Zoom Control
Servo control of 
the zoom is 
provided by this 
rocker switch on 
the camera above 
the tape compartment. Notice 
you can press it a little for a 
slow zoom and press it further 
for a faster zoom. e Zoom 
Servo/Manual switch on the 
LCD side of the camera needs 
to be set to Servo 
for this rocker 
switch to work.
Zoom Ring
e zoom ring right 
behind the focus 
ring allows you to 
manually control 
the zoom setting. 
Switch the servo 
control to 
MANUAL before 
doing manual zoom. 
Look for the Zoom Servo/Manual switch on the side 
of the camera, otherwise the gears controlling the 
zoom may be damaged. If you feel resistance to 
moving the zoom ring, change the setting of the 
Servo/Manual switch.
Iris Button and Dial
When the Iris Button is 
pressed, the camera 
toggles between the auto 
and manual iris control 
modes. e Iris Dial is 
used to adjust the lens iris when you desire to 
adjusting exposure manually. (See Iris Dial item in 
the menu under SW mode).
Gain Switch
is is used to adjust the video gain (like 
cranking up the volume). In low light 
situations, you might need to. Settings are 
H (12dB), M (6dB) or L (0dB), these 
defaults can be changed in the menu setting. Be 
careful, gain adds noise to the image.
Secondary Camera Functions
Handle Zoom 1 2 3
ese are the speed settings for 
the handle zoom. is zoom is 
different from the other zoom 
because it is not pressure sensitive. 
In the menu of the camera the 
speed can be set to Low-Medium-
High or Low-Off-High.
Zoom Servo/Manual
Use to choose servo zoom 
(controlled by the zoom 
buttons) or manual zoom 
(controlled manually by the 
zoom ring). Make sure to set 
the SERVO/MANU switch 
on the side of the camera to 
MANU before manually adjusting zoom.
DISP/MODE CHK button
During recording or while 
paused, information like 
recording functions setting 
status and a list of functions 
allocated to the USER buttons can be displayed by 
holding down the DISP/ MODE CHK button. 
Release the button to return to the normal display.
Pressing the DISP/MODE CHK button during 
recording or while recording is paused will
remove all displays from the screen except for the 
operation status, standby mode display, counter, 
marker, and safety zone display. Press the button 
again to return to the normal display. is setting will 
be maintained even if the camera’s power is turned off 
by moving the POWER switch to the OFF position 
or if the operating mode is changed.
Pressing the DISP/MODE CHK button while the 
thumbnail screen is displayed in PB mode will display 
the properties of the selected clip. Clips can be 
selected by moving the cursor with the Operation 
lever.
LCD button
Use this button to vary how much 
information the camera displays in the 
Viewnder or LCD panel.
 
Introduction to the Panasonic AG-HMC150 AVCHD camcorder  (rough draft)   http://kino-eye.com/dvb/   6 /35