The AG-HMC70 provides entry-level professionals with an easy-to-use high-quality solid-state HD recording solution at an affordable price. The HMC70 is the first shoulder-mount camcorder in Panasonic s professional AVCHD line-up to utilize the new AVCHD High Profile video codec which offers similar image quality to HDV 1080i at about half the bandwidth. This second-generation affordable HD format offers longer recording times and half the storage requirement of older systems. As easy to use as a digital camera the HMC70 records onto standard SD/SDHC cards to assure a fast tapeless production workflow. It gives you fast access to content without fast forward or rewinding and footage is immediately available to editing systems without the download delay and additional cost of a playback deck. Using just one 16GB SDHC memory card the HMC70 can record over 2.6 hours at 13Mbps the HMC70 s highest quality mode or up to 6 hours at 6Mbps the camera s extended recording mode. SD and SDHC cards are widely available and content can be played back in AVCHD-compatible consumer products with SD card slots including Blu-ray players Playstation 3 computers (using an AVHCD decoder software) and a growing number of large HD flat screen displays and front or rear-screen projectors. (This camera uses 43mm filters.)

• Shoulder-mount camcorder featuring AVCHD High Profile video codec


• Includes 12X 38.5mm to 462mm (35mm equivalent) Leica Dicomar wide-angle zoom lens


• Features Optical Image Stabilization-Helps ensure stable image recording for ideal HD capture


• 1/4-inch 3-CCD progressive image system with excellent sensitivity


• Records onto standard SD/SDHC cards to assure a fast tapeless production workflow

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AVCCAM - the Industry's Next Generation Affordable HD... The AG-HMC150 handheld is Panasonic's exciting new introduction to the AVCCAM series. Representing a major step forward in affordable HD video capture the HMC150 utilizes highly efficient AVCHD recording the industry's new long GOP standard based on MPEG-4 to provide stunning image quality and longer record time. The new handheld incorporates three 1/3-inch progressive CCD imagers to produce stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution picture quality far exceeding older Long GOP formats like HDV. It's equipped with a high-performance wide-angle* Leica Dicomar 13x zoom lens and 24-and 30-frame progressive capture in a full range of HD formats making it well suited for all types of projects. With an excitingrange of professional video and audio features and a compact well-balanced design the HMC150 is a "must have" for video professionals and enthusiasts looking for the best in affordable HD. Extra-Long Solid-State Recording: Forget minutes! With AVCHD technology and high-capacity SD memory cards the HMC150 provides hours of beautiful high definition recordings at professional bitrates up to 21Mbps. And it's as easy to use as a digital still camera with simple playback on many consumer devices and players from computers and video game consoles to Blu-ray players and flat panel displays with SD card slots. AVCHD is currently supported by variety of editing solutio

• Full range of HD formats: 1080/60i 1080/30p 1080/24p (Native); 720/60p 720/30p 720/24p (Native)


• Higher bit-rate recording than consumer models (21 Mbps PH Mode)


• 13X Wide angle 28 mm lens out of the box (35mm equiv.); 1/3-inch CCD Progressive Imagers


• Waveform Monitor Vectorscope plus two Focus displays for accurate quick focus


• 3.5-inch LCD monitor displays thumbnails for quick non-linear access to clips

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Panasonic AG-HMC40 AVCCAM HD Camcorder

• HD formats: 1080/60i 1080/30p 1080/24p (Native); 720/60p 720/30p 720/24p (Native)


• Three newly designed 1/4.1" Progressive 3MOS Imagers for full HD resolution


• 12x Leica Dicomar lens (13 elements in 10 groups) 43mm filter zoom range of 40.8 - 490mm (35mm equivalent.)


• Extremely slow smooth zoom for the precise control needed for dramatic sequences


• Time Date Stamp enables shooting Legal Depositions or Surveillance

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WOW :-)

I received my 150 a little over a week ago. Bought it because I wanted to move up to HD and get out of the tape business. It did not come with an SDHC card. Bought an 8 GB to carry me over until my 16 GB cards arrive via Amazon. I am still on the learning curve on it. Especially liked the large comfortable color view eye piece. I was also amazed by the clarity of the video play back on my 48" LCD screen. Used the three cable output first that came with the camera( Video Lt. Rt. Audio )



Very clear video much clearer than my trusty old Canon GL-2 It does not come with an HDMI cable. Bought one locally and tried it. Plugged one end into the HDMI out port on the camera and the other end into the HDMI port of my TV. I was blown away by how clear it was !! The video was clearer than some of the stations I view in HD.



On playback you are given a thumbnail of the first frame of each scene you shot when you turned the camera on. On playback you can skip around the scenes you want to view or delete if needed. The focus assist is another nice feature. When you use it it momentarily zooms in on the middle of your next shot so that you can fine focus if needed.



It has many other features that I have not tried yet. On editing bought the Pinnacle 12 Ultimate because it is set up to handle the AVHCD format and a PC with the AMD quad Phenom processor with 3 GB of RAM. Waiting for a more powerful graphics card to arrive before trying to edit in this new format. The battery that came with it is small. Would recommend buying the larger battery as soon as you can to balance it out. Right now it feels a little out of balance because of the smaller battery. Also liked the solid magnesium body. No plastic anywhere ! Overall I am impressed with this camera.



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Best camera for the price!!

It was a long wait but finally got it last week and then took it for a trip right away its performance it's outstanding I got this camera for a TV show we are producing after seeing a few options we decided to get this one because of several reasons:



- Size the camera is very compact for a camera that provides broadcast quality image the size is amazingly small.

- Construction this camera has most of its body made out with metal panels that makes it very solid and also makes it reliable also the set up of the buttons are easy to access.

- Price there are other models in the market that could deliver a similar quality or probably a little better but the cost is at least $1k more if you think like I do "creativity is the main ingredient for a good production" spending the extra cash doesn't really make a difference as long as you are aware of the camera's capabilities and limitations but there is always ways to improve performance in some conditions that could affect the correct functionality of your equipment.

- Tapeless technology we bought another AVCHD camera a little less than a year ago we use it mostly for action shots and underwater recording the transition was effortless the advantages and capturing time are reduced to minimal and the quality is amazing with this model we found that its quality is even better than older models and editing is a lot quicker also recording cost are cut to almost nothing with new SDHC cards that can be used over and over without loosing quality... Just this fact makes it a must buy!!!



After using it for this little time I have managed to work around its many controls and get exactly what I want from it the response to low light is not the best but it's decent you can always add a good light for little money and resolve that problem also the sound quality is excellent I didn't get the optional xlr adapter piece for it but I am using a 8mm wireless mic system that combined with this little fellow deliver great results!!



In short words: "the new Panasonic AG-HCM40 is not the best camera money can buy but to my opinion it's the best camera money can buy for this price!!"More detail ...

Best camera for the price!!

It was a long wait but finally got it last week and then took it for a trip right away its performance it's outstanding I got this camera for a TV show we are producing after seeing a few options we decided to get this one because of several reasons:



- Size the camera is very compact for a camera that provides broadcast quality image the size is amazingly small.

- Construction this camera has most of its body made out with metal panels that makes it very solid and also makes it reliable also the set up of the buttons are easy to access.

- Price there are other models in the market that could deliver a similar quality or probably a little better but the cost is at least $1k more if you think like I do "creativity is the main ingredient for a good production" spending the extra cash doesn't really make a difference as long as you are aware of the camera's capabilities and limitations but there is always ways to improve performance in some conditions that could affect the correct functionality of your equipment.

- Tapeless technology we bought another AVCHD camera a little less than a year ago we use it mostly for action shots and underwater recording the transition was effortless the advantages and capturing time are reduced to minimal and the quality is amazing with this model we found that its quality is even better than older models and editing is a lot quicker also recording cost are cut to almost nothing with new SDHC cards that can be used over and over without loosing quality... Just this fact makes it a must buy!!!



After using it for this little time I have managed to work around its many controls and get exactly what I want from it the response to low light is not the best but it's decent you can always add a good light for little money and resolve that problem also the sound quality is excellent I didn't get the optional xlr adapter piece for it but I am using a 8mm wireless mic system that combined with this little fellow deliver great results!!



In short words: "the new Panasonic AG-HCM40 is not the best camera money can buy but to my opinion it's the best camera money can buy for this price!!" More detail ...