Looking for facts
 

I somewhat followed this camera early on but am finding myself more interested in it as I narrow my choices for a new camera and was looking for good solid information from you guys who have been using it in the real world for a while now.

Early on it was being said that 720 was where this camera would shine but have you found this to be true? Is shooting 720 on this camera that much better than shooting 1080 if at all?

How well does the 150's 1080 hold up to say the Sony FX1000's 1080?

Anything you don't like about the camera? Any concerns over build quality or other considerations I might want to weigh?

Is anyone making 3rd party batteries for the 150? How long do the largest batteries last?

I know I'm asking a lot but I just want to make an informed decision and haven't stated looking at the 150 again till just recently.

I am am the exact same boat as you Ethan and am finding it hard to sort out the facts. I was heavily leaning towards the z5u and fx1000 as a second camera (for mainly weddings), and am now starting to look harder at the HMC150. I wish I could write more by way of pointed questions and comments, but have to run at the moment.

I think answers to most of your questions are already answered. I will add a little below.

I initially shot in 1080i to match my XH-A1. Now I tend to shoot in 720P30 or 24 since I got rid of the A1. I really don't see much difference.

I have seen other posts making comparisons. I had the XH-A1 and switched to the HMC-150.

No and no.

No. The largest battery lasts much longer than an event shoot. Battery life isn't really any concern at all.

The HMC-150 is a nice camera. It took me a while to get used to it over the XH-A1, but now I love it.

Jeff- thanks for your reply. It was the frustrating search for answers that led me to post my questions in the first place. Hopefully I'll receive more informative answers like your own.

By the way, what is the model number of the large battery? Is it the VW-VBG6PPK? The reason I'm asking is cause I figure I'd get better information from real world users than websites. I've seen on fullcompass they claim the thing lasts 3 hours 50 minutes but what kinda times are you guys seeing?

Ethan- correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you currently using an fx1000? Are you just adding on or looking to switch to a different camera? I am in the process of deciding what to do for HD (z5 & fx1000 or else two HMC150's).

Mike - It's FX7's for me. I've been seriously considering the FX1000 for a little while now and haven't really looked at much else till this week. The 150's really caught my eye and I'm kinda leaning toward it at this point. Who knows what if anything I'll get since most of my purchases tend to be well informed spur of the moment decisions. I just like to have as much information as possible when I get around to hitting the buy button at B&H.

I am in the EXACT same position. I had disregarded the 150 and was retty solid on the 1000 and z5u until two days ago and am now more strongly considering it by the day. Mainly because of concerns over flashes and rolling shutter. If it weren't for that, I would go with the Sonys for what I think are better low-light potential and better sensor block specs. I am really interested in solid-state media over tape as well.

I'm considering the HMC150 over the FX1000 now for weight reasons (stedicam) and the benefit of onboard XLR's. If they're fairly equal at 1080 then I might just go with the HMC150 even though it will cost an extra $500 or so to get into due to the need to buy additional batteries and cards that I wouldn't need with the Sony. I can get around the lesser low light performance of the 150, I mean I've been using FX7's for more than a year now and have learned how to deal with those issues and the 150 will be a step up in that regard.

Any of you HMC150 owners care to comment on it's ability at 1080?

I have never used my 150 in 1080p mode so I cannot comment there. However it does have very good low light, I doubt you would be disappointed.
It's just a really nice cam, rugged, versatile, honestly nothing can come close to it in its price class.

I have had mine a few weeks, I was shooting with a little HV30. I too considered the FX1000 and the XH A1 which are both great cameras! I find the 1080p mode to be fine. I have had no artifacts, and the quality is a bit better than HDV. I love the focus features and the wave form monitor on this camera, the wide angle lens is also very nice and the low light is good even at 1080. I don't think you would go wrong here as long as you can handle the AVCHD workflow this camera puts out. I shoot mainly stock footage so I use Cineform then I put that into AE for a final touch-up. The Cineform code is very high quality and it renders much better in AE then HDV did. Hope this helps.

Hi Ethan,

Just recently those who were saying that the camera is stronger in 720 than 1080 have considered changing their view.

I think the HMC150 looks georgous in 1080. You can view some raw footage and decide for yourself. I made a post about downloading some of my raw footage. It's down a few posts on this forum.

Mark- are any of your samples or highlights on your website using the HMC150? Or are you not that far along with that camera yet?

Hi Mike,

I do have one Highlight that was shot entirely with the HMC150. I will post it.

Hi Mike and Ethan,

I recently had a chance to do some testing with the HMC150 and Z5. I had previously seen some footage with rolling shutter, but it had usually been on the internet. Seeing the negative results of rolling shutter on a large screen TV was really enlightening.

When one flash goes off, you notice it looks different. When multiple flashes go off...well...it's quite ugly. Then when you slomo it...let's just say, it's not acceptable to my standards.

If all cameras used CMOS it would be one thing, but since the HMC150 uses CCDs we have an excellent alternative to the FX1000/Z5.