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Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder with 10.6MP Still and 12x Optical Zoom | 
| Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography
Buy New: Too low to display
as of 9/10/2010 17:05 PDT details
New (5) Used (3) from $1,822.99
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 338
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 12
Display Size: 2.7
Maximum Focal Length: 48
Minimum Focal Length: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6.7
Dimensions (in): 15.4 x 9.7 x 9.1
MPN: AG-HMC40PJU
Model: AG-HMC40PJU
UPC: 791871304891
EAN: 0791871304891
ASIN: B002I9S9PE
Release Date: September 1, 2009
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | 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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Product Description
Panasonic s latest introduction to its popular AVCCAM line, the AG-HMC40 handheld, combines full HD AVCHD video recording with high-resolution 10.6-megapixel still photo capture, giving you the benefits of two professional cameras in one affordable package. Compact and lightweight at 2.16-pounds, the HMC40 is a versatile HD camcorder offering high-quality AVCHD recordings, high-resolution still photo capture, an easy-to-use SD card workflow, and professional audio capabilities for a wide range of applications and markets including schools, government agencies, event videographers, web designers and more. With a full resolution 3-megapixel, 1/4-inch 3MOS imager, the HMC40 produces stunning 1920x1080 video in AVCHD (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264), delivering images far superior to HDV. When used for digital still photography, the camera captures photos with 10.6-megapixel resolution directly onto the SD card as a JPEG image. The camera can also be connected directly to a PictBridge photo printer (no PC required). And unlike HDV tapes, video and photos can be accessed randomly and immediately from the SD cards and played back on a number of consumer devices. The camcorder s advanced Leica Dicomar lens system offers 12X optical zoom, wide-angle setting (40.8mm) and an optical image stabilizer (O.I.S.) feature for precise shooting. The compact camera is also packed with professional video and audio features (HDMI out, date/time stamp, remote zoom, XLR option, etc.) Using high-capacity SD memory cards, the HMC40 provides hours of beautiful high definition recordings at professional level bit rates. It records in a range of 1080 and 720 formats with all four professional AVCCAM recording modes: PH mode (average 21 Mbps/Max 24Mbps), the HA mode (approx.17 Mbps), the HG mode (approx.13 Mbps), HE mode (approx. 6 Mbps). AVCCAM offers the benefit of a fast, file-based workflow using widely available and reasonably priced SD memory cards.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 20
 An excellent pro-sumer camcorder to start off with... July 19, 2010
Vincent P. Del Vecchio (Long Island, NY)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you are brand new to professional or pro-sumer camcorders or figure its about that time to step up from your handycam days into the world of professional audio/video, there is no better "starting gate" than the Panasonic AG-HMC40. Its smaller form factor will be a familiar "path" in terms of handling and control but will also give you some more real estate to play with the included on-camera controls. Most of this stuff are things within the menus os high-end consumer camcorders but they have been placed on the camera body for quick reach and control. This enabled a lot of on-the-fly adjusting that was simply not possible with lower end consumer camcorders of today.
Then they add manual adjusting with a focus ring, an iris dial control, three different user-controlled buttons and a wole host of other goodies that will propel your experience into the real of professional videography use.
The included battery that comes with the HMC40 is actually the MID-RANGE model that provides about 3 hours of juice at full charge. Most models of camcorders like this (including the older brother HMC150) usually come with the smallest size 1-hour battery but the fact that Panasonic decided to include the 3.5 hour battery in this kit is simply fantastic. The 8 hour extended battery is always recommended but this three hour long model is definitely a welcome addition that will help offset the cost of buying an extended battery, especially if you don't need longer than a 3 hour model (you can use the money saved for on-camera external microphones, the optional XLR adapter, or external lighting).
Speaking of extras, the optional Panasonic XLR adapter is a MUST if you wish to use a good quality XLR shotgun or omni-directional microphone. External lighting is something you DEFINITELY will need if you plan on filming in low light as this camera's low light recording capabilities are mediocre at best without a decent light.
Also, don't be fooled. This camcorder records perfectly in it's highest quality mode with a GOOD QUALITY Class 4 SDHC card. As long as the SDHC card you plan to use is a good brand such as Transcend, PNY, Lexar, SanDisk, or other quality brands, a class 4 (with MINIMUM 4MBps write speeds) records perfectly. This camcorder records at a MAXIMUM of 24Mbps (That is MEGABITS per second, which equals 3MBps -MEGABYTES PER SECOND-) and a quality Class 4 SDHC cards writes at a MINIMUM of 4MBps (MEGABYTES per second). The ONLY reason you would want a Class 6 or 10 speed SDHC card if if you wanted a higher transfer speed (which is good when offloading the data off the card onto a computer. A Class 6 or 10 card should have a minimum write speed of 6MBps and 10MBps respectively, with good quality SDHC cards even having a minimum write speed of 16MBps - 30MBps (Lexar, Transcent, SanDisk being my favorites). I've heard bad things with ADATA cards and this camcorder so please be aware in case you plan on using lower quality SDHC cards as you might get distortion, pixelization, ect.
I hope this helps you in your purchase of this great professional Panasonic camcorder!
 Panasonic AG-HMC40 July 14, 2010
allen
I bought this camera to shoot stock footage and it does a great job. I wish it had a few more manual controls that were not done via touch screen. Other than that really it does a great job. The camera has lots of features, and for the price just can't be beat!
 Good camera horrible tech support July 12, 2010
Edward Macomber Jr.
This is a excellent camera, professional results the whole 9 yards. But don't expect ANY tech support, not any, mind you, you won't get any response from panasonic. I didn't well maybe in 5 days any way, at these prices I should have expected the best support any company can give. Not from Panasonic, the ironic thing about all this, is the manual if better written could have avoided all this grief.They need to upgrade their support. It is sad that such a good camera is crippled by such a callous disregard for their customers. If you by this camera good luck in getting support!
HMC40 Top of the Line for Price July 11, 2010
Tom D.
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My Panasonic HMC40 came with Berry Green's HMC book and Edius editing software, adding an extra $250 worth of value to my investment. I just finished reading the book and can assure you that it's packed with valuable information beyond what you will find in the user manual. I would also recommend others to join online user groups like [...] and do some research on this camera, editing software, and work flows people are using. Editing AVCHD is extremely challenging - even for some of the pro's with state of the art software and computers.
Coming from a standard definition Canon GL2 prosumer camera, I figured it wouldn't be too challenging to learn the functions of this camera, but I admit, it's a bit more technical than I thought it would be. Sure, you can shoot in full automatic and get pretty good results, but the amazing results come when you learn to use some of the camera's more professional features. (This camera was developed by Panasonic's broadcast division, not their consumer division.)
I believe the HMC40 received a bum rap from people worried about the "jello effect" of 3MOS sensors (google it). It took a while for people to figure that out before sales took off. I generally shoot in 720 60p mode at 1/60th shutter and unless I really try to make this effect happen...it doesn't cause me an issue. All cameras have their strengths and weaknesses and some people obsess over them rather than learn to operate their equipment within its bounds.
At the time I purchased my HMC40 it was clearly the leader of the pack in its price-point. Sony has recently come out with a model to compete against it for around $300 less, but after reviewing its specs (far inferior), unless money is your deciding factor, I would still recommend opting for the HMC40.
I gave the battery life 4 stars because, like most batteries, it is a bit small and you always have to purchase another battery. I gave 4 stars for ease of use because, even though the manual is pretty good, it's not easy to use unless you already have plenty of experience with pro or prosumer level equipment. I gave it 4 stars for image quality due to being a bit weak in low light. Fortunately, you can add more gain on this camera than you can get away with some other cameras to make up some of the difference, but Panasonic should have engineered this for better low light performance, especially when they knew full-well this would be used as an event camera (like weddings)where low light ability is critical. Other than that, the image is great when properly exposed. On manual controls I went 4 stars because of how they buried some basic functions in the touch screen menus making it inconvenient to make quick changes on the fly.
Obviously, to earn 5 stars this camera would have to be its big brother, the HMC150 at a cost substantially higher. But, for the money, this camera is a very good investment.
Great Pro-sumer Camcorder June 21, 2010
FineArtVideo.com (South Florida, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder with 10.6MP Still and 12x Optical Zoom
The Panasonic AG-HMC40 camcorder provides most of the features and the look of a full professional camcorder, with the convenience and light weight of a consumer camcorder. What sets it apart from something like a palm sized camcorder is the image quality and the amount of manual control. The main thing missing that would make this an excellent pro camera is the full manual lens. While the HMC40 does have a manual focus ring, it controls the focus electronically and not mechanically. Also, there is no dedicated manual zoom or iris ring on the lens, although the focus ring can be programmed to control these functions one at a time.
That being said, the image quality of this camcorder is excellent, even when compared to prosumer camcorders costing double. The lens maintains crisp focus right out to the edges, with no noticable chromatic aberration (false color fringes around objects). The lens on my similarly priced Sony FX7 had this problem.
Low light capability is very good. It does get a little grainy at 36 db gain but the image still remains sharp. At 18db gain, the image is crisp with very little grain. Changing the various video settings from default in the menu can lower the grain and bring out more contrast. Outdoors, or indoors in bright light, the image is simply stunning. Colors are very true and well saturated, and you can add more or less saturation in the menu setup. In a dimly lit room like a wedding reception, you can get by without lights if you have to.
There are hundreds of combinations of image adjustments in the menu system, and if you are new to prosumer camcorders, some of these terms may not be familiar. The camcorder has a cinema gamma mode, a native 24 frame progressive mode, cinema matrix, skin tone softener, detail coring, manual DRS and three preset Knee controls. When you combine these settings, you get a very film-like image. You'll need to read the online manual, or just experiment with different settings in different light until you see what you like. There's enough settings to keep you playing for days. One in particular, the waveform monitor, is very useful in setting up the manual iris for the brightest possible exposure without hot spots.
The internal mike and switchable audio level controls and the ability to turn AGC on or off provides good audio for most purposes. With AGC on, the audio will not overload even when a few feet from the speaker blast of a loud DJ. The AGC is gentle, without the harsh pumping action found on consumer camcorders. An XLR shotgun mike and XLR audio adapter with better manual audio level control is optional and plugs into a dedicated audio port on the camera. It does not simply convert to unbalanced 1/8 inch jacks as many of these adapters do. It's truly a balanced line or mike input all the way through, with or without phantom power. You'll need the XLR adapter and a good boom mike for film production, of course.
Battery life is three hours with the included battery, and six hours with an optional pack. Enough to get you through the day.
The camcorder uses the AVCHD format, which is a better compression technique (at the 24 meg mode) than the MPG 2 of HDV tapes. You can set it for 1080 60i 1080 24p, 1080 30p, 720 24p, 720 30p and 720 60p. There are four data rates. 5 meg/sec, 13, 17 and 24. The differences are minimal from 13 to 24. The image is slightly softer and slightly blocky at the 5 meg setting when there is a lot of motion in the subject, but even at that setting you can still create an excellent image for making a DVD. It's a good choice for recording long programs on smaller memory cards when there isn't much motion, like a speech.
The best feature is recording to inexpensive SD and SDHC cards. There are no moving tape transports or hard drives to fail, so this camcorder will last until you drop it on the sidewalk or into a swimming pool. Image quality will probably not improve much in newer camcorders in this price range for some time to come. With ever increasing memory size SDHC cards getting cheaper every week, this camcorder's recording capacity grows by the month. It's a great choice for recording events for hire as well as smaller TV station news departments.
Rick Bennette, [...]
Showing reviews 1-5 of 20
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