Just noticed the price on the Sony site Sony Product Detail Page - HXRMC1/ACC (http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-broadcastcameras/cat-hdv/product-HXRMC1%2FACC/). Seems a little expensive for a repackage of HDR-TG1 consumer camera!!! That's over 3 times the price. I was expecting it to be 50% to twice the price.
Ron Evans

Sony knows that it’ll be used for a lot of professional applications so their pricing it accordingly but there is one other HD POV system and it’s from Panasonic. I don’t think they released the price yet.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/panasonic-p2hd-dvcpro-hd-camcorders/143688-panasonic-pre-nab2009-press-releases-complete.html

That looks like a nice unit too.

Ron Evans

The current B&H price for the MC1 is $2,900 and with the specs of the Panasonic being much, much better, Sony will have to lower it if Panasonic puts a similar price tag.
Sony | HXR-MC1 POV HD CAMERA w/MIC - MONITOR | HXR-MC1/ACC | B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/607991-REG/Sony_HXR_MC1_ACC_HXR_MC1_POV_HD_CAMERA.html)

The fact though is that HD POV cams usually costs MUCH more, even if this is a repackaged consumercam, its still a bargain for what it is.

What Panasonic has planned are even more interesting...can't wait to see that one.

Just finished our first shoot with this camera, we put it in the cockpit of a WW2 aircraft and the PQ is outstanding.

hi Steve,

I m also planning to buy this camera at London. you say it's PQ is outstanding.so is it better than TG1 ? can you compare it to EX1-3 ? or can you share any footage ? is it production model ?

thanks.
alkım.

Well it cut perfectly with our EX3 footage, there is a clip here, but it's not in HD so I'm not sure how much use it is. Just for reference the large wide shot in the cockpit of the aircraft is with an SD camera.

I'll try and post an HD version on Vimeo later in the week.

http://www.flyingmachinestv.co.uk/storchfirstflight.wmv

The picture quality is the same as the TG1/TG3, but the versatility is far greater. It's a really nice package. I just wish the lens was wider and it had audio in.

However both of those can be sorted with a wide angle adapter and a modification to add an audio input.

Sony knows that it’ll be used for a lot of professional applications so their pricing it accordingly but there is one other HD POV system and it’s from Panasonic. I don’t think they released the price yet.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/panasonic-p2hd-dvcpro-hd-camcorders/143693-panasonic-pre-nab2009-press-releases-complete.html#post1011330

Where can i find out more about this camera? I tried to view the above link and it did not work.

We were lucky to get our hands on one from a local store here in the Bay Area, and we've been extremely happy with the results. The documentary project my team is working on right now involves lots of POV footage, and we've actually mounted the MC1 on the outside of aerobatic aircraft doing over 180mph with great success. It's a fantastic camera and well worth the cost - the only downside that I see is the AVCHD workflow, which seems to consume a huge amount of space (Around 1gb/min.) when importing at full quality into FCP in ProRes422.

Stay tuned, we should have some footage up shortly, I'll try and post it here.

Where can i find out more about this camera? I tried to view the above link and it did not work.
Chris Hurd must have moved it.

Here’s a link to an outside source:
Panasonic Announces Its New AG-HMR10 AVCCAM Compact Recorder and Multi-purpose Camera Head | The Briefing Room (http://blog.digitalcontentproducer.com/briefingroom/2009/02/17/panasonic-announces-its-new-ag-hmr10-avccam-compact-recorder-and-multi-purpose-camera/)

3x ¼” CMOS chips with a native pixel count of 1920x1080 each, which is the same that’s used in the Panasonic TM300. To put things in perspective, the Sony V1u uses chips that are about the same size.

Here is a quote from that site:
“The handheld unit records stunning full HD 1920×1080 resolution images in three recording modes – the highest quality PH mode** (average 21 Mbps/max. 24 Mbps), HA mode (approx.17 Mbps) and HG mode (approx.13 Mbps). The HE mode (approx. 6 Mbps) records at 1440×1080. The HMR10 records in HD formats including 1080/60i, 1080/50i, 720/60p and 720/50p.”

the only downside that I see is the AVCHD workflow, which seems to consume a huge amount of space (Around 1gb/min.) when importing at full quality into FCP in ProRes422.

If only we Avid users were that lucky....no sensible way of direct import in Composer yet.

So what’s the full story between AVID and AVCHD? Is it really worse than Final Cut? Is that for all AVID products?

Avid is going to be at NAB and I’ll be extremely happy if both Apple and AVID offer native AVCHD editing by May. I’m going back to college to upgrade my associates to a Bachelors degree and it’s not funny that 2 of the editing programs that they offer dosn't fully support AVCHD.

Just an update - my producer (who owns the camera I rigged this past weekend) just sent me a quick clip of the footage from the acro flights we filmed. As he states on the vimeo page, vimeo does not do this footage justice, but it gives you a good idea of what this camera can do!

Guneet flying with Ben Freelove on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/4072109)

Filmed using the MC1 and the wide-angle .7x adapter mounted between the center struts of the pitts S-2 biplane. We could have pulled the shot back a little more but I wanted to make sure the camera was mounted securely, which involved fixing it two two struts instead of one.

A photo of me rigging the MC1
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs028.snc1/3163_506151987217_201600113_30238130_7678329_n.jpg

Enjoy!

Wow, we would never be allowed to disrupt the airflow across the exterior of an aircraft like that here in the UK. There was a crash a few years back caused by a mini cam that was mounted to an aircraft fuselage. The small camera was enough to disrupt the smooth airflow over the tail which led to the loss of control of the plane during a stunt routine. Be careful, aircraft and airflows are fickle things!

Nice shot though, shame the camera doesn't have a wider lens, the Sony adapter just isn't wide enough in my opinion. I'm using some nice 0.45x adapters that have minimal distortion on my MC1's. I think a wider shot would have shown more background which would have enhanced the sense of motion.

Completely agree on the wide angle, but the shot doesn't bother me as-is. We chose solid mounting over super-wide shots. That being said, can you direct me to the 0.45x adapters and maybe where to get them here in the US?

As far as airflow disruption goes, I have a lot of experience mounting cameras on aircraft - it's something I've done quite a bit of, and I have a good understanding of what will and won't affect an aircraft like this. The pitts has a lot of "junk" hanging off of it to begin with, and this camera was mounted in front of the canopy, which is obviously in front of the tail a good bit. Even then, the MC1 has a very low profile, as did our mount, so airflow disruption and/or tail stalling was of no concern to us or the pilot, who also has lots of experience with camera mounting.

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

New footage up! Obviously Vimeo does not do this justice, but you get the idea.... HD Aerobatics at Tutima Academy on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/4114802)

Wow, thank you for posting this. I didn't notice any rolling shutter effect from the POV cam. If I had the money I think I would choose this over the EX1....it seems like this camera offers a much wider range of possibilities for unique shots. I wish the lens was a little wider, and that it had a more iris blades instead of what I assume to be four blades....but that is just personal preference.

Wow, thank you for posting this. I didn't notice any rolling shutter effect from the POV cam. If I had the money I think I would choose this over the EX1....it seems like this camera offers a much wider range of possibilities for unique shots. I wish the lens was a little wider, and that it had a more iris blades instead of what I assume to be four blades....but that is just personal preference.

The image quality is definitely insane, but I would not consider it to be an alternative to the EX1. I have an EX1 and I would not let it go for anything else, although working with these two cameras now certainly has me hooked, and I may just have to buy my own MC1 at some point if I'm doing enough of this work and it seems like a logical investment.

Enjoy!

Think the Sony product has a different traget compared to the Panasonic cam. I also like to buy one of these cams and today I had first time the chance to see the Panasonic package. So when you compare it to Sony it doesn't look to be so perfect for extremsports, where a it can get a little bit dirty or also water will be the problem.

Also the Panasonic recorder and camera is bigger than the Sony product. So I think I'll chose the Sony for the stuff I'm filming, but I love the fact that the Panasonic can record 720p60.... so I think everybody has to decide what he needs. For a helmet camera Sony will do a better job.

Some in-cockpit Mustang footage shot with HXRMC1's, simply the best minicam I've ever seen.

YouTube - The Horsemen at Flying Legends 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoZWncrIbfQ)

Are you able to Log and Transfer the MC1 into FC using Pro res with this camera? I am close to buying but want to make sure this works. I am on FCS 6.0.6.

Recently I purchased the Sony XR500V and the footage will not import into FC properly. So I have to use iMovie and move the clips into FC as their own sequence which is far from ideal.

Are you able to Log and Transfer the MC1 into FC using Pro res with this camera? I am close to buying but want to make sure this works. I am on FCS 6.0.6.


Yes you can

Thank you Steve that is great news.

What wide angle are people using with the MC1 to increase the field of view?

Paul, we are using this: the Sony | VCL-HG0730A 30mm 0.7x High Grade Wide Angle | VCL-HG0730A (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/540087-REG/Sony_VCL_HG0730A_VCL_HG0730A_30mm_0_7x_High.html)

Thanks Trevor,

Have you tried anything wider?

Still trying to figure out a housing for the camera head to be on a pole cheap.