Just a quick heads up for those of you are currently or may be shooting with a VariCam35 in the near future. Or for anyone you know who fits that description.

We at Panasonic have found a rather peculiar software bug that can luckily be fixed before it starts.

Certain VariCam 35 and VariCam HS firmware versions have displayed a file naming anomaly that occurs when the camera calendar is set to December. (Thank goodness it's only October.)

A new firmware that fixes the issue can be found at this link.

http://eww.pass.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/content/download/EN/ep2main/soft/caution_varicam6006.htm

I should also note that the anomaly does not affect the video and audio files. It causes all files to use the "P2 style" naming convention. Even if the menu is set to "Cine" style file naming, the files will have P2 style names. This would likely affect post data management. There is also an issue with recording metadata. As a result the Panasonic P2 Viewer plus software cannot be used to convert the file names. In order to convert the file names, the card would need to be sent to Panasonic.

If you will be using a VariCam 35 or HS please update the firmware ASAP. You have a few weeks before this becomes a problem (assuming the date is set correctly on your camera.)

-Paul D. McAniff
Production Manager
Panasonic Cinema and Production Cameras.