Panasonic HVX200

[Caleb Lawrence]

Wow, what an incredible camera. It's even better than the DVX100A so the article says, which is saying a lot. I don't own either, and I can say without a doubt that if I was going to upgrade, it would be one of these. A lot of versatility, use, and features. Here's the article on the HVX200, coming out in December 2005:

http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/HVX200/

 

[Sheila_Ward]

I've been keeping my eye on this since it was announced. If it gets the same response from users as the DVX100 after it hits the streets I am definitely considering it. A bit overkill for stormchasing, but since I now work in video, I can "justify" it in my mind better :wink:

 

[fplowman]

I have the 100A.. I have no intentions on upgrading.. the P2 cards are more expensive than the camera itself.. Wait a year or two.. Or buy a 100A at 1k less thna what i and others paid a year or more ago..

My 2c

 

[Dan Robinson]

The main advantage of this camera (aside from the Varicam-like variable frame rates) is having the DVCPro and DVCProHD capability on the P2 cards. P2s are basically PCMCIA memory cards that plug right into a laptop. DVCPro is a high end format that would be great to have for this price ($6K), but is probably way overkill for what most chasers are doing. It is tempting though! DVCPro HD also takes up massive amounts of storage space, so archiving it is going to require a big investment in hard drives and backup drives. On this cam you can only record DVCPro or DVCPro HD on the P2s, not on the tape. So, your recording time is somewhat limited for the HD unless you have your laptop with you and can do numerous offloads from the P2s.

Like Fred mentioned, the P2 cards are also very expensive ($2k and up EACH) so you better not lose or drop those!