Just got the HMC-150... quick question

[mark-mvs]

For those of you who currently use (or used to use) the HMC-150/151, how long did you practice with it before you felt comfortable operating it in full manual mode? I just got it yesterday and have been playing around, shooting sample footage and watching the very informative dvd on it by Douglass Spotted Eagle. But because I'm a "better safe than sorry" type of guy, I'm thinking I might use it on full auto for my first wedding or two with it. (Or at least use auto focus and have manual control over the iris.)

Also I really like the look of 24p with the shutter at 1/50 so I think I may use that setting a lot.

Great camera but I'm really gonna have to learn how to find the right buttons on the side when shooting in low light!

Mark

[DavidPartington]

Hi Mark,

We just sold all our HMCs..... (we went all DSLR) but I can tell you we used manual focus 99% of the time.  The only time we relied on AF was at the back of the isle to keep the couple in focus as they came out (recessional).  During the ceremony it was all manual focus. 

Call me old fashioned but I just didn't trust the AF not to pick something in the background or foreground to focus on instead of what I'd hoped it would focus on.   It's not a mind reader for things that are off center (i.e. on the thirds) and I don't like subjects smack in the middle of the frame so AF is pretty useless most of the time unless you have a huge DOF.

The LCD can't be trusted for critical focus without using the focus assist button.   Also, beware that the picture gets a little soft when zoomed in all the way and the iris is all the way open.   

Dave

[DavidPartington]

Oh, just realised I skipped half the question.

100% manual on ALL settings ALL the time except the AF in the recessional. 

Manual White Balance  (don't forget black balance too)
Manual Iris
Manual focus
Manual Shutter Speed
Manual Gain

Zebras are your friend

[mark-mvs]

Wow, thanks Dave, great info there. I don't know what type of camera you had before you got your HMC's but how long did it take you (in terms of practice and reading up on the HMC) before you felt comfortable using it for a wedding? I've been practicing and reading and I have a wedding on April 23rd... not sure if I'll be ready to use the new cam by then.

So basically you were completely manual? I'm assuming that you relied heavily on the Zebras to let you know if your gain and iris settings were correct?

I seem to be ok with the focusing using the graph, the EVF and the focus assist button. Oh and you're right, the lcd monitor just can't be trusted for judging focus or exposure. (If you just change the angle of the screen relative to your eyes a percent of angle it immediately brightens or darkens.

[mark-mvs]

Oh and one more thing... I think I'm going to be in 24p at 1/50 shutter speed most of the time. I really like that look... I'll just have to never pan or pan reeaaaally slow to avoid strobing.

[DavidPartington]

It only took a few days to learn the camera inside out so that I'd feel comfortable being able to go right to the control or switch without thinking about it in a stressful situation.   

I was happy I knew 'what' needed changing within a day and 'where' it was within a couple of days (without having to think about it), but as you know, when the stress kicks in all that will fly out the window.  So, give it a couple of weeks and you should be all good to go.  Use it for 30 mins a day between now and the wedding and you should have no trouble at all.

So basically you were completely manual? I'm assuming that you relied heavily on the Zebras to let you know if your gain and iris settings were correct?

Yes, completely manual, use the zebras for exposure.  Also, be aware that the LCD can be set to different brightness levels which is toggled by a switch near the LCD.  One of our guys was constantly underexposing things and I traced it to the LCD brightness setting on his camera being different to all the others.  Since I don't have a camera anymore I can't direct you to the exact menu, but this toggle can be disabled in one of the menus and I absolutely recommend doing that.   For real exposure control you can of course use the vector scopes but they do get in the way a little.

I think I'm going to be in 24p at 1/50 shutter speed most of the time. I really like that look...

We shot at 1080/25p (because we are PAL) and it was fine.   Fast pans aren't pro anyway    Do also check out the 720/60p mode for slo-mo.  With a little neat video applied (and possibly some unsharp mask) after up-res it matches with the 1080p quite well.

BTW - we also disabled the servo zoom most of the time since we cut out any zooms in post (nothings scream home movie like random zooms - right?), so we wanted zooms to be as fast as possible (so we'd have less to cut).  It also helps when zooming in with the focus assist, because the power zoom would be too slow to wait for.    As with AF, the only time we ever used powered zoom (and even then at the slowest setting) was for the recessional, and we stopped doing that after a while anyway.

[mark-mvs]

Thanks David, it's REALLY helpful to hear from someone who has a lot of experience with the camera I just bought! I'll continue working with the camera to practice between now and the wedding and let you know!
Mark