Press Release: Panasonic unveils HMC150 pricing and ship date

[Dwain Elliott]

Josh,

You said it yourself!: "much cheaper SD cards and the $4000 price tag."

If money wasn't an issue, I'd have bought an HVX200 or a Sony EX1 months ago!

[Josh Bass]

Let me rephrase, then:

if this camera comes out, what's to keep people buying HVXs?

[Bob Diaz]

I think we are looking at 2 very different class of buyers for the cameras here, the HVX-200[a] and the HPX-170 are going to be about $1,500 to $2,000 more than the price of the HMC-150. (Some have suggested the street price could be as low as $3,495.)

In addition the memory cards cost more for the HVX-200[a] and the HPX-170. A 32GB P2 card lists at $1,650 (about $52 per minute at the maximum data rate). In contrast, a 16 GB SDHC Class 6 card costs $230 (about $2.56 per minute). Both prices come from the Panasonic WEB pages and are list prices.

So to have enough capacity to record 90 minutes, the HVX-200[a] and the HPX-170 require 3 P2 32GB cards @1,650 each = $4,950. The HMC-150 requires one 16GB SDHC for $230. So, counting the cost of the camera and memory card(s), the HVX-200[a] and the HPX-170 would be about $6,000 to $8,000 more than the HMC-150.

However, there are more features and the editing is easier with the HVX-200[a] and the HPX-170.

When you take into account the total costs, camera plus memory, these cameras fall into 2 very different price points


Bob Diaz

[Dwain Elliott]

Now THAT's an excellent question! I can definitely see the HMC150 "cannibalizing" sales of the HVX200.

I am convinced however, that if it meets expectations, the HMC150 will be a seminal model for Panasonic (and the camcorder industry), and they will sell enough of them to easily justify HVX200 lost sales.

[Josh Bass]

Ah! So it's a feature thing, mostly.

[Noah Kadner]

I think the HVX200 still has a place because DVCPROHD is still higher quality than AVCHD. Granted this is a great camera for budget minded DVX100 owners who want to step up to HD but can't afford a full blown HVX200 and the P2 workflow it entails. This camera could be a monster hit...

Noah

[Mark Williams]

I look at the HMC150 as being positioned as a stepping stone camera to the HPX 170 and HVX200a which are more feature rich and use a more robust codec. It might be that the AVC-HD implementation on the HMC150 will be high enough quality for many of us. For me it is simply cost vs. image quality decision and I can afford the sd card storage format rather than dumping P2 cards to a storage device in the field. This looks like it could be another real winner for Panasonic. I can't wait to see examples of how AVC-HD holds up to transcoding to DVCPRO-HD and then edit on CS3. If the transcoding is solid then all the issues associated with editing AVC-HD are moot. Might not even need another computer upgrade.

[Paul Izbicki]

I'm thinking the HMC150 is the HD step up for the aging DVX-100, aimed at those who do not require extensive post efx, due to it's 4:2:0 and long GOP structure. Presumably low budget documentarians, micro/no budget indie filmmakers, others w/o the means to afford HVX200's or Ex-1's.

Panasonic is clearly pushing users to convert pre-edit to DVCPro100 , while Apple is pushing ProRes422. But even w/conversion to intra-frame, the color depth is still based on 4:2:0.

Pana are releasing a DVD prior to shipping, and it will demo the quality of chroma-key possible. Personally, I think the price point, probably mid-$3k range, will assure it a place in the hall of fame, esp. w/all the features it shares w/170.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Mark Williams

If the transcoding is solid then all the issues associated with editing AVC-HD are moot. Might not even need another computer upgrade.

My only question would be how long it will take to transcode 1 hour of footage to the dvcpro codec on a midrange dualcore pc, one of the advantages of using a memory card to film on was increased transfer speeds to your pc but now you get to transfer and hope the convertion process time won't take longer then 1:1

[Mark Williams]

What I am hearing on other forums is 1:1 transfer speed. But I guess we will just have to wait and see.

[Mark Williams]

Here is a little information about the transcoder. It was developed by Mainconcept.
http://www.mainconcept.com/site/news...4.html?L=17970

[Bob Diaz]

Once the 150 and the 170 come out, it should prove interesting to compare the 2 cameras. Both cameras use the same CCD and the same lens. The only difference is the 150 users SDHC and the 170 uses P2.

I''d love to see the videos played side by side....

The 170 offers overcranking, undercranking, single frame, and time lapse. Wile the 150 does not offer these features. Still, the 150 offers all the standard HD modes, so for low budget shooters, the 150 should prove to be within their reach.

Bob Diaz

[Ethan Cooper]

Does the 170 do AVCIntra?

[Bob Diaz]

Originally Posted by Ethan Cooper

Does the 170 do AVCIntra?

Sadly, no... It does do DVCPRO-HD.


Bob Diaz

[Dwain Elliott]

I noticed that there is no mention of Standard Definition (SD) recording in discussions (and information) regarding the HMC150.

Have we (finally) turned the corner with SD? Is the output from a NLE system now generally accepted to be the preferred (if not exclusive) way to provide SD video to a client?