They are here. Promax called me tonight and said it will be here in NC on Friday.

Any LA user already have one?

Can't wait to hear what you have to say about it, Stephen!

Okay, it's here and given it a quick test. Long review will have to wait until battery charges and I have more time with it but camera arrived in perfect shape (thank you ProMax). Overall impression of camera is pretty solid, build quality seems Canon/Sony high-prosumer or better on stuff I've tried so far.

(1) Picture quality is fantastic, certainly better than my XL1 with manual lens.

(2) Focus controls on lens are to my liking. Focus is light but extremely accurate. Not "loose" as some reported. As good, if not better, than the focus ring on my previous Canon 14X manual. Sure, there are no foot/meter markings, but the 1-100 scale range viewable on LCD is much more usable I quickly found.

I did a couple of tests, zoomed in, set focus, noted LCD number, zoomed out. Zoomed back in, both actual focus and LED stayed exact. Pull and rack focus moves will be easy for me to execute.

(3) Zoom, manual and motor, work well. I don't often do zooms in shots, but seemed to work as well as old XL1.

(4) LCD monitor sharpness exceeded my expectations. I see no need for lugging my 14" Sony to check focus. Color is LCD, not broadcast tube, but still seemed accurate to my eye.

(5) 1/24 and 1/48 shutter speeds available in 24p mode. Nice. Film motion blur, here we come :)

I've stopped my test and battery is charging. Have go to a clients, so full detailed report will have to wait, probably until Sunday pm. But hope to make some detailed clips available.

Let me know any specific questions and I will try to answer.

I agree! The picture quality is fantastic!! The camera so far lives up to its hype! Goobye XL1-S! =)

I can't wait. I really want to hear about this cam.
-Vinson

Does the camera have the exposure metering system that was mentioned in another post? There it said that an early prototype had an exposure metering system which did not appear in later prototypes. Thanks.

It is in. It's called "Marker" and is found the Display Setup menu.

Is the wide angle noticeably wider than others? That is one of the things that attracted me to this camera - a 3 chip that has a built in wide angle. How soes it look, Stephen?

Yep, it is noticably wider. I used to have a XL1 with 3X wide and I always was reaching for the 3X lens as the other lenses never gave enough space.

I don't feel that with this cam. Very useful so far in tight space. It's not quite as wide as Canon 3X but plenty wide for most uses. And so far, I have not missed the telephoto as much, but I've only shot about 15 minutes or so.

Stephen,

How's the low light performance of the Panny? How does it compare with the VX2000 or the GL-2?

Dan

It's better than the GL-1, XL-1 and VX1000 that I have more experience with. I have not shot with GL-2 or VX-2000. Will shoot some candlelight scenes in the next few days.

If it's as good as the VX2000, I may be sold. I tape a lot of performances in high school auditoriums so the wide angle and low light are two things that I want. My XL1 is lousy in low light. So, I'm anxious to hear about the low light capabilities, too.

(low light performance)

It's as good as theVX2000/PD150 and actually slighltly better!

Anyone know what the price (more or less) for this camera is?

Stephen,
Are you missing the availability of being able to switch lenses as on your XL1s?
I have a GL@ and need another camera and was considering the XL1s. Thoughts on whether I should buy the AG-DVX100?

As long as a extra wide angle and telextender of quality are released, I won't miss it too much.

I did love shooting with the Canon manual lens, but the focus and iris control on this camera I actually like better, to my surprise.

The full wide angle I had with the 3X plus Century optics on the XL1 I don't have right now, so I miss that, but I expect that to change as Panasonic has announced one (part number is in the manual).

I also expect a telextender to come out as well.

The key factor will be how well they are crafted since this camera needs good glass in front of it.

But, I made the decision quite some time ago that progressive scan, low weight and balance, professional video controls and usuable built in XLR were ultimately more important than interchangeable lenses.

Thats why I did not upgrade to an XL1s (though if it had 24P, I would have been very tempted).

Ultimately, better CCDs and true progressive scan make a much bigger impact on the image than the Canon glass.

Is your judgment of picture quality and low light performance true for interlaced mode (60i) as well as progressive?

Dean Isaacs

I've actually shot no 60i footage. I can't ever image using anything but 30 or 24p :)

So, all my comments apply to the progressive modes.

now I'm officially salivating over this camera.

too bad they didn't put 16x9 ccd's in it. I'm sure it would've sent the price up more than a hunk of glass. But that hunk of glass will stop down your image some more (although if lo light performance is good, might be able to achieve some juicy DoF) and limited zoom range, it basically limits your creative possibilities. I personally prefer a nice zoom through wide angle on my XL1, but it sounds like this camera is what I need.

Have you been able to do any good follow focus tests with it? I really like manual focus rings for doing this stuff. I heard that the focus ring on the dvx100 is like the canon stock lens, except you have a 1-100 reading in the viewfinder. Obviously this might work well enough, but I always prefer to measure my marks when possible and adjust the focus puller to stop on these measurements for bang-on focusing without loosing a take because I over shot and had to go soft for a few frames.

Hopefully, I'll have my demo of the unit in the next little bit.

Adrian

Follow focus works just as well, if not slighter better than on the XL1 14X manual lens for me. The light but accurate focus ring and the LCD focus scale are rock solid. So, you set your marks and follow.

Have not tested extensively, but will more in the next few days.

cool. I look forward to checking it out. I'm gonna be absolutely thorough in my testing of the unit.

when I was referring to manual focus, I was talking about focus puller piece of hardware that attaches on to some support rods. I really wish these cameras would stick to standard threading on focus rings, so that if you really wanted to, you can add such a device to aid (and in the case of the old canon xl1 workhorses, having to buy an extra lens). It's not like it's all that more tactile to have a free spinning focus ring with rubber nubs. In fact, I find the lack of mechanical feedback a definite minus of most dv cams, and it definitely contributes to the amatuer perception of most dv equipment. Panasonic, are you listening?

Adrian

Dude, why don't you review this cam and send your review to Camcorder and Computer Video, they'd probably snap it up immediately.

-Vinson

I'd love to here more on that follow focus thing. Would be nice.
So this camera ASSURES that a setting of 20 or 53 is ALWAYS
the same? Sweet.

Rob:

From what I can tell, it does. I have not broke out the measuring tape yet, but that appears to be solid.