Which to get? Long lens

D

dylanpipe

Active member
So I have a t2i/ rokinon 8mm/50mm that I am content with and really like it. And this winter I want to be able to run two cameras during urban and whatnot. So I want to buy another camera, this time being not dslr and more of a "professional camcorder". Im looking to buy used, so I can hopefully keep it around $1,000. My options were an HMC150, hvx 200A or a hmc40. I don't know too mich about these cameras except that the hmc40 takes sd cards but the other two take P2($$$) So if I were to get a HVX or 150 I would try and get it packaged with memory cards, because spending 300$ on a memory card seems crazy.
But, can anyone kind of lead in which way I should go, some pros and cons of each because I'm pretty solid with dslrs but not really with these at all.


Thanks,

Dylan
 
HMC40 is more portable, and sharper in good light. HMC150 is larger and heavier, has better low-light capabilities and is CDC rather than CMOS (so no rolling shutter or flash banding).
 
Not sure what all you are wanting to shoot.

Between the cameras you listed I would probably not get the HVX200a unless you need the ability to shoot on DV tape.
The HMC40 is a higher resolution camera so if you are shooting mostly outdoors or in good light it will be sharper in 1080.


The HMC150 is arguably one of the best diverse event cameras around still. It's better in low light and also starts out wider at 28mm than the HMC40. As mentioned the fact that it uses CCD chips instead of CMOS means no flash banding and rolling shutter issues at all which can be a big deal if you shoot weddings or action.

I actually have several HMC150s and an HCK10 (mini version of the HMC40) and on outdoor events I will use the HCK10 for wide scenic shots because it's sharper and use the 150s for all the tighter shots during multi camera events. For indoor in poor light the HCK10 struggles so I just use the 150s.
I'd say the HMC150 is the most versatile choice since it can handle a wide variety of demands if you need that kind of versatily.

I'd say buy good SDHC cards. (both the HMC40 and HMC150 use SDHC cards) .Don't take chances with cheap ones. I use Panasonic Gold and Lexar Gold and for over a year, no issues.
 
Good point about the 28mm-equivalent FOV on the 150 - I bought a 0.8X wide angle adapter for my HMC40 which lives on the camera most days.

Which raises another issue - the HMC40 has built-in ND filters, but they aren't strong enough to allow shooting at 1/60sec or less in bright sunlight (Panasonic, what the h*ll were you thinking???). So you'll need to use an ND filter out of doors. But the Panasonic wide angle adapter doesn't have filter threads ... so that's a problem.
 
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