Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I use this product to film my tv show, commercial clips, and events. I love the camera but you have to make sure your video editor accepts video files in AVCHD formats. Otherwise you will be stuck! Also, make sure your editor is friendly to that format or you will get a lot of dropped frames. Camera is tough and can shoot well in well lit envornoments. Low light makes the camera footage looks bad. I would suggest getting a light with this camera, but overall coming froma GL2, this camera makes my production rock!

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I've just started using the camera and so far, so good! I'm going to be using it for shooting red carpets and segments around town and it seems easy enough to use with lots of convenient options. I like that the footage loads into my iMac soooo easily! The quality seems nice, too.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

We're using two AG-HMC150s to shoot a low-budget webisode / tv series. In the first two weeks, we ran for over 100 hours across two cameras, and they held up really well. For most of our team the HVX200 was their camcorder of choice before, so they started pretty confident with the HMC.

If you're a Panasonic user already, you'll be 100% comfortable with the HMC. It's physically like the DVX and operationally very much like the HVX. It feels sturdy and fairly reliable.

It shoots to AVCHD which, obviously, tons of cams do now. It's a real blessing that it can shoot over 3 hours to a 32Gb SDHC card (and that you can use an SDHC card versus an overpriced P2 card). But the downside is obviously that the AVCHD format is highly compressed and basically impossible to edit unless you transcode it. And of course, transcoding takes an awfully long time without a lot of horsepower.

Awesome bonus: the high-capacity battery runs about as long as the 32Gb card on a full charge. We've plugged the camera itself in exactly once just to try it. Downside: the operators have become completely immune to the concern that they're exhausting the battery or media when they're rolling, so we tend to end up with full cards without any pauses. Our editor is not thrilled. Plus there are never "good" markers because it's all one shot.

We found the flip-out LCD pretty and bright - too bright, in fact. At its default setting, it usually deceives us into thinking we're better-exposed than we really are. Dialing back the brightness to below the default is the fax, but it was a big surprise at first.

Finally, the audio recording seems a bit weird. Don't know quite how to describe it. Seems to be clipping more often than one would expect, even with the levels carefully adjusted, but the distortion seems fairly minimal when it does clip. It's sort of a bug-that's-a-feature.

Is it perfect? No. Are we planning on buying a third unit? Yes. There are things I'd like to see improved, but it's a lot of bang for the buck, and it's opening us up to a lot of new work opportunities because we can afford to run multi-cam shoots continuously for whole days.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I purchased this camera to shoot depositions. For that purpose it is fine. However, this camera does not feel rugged enough to take in the field under adverse weather and handling conditions. The door for the SD card access and for the HDMI connection are especially flimsy. The lens cover is a big clunky piece of plastic that must be removed and stowed - it's not built into the lens hood.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I purchased this camera to provide deposition services. It's a simple camera to use and produces nice images, but the build quality is very disappointing. The plastic used to make most of the body itself has a very cheap feel to it. The doors that provide access to the SD card slot and the HDMI port are very flimsy. The date stamp is very pixelated on screen. Compared to other Sony equipment I own, this feels like a cheap consumer piece of gear. I would be very hesitant to take this camera outdoors for anything that involved any physical activity.
If you need to shoot depositions, then you will have to consider this camera, and it's suitable for that purpose. Beyond that, I think it is overpriced for the quality of the hardware.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

Its a profesional camera ,easy to use has all u need for any filming situation ,light weight great for extreme sports ...like skateboarding 7 snowboarding..

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

This is a great camera for quality/capabilities vs. price. After loads of research there does not currently exist another camera on the market that can match its caliber of performance.

Great in low light, great picture, the onboard mics are really good (though I highly recommend lavs for interviews and external audio sources for productions-but then, who wouldn't?).

The white balance/color grading is finicky on these cameras, and so is the focus. Fortunately it includes an expanded zoom with enhanced edge definition (and graph) that really helps.

As for white balance and color grading, you must be attentive when composing a shot. I will say that any footage that I was less than careful (completely blew it) with was perfectly salvageable in post.

I have worked with the Sony Z1U and Z7U models, and the Panasonic HMC150 shares their functionality-yet with tapeless workflow-at a fraction of the price.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I used on tv show's

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

After reading many reviews and trying out both the HMC150, the HVX200A, the HPX170 and more, I am so glad that I chose to purchase the HMC150. I've always loved Panasonic because of their unique film-like look that they produce compared to Sony and Canon. It's not overly vivid or surreal like I've seen on other brands/types at the same settings. It's been 10 months now since I purchased two of these with all sorts of accessories and I am so pleased with what this camera can do. I shoot close to 40 Weddings per year now and the quality this camera is putting out is awesome. I know DSLRs are the rage but I am so glad I chose this camera over those. Why? It's perfect for our specific style of shooting where we don't stage anything. I can get the shallow depth of field I want to wow the viewer when shooting the careful beautiful details and yet have the film-like look and clarity for when we are capturing the moments on the move. I stick with the Panasonic SDHC cards and I haven't had one issue. It's more expensive than other brands, but I'm shooting Weddings and there's no going back so I decided not to skimp there. I purchased MANY accessories for our biz to maximize what we can do with these cameras but they have great balance in your hand which keeps it easy to hold still for a long time (they are not nearly as heavy as the HVX) and 720p looks amazing in both 24p and 60p. We occasionally shoot in 1080p but because most people want DVDs anyway, we stick with 720p and the difference is negligible at best. It looks awesome. I decided to come back here after 10 months and do a review because I read these for other products and felt like giving back now :) The price difference between purchasing several SDHC cards vs. P2 cards played a big role in our decision because we shoot for hours and hours. With the extra money we saved I was able to trick out our cams with all sorts of goodies. The editing workflow of capturing on SDHC cards is relatively easy too. Its not quite as easy with FCP as using P2 cards, but it is easy. After being an editor for almost 15 years, I've found Adobe Premiere to actually be as good or even better than FCP and it definitely handles AVCHD footage without any effort or conversion at all. At the end of the day, for what we do, this camera has been invaluable.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I use four of these cameras in the classroom with high school students. Prior to this we were using GL-2's. The main reason for making the switch when I did was to get away from tape. What a difference it made in our workflow.

With the ease of log and transfer student actually began to log their footage and really examine what they were transferring into Final Cut. Students found the camera itself easy to master. The XLR connections and setting switches make it much easier to capture quality audio.

The durability has been outstanding. These cameras take a beating from high school students day in and day out. After two and a half years I have had my first issue. XLR connect #2 went out. Should be a pretty simple fix over the summer though.

These cameras are so solid I am even looking at adding a fifth one for next year.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I was previously using a Cannon GL1 and decided to step up to high definition. Using SD instead of mini dv is a space saver, but it still takes a while to to transfer to apple codec, if you are using final cut. The picture quality is stunning with good lighting. If your in a low light situation you don't want to go past 9db of gain because the picture will become noisy. The xlr inputs are a excellent plus they come with a line and gain switch for if you are getting audio from a mic or a mixer. The 13x zoom is average for avchd camcorders. When you first open the box it looked complicated to operate but after a week it becomes fairly easy to use. Whenever I bring it out on shoot it definitely has that professional look that say ,"this guy is serious" The different recording settings are excellent everything from 24p (movie look) to 720/60p (good for slow motion). I give it 4.5(if they let me) out of 5 because it lose some of its stunning look in low light, but if you are good with color correcting or have the Magic Bullet Suite you will be more than satisfied.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

As a semi-professional videographer, I have been using the Panasonic AG-DVX100b for some years and have been very happy with it. Wanting to join the HD world with a short as possible learning curve, I sought out an AVCHD camera with an operability close to my SD camera - the AG-HMC150 fitted the bill exactly. Coming from the AG-DVX100b, most of the controls are in exactly the same position and work exactly as you would expect them to work.
If, like me, you loved the AG-DVX100b, you will also love the AG-HMC150.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

Video for the web and DVDs. I like that is used a CCD. It may have a little less resolution then some but it has better sensitivity and lower noise and better features then any other in its price class.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I shoot a variety of events, from Red Carpet at Austin South by Southwest Music and Film Festival, to weddings, interviews, and general B-roll. It's light, extremely easy to use, has great low-light capability, and an unusually wide 28mm lens for close-quarters shooting. Built in wave form display, zebra, and EVF detail features get me the perfect shot. For this price point and my needs, there really isn't any cons for me. Recently went on a B-roll shoot in Dallas with two other friends who had Canon's 5D and 60D. The Panasonic beat them out by far on night and day shots as well. the built-in ND filters made the difference.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

The camera is all I dreamed of. I absolutely am in love, and it does what it says it is supposed to do.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

Great camera. I love recording on sd card. My only problem is it doesn't perform well in low light. You can't adjust the iris as bright as the DVX100.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

Exelent camcorder!

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I've been working with p2 cameras for more than 6 years and I am for sure this is the best for the money. with the 16gb class 4 cards for about 34 bucks this cam is the best. if you want film look, maybe you have to consider buying the canon 5d instead of the af100. but if you want documentary style productions this camera can be handle very easy. for any kind or type of productions this camera can give you the look. some are complaining about the sound....guys, can be more specific? is the audio interface or the stereo mic? i found that the volume knobs are hard to maneuver and the menu layout is not the more friendly. i love the vf, but the big lcd gives me some freedom. i want the shutter switch in front as high end cameras have and a second sd slot for continuous recording. the buttons are well positioned as many p2 cameras. i recommend to record in 17mbps or more in very low light conditions. i am sorry if i tell you this, but this camera is not full HD, is using a shift pixel tecnology to fill the frame, but who cares..... nobody will notice it! please shoot in 720p..... is the best for me

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I've used this camcorder for two weddings so far. It's lightweight and looks legit when I walk around with it.

As a previous HVX200 user, I was looking for a more affordable way to capture HD footage for events. The P2 card workflow didn't work for me because it's too expensive and it doesn't hold enough minutes for long ceremonies. Sometimes I go on solo missions, so swapping out cards was too much of a hassle.

The HMC150 captures video on an SDHC card, which is super efficient. Technology has gotten to a point where I can go tapeless if I choose to and still have enough room in one 16gb card (HE mode) to fit an entire day's worth of footage.

Manual controls are easily accessible. I tend to set my controls for auto focus and auto iris if I'm running and gunning. Otherwise, when I'm stationary, I can manually control my focus, white balance, and iris.

What's not so great about this camcorder is the lcd screen. Do not rely on it to judge good lighting. The included battery is small and lasts only 90 minutes, which isn't good enough for what I do. Finally, there's only one SD card slot. I would love to have two slots so that I can have a backup. Other than that, it's just a gripe on the camcorder's limitations. It's an affordable camera, so I try not to complain too much about what it can't do.

Overall, it's a very nice camcorder for a hobbyist who does independent projects.

Comments about Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCCAM Camcorder:

I have been waiting about 6 months for a good price on this camera. being that I bought a camera from b&h a few years who I was excited to see that the camera came down [...]. No brainer