, or 150 and is on the fence with the purchase of this book I recommend it highly. There is information in this book that you will NOT find anywhere in the Panasonic User Manuals. And I also have to thank Panasonic for including the book as part of the accessories that it comes with! Both the camcorder and the book are extraordinary, especially for the price. So if you have an HMC but don't have the book don't think about "is it worth the cost"... it is, so get it, it's one of the best investments you'll make towards your HMC.
 
I just ordered the book. I have had 2 HMC40's for a year + but seldom use them. Working for a family ministry,
I recorded teaching sessions which required little expertise.

I recently went back to work for an industrial company as marketing manager and am about to shoot a major
product/service video. I got the book with expectations to up my game in this venture. I just shot a talking head
video of myself, read the manual and winged it as a noob. It came out ok, shock our company exec's with the
concept of new mediums. I want this next video to blow them away.

Thanks for making the book available.
Rob
 
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