Does anybody know anything about what is this??
Cause I'been googling for a couple of days and nothing special except from on-line stores.....

PAL version of DVX100a, I believe.

Well I wondered that too. Not just PAL version of the DVX100A, because I know for a fact that the latest PAL version in UK is called the 100AE - so what is the 102AE? I am also confused about this!

Jeremy

According the B & H Photo's description:
"The AG-DVX102A is the PAL system version of the popular AG-DVX100A NTSC model."

I own this camera.

It is the PAL version of the AG-DVX100A. It is EXACTLY the same as AG-DVX100AE. No difference at all. It has all the menues in English. It is the name given to the camera for the Asian market - but it is a 100% legit version. I think this name was given because of the grey market problems and such - just to differentiate the two markets, the Asian one and the European one.

Well that's getting even more compicated as I was told by companies in Asia that they are selling the DVX100AEN so that's another different model number to throw into the mix!
Jeremy

That's right.I've tried serching at every Panasonic (Matsushita included) afound nothing about a different name than DVX100, DVX100A or DVX100AE

The DVX102A is identical to the DVX100A, it's a tracking system used by Panasonic to track where gray-market camera orders are coming from.

what does the "grey market" mean?

"Grey market" cameras are those sold by unauthorized dealers outside of the manufacturer's approved network. Typically, as a show of solidarity with their authorized delaers, a manufacturer will not honor the warranty on grey-market products. Hope this helps,

Let's add a little to this: manufacturers only sell to their authorized dealers.

Gray-market dealers do not buy their cameras direct from the manufacturer. They are not authorized to do so, they have no business relationship with the manufacturer, they are not "allowed" to sell the manufacturer's product.

But they manage to get cameras anyway. How? That's the big question. They could be from any number of sources: imported from other countries, bought "under-the-table" from an authorized but unscrupulous dealer, they could be stolen, they could be used, who knows? The only thing we do know is they are not direct-from-the-factory, because the manufacturer will not sell cameras to gray-market dealers.

Gray-market dealers often claim to undercut the price of the authorized dealers. Simple logic tells us that this cannot be: since the authorized dealer is getting the camera direct from the manufacturer, he is paying the lowest price possible for his equipment. Either the gray-marketer is selling inferior product (such as refurbs, or stolen, or who knows what) or he's buying it under the table from an authorized reseller (in which case the gray-marketer HAS to pay more than the authorized reseller did... which means the gray-marketer HAS to charge more, or cannot stay in business).

For their advertised "lower prices", the gray-marketer is using a lower price as a "loss leader" but must necessarily "stick it to you" in other ways: higher shipping costs, overpriced "extended warranties", or grossly overpriced accessories such as "Sakar" batteries or "Digital Optics" or "Crystal Optics" wide-angle lenses and filters. The gray-marketer may lure you in with the promise of a $3100 DVX, but they'll practically force you to buy a $600 wide-angle lens to go with it... a lens you could buy for $40 off ebay. So your net bill will be HIGHER with a gray-marketer than it would have been through an authorized reseller... and with the gray-market product, you won't have a warranty! Another tactic some unscrupulous gray-marketers will employ is to advertise the camera at a ridiculously low price, and if you manage to actually buy it from them at that price (which is unlikely) you will receive just the camera -- no battery, no power supply, no remote control, no anything! They'll open the package and remove all the accessories. And there's nothing to stop them doing that, because they are *not* authorized sellers, they're functionally no different than some guy with a booth at the swap meet!

Gray marketers also recognize that they have trouble with the manufacturer honoring the warranty, so some will lie about the warranty. They will advertise "full US warranty", which is very deceptive: they cannot offer their product with the manufacturer's warranty, so what they'll do is write up a bogus "in-store" warranty that only applies in their store, and claim that it's a "US warranty" because, hey, their store's located in the US, right? So that makes it a "US" warranty.

Authorized resellers include places like B&H, EVS, ProMax, and even Willoughby's.

Gray-marketers include Buydig, Profeel, 5 stars electronics, broadway, a&m photo world, digital liquidators, etc.

(although, to be fair, there should probably be a distinction made: buydig and profeel seem like legitimate dealers who happen to sell gray-market product but provide excellent service, whereas the others appear to be bait 'n' switch scam shops if you follow the reviews on resellerratings.com).

Thanks for the info guys,
Ill keep away from the grey.

Cheers,
Ben Gurvich