I'll post my opinion as soon as I get mine. I've had a deposit down on a pre-order since August 2nd.

I too am working in Final Cut Studio and am wary of the transcoding... But a native AVCHD update seems likely

Except the HMC150 still has the same low-resolution sensors as other Panasonic cameras, so will presumably yield softer images than any competing products. If you like the look of Panasonic footage the HMC150 is a handy alternative to the HVX200A, but that's about it.

Yes, get the Sony EX1: higher resolution and better depth of field plus tapeless recording for under $10K. :-)

The OP was asking about $3500 cameras. As you mentioned, the EX is over that budget. Also, not to start a flame war but in the industry the HVX seems to be asked for more than the EX1.

All other HD cameras in that price range produce sharper images than the Panasonics, so saying the HMC150 "owns" its competition is questionable. It sounds like an excellent camera for the price, but let's not get carried away with superlatives.

Regarding the EX1 versus HVX200 sales, that depends what type of work you're discussing. One of our local dealers is selling EX1s as fast as he can get them, mostly to corporate customers like churches, casinos and so on. Indie film-makers have been fans of the HVX, but some are now showing an interest in the EX1. Both are good tools for the price.

I don't want to digress ... but do a lot of indie producers use the JVC HD100 or 110?

Heh heh... I must admit to being a proud soon-to-be HMC owner. I do agree that the HMC150 represents an amazing value, a solid tapeless performer at the XH-A1 price point.

Jay, I can understand someone being indecisive about buying the HMC150 or the Canon XH-A1, but why in the world would you say "good-bye to an XH-A1 that you already have?

Index of /~dvxuser/PRIVATE/AVCHD/BDMV/STREAM

Reference clips shot by Barry Green. If you haven't checked these out yet, then you could be selling this camera a little short. The 720/60p mode clips looked very good.

I think the 150 will be a very good 720p camera for the money. And although it can do 1080p/i it appears that 720/24 is the sweet spot for the least amount of compression and the codec doesn't seem to noise up or break at all.

Cheers.

Here is a new HMC150 brochure from Panasonic. We're getting close!

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasoni...0_brochure.pdf

Thanks Darren.

The brochure also includes a good explanation of MPEG4 Intra frame prediction with variable block size vs. HDV MPEG 2 with fixed blocksize. That is why I'm seeing less noise (if any at all) in sample clips from this camera vs.HDV 720p and 1080i.

The one thing i thought was a little off target was the explanation on 2x, 5x, or 10x digitial zoom.,,,, "magnification equivalent to 130x zoom without the drop in light intensity that happens when using a lens extender." I'm sorry but at 130x digital zoom will crap out and loose rez so badly, who cares about loss in light. I think we'll sacrifice that 1/2 or more stop loss for a lot more clarity thank you. At least you can correct in post.

Cheers.

Didn't you see the photo next to the 130x zoom, it looked great. :)

Just kidding.

BTW, there is a lot of info in that brochure. Very informative.

This camera has caught my eye.

It has caught my eye too, but I am still not sure if I should get a 720p camcorder instead (like the JVC HD110) or the Canon XH-A1. It could well be that the JVC, for example, gives better footage.

Any word when it will be shipped and what the waiting period will be if ordered through BH PhotoVideo?

October 2? It's really not confirmed but I think I heard that date mentioned.

Speaking of JVC cameras, this video is worth viewing. It is an interview with Semir Nouri, Product Manager of JVC Europe. Lots of great info about 720p60 which definitely applies to the HMC150.....

http://www.macvideo.tv/camera-techno...ticleId=104032

That interview is great stuff! Thanks for posting it. So JVC will very soon switch to SD card recording as well, interesting!

Interesting idea to put HDV onto SDHC cards. It makes for easier editing at the moment... Sure hope FCP edits AVCHD natively and quickly with the next update!

But Sony have done virtually the same with the Z7 and S270, though onto CF instead of SD.

The beauty of both their approach and now that of JVC is that one has a choice of tape or solid state depending on the situation. Or both - solid state for ease of editing, keep a tape for backup. That seems a far better choice at the moment than solid state only recording.

I noticed there is a HMC-152. Seems to do it all compared to the 150. It can do PAL+NTSC. Is that the only diff?

http://panasonic.com.au/products/inf...contextID=4168

That's the Aussie version of the HMC-150 that can shoot upside down. ;-)

Cool, no need to flip the DOF adapter footage in post! ;)

Fat32
 

I read in the manual that the cards record to fat32 format. Does this format only record in 2gb segments or can I record a full 3 hr segment on one 16gb card without breaks?

Jon Schwartz
CA Video Productions

PS: I am super excited about the time code synch feature. What a great feature for multicam events.

Focus and Zoom
 

Does anyone know if you can zoom and focus at the same time? I know it sounds pretty stupid but Canon had that big problem with their XL series (not HD cams). You had to buy the pro lense at $1400 to get around that "stock lense" issue. I have no experience with Panasonic cameras at all, which is why I'm asking. I'm very interested in using this model to replace my Canons. Thanks.

-Michael

Must say, although I realize most are receiving their's in the mail, it is a little surprising not hearing from anyone regarding the 150. It having been on the shelf for over 12 hours.

Everyone is probably out shooting em'

I know I would be!

At NAB I heard Barry Green say that you could shoot 12 hours of one continuous take so it must span seamlessly like the HPX170. The HPX and the HMC are very similar we are finding.

I received mine this morning!

I shot some unboxing photos for those interested.

Congrats Darren. It looks pretty small and lightweight. Look forward to any comments about the camera's functionality from you.

Cheers.

Nice! I like the Crossziel mattebox and rails.

My understanding is that FAT 32 allows up to a 4GB file. The reason for FAT 32 is that this is the common format for both MACs & PCs. If you try to record beyond 4GB (about 22 - 23 minutes), the camera keeps recording, but it's put on a second file. The recording does not have a break in that you do not drop anything, but the video recording does switch to a second file.


Bob Diaz

Thanks!!

For those interested, I have shot some test footage in all the framerates and posted it online. It's the first chance to download some production model HMC150 footage onto your own system to assess and play around with.

http://hdmuse.com/HMC150_Test_Footage_Sept_25_2008.zip is the PRIVATE folder right off the card (inside another folder then .zipped)
http://hdmuse.com/HMC150_Test_Footage_Sept_25_2008.rtf is a log of all 32 clips with framerate and duration

Have fun with it everyone!!

-Darren

Im going to write up a very basic first impressions comparison to the XH-A1 after I learn the control features a little more.

Darren, which camera are you coming from?

I was using a Sony DSR500WS for most of my work. I also used Z1U/V1U's so coming from all Sonys is a real change. Like you, I need to learn the controls on this camera! I shot all the test footage yesterday thinking this camera is not very responsive to exposure adjustment. When I got home I discovered the AUTO/MANUAL switch was still on AUTO. Doh! Footage looked fine though, and as a result I did learn that the HMC does allow you to "fine tune" while still remaining in AUTO. Download the footage and see for yourself!

-Darren

Darren,

Since you are coming from a DSR-500, how does the servo motor feel in the lens?

Is it smooth?

Does the transition from not moving to a slow creep happen easily or is it jumpy?

Thanks

Well it sure isn't the Canon 2/3" lens I'm used to but then again, I think that lens alone was around $8,000. The HMC150's servo creep is too fast in my opinion, from stop to slowest creep seems abrupt. The manual zoom has a slight "bind" to it which makes snap zooms, well, not as snappy.

Again, I'm comparing it to a $8,000 lens. When we remember that this lens is included with an amazing $3500 camera then all my criticisms start to fade away and mean very little! But you did ask....

-Darren

On my final cut 6.03, some of the clips you posted started with a few glitched frames -- is that my system's fault or the camera's? Others I can't ingest at all... I see nothing but green; which is to be expected, I guess with some of the frame rates. Most are ok in final cut.

Chuck, just update to FCP 6.04 through Software Update. No one else noticed any glitched frames at all. Everything reads in super simple using Log & Transfer, transcodes to ProRes and LOOKS GREAT!

Darren,
I think you're footage is impressive. I have two things though. #1 I get bad stuttering on your clips. Anybody know that? The other thing is what was your gain settings etc. for the indoor restaurant shot and the outside street shot. Thanks for all of your work. This is exciting. Oh, I'm in Vegas 8.0c and the footage just imports right in lickity split. It plays without any frame lag. I have a Core2Duo 2.4 and 4gigs of RAM on XPpro.
Bill

Lets start a scene file thread
 

Darren:

In coming fron the Canon XH-A1, figuring out the HMC-150 controls is big change. I like it, but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Even the simplest items like charging the battery is reverse, Panasonic - green off = charged, Canon - green on = charged.

Anyway, I hope a scene file thread will get started soon so we can share presets. Im hoping to accomplish the over-saturated look of the Canon Vivid-RGB preset. I have not had time to look into presets at all yet, but hopefully they are very adjustable and this is possible.

Hopefully Chris will also set up a camera clips folder in a new HMC150 discussion topic.

Yes I came from 10 years of mainly Sony cameras so it has been a bit of a learning curve for me too. I like the HMC's controls and I think they are far better than Sony cameras at this pricepoint, it's just that mastering them that will take some relearning.

YES! Scene file exchange sounds sweeeeet!!

I am really interested in this camera. How are everyone's import/conversion/rendering times?

I also read that it takes a pretty powerful computer to edit footage from the HMC150. Are we finding this to be true?