There will be a Panasonic dealer's show next month here in Vancouver. After the show I should have some info about this cam. (No, I'm not a dealer.) I'm almost dying to find out whether this cam is the North American version of the Japanese Domestic NV-MX5000.

That new tiny, tiny 3 chip from Panasonic will probably be a hot seller, since Leo's, a local pro shop in my neck of the woods, have been getting swamped with inquiries. Who knows! Maybe that'll be the new cam I'll get for my wife---she keeps bugging me---she's tired of her JVC GR-DVL300 (I think that's the model). Mind you, that cam and her still cam (Nikon EM) are collecting dust these days. (It's because of the overcast Vancouver winter weather.)

For what it's worth, Charles Littman wrote that "the PV-DV953 is a stripped down version of the MX5000. Surprised?" He also said that he has the new MX6000 Operating Manual. Here we go again; another new MX cam in Japan. It's hard to keep up...or am I just slowing down? A little of both, I think.

The PV-DV953 is now posted at http://www.panasonic.com

The picture sure looks like the MX500/0. Maybe someone can compare the specs between the PV-DV953 and MX5000.

The PVDV953 seems to be exactly the same as the MX500, down to the miserable 1/6" CCDs, except for being NTSC instead of PAL. At least, the specifications on Panasonic site says so...

Aren't you glad that your MX350 has 1/4" CCDs? But you gotta ask yourself: where's the widescreen? Oops. The smaller chipped MX5's got the higher res 16:9---and the funny thing is that I bought the MX3 for the pro-scan and widescreen. Oops.

Yup, no widescreen, and having seen Alaska's (of DV.com) bear wide screens, I'll say they look great!

But I won't be able to afford widescreen for another 5 years at the earliest, being a poor engineer. So I'll stick to 4:3 for now, at least my poorer parents can see thing bigger on their 4:3 TVs without the letterboxing, considering the aging eyes.

But I'll say, "Widescreen is the way to go". Probably in my next video cam, a high-end semipro or a low-end pro camera. Until then, I'll work harder and smarter to be richer.

:)

Frank, according to Panasonics web site, the 953 has all the features of the 5000, including Cinema (16x9) mode and Optical stableizer.
Once again, I'm not not trusting Littman at all. Plus with discounts at places like Best Buy and BrandsMart, it should retail closer to 1200. Maybe the Japanese can buy it from the States? hehehe.

Maybe the Japanese can buy it from the States?

Sadly, the Japanese would have to deal with the English menus. But the really sad news is that there should be a MX6000 out around June...in Japan (not elsewhere). Hopefully, it'll have 1/8" CCDs.... (Yuk, yuk!)

The official retail price in Singapore is SGD3300, while the vendors are selling at SGD2400 (some even below this) currently.

SGD2400 is US$1380 currently.

It is also noted that taxes are different at different countries, and NTSC areas are cheaper than PAL areas.

Hi, Cheng Hoe!

Is that the price of the MX500 (PAL) you are quoting?

By the way, across the causeway / bridge in Malaysia, I can get the MX500 (PAL) for RM 5900 which is / 3.85 = USD $1,532.

That's the list price. You can always bargain the price down to perhaps another 5 or if you're really really persistant, 10 percent.

Just helped a friend get one unit of MX500 last Saturday for (all prices in Singaproe dollars) for $2330, with 1 extra 2.5hr battery (about $80 worth), 3 Panasonic tapes ($18), one cheap UV(0) filter ($5) and a Panasonic bag ($10) all thrown in.

S$2330 is about RM5000 and US$1330.

The prices continues to fall...

I found a website taking preorders for the 953 !!!!!

Maybe it'll be available soon, still waiting on that email from Panasonic.

Hi Jed, I gave up with my e-mails too Panasonic USA. They either don't reply, which is most of the time, or don't answer my question/s---and I do keep it very simple for them!

What is that dealer asking for the PV-DV953? What dealer/website?

I didn't list the website before cause Chris usually admonishes posters to stick with board sponsers, but i don't see any panasonic (or sony) sponsers.

It's listed on onecall.com (authorized dealer) for $1499.00

But they usually have the best "online" prices of anyone so should be at least 7% off (I guess that's their current promo)
And they have a 3 year warranty (with a cool partially refundable feature) for $99.

so far the only website other than panasonic to list the 953. Still says out of stock though : )

Thanks, Jed. $1499 is Panasonic's list price I think. Street price might be lower. Perhaps after the dealer shows are completed, the new Panasonics will be released. That's usually how it goes. My biggest concern is that the PV-DV953 will be a stripped version of the MX5000. That's what Charles Littman thinks. Well, I guess the count down is on! A few more weeks and it'll be on US shelves. Up here in Canada, I'd say after April 1st, maybe even not until May, is when we'll see these new pups. Onecall is in Washington, right?

Frank, what did Littman say made the 953 stripped down compared to the MX5000? Anything specific?
I couldn't find any thing about it at his site. The specks at Panasonic sound just like the MX500/0.

He didn't say anything specific, just that comment. But he said that he will post these stripped features on his website. So I keep checking.

Even if the 953 is stripped down, I think it would depend on which features are missing that would make it a concern.

If the 953 is the MX5000, I'm going to definitely check it out, and depending on the Canadian price, I will strongly consider buying one---or a PAL MX500. I'm thinking about giving away my last MX300 to a family member---that is if I buy a 953 or MX500A---depending on price. The AU and Canadian price will be much higher than the Japanese and American price----I'm sure Canadians would agree about the high rip-off prices in Canada. It's much cheaper to buy in the USA, even after converting to the higher US Dollar, shipping and GST/PST. Not for all cams, mind you; a good example would be with the VX2000.

I emailed onecall about when they might have these in stock. I was pleasantly shocked when they replied 4 hours later (still waiting on panasonic's response) that they expect them in stock in 1-2 weeks.

So I guess at the latest that would be march 19th.

As far as being a stripped down version, won't they have the same picture producing elements 3chips/lense/dv recording?

That's all that really matters to me! Any sound/editing features that are left out should be able to be done in post I would guess.

In Stock! onecall.com $1349

Plus for frank there is a website on pricegrabber that ships to canada too :)

Thanks, Jed! I just found out that the PV-DV953 will be selling for $2500 Canada - http://www.leoscamera.com - and it won't be available for another month (here in Canada).