I have been thinking of selling my Sony EX1r and replacing it with a Canon 5D II and a HMC150.

I am a photographer and have the 1ds III and 1D IV bodies with lots of L glass. I do a few weddings a year that include very basic video, mainly solid video with a highlight show mixing video and stills. I do have a Sony PMC-D50 so have a good audio source.

I need a good video camera that can be unmanned on a tripod at the back of the church.
I feel the 5DII will give me a 2nd, or 3rd video camera, and also serve as a backup to my 1D bodies.

I use Adobe Premier CS4 to edit, and really wanting to stay under $4000 and tapeless, but need it to mix well in editing with DSLR's.

Would this camera fit the bill, or would you suggest something else?

From what you are saying is your requirements, I would say that the 150 would do the job fine. You also might consider the AG-HMC40 as a cheaper alternative, but I like my 150. They both have long running ability, so you can set it on a tripod and forget it, while you get your closeups with the Canon, or something like it.

I have a new this month HMC150 and about a 4 month old 5D MKII camera body. Actually I have two of them. I would be willing to trade them for your EX1. Have boxes and all accessories for both. Interested, let me know and I can give you more info.

Hi Denny,

I think you would be happy with the 150, we have 2 of them and an HMC-40. I recommend the 150 over the 40 if you are just going to have one. The 150 does much better in low light, and it's got a wider lens. You'd be frustrated with the lack of wide angle coverage of the 40 most likely (about 28mm equivalent vs. 40mm between the two cameras I think), and in low light you'd probably have a harder time getting it to look good next to the Canon video. You'll also love that you can get up to 3 hours of straight video on one 35GB SDHC card with either of these cameras. Just turn it on and let it roll. You will need an extra battery though, I think you'll only get a couple of hours of life out of the battery that comes with it. Get the big one, about $140, and you'll be good on battery life.

Robert