Has anyone tried either of these with the mx 500, or knows if they are compatable, i.e. will the hard drive work from the camera's controls (tape must be present) or is it controled seperately?

i checked the firestore thread and didn't find much camera-specific info for the mx. there are people using it with the gl2 ...

Hello Emmet,

While we have done no specific tests with the Panasonic MX500, it is likely that it will work with FireStore products. FireStore will work with most camcorders that feature a DV output port. You will however, probably need to have a tape in the transport of the camcorder in order to control FireStore via the MX500's REC/REC PAUSE trigger.

The FireStore distributor in Norway is Larsen Video Consulting.

http://www.lvc.no/

Hope that helps and feel free to ask more questions.

Best regards,
Matt McEwen
Focus Enhancements