HMC 40 Becomes a HMC 150 today! at DVinfo.net

Pete Larson · March 11th, 2010, 02:54 PM

Although I have only had the HMC40 for a few weeks, I have really enjoyed it. It seems to do most of what I wanted it to. I love the resolution, tapeless recording and decent manual controls. Things I did not like were its less than wide lens. I had added the XLR adapter and shotgun mic too. The sound to me seemed a bit "Hissy". So I am hopping the 150's built in XLR's are cleaner.

Other cams I have owned in the past were the Canon XH-A1 and the Canon HF S100. The dealer I use has agreed to take back the HMC40 and let me upgrade to the HMC150. Anyone have any thoughts as to why this might or might not be a good decision. Obviously I have thought about the price increase. I will use it for some doc/Eng/real estate work and some weddings too possibly. Although I am mostly a still photographer for wedding work. I think I have carefully weighed the pros and cons of both cams, but I might be missing something perhaps. Thanks for your help!

Pete Larson · March 11th, 2010, 03:03 PM

Oh and BTW, I will be selling the XLR adapter for the HMC40 if anyone needs a good deal on it, its like new! Let me know.

Robert Morane · March 11th, 2010, 06:07 PM

Would you upgrade just because of the sound and Wide Angle?

Tom Bostick · March 11th, 2010, 08:31 PM

supposedly the hmc 40 produces sharper images in good light ,but honestly i think the pros of good low light performance would significantly outweigh that ,wish i could trade my hmc 40 for a 150

Pete Larson · March 12th, 2010, 02:02 PM

Hi users!
I went ahead and upgraded yesterday! I had paid 1899 + tax for the HMC40 and paid 3299 + tax for the HMC150. It certainly sucked shelling out another 1450 bucks but let me tell you, I am glad I did it. YES! I would trade up for wider angle and better audio. Why? Check this out, I was able to sit on my bed hold the cam in my lap, not even a full arms length from my body and I got a full head and shoulders (down to mid chest) shot with head room to spare above my head and breathing room on either side of my body. The cam was only about 10 inches from my face! To put it in perspective, I hold a book at that distance when I am reading. It was unbelievable! Of course this means you can get great audio from the on camera shotgun mic because it was only about 8 inches from my face.

Personally we all know what the specs are of the lens, but I have not seen a wider stock lens on any cam I have owned or used. Oh and I shot it in low light, but no one cares about that. Right?

I was so impressed by the simple lens test, I put it up on You Tube. If I could figure out how to embed the video in this post, Id love to share it with you folks. Anyway, for me I think it was worth it. Oh one last thing, movement/motion. I purposely did some fast whip pans, faster than I see myself doing in real use and the image did not break up or get all crazy distorted like it did when I tried the same on the HMC40. I was shooting at 720p 60p. That is my fav setting for both cams.

Robert Morane · March 12th, 2010, 04:51 PM

Congratulation Pete! Can you just give the link to youtube? Do you still have the HFS100?

Pete Larson · March 12th, 2010, 05:49 PM

Thanks Robert! I will post a link to that and a short rambling of clips I put together today too. No, I do not own the HF S100 anymore.

Here's a link to the video I talked about in the previous post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otSuASGdho8

Robert Welch · March 12th, 2010, 06:59 PM

Pete,

There is a good reason the 150 is more expensive than the 40, it's more camera. We have both, got the 40 first, then got a 150, then got another 150. We use them for weddings. The 150s will be the primary cameras, the 40 will be the 'C' camera and backup. Eventually we'll have 3 of the 150s, but need to spend the money on a new computer for now.

In good light, the 40 is excellent, and if all you do is daylight work then it's a harder sell to get a 150. Otherwise, the 150 is just more versatile. The first thing we did to the 40 was get a x.7 WA lens for it, and the lens hasn't been taken off yet, which is a problem because it has some flare issues. The 150 doesn't need a WA lens, as you pointed out. Also, in low light the 150 is at least decent, the 40 is tough to work with. As for audio, we just use the 40 with a wireless lavalier, so I can't comment on the difference in that regard. I'll take your word that the 150 is better.

The 150 is a year older than the 40, but the 40 wasn't ment to be a replacement. It will be interesting to see what the replacement for the 150 will be. But until then, enjoy yours.

Robert

Pete Larson · March 12th, 2010, 08:17 PM

Here are some simple random clips I took today just messing around. Just a manual white balance in the field and manual exposure. No color changes in post and no editing except to the flowers clip just to try out the slow-mo.

YouTube - Suburban Eden

All of this was shot with with ND 1/64 at 720p 60P, 1/60 shutter and apertures (iris) ranged from F/3.4-9.

March 11th, 2010, 02:54 PM	#1
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	HMC 40 Becomes a HMC 150 today! Although I have only had the HMC40 for a few weeks, I have really enjoyed it. It seems to do most of what I wanted it to. I love the resolution, tapeless recording and decent manual controls. Things I did not like were its less than wide lens. I had added the XLR adapter and shotgun mic too. The sound to me seemed a bit "Hissy". So I am hopping the 150's built in XLR's are cleaner. Other cams I have owned in the past were the Canon XH-A1 and the Canon HF S100. The dealer I use has agreed to take back the HMC40 and let me upgrade to the HMC150. Anyone have any thoughts as to why this might or might not be a good decision. Obviously I have thought about the price increase. I will use it for some doc/Eng/real estate work and some weddings too possibly. Although I am mostly a still photographer for wedding work. I think I have carefully weighed the pros and cons of both cams, but I might be missing something perhaps. Thanks for your help!

March 11th, 2010, 06:07 PM	#3
Robert Morane Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 267	Would you upgrade just because of the sound and Wide Angle? __________________ Measure twice, cut once!

March 12th, 2010, 02:02 PM	#5
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	I did it! Hi users! I went ahead and upgraded yesterday! I had paid 1899 + tax for the HMC40 and paid 3299 + tax for the HMC150. It certainly sucked shelling out another 1450 bucks but let me tell you, I am glad I did it. YES! I would trade up for wider angle and better audio. Why? Check this out, I was able to sit on my bed hold the cam in my lap, not even a full arms length from my body and I got a full head and shoulders (down to mid chest) shot with head room to spare above my head and breathing room on either side of my body. The cam was only about 10 inches from my face! To put it in perspective, I hold a book at that distance when I am reading. It was unbelievable! Of course this means you can get great audio from the on camera shotgun mic because it was only about 8 inches from my face. Personally we all know what the specs are of the lens, but I have not seen a wider stock lens on any cam I have owned or used. Oh and I shot it in low light, but no one cares about that. Right? I was so impressed by the simple lens test, I put it up on You Tube. If I could figure out how to embed the video in this post, Id love to share it with you folks. Anyway, for me I think it was worth it. Oh one last thing, movement/motion. I purposely did some fast whip pans, faster than I see myself doing in real use and the image did not break up or get all crazy distorted like it did when I tried the same on the HMC40. I was shooting at 720p 60p. That is my fav setting for both cams.

March 12th, 2010, 04:51 PM	#6
Robert Morane Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 267	Congratulation Pete! Can you just give the link to youtube? Do you still have the HFS100? __________________ Measure twice, cut once!

March 12th, 2010, 05:49 PM	#7
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	Thanks Robert! I will post a link to that and a short rambling of clips I put together today too. No, I do not own the HF S100 anymore. Here's a link to the video I talked about in the previous post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otSuASGdho8 Last edited by Pete Larson; March 12th, 2010 at 06:03 PM. Reason: Added link to video sample

March 11th, 2010, 03:03 PM	#2
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	Oh and BTW, I will be selling the XLR adapter for the HMC40 if anyone needs a good deal on it, its like new! Let me know.

March 11th, 2010, 08:31 PM	#4
Tom Bostick Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Austin TX Posts: 292	supposedly the hmc 40 produces sharper images in good light ,but honestly i think the pros of good low light performance would significantly outweigh that ,wish i could trade my hmc 40 for a 150

March 12th, 2010, 06:59 PM	#8
Robert Welch Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 40	Pete, There is a good reason the 150 is more expensive than the 40, it's more camera. We have both, got the 40 first, then got a 150, then got another 150. We use them for weddings. The 150s will be the primary cameras, the 40 will be the 'C' camera and backup. Eventually we'll have 3 of the 150s, but need to spend the money on a new computer for now. In good light, the 40 is excellent, and if all you do is daylight work then it's a harder sell to get a 150. Otherwise, the 150 is just more versatile. The first thing we did to the 40 was get a x.7 WA lens for it, and the lens hasn't been taken off yet, which is a problem because it has some flare issues. The 150 doesn't need a WA lens, as you pointed out. Also, in low light the 150 is at least decent, the 40 is tough to work with. As for audio, we just use the 40 with a wireless lavalier, so I can't comment on the difference in that regard. I'll take your word that the 150 is better. The 150 is a year older than the 40, but the 40 wasn't ment to be a replacement. It will be interesting to see what the replacement for the 150 will be. But until then, enjoy yours. Robert

March 12th, 2010, 08:17 PM	#9
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	Sample Video clips Here are some simple random clips I took today just messing around. Just a manual white balance in the field and manual exposure. No color changes in post and no editing except to the flowers clip just to try out the slow-mo. YouTube - Suburban Eden All of this was shot with with ND 1/64 at 720p 60P, 1/60 shutter and apertures (iris) ranged from F/3.4-9. Last edited by Pete Larson; March 12th, 2010 at 08:27 PM. Reason: Added Clip info