I'm pretty much decided on getting either the HMC150 or the HMC80... but I can't seem to make up my mind!

HMC80 Pros:
Full-size (Impressive to some clients)
Lots of manual controls on the body
Sharper Image?
Cheaper than 150

HMC80 Cons:
1/4" CMOS chips
Low Light performance
No built-in ND Filters
Full-Size (might look like overkill for smaller projects)

HMC150 Pros:
1/3" CCD
ND Filters
Smaller Body (Useful in certain situations)

HMC150 Cons:
Not as sharp an image as HMC80?
Smaller Body (Not impressive to some clients)
More expensive

Anyone have anything else to add? I am coming from using a Sony PD-170, I will mainly be doing commercial projects and events/seminars.

Thanks

Don't you mean the HMC150 is full size?

No, here is the HMC150
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Panasonic_AG-HMC150P.jpg

And here is the HMC80
http://provideocoalition.com/images/uploads/HMC-80_L619.jpg

Hi Jeff

Quite correct

The HMC 80 is way bigger as it's a shoulder mount camera. I run two HMC72's (the PAL HMC70) and they are very convenient for shooting weddings where lots of handheld shots are needed. If I used the 150 then I would have a stability problem!! The 70 series still have 1/4" chips and I find them more than adequate for even indoor shots. Based on the HMC40 I must admit I was somewhat impressed with the lack of video noise with the newer CMOS chips even with gains of 18db.

When I do wedding receptions I just zap an on-camera LED light onto one cam and for low light situations I use a softbox with 4 x 50W CFL's and get great results. I guess my only real "beef" is that the bigger cam is a little too heavy on the Stedicam...a 150 would be better.

More often than not clients have absolutely no idea about video so a big camera MUST be better than a little one. The client will probably have a camcorder at home or in the office and if you pitch up with a palmcorder they don't take you seriously!! However if the lighter 150 suits your needs better and you have virtually no handhelds then it might be your better choice.

As I do weddings and also Realty shoots that require a lot of portability and handhelds my next upgrades with most definately be HMC80's

That fact that I can operate the 72's (and 80) without having to plunge into touch screen menus is also a HUGE plus for me!!! I can usually change settings on my shoulder whilst filming as opposed to stopping and going thru tons of sub menus !!


Chris

Ah, okay--wasn't up on the HMC80. Thanks.

Jeff, if you're coming from a PD170 wouldn't it make4 sense to stay with Sony to make use of all your NP-F batteries, car charger, Lanc controller and so on? What's with this move to Panasonic? If you want to stay with tape there's the the Z5, or move to SD card with the NX5.

Tom, it's mainly budget related. The NX5 is $1000 more than the HMC150.

And I really don't have that many Sony accessories, just one extra battery, so it's not a huge deal.