- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 6 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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12 out of 12 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Fantastic new technolgy at a breakthrough price!"
Pros: Affordable, Easy to Use, P2 Technology, DV tape back-up, 24pN allowing variable frame rates, Focus Assist, DVCPRO HD codec, Excellent Video Quality
Cons: Menu Buttons on top of camera, LCD is a little small, On board Mic picks up zoom noise, Supplied Component Cable is a little short, Don't expect superior low-light capabilities
Summary: I give the AG-HVX200 a 9! Having been in the video business for over 20 years I am very jealous of this new technology that the kids just starting out in the business have access to. I finally got a hold of this hot piece of metal, plastic and glass and have been blowing my old videos away! P2 is the greatest thing to happen to video and it's long overdue. The price of P2 will hopefully keep falling so that it won't be necessary to get a second mortgage on your home to afford them! But really, once you slide a P2 card into your Powerbook and import the videos faster than realtime...well digitizing from tape seems like the old horse & buggy days. You can get 10 minutes record time with a 4 GB card shooting in the 720p 24pN mode. N stands for native, meaning you are shooting 24 or really 23.976 frames per second. Less frames to record means more shooting time. Using Apple FCP Studio is a complete solution to get from the shoot to DVD or a High Def file. I don't work for Panasonic or Apple and just recently I have made the conversion from PC video editing to MAC editing. I should have done it sooner! At least now is the right time to give this combo a look. There are almost too many set-ups that you can do with the HVX200! I remember my old BetaCam had an on/off switch and a white balance button. Do a Google on the HVX-200 to find out more. My only gripe is that FCP does not handle the 1080p 24p or 24pA modes very well. I have tested the 1080p 30p mode and that looks very good. But most editng is going to 24p so I will concentrate on that for the tme being. Before you buy any camera in this price range - give the HVX200 a long, hard serious look!
- 2 replies to this review
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I?m an Enthusiast not a pro. I?ve been shooting and editing videos since 2000
My previous camcorder was a Panasonic AG-DVC30. I sold it and I?m putting together the money to buy this AG-HVX200, but I have to work hard for it so I?m worry about the P2 technology.
I don?t think that it?s expensive but like I said I?m working hard to put the money together to buy the cam
My concern it?s that after I get the camcorder I need to wait for a wile after that put some more money together for the P2 cards. So you now the camcorder because you already own it
So want to now if I will be able to record video with out the P2 cards? (Like the AG-DVX100B in the tape)
And the shooting time on the P2 cards its short it?s that true or how it is in real life?
And if you guys that are pros can give me any advice I will appreciated
Thanks -
Seems like a great camera. Compact size, good for hand-held work. I've been using the Canon XL-H1 with amazing results, (superb picture quality) but needs more support in the way of digital storage since the built-in tape deck is only compatible with itself.
The Panasonic looks like a great camera, but in further checking, the PC cards are expensive, and the Panasonic 5-slot card reader, (necessary if you'd like to input your PC cards into a Mac G5 or equiv.) costs about $3,400.00. If you buy a couple 8 gig PC cards @ approx. $1,500 each, and the reader, together they would cost about $1,400 more than the initial price of the camera itself. So, I think that's something to be considered when making this investment.
Where to buy
Panasonic AG-HVX200:
$4,989.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$4,699.00 | Yes |
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