Hey Chris,

Great post! I too am contemplating buying this camera. It looks like it performs great in low light... better than my GL2's at least!

I like the fact it's tapeless, 24p, lightweight and HD. Been waiting for those options in a 2k range camcorder. Just a couple questions:

1. In those videos you created, is the audio coming from the on-board mic? If so, that doesn't sound bad either!

2. One thing I REALLY love about my GL2's is the fact it has zoom controls in the handle and on the grip. It's nice to set the handle to a super slow zoom for graceful shots and then have the grip zoom on a variable setting for quicker zooms when necessary. How does the zoom work on this cam?

I'm only seeing one zoom control on the grip. I'm assuming you can set that to nice slow zooms... but is it easily switchable back to a variable zoom?

Finally, it sounds like you're an Adobe/PC guy. I'm all Mac. Think I'll have any problems importing the footage to my macs (anyone can chime in here!!)?

Seems like a great little cam at an awesome price point! I was almost about to sink my money into Sony FX-7's, but after finding this gem, I'm glad I didn't! Seems like so much more bang for the buck here.

I wish Canon would put out a similar type of camera at the same price point (not the handheld flash cams... nice gadgets but not enough prosumer features)! I'm so afraid of making a switch only to find Canon doing just that in the next few months.

Any feedback from you Chris, or anyone else, is appreciated!

It's not completely terrible in low light, but definitely don't go above 12 db of gain. For me, the definition in good light is awesome, but in low light it's mediocre at best. I'm trying to figure out what on camera lights I want to get, because I got those little $35 ones and they do nearly nothing for this camera in crappy light. It needs something powerful to make a big difference, or at least look nice in low light without graininess. The interview videos are using my the Rode Videomic with dead cat and on the wind cut setting on the mic. The rest of the test videos were filmed using the standard on-camera mic in the wind setting.You can zoom slow(1 speed) using the bottom of the touch screen, or do the same thing on the right side where you hold the camera variably...it's very easy to do both fluid slow zoom stuff or high speed and in between just using the normal one with your right hand.I haven't found a place to set it to one speed like my little canons do.I'm all mac too using Adobe Premier CS4 on my 17" macbook pro. It also loads easily into Imovie if you're wanting to whip something together quick, as well. But, for Imovie to work, you have to connect the camera via usb and let Imovie recognize it when connected to the camera, versus Adobe just recognizing the raw .mts files off the sd card.Well, for me, you can always upgrade. There's always someone looking for a great deal on a used camera. :) I'll be posting up some more videos soon too...

Chris

Interesting... I'm becoming more enamored with this camera. As for the low light stuff, you're right, a nice camera light would solve that problem. I use Sony HVL lights. They're great because you can use only one lamp at 10 watts, or two at 20 depending on what the situation calls for:

Sony | HVL-20DW2 20-watt Video Light | HVL20DW2 | B&H Photo Video

They're relatively inexpensive and I use the 'big' battery on it (one like that's shown in the accessories section on that B&H page). Usually get 3-4 hours of usage out of it. Just buy generic batteries for the light... no need to spend the extra $$$ on the Sony brand batteries.

Did you get a user manual with the camera? I've done some searches online for one and can't find it. The only thing I've found is what appears to be a sales brochure:

https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro...pdf/HMC40U.pdf

I've always found the best way to make a decision on a camera is to read through it's user/directions manual first. Then you know exactly what the camera can do and if it will suit your needs.

Don't forget folks, this is a 1/4" chipped camera. That is the SINGLE most important thing to remember about it. It will not stand up, not even close, to the 150 or most any new camera with 1/3" chips. I have owned and shot weddings with the 150 and it is a very nice camera.

As a full-time pro I can't imagine becoming remotely interested in a 1/4" chip, been there done that and I got rid of it immediately.

To see an example of the difference between the chips can make go, follow the link below and scroll down to the images. The discussion is about 2 models of Sonys, but the comparison is still valid.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-hvr...1-vs-z5-2.html

It's a much smaller camcorder than the rest so expecting chips as big as them is really pushing it. It can get through some places that the bigger cameras can't and without a mic on, it can look like a consumer camcorder. Also, when theirs good lighting, it's much sharper than the HMC150 and shockingly close to the sharpness of the EX1. Just looking at the low-light capabilities or the size of the chips is not a good way to judge a camcorder. The HMC150 has it's benefits and the HMC40 has it's own benefits and neither is better than the other. Never mind the fact that the HMC40 is much, much cheeper.

Melissa,

You'll find the HMC40 manual here:
ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasoni...G-HMC40_oi.pdf

Good luck

Fantastic Dan! Thanks you:) This is a HUGE help.