Yes, that shoulder-mounted camcorder gives you the appearance of a professional videographer as you gather shots at the children's carnival, and the hefty unit certainly looks slick on a tripod, even from across the sanctuary. But shooting low- and high-angle hand-held shots with the viewfinder out of sight can be tricky, and positioning that huge camera on the platform for a closeup can be intrusive. So how about using a camera lens with the viewfinder and controls on a separate unit? If you're looking for a high-definition (HD) camera that can hide on the platform and handle every angle your arms can manage, the Panasonic AG-HMR10 AVCCAM compact field recorder/player and the AG-HCK10 remotely controlled 3-MOS HD camera head may be for you.
The recorder is a 1.2-pound hand-held unit with a 3.5-inch color LCD monitor and a set of camera and playback controls. The small camera head features a 12x optical zoom lens with an optical image stabilizer and also includes a built-in microphone. Focus, zoom, and iris are controlled on the recorder, enabling the camera operator to make adjustments to the camera as much as 65 feet away. This means that the camera can be mounted on a tripod and concealed unobtrusively on the platform with adjustments made by remote. It also features a waveform monitor and vectorscope to aid in adjusting the image settings, metadata (embedded recording information such as exposure settings) recording, and user-defined buttons. It is not intended to replace a standard camera operator setup normally positioned in the back of a venue, but instead introduces new options for locked-down camera positions.
For audio, the camera head features an excellent built-in microphone, with an additional mini jack mic input on the recorder. To monitor sound, there is a headphone jack and an on-screen meter.
My field test involved positioning the camera on a catwalk in a sanctuary in order to get a birds-eye view of the platform. The 65-foot cable enabled me to start the recording and make adjustments to the shot without crossing the catwalk, which would have no doubt caused considerable anxiety for those seated below. For our Christmas presentation, I positioned the camera at the far side of the platform for a dramatic side angle, where I could not position a camera operator. This camera would certainly go well with a lightweight motion control tilt and pan system.
When used as a hand-held camera, the monitor can be held at eye level while the camera head is held in any position. I tried out this functionality at a choreography rehearsal, and was able to move the camera around to get dramatic angles far easier than with our larger HD camcorder. The zoom speed is not adjustable, but a variable speed zoom would not be much use in the intended shooting situations.
The recorder utilizes AVCHD compression on a SD memory card. Equipped with an HD-SDI input and output, the recorder is also suitable for back-up recording from any HD-SDI-enabled camera or for use in studio or event production. A 32GB SDHC memory card can record three hours of full resolution 1920x1080 video and audio in its highest quality mode. Content is transferred from the SD card to Mac or PC computers with an SD/SDHC card reader or by connecting the HMR10 recorder directly via its USB 2.0 interface. The unit does not have analog inputs, a feature I hope they will add to future models. But with a converter, analog and MiniDV cameras can be patched into the unit to use the more efficient file-based recordings.
Panasonic Broadcast has released the recorder and camera with suggested list prices of $2,600 and $1,800, respectively. Cables connecting the camera to the recorder are available in lengths of 10 feet for a suggested list price of $300, and 65 feet for $600. The entire package, featuring the recorder, camera head, and cable comes to around $5,000. A ministry looking to expand an existing three-camera setup while adding a hand-held camera to their setup will find this to be an effective and versatile addition to their inventory of video equipment.
Michael Parks heads up the video ministry at Hilltop Community Church in Richmond, Calif. He can be reached at michael@helpfulbear.com.
QuicklinksCompany: PanasonicProducts: AG-HMR10 AVCCAM recorder and AG-HCK10 camera headPhone: (800)211-7262URL: www.panasonic.comSuggested Retail Prices: recorder/player: $2,600camera head: $1,800
