Panasonic AVCCAM AG-HMC40 Camcorder - Black

This Panasonic AG-HMC40 Pro HD camera is awesome. You can choose 9 different Hi-Def modes and it is a broadcast full HD quality. Whether you are a news journalist, a wedding videographer, wildlife videographer, small or big projects, this videocam is a pro and the price is just within range. Editing> I am using an Adobe- premiere CS5, and an Intensity Pro HDMI converter card and works perfect! I would recommend a Quad-Core AMD processor desk top PC. You don't need to use the PH mode because you have to downgrade the videos to DVD quality. I use only HG mode (13mbps) 1920x1080(60i) more than good enough for my high speed editing.
Cons: XLR mic adaptor is required, directional mic or wireless mic is required for interviews.

Manual focus and manual iris and tele-wide zoom swing switch is great.
I do graduation, wedding,documentary, concert videos etc.
The features of this Panasonic Pro-Cam is more than its price, I'm giving my thumbs up.

I have a great experience with this handy-compact pro videocam.

> 135delta

So you can buy the Panasonic AG-HMC45, which is the Tokyo version of the AG-HMC40 American model. The HMC45 is the identical camera, except that it has a switchable English or Japanese menu, and is made at the Hong Kong factory. Exact same quality. So I bought the "grey market" version and saved a few hundred bucks. You don't get the three year warranty, but Panasonic is giving a three year warranty only because this model is bullet proof. It weighs 2.2 pounds, no ancient digital tapes, no delicate hard drives. The only motor is a tiny one that pulls the zoom lens glass internally. The fully coated Leica glass is razor sharp, and the view screen is small at 2.7 inches on a largish camera, but it swivels all the way up and down 180 degrees so you can easily take shots on the ground or in crowds over you head with no problem. The XLR dual mic attachment is an accessory, but I didn't need it, and bought a high quality Rhodes stereo mic. The pin plug input is good enough for me, a casual user. If I had to make a living with it, I would opt for the heavy duty imputs. The eye cup is for right eyed people only, so I found a great heavy duty fabric one on Ebay. At only a couple hundred more than a 240gb consumer model, this prosumer model has several commercial features including color bars and zebra. There is audio and video gain, all manors of exposure controls. The images in good lighting can't be distinguished from those of a 5 thousand dollar camera. It uses the mini chipsets from the Lumix DSLR, so the low lux images do not have the pinache of a 3ccd 1/3" model. Raising the video gain in low light degrades the image, so you either use a longer exposure to let more light in, or use an on camera variable LED photo lamp for the dimly lit stuff. This was the major thing they skimped on to get the low price point. THis camera is not first choice for doing video by candlelight, but with 1080 hi def lighting is everything. You can do an entire day of shooting with the expensive jumbo battery, and a few high capacity SDHC chips in your pocket.
My only legitimate complaint is that they designed a miniature battery to throw in with camera to keep the price down. It is a joke. You either have to buy a couple standard sized batteries, or the jumbo all day model that stick out of the camera a bit. That is why the viewfinder slides backwards to deal with that issue. The viewfinder image is really small, and is only usefull when you are shooting in bright sunlight, or need to conserve battery power. You can turn the brightness on the screen up really high to cope with most situation. Pros complain that this model does not have the dozens of button the the double priced cameras do, and choices of 14 functions must be assigned to User 1, 2 and 3 buttons, or most everything can be set on the touchscreen which is easy to do. Pros don't like toughscreens, but People who own Iphones and Androids should find this simple to use. There are enough controls to get beautiful exposures that are of broadcast quality. Solid state cameras are favorites in arctic and jungle conditions. There is less to go wrong. Even though the camers is as big a a dslr with a big lens, it is only half the weigh. It takes 10.6 megapixel hi def stills. I think I read it will take 5,780 highest quality still on one 32gb sdhc card. With its ten to one zoom, and myriads of on camera exposure controls, its not bad fixed

Decided to purchase the AG-HMC40 after carefully considering the JVC GY-HM100U. Have historically been anti-Panasonic, favoring JVC and Sony cameras. But reading tons of reviews and looking through lots of comparisons, the Panasonic won out this time. I must say, after just a little bit of time with it... I'm impressed. Are there drawbacks? Sure. Lowlight performance are the ones I hear most often, but I'm here to tell you that in 1080i/60 mode the signal is VERY good, even in near darkness. Drop to 720/60p and you will notice a little more pixelation, but from a couch it is not intrusive. Given that you can pick these up brand new for $1700, and less on ebay, you just can't go wrong. If you're a Final Cut Pro user and need continuous shooting with hot-swap SD cards, the JVC may be better suited for you, plus you get the built-in XLR for about $1000 more. But to save $1000, and sacrifice a little speed in post, that's the sweet spot for the AG-HMC40.

I really like this video camera. I was originally looking at the AG-HMC150 before this one came out. This one has basically the same features but just smaller sensors. It has a better price point for me. I'm impressed with the ease of operation and the amount of features it has. The battery life could be longer so you'll most likely need to purchase an expensive extended battery for longer shoots. I also wish you could take pictures while filming instead having to completely switch modes. Overall, this is a great video camera at a decent value and it packs a mighty punch!

Great quality for the price of the camera. The extra ad ons were a nice touch even though they're not the best quality, but definitely useful!