Panasonic AG-HMC70U
I have had a Sony HDR-FX1 for about three years now, and wanted to get another HD camcorder so that I could do multi-camera shoots. I had been looking at the Sony HVR-HD1000U; a long name for a fairly straight-forward camera. The HD1000U is a one chip HD camera in a shoulder-mount form factor. Its big selling point is that it sells for $1,599. That’s basically half what the FX1 cost.
Also appealing – for me - was the shoulder-mount form factor. While I like the FX1, it’s one weakness is that it’s not usable on the shoulder; so most of the time I hold it in front of me. That’s fine for a lot of things, but sometimes a shoulder-mount camera can be really useful.
An additional plus point is that being from Sony – I felt – would mean that color reproduction was probably pretty similar to the FX1, and I thought it would make for a good pairing.
Then I heard about the Panasonic AG-HMC70U.
Like the HD1000U, it’s in a shoulder mount form factor, but it also has XLR audio inputs, which - if you’re using anything other than the on-board mics - is really useful. Like the FX1, it’s a three-chip camera; though they are 1/4 inch chips instead of the 1/3 inch chips on the FX1.
But there’s one other BIG difference between the AG-HMC70U and both the FX1 and the HD1000U; while the two Sony’s record to HD tapes, the AG-HMC70U records to SDHD chips using the AVCHD compressor.
Let’s face it; the world’s going tapeless, and despite my concerns about backing up and archiving all that video data, there’s some big advantages to recording to either memory or a disk drive rather than to a tape. The most significant it that being able to randomly find and access clips immediately, and choose and then immediately transfer them, really is a benefit when you’re the one stuck doing the logging and transferring.
Sony has some tapeless semi-pro cameras; but they start at over $5,000. I just can’t afford that. The AG-HMC70U is much more budget conscious; just $500 more than the HD1000U.
I know the AG-HMC70U isn’t perfect; it’s innards are virtually equivalent to the consumer cameras Panasonic makes. It has very few manual controls, and because it’s from another manufacturer I suspect that color matching with the FX1 will be difficult…but it’s shoulder-mount form factor, XLR audio inputs and tapeless recording made it impossible for me to resist.
So I’ve ordered one…
Also appealing – for me - was the shoulder-mount form factor. While I like the FX1, it’s one weakness is that it’s not usable on the shoulder; so most of the time I hold it in front of me. That’s fine for a lot of things, but sometimes a shoulder-mount camera can be really useful.
An additional plus point is that being from Sony – I felt – would mean that color reproduction was probably pretty similar to the FX1, and I thought it would make for a good pairing.
Then I heard about the Panasonic AG-HMC70U.
Like the HD1000U, it’s in a shoulder mount form factor, but it also has XLR audio inputs, which - if you’re using anything other than the on-board mics - is really useful. Like the FX1, it’s a three-chip camera; though they are 1/4 inch chips instead of the 1/3 inch chips on the FX1.
But there’s one other BIG difference between the AG-HMC70U and both the FX1 and the HD1000U; while the two Sony’s record to HD tapes, the AG-HMC70U records to SDHD chips using the AVCHD compressor.
Let’s face it; the world’s going tapeless, and despite my concerns about backing up and archiving all that video data, there’s some big advantages to recording to either memory or a disk drive rather than to a tape. The most significant it that being able to randomly find and access clips immediately, and choose and then immediately transfer them, really is a benefit when you’re the one stuck doing the logging and transferring.
Sony has some tapeless semi-pro cameras; but they start at over $5,000. I just can’t afford that. The AG-HMC70U is much more budget conscious; just $500 more than the HD1000U.
I know the AG-HMC70U isn’t perfect; it’s innards are virtually equivalent to the consumer cameras Panasonic makes. It has very few manual controls, and because it’s from another manufacturer I suspect that color matching with the FX1 will be difficult…but it’s shoulder-mount form factor, XLR audio inputs and tapeless recording made it impossible for me to resist.
So I’ve ordered one…
Comments
Most importantly, have you been able to import the files in to your NLE?
In particular, are the files compatible with FCO and iMovieHD?