Hi folks,
Just ended second day of Argentina's 2005 CAPER expo (www.caper.org). Panasonic's booth is showing the non-working unit closed inside the plastic cube and even there was a POLICE GUARD next to it all the time!

When asked about timing, pricing and specs, this is what I got from Pana representatives:

-PAL version will be available from March 2006 in Argentina (Guess South America also?)

-NTSC verson will be from December 2005 (not for selling, only testing just for the hungry customers before tha PAL unit lands)

-As part of a "company new-tech intro policy" they will be offering the PAL version ONLY with two P2 cards at about USD 9500.-
In theory one will not be able to buy the camera without the cards, but then a lady told me that you might if you asked very specifically for... (basically: they will force you to buy the P2 pack if they can, but if you insist they will sell you the sole unit so you can attach a Focus HD)

-Focus Firestore HD unit will be available also in March 2006 here.

-Panasonic is trying to give users the Focus alternative as a way to speed up HVX200 acceptance (because of the actal P2 costs), and then come back to the P2 usage when a good price-tag is reached in 2-3 years.

That's all for now!

I will post more soon!

Thanks for the report, Luis...

basically: they will force you to buy the P2 pack if they can...It should be clearly understood that no manufacturer can "force" you to buy anything. The customer can *always* walk away from the sale.

Thanks for the report, Luis...

It should be clearly understood that no manufacturer can "force" you to buy anything. The customer can *always* walk away from the sale.

Yeah, Chirs, but if you really like the camera, you end up "forced"to get the bundle. Is either that or no portable 4:2:2 dvcprohd production for under 10k. And with people intentionaly expecting to pay $5995, now they have to pay $9950. It's almost double the price.

Panasonic always stated they would sell the camera alone, even when they anounced it at NAB. I remember the bellow 6000 price tag being one of their major marketing pushes for the camera...

Now this is indeed not a 6000 camera, but a 9950 one. And I, if I was to be in Argentina, of course, would feel cheated.

And I, if I was to be in Argentina, of course, would feel cheated.

Wow! Sergio I think we shouldn't be so extreme (myself also consider writing "force" up there quite a bit hard... sorry P!). I am not feeling cheated.... even more: I think that if what P rep. told me about the price (9500 w/two P2) turns to be true, we would be paying almost the same customers in the US will... so that would be a deal since in Argentina we always pay 30-50%+ for the same product (customs, tax...).

Anyway, my tip would be, whether you are in Arg, US, Europe...:

1- First stay calm once it was officially released... watch some tv and continue with you current camera
2- Wait 2-3 months until "preview", "bugged", "non-final-firmware" versions are sold and final and revised units start to be shipped.
3- Wait some more time until first price drops/deals appear for the camera and offers start to pour from the Focus Firestone website!
4- Then you can buy and expect to pay a way less than many of your mates, will have a final-revised unit and with a 100GB drive for DVCProHD 1080@24p storage! :D

5- (optional) sell your Firestone unit in 2-3 years and go to you nearest mini-market to buy a 16GB P2 card for a few bucks (including two free candies!)

DVX series had always been on top of the price line for Prosumer cams... so now seems to be the dame.

L ;-)

We just had a similar discussion about the European camera. Basically someone was told by a Panasonic Europe representative at a show that the camera+P2 card bundle would be the only thing offered.

There was a rather lengthy and contentious (and, indeed, angry) thread that ensued. We then took the question to the top: Marc Irwin is the marketing manager for Panasonic Broadcast in all of Europe. He forwarded a statement from the product line manager that basically said "pricing for the camera, and for bundles, will be announced 1Q 2006". Which tells me that the representative who announced "p2 bundle only" was not authorized to say such a thing, as the very top boss of all marketing said basically that pricing for the camera, and bundle packages (note they were addressed separately) had not been announced yet.

It's important to note that each territory has their own marketing division, and those divisions are relatively autonomous in deciding how to market the product to their territories. So it's possible that New Zealand or Australia or South America or someone could decide to offer only the camera+p2 bundle, but even if they did, it would have no influence on how any other territory chooses to market it. The best thing to do, if you're concerned about it, is take your question directly to the Panasonic Broadcast division that's responsible for the country you live in. In Panasonic UK, that was easy -- they have their own forum on their website, giving customers direct access. Hopefully in your territory you will have a similarly easy time at getting to the top decision makers.

The best thing to do, if you're concerned about it, is take your question directly to the Panasonic Broadcast division that's responsible for the country you live in.

For the consumer unit those companies have no rep.; they have a direct costumer support so It is easy to get access higher in the chain of command...

BUT for the Professional Division they have one official distributor each (being Sony -> Viditec; JVC -> Audinac; Panasonic -> Lade), so if you wanna get in touch with people from INSIDE the company it's more difficult (sometimes you have to go straight to Miami managers as in Sony).

Even more, Matsushita closed Panasonic offices in 2003 and transferred all its managment to Panasonic do Brasil, establishing a smaller local office.

The P booth is Caper belongs to the official pro dealer.

L