Best Native Mode for HMC-150 at DVinfo.net

Patrick Sepate · November 24th, 2009, 02:09 AM

I just read a blog post that Panasonic's HMC-150 does its best shooting while in 720p - "PH" mode. Has anyone else heard of this? I believe there is some accuracy to this as I have noticed a difference in the footage that at shot at 720p vs. some I shot at 1080p. I double checked, that I was recording at the highest "PH" mode for both.

Frederic Segard · November 30th, 2009, 08:27 PM

Yes, Barry did mention that the sweet spot of the HMC150 is 720p24. If you do a search you will find it. I've asked the same question a few months before.

All shooting modes and frame rates in HP record at 21Mpbs (24 max). So this means that 1080p30 and 720p24 use the same bitrate. So at 720 24, you get less compression, hence better quality.

Denny Lajeunesse · December 3rd, 2009, 05:28 PM

Keep in mind that if shooting green or blue screen you should use 1080P. There is more compression but there is also more color space to sample from.

Frederic Segard · December 3rd, 2009, 05:34 PM

Actually, the color space ratio is the same. You're not really getting more for keying. A tad more resolution will certainly help, but at the cost of more compression... I'm not sure it's worth it. But, for keying with an HMC150, I'd probably get a AJA Ki Pro or a nanoFlash to record in 4:2:2.

Denny Lajeunesse · December 3rd, 2009, 06:39 PM

Sorry, should have clarified.. if you are outputting 720 then shooting 1080P will give you better color.

EIDT: ACtually after rereading the thread it looks like 1080P is best for greenscreen regardless of output. Read the thread.

Denny Lajeunesse · December 3rd, 2009, 08:19 PM

One day when we are all shooting 1080P on a full raster chips and 4.2.2 color... (probably on AVC-I 10 bit), these questions/issues should be moot. :D

Frederic Segard · December 3rd, 2009, 08:27 PM

True! But the day for AVCIntra native 1080p is not coming soon enough for a handheld (HPX/HMC) sized camcorder. I wish it did.

Denny Lajeunesse · December 9th, 2009, 04:23 PM

I talked to Barry recently on another forum and he has changed his opinion on the HMC150 "sweet spot". He now prefers 1080P on the HMC150.

Amos Kim · January 24th, 2010, 09:18 PM

Denny, can you articulate Barry's reasonings for 1080 over 720 on this cam?

November 24th, 2009, 02:09 AM	#1
Patrick Sepate Tourist Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 1	Best Native Mode for HMC-150 I just read a blog post that Panasonic's HMC-150 does its best shooting while in 720p - "PH" mode. Has anyone else heard of this? I believe there is some accuracy to this as I have noticed a difference in the footage that at shot at 720p vs. some I shot at 1080p. I double checked, that I was recording at the highest "PH" mode for both.

December 3rd, 2009, 06:39 PM	#5
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	Sorry, should have clarified.. if you are outputting 720 then shooting 1080P will give you better color. EIDT: ACtually after rereading the thread it looks like 1080P is best for greenscreen regardless of output. Read the thread. Last edited by Denny Lajeunesse; December 3rd, 2009 at 07:18 PM.

November 30th, 2009, 08:27 PM	#2
Frederic Segard Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 209	Yes, Barry did mention that the sweet spot of the HMC150 is 720p24. If you do a search you will find it. I've asked the same question a few months before. All shooting modes and frame rates in HP record at 21Mpbs (24 max). So this means that 1080p30 and 720p24 use the same bitrate. So at 720 24, you get less compression, hence better quality.

December 3rd, 2009, 05:28 PM	#3
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	Keep in mind that if shooting green or blue screen you should use 1080P. There is more compression but there is also more color space to sample from.

December 3rd, 2009, 05:34 PM	#4
Frederic Segard Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 209	Actually, the color space ratio is the same. You're not really getting more for keying. A tad more resolution will certainly help, but at the cost of more compression... I'm not sure it's worth it. But, for keying with an HMC150, I'd probably get a AJA Ki Pro or a nanoFlash to record in 4:2:2.

December 3rd, 2009, 08:19 PM	#6
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	One day when we are all shooting 1080P on a full raster chips and 4.2.2 color... (probably on AVC-I 10 bit), these questions/issues should be moot. :D

December 3rd, 2009, 08:27 PM	#7
Frederic Segard Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 209	True! But the day for AVCIntra native 1080p is not coming soon enough for a handheld (HPX/HMC) sized camcorder. I wish it did.

December 9th, 2009, 04:23 PM	#8
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	I talked to Barry recently on another forum and he has changed his opinion on the HMC150 "sweet spot". He now prefers 1080P on the HMC150.

January 24th, 2010, 09:18 PM	#9
Amos Kim Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 335	Denny, can you articulate Barry's reasonings for 1080 over 720 on this cam?