You'll probably still need an external filter; the built-in one only goes to about 2.5 stops or so.

Using a higher shutter speed causes unnatural staccato motion. There's not necessarily anything "wrong" with that, it's just ... not what's done. It's a different look. It looks choppy. It doesn't flow, like we're used to video moving. Video (and film) have a natural motion blur, using a higher shutter speed eliminates that blur. Instead of feeling like continuous motion, you instead get the feeling you're watching a bunch of still frames.

Use it for artistic purposes if you want, just do so on purpose, knowing that you're diverging from the typical motion look.

It should be noted that a lot of sports tends to be shot at 120 shutter. I have tried that on a HMC150 set at 720 60p 120 shutter and find I prefer the look of the shutter off (well actually 60 when at 60P).

I found 60P be good for showing legs running (as apposes to legs moving in blur) and not overly choppy.

We're shooting Football at night and Hockey. 60P is what looks best for us at the moment, especially for hockey. I'm still testing for football.

It might depend on the sport. With Hockey the puck can appear to leap across the rink when at a higher shutter. You need a bit of blur just to keep track of the puck (to much blur say 30P and it looks weird).

High shutter speeds are like watching TV through a fan. As the blades spin by, temporarily blacking your view several times a second, they give the picture a staccato effect simular to what Barry mentioned.

You guys rock. I'm going to experiment with 1/60 and 1/120 shutter to see what looks best with the hmc40. I really appreciate all the help guys.

Chris

Here's some testimonial videos I put up on Youtube from my Glamis, CA dune trip.

YouTube - MCX-USA RZR Turbo Kit Customer Testimonial - Greg

YouTube - MCX-USA RZR-S Turbo Kit Customer Testimonial - Cliff

YouTube - MCX-USA RZR-S Turbo Kit Customer Testimonial - Doug

YouTube - MCX-USA Prowler XTZ 1000 Turbo Kit Customer Testimonial - Jose

YouTube - MCX-USA RZR Turbo Kit Customer Testimonial - Gary

YouTube - MCX-USA RZR-S Turbo Kit Customer Testimonial - Brenda

All of this whipped together as one video for the SEMA show that just ended...all rough cuts, very little editing done to make them look more professional. I'm very impressed with the camera, and I've found that my matthews tripod when shooting today is a huge help. I'm shooting out in UT today and the next two days, and using the tripod makes all the difference in the world for quality shots. I played it through component out as 1080i, even though I shot it in 720/60p, and it looked outstanding on the television today. Unbelievable actually. The exposure was spot on, colors at +1 chroma look great. So far, I'm very pleased with the camera.

Chris

YouTube - HCR Racing UTV and Side by Side Long Travel Kits in Action

This was shot with the HMC40 in PH720/60P using the Panasonic .7x Wide Angle Lens and no nd filters all shot on a Matthews M25 Tripod. Sound was captured using the rode videomic with dead cat.

Chris

Here's a video I just completed:

YouTube - HCR Racing Long Travel Kits Compared to Stock

It was filmed using the HMC40 in PH720/60p with the following setup:

- Panasonic Wide Angle .7x Lens
- No ND Filters
- Rode Videomic with Dead Cat for Sound
- Matthews M25 Tripod
- OIS On
- Slow Motion is 25% of normal speed
- Edited with Adobe Premier CS4 on a Macbook Pro 17"
- Outputted using Mainconcept H.264 Youtube HD preset, but changed the fps to 59.94 from 24 fps.
- +1 Chroma

Any pointers, comments, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

Hello -

Have you tried viewing your video using the playback capability of a Panasonic HDTV? If so, is there any difference?

I also have the HMC-40 and I've been playing around with it a bit - not much yet as I'm working on some older projects - but I did confirm that my Panasonic plasma HDTV will play the HMC-40 videos "natively." Meaning that I can take the SDHC card out of the camera, pop it into the SDHC slot on my Panasonic plasma HDTV and just start viewing the raw movies/stills. From the fairly limited testing I have done, I'd say the results have been very good.

If you don't have a Panasonic HDTV, you could probably "test" one at BestBuy. I saw a beautiful 65" Panasonic plasma HDTV with the SDHC card slot in the "home theater" area of the store.

Just an idea for a quick check.

Best,

Lee

Hey Chris

Awesome video!! That would sell the product, no question about it!!!

Gosh, those shocks certainly work pretty hard don't they???

Despite the CMOS sensors, there is certainly no evidence of any motion problems either!! The mag wheels might have displayed some odd traits but no-one would notice it!!!

Nice work and a great sales tool for sure!!

Chris

Thanks Chris...never got an email notice that you replied to the thread...sorry.

Here's a quick vid I put together of my bachelor party weekend, mainly just to show you guys what 1080/24p looks like out of the camera. I shot it entirely in auto, and it picked a 1/50th shutter speed I believe most of the time. Keep in mind it's a home video, not edited much at all. :)

YouTube - Brimstone Recreation UTV & Side by Side Rentals - Dec. 4-6th, 2009

Chris