Anyone heard any news on P2 pricing? Is the 128GB card around the corner? I'm thinking about picking up a 64GB card, but I'd hate to do that now and it be half price next month.

Hi Trey,

I'd bet you could buy now with confidence, 128gig would be long way down the track in my opinion.
Prices of 64's and 32's are stable, if a 128 were to come out soon you would have to sell "two" vital organs to get one judging by the current pricing.

Best is to buy when you "need", be it any size card and forget the cost.

cheers
Tom K

I think there's a good chance Panasonic will drop P2 prices significantly between now and NAB. The economy is shaky, and memory prices for every other format *except* P2 have plunged. My guess is that P2 cards aren't selling very well given these circumstances, and Panasonic is going to have to face the music and adjust its prices.

If I were you, I would wait a little while and see what happens. Remember that the 32Gb P2 card's price hasn't changed in more than a bloody year. A year! What other form of digital storage goes a year without a price drop?

Panasonic better wake up and realize that its entire new pro camera line (hpx2000, hpx3000, 2700, 3700) depends on people embracing P2 storage tech. But I think a lot of folks are not buying those cameras because they're unsure about whether the P2 format is viable. I'm beginning to wonder myself...

The whole reason I'm asking is because a vendor told me (unofficially of course), that I might want to hold off on a 64gb p2 purchase for a few weeks. I guess the word on the street is that panasonic plans a price drop in feb...

So has anyone heard anything similar? I know without a doubt that they will be cheaper in the future, it's just a matter of when that might be.

Right now, Singapore pricing for P2 64GB is something like SIN$4,000 - you can pretty buy a good video camera for that money.

I think 64GB P2 card is optimal for my use. And I am waiting for the prices to drop as well. Then no need to carry my 60GB HDD to backup the P2 cards anymore.

Currently, I am not even maxing on my 3 x 16GB P2 cards - I shoot exclusively 720p in native mode - so, I am getting 32 minutes per 16GB P2 - which is pretty good already.

Currently, I am not even maxing on my 3 x 16GB P2 cards - I shoot exclusively 720p in native mode - so, I am getting 32 minutes per 16GB P2 - which is pretty good already.

TingSern:

Why do I get 42 minutes of 720 24pN with my 16GB cards and you only get 32? You are getting ripped off for 10 free minutes!

Dan

Dan,

That's because, in PAL land, I shoot in 720pN, and the frame rate is 25 ... not 24. That explains why you have your "free" 10 minutes :-). There is no such thing as 720p at 24 frames for PAL.

Really? Just that extra one frame per second eats up 25% of the cards capacity? That math doesn't seem to add up. But then again, I never scored really high on my math tests.

That's a bummer.

Dan

Oh well ... what can I do?

Oh well ... what can I do?

Grin and bear it my friend!

Dan

Seems lots of posts about on forums lately are driven by "Speculation", eg "a friend overheard" , "a guy mentioned to me". and so-on.

Can we stick to an "exchange of ideas" or helpful advice ?.

Cheers
Tom K
olinevideo.com.au

Tom,

To me the "exchange of ideas" is no different than the "exchange of information". Speculation, info from friends, vendors, or other sources all fall under the umbrella of information; this is after all "Digital Video information Network".

If you were about to spend over $10,000 on camera equipment wouldn't you exhaust all your options to make sure that the next best thing isn't about to be released?

Anyway, sorry to have annoyed you.

In the world of flash media and broadcast I think we might has to differ between the smaller producers and larger production houses and tv networks.

The smaller need to take price much more into consideration and also might have the time to wait say a month and then buy. A production house or tv network usually need stuff now or the plan ahead and buy, lots of it. A tv station buying boxes with P2 cards don't pay the price that are offered to the smaller guys. And a large firm has the power to demand dates for when say Panasonic will start to make 128gb p2 cards....

But if you are about to spend 10 grand at you local dealer, I hope that they then are service minded enough to let you know if its smart to wait say a week or two...

Hello Trey,

No, you haven't annoyed me. If I need product I buy it, if I can't afford it, I don't. and to wait for the "latest and greatest" in this industry is not always the best move.But, that's your choice.

good luck with your vendor.
Cheers
Tom K

Speculation, info from friends, vendors, or other sources all fall under the umbrella of informationJust so you know: on this site we make a *big* distinction between information and speculation.