Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder Review
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I knew I would have to do it sooner or later. Even shooting Super 16mm is (a) too expensive and (b) too heavy. I have seen so many good documentary films that originated on HDV or AVCHD based camcorders that I thought I should really make an effort to go digital.
As it happened, I attended a Panasonic seminar that convincingly touted the value of a modern H.264 type codec for the “filmakers” vision. So the Sony and Canon alternatives were effectively eliminated as options by the smooth presentations given by Panasonic. This left the choice of cameras down to the HMC40 (cheaper and lighter) or the HMC150. Both can do the things I need to do (24P being a requirement)and both are designed to create a “film-like” look to the image.
My choice of the HMC150 was based on the feeling that 3 1/3″ imagers are going to be less noisy than the 3 1/4″ imagers installed in the newer HMC40 camera. I did not do any side-by-side comparison testing but I am guessing that I am correct in this assumption although the degree of difference may not be noticeable in the final image.
It has been about two months that I have been using this camera. What it can stuff into a tiny SD memory card is amazing to me. The images have been outstanding for a television camera and really not too bad for a cinema camera. I miss interchangeable lenses and controllable depth of field but I don’t miss changing the magazine after a few takes and I dont miss heavy battery packs and Nagra sound recorders.
I did find that the manual iris control on the camera is impossible to use while shooting and that manual focus is also clumsly and can create sound noise while filming if you are using the on-board mic or even the mounted shotgun. The simple solution was a Vari-zoom remote and that fixed the two biggest operational problems I had.
The camera was packed with GVG’s Edius Neo. That works a treat with AVCHD and as long as you have a decent modern laptop with sufficent speed and memory, it is fast enough to operate and to render out edit files to disk or SD card. I prefer to have the final finishing completed by a real editor (probably using FCP) but I can manage the rough edits with Edius without too many problems.
So, I am not sorry. This is the first digital cinema type camera that I have purchased and it will probably be the gateway drug to a Red One or something like that. I miss film but if you are not making a feature film with multiple rented 35mm cameras (paid for by someone else), why not use a camera like the HMC150? The cost of the hardware is more than offset when compared to running a S16mm camera to create 60 minutes of finished projectable film. SD cards are cheap. Digital projectors are getting better and DI from inexpensive digital cameras to 35mm film neg is possible if the content is good enough to justify the cost.
Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder Feature
- Full range of HD formats: 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p (Native); 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p (Native)
- Higher bit-rate recording than consumer models (21 Mbps PH Mode)
- 13X Wide angle 28 mm lens out of the box (35mm equiv.); 1/3-inch CCD Progressive Imagers
- Waveform Monitor, Vectorscope plus two Focus displays for accurate, quick focus
- 3.5-inch LCD monitor displays thumbnails for quick non-linear access to clips
Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder Overview
The powerful tapeless AG-HMC150 joins the Panasonic line of professional HD camcorders. This AVCCAM camcorder features highly-acclaimed functions for the popular AG-DVX100 Series of DV-tape based camcorders to tapeless HD recording. Using the cost-saving AVCHD format to record onto SDHC or SD Memory Card media, the AG-HMC150 produces exceptional images and responds to creative production needs. It also features a 28mm (35mm equivalent) wide-angle lens – widest in a professional camera of this class – and a newly developed 1/3-inch 16:9 progressive CCD. It further enhances image quality by adding a higher-quality PH mode to the clean, extended-time recording abilities of the AVCHD format. The AG-HMC150 handles full-pixel (1920 x 1080/1280 x 720) 24p and 30p progressive recording, and includes cinelike gamma and other versatile functions to meet the special needs of creative image production.
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Mar 13, 2010 22:51:43
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