HMC150 with Letus vs Canon 7D on Vimeo

Link to HMC150 Letus Elite vs. Canon 7D


A week ago I asked a question on the HMC150 board, requesting a technical answer. Several posters expressed interest in seeing a side by side comparison of the two setups.

While many with greater experience may have conducted the comparison differently, this is my contribution.

I hope to add a few well lit shots next week.

Doug

Thanks Doug. I think the days of the Letus have passed as your demonstration shows very clearly. With careful setup and good light they can produce decent results, but is seems to be at best a clever, but inefficient work around to try and make a camera do what it wasn't designed to do.

One area where the HMC 150 would have fared positively would have been a scene that would cause aliasing on the 7d (front grill of a truck, hounds tooth cloth...). Other than that, the 150+Letus has few if any advantages and many, many disadvantages. Remove the Letus, and there are many ways the HMC 150 is better than the 7D for certain applications.

Thanks for this post.

I have these cameras but only use the 7D & 5DMKII for still work.

I really need to add these to my video toolkit as the images are clearly nice.

Pro audio seems like an issue though.

Many use the Zoom H4N for audio.

I use the Zoom H4N also. It has better sound quality than any video camera I've used in the past, including broadcast cameras. Syncing and editing adds a little time but not much. Most higher end productions have always used double system sound anyway, so it's not a great leap.

I am a Tascam DR100 fanboy. I think it's a better choice than the Zoom because of redundant power and separate level controls.

I am not employed by Tascam although I should get royalties for all the hype I give them.

while low light is better on a 7d thanks to the 2.7 cmos...compared to 3x1/3 ccd's the panasonic hmc150 does seem more "film" like in the street scene shot.....does anyone else feel this way?

Added 1:40 to front of clip to illustrate well lit differences. The balance of the video is unchanged.

While the 7D did very well in low light, the HMC with it's built in ND Filters make it very easy to maintain a low f-stop to achieve a shallow depth of field in well lit situations. This being said, I did not use the HMC's filters because I do not have filters for the 7D and I tried to compare them on a level playing field. Without external, add-on filters, the 7D is limited to very high f-stop settings or the need to significantly increase the shutter speed to bring the light levels down to usable levels.

The original test, mainly in low light settings, highlighted the strong points of the 7D and weak points of the HMC150. The added clips help illustrate what a great camera the HMC150 really is.

I believe both cameras are excellent in their own right, but together they provide a great double punch for the well lit and not so well lit settings.

i had a choice between a hmc150 used for 2400 or a new 7d for 1900...i went with the 7d, and i am starting to regret due to "auto gain control" on the 7d, and its really shaky hard to stabilize...

the picture quality can be customized, including exposure on the 7d so that post edit is more clean...and looks very similar to red one picture..

but the hmc150 has a very cinematic "film" look to it....and i really dig that tho...

my main camera will be a ex1r, and backup is now a 7d....unless i take it back

Very interesting. but kinda expected those results. The HMC is pretty decent at low light for a 1/3" CCD but no way is it going to match a DSLR's performance with a proper lens. The daylight stuff I thought was comparable with a different feel between the two, both very useable. The low light however, with putting extra stuff on the front of the 150...forget it. Not a fair comparo.
I will be using my T2i as a b-roll/DOF monster with my HMC-150 (no adapter) for general/long-form shooting with pro audio.
My first lens for the T2i (other than the kit) is a 50mm f1/4 which is simply awesome. I think that having both cameras in my "bag-o-tricks" is going to be extremely useful.

what do you think was a better choice of combo...

main camera = sony ex1r
backup alt = panasonic hmc150

or

main camera = sony ex1r
backup alt = canon 7d

what do you think was a better choice of combo...

main camera = sony ex1r
backup alt = panasonic hmc150

or

main camera = sony ex1r
backup alt = canon 7d

I think the 7d is a far better back up. It can do things the EX can't.

Btw, a monopod will give you effective stabilization for $30. I don't find them cumbersome at all, sure, a $1800 Red Rock is more convenient but it's $1800!

im getting the ex1r, i was just making sure that the 7d makes a better backup than the hmc150....

I think the 7d is a far better back up. It can do things the EX can't.

Btw, a monopod will give you effective stabilization for $30. I don't find them cumbersome at all, sure, a $1800 Red Rock is more convenient but it's $1800!

I've found the Bogen 560b-1 monopod with fluid foot ($130) combined with a Velbon PH-368 head ($35) a great combination. Just lock the pan knob on the head so the Bogen's fluid foot does the pans and use the Velbon's tilt. You can also tilt the monopod in conjunction with the tilt on the head to get some minor "crane" type movements when shooting closeups. Small enough to strap to a backpack and weights about 4 pounds.

Surprisingly good kit for such a small investment.

links to this product? also any links to where i can buy those focus sticks, the ones with the knobs so you can focus with a shoulder mount?

and the cheapest matte box, lol

Monopod:
bogen 560b (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=bogen+560b&N=0&InitialSearch=yes)

Velbon Head:
PH368 Velbon PH-368 Vel-Flo 9 Mini-Pro, 2-Way Panhead with Quick Release, Supports 10 lbs. (http://www.adorama.com/VNPH368.html)

Velbon | PH-368 2-Way Panhead | PH-368 | B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/152289-REG/Velbon_PH_368_PH_368_2_Way_Panhead.html#reviews)

what do you think was a better choice of combo...

main camera = sony ex1r
backup alt = panasonic hmc150

or

main camera = sony ex1r
backup alt = canon 7d

both would be great but for totally different reasons.
If you want to use your EX1 for more of a lockdown, get the 7D for closeups and cool shots.

If you want the backup to be the lockdown, get the 150. 32gig card records 200 minutes and the lens is very wide. Use the EX1r for closeups.

I'll be using the 150 for lockdown and audio and the T2i for closeups and DOF.

sweet! i was looking at the sony nx5u but the image is too soft, the ex1r has a beautiful image...i believe thats be cause its a 3x 1/2 cmos @ 2.2mp per cmos....6.6 total...

plus the 7d shoots video quality as good or better than almost all camcorders under 15k...its very comparable to the red one and the sensors are almost the same size, and the red one is 12.1mp and the 7d is 19mp, so with some proper post grading, and picture presets, the 7d is a beast...


and i am getting bitrates in the 45-55 mbps range....thats amazing....

I've found the Bogen 560b-1 monopod with fluid foot ($130) combined with a Velbon PH-368 head ($35) a great combination. Just lock the pan knob on the head so the Bogen's fluid foot does the pans and use the Velbon's tilt. You can also tilt the monopod in conjunction with the tilt on the head to get some minor "crane" type movements when shooting closeups. Small enough to strap to a backpack and weights about 4 pounds.

Surprisingly good kit for such a small investment.

If you want to be really quick and dirty, you can use a monopod with no head, I did that today and the footage is stable.

My monopod has easily adjust sections. I think this is critical as a feature. I believe Bogen makes a trigger adjusted tripod, seems like that'd be nice.

If you want to use your EX1 for more of a lockdown, get the 7D for closeups and cool shots.

For interviews, I use the 7D for wide and the EX1 for close, that way I take advantage of the large sensor on the 7D.

The reason I suggested it that way was the 12 minute limit on recording. I'd hate to be in the middle of something great and have the camera shut off!
All my interviews must be with really long-winded people! HaHa!

For interviews, I use the 7D for wide and the EX1 for close, that way I take advantage of the large sensor on the 7D.

Can you elaborate?? Isn't the conventional wisdom to use the sharper camera for the wide shot?

Hey Doug,
That night shot on the street with the 7D looks awesome! What did you do to eliminate the lens flare from the cars driving toward you?
Thanks,
Zach

Zach,

I did nothing. No filter, no post, nothing. Stock Nikon lens, shooting pretty flat with (Sat & Contrast down), f-stop and ISO as noted.
If you take a look at the second street light, you can see some flare, but you are right about the cars, there doesn't seem to be any flare.

Take Care,
Doug

plus the 7d shoots video quality as good or better than almost all camcorders under 15k...its very comparable to the red one and the sensors are almost the same size, and the red one is 12.1mp and the 7d is 19mp, so with some proper post grading, and picture presets, the 7d is a beast...


Corey,

I would be careful about putting these still camera with a video option on the same plane as $15,000 video cameras. There are some limitations with these DSLRs that make them less than desireable compared to video cameras.

I have done some testing with the 5D and the 7D shooting the same scene and I was not as impressed with the color and overall image of the 7d compared to the 5D.

Also, RED is not a still camera, it is a video camera that can capture a still. Stating the MP number of the sensor might not be a good comparison for video as the entire sensor is not used for video (at least in the Canon, I do not know about the RED).

When I compared the 5D, 7D scene to the EX-1, the EX-1 had a much better and true color representation. I was able to bring the 5D up to match the EX-1 through color correction but I think it is worth pointing out.

well said i agree, the ex1 is the most beautifully made camera for under 10k, at least thats what i think, or maybe ex3...

what do you think?

also what grading or plugins plus settings can i use for premiere cs4 to grade to what you did on my 7d footage?

I don't know what to use in Premiere as I use Edius, but I was just using the normal color correction tools.

There is a visual difference in the representation of colors on my broadcast monitor. Some colors are a bit under-represented and the moire is a real issue.

The EX series is tough to contend with although the Panasonic's have great color as well, both of which look better from a color perspective than the 5D/7D to me.