MX500 is out in Australia! at DVinfo.net

Frank Granovski · November 21st, 2002, 11:35 PM

It seems that the PAL, NV-MX500A has just been released in Australia. Here's one great dealer. If anyone knows about another great dealer Down -under, post it here!

http://www.cameraaction.com.au

Graham Baker · November 24th, 2002, 02:43 AM

Frank you just beat me to it! I haven't been here for a week or two - been busy getting to grips with my Panasonic HS2 DVD recorder (which BTW is one heck of a machine! - the recordings it makes to DVD from my MX300 are virtually identical! :-) )

Anyway I was in Camera House yesterday and they do indeed have the MX500 on the shelf - guess what - it's right next to an MX350 and an MX300 - all in a line and just $400 difference between the (now extinct in all other shops) MX300 & MX500...

Whilst I don't whish to knock Camera House (I did buy my MX300 there 15mths ago and they have the best prices) but the particular sales guy I spoke with didn't have a clue about the MX range or the differences between them so I walked up the street to Michaels Camera shop (which has probably the worst prices but the best and most knowledgable sales staff) and managed to spend five mins playing with an MX500 and even managed to get some footage on to a tape, which I have not yet had the chance to play back and check... :-(

My first impressions from this brief encounter were that the MX500 is a good deal smaller than the 300, has a whopping great flip out screen, a better OIS (very important to me - my MX300's OIS is not good!) and some rather nice features - top loading and the extra record button are two big plusses...

Don't know how well the flip out screen copes with sunlight - the shop was not that bright and it worked well there. I guess battery life will be shortened by this monster screen? More good news - the batteries are the same as the MX300's unlike Sony's new models - one reason why I would never go back to Sony.

According to the cam it is something like 3megapixel capable for stills which I strongly doubt - I really can't see how the pixels for each of the 3 chips can be added together to claim such a res - I think this is somehow cheating, something that is supported by my MX300's claimed 1.8megapixel stills which is nowhere near the truth in reality...

The zoom lens is DOWN from 12x to 10x! Big error IMHO - we need a smal cam like this to have a 20x optical zoom - then it will be a killer cam...

My overall impressions were that I would like to upgrade to this little beaut - especailly if the 16:9 stuff turns out to be as good as they claim. Oh and the mpeg4 streaming capability could be handy too, as would the instant closeup zoom function which I forgot to check out...

Going back for a more detailed look next weekend.. :-)

Frank Granovski · November 24th, 2002, 03:49 AM

Wow! What a review! Do post more next weekend after you look it over a second time. A big thank you.

I keep telling people about how small the MX500 is. A lot of people think it's the same size as the TRV950. This is simply not true. I have a couple of pics posted on my MX500 page, thanks to the Chuckmeister. One pic is next to a can of Coke, the other one is in one hand from the Chuckmeister's mother. It's small!

Joe Carney · November 24th, 2002, 12:40 PM

I just emailed them for a Price quote, including wideangle and telephoto leneses, plus extra battery. Hoepfully they will respond soon.

AngryoMayfiar, you must have spoken to Grant over a Provisual, becuase they finally got me a quote for the DV301E. Unfortunately it was much higher than a quote I got from a local FL reseller. Very wierd. And I thought the FL reseller was high. (US 3495.00) vs Aus 7980.00 (roughly 4499.00 US).
Still, thanks for motivating them.
Street prices for the US version are down to 2700.00 US.
For 3495.00 I can get the DVX100.

I guess the MX500 is looking better and better for the price, even if I end up paying a small premium for getting PAL.

Note: Allen Rejoso emailed me and stated, if you buy the PAL version from Japan, you will have no warranty on the camera.
If you want a warranty, you need to buy from a country authorized to sell PAL Panasonic cameras. So make sure who ever you buy your MX500 from can get it fixed legally.

Allan Rejoso · November 24th, 2002, 08:27 PM

Correction Jojo:

If you buy a PAL camera from Japan, you will get international warranty. However, according to Pany Japan, PAL cameras and TVs cannot be serviced in the US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan and some South American countries because they don't have the PAL compatible facilities to do it.

Allan Rejoso · November 24th, 2002, 08:34 PM

Sorry I forgot to add..

Hence, in case you need to avail of warranty service, according to Pany Japan, you should send the cam to any authorized service centers in Europe, Australia, Singapore and other Pany PAL service centers listed in the warranty card. The service would be free of course, but international shipping isn't.

Joe Carney · November 24th, 2002, 09:34 PM

Thanks for cleating that up. hmmm, I'll check with Pana USA to get some official word on this. I'll try tomorrow.

Joe C.

Frank Granovski · November 25th, 2002, 03:05 AM

Allan, don't forget Korea. They're NTSC as well, and Pana probably can't handle PAL cams there either.

November 21st, 2002, 11:35 PM	#1
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	MX500 is out in Australia! It seems that the PAL, NV-MX500A has just been released in Australia. Here's one great dealer. If anyone knows about another great dealer Down -under, post it here! http://www.cameraaction.com.au

November 24th, 2002, 02:43 AM	#2
Graham Baker Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 43	Frank you just beat me to it! I haven't been here for a week or two - been busy getting to grips with my Panasonic HS2 DVD recorder (which BTW is one heck of a machine! - the recordings it makes to DVD from my MX300 are virtually identical! :-) ) Anyway I was in Camera House yesterday and they do indeed have the MX500 on the shelf - guess what - it's right next to an MX350 and an MX300 - all in a line and just $400 difference between the (now extinct in all other shops) MX300 & MX500... Whilst I don't whish to knock Camera House (I did buy my MX300 there 15mths ago and they have the best prices) but the particular sales guy I spoke with didn't have a clue about the MX range or the differences between them so I walked up the street to Michaels Camera shop (which has probably the worst prices but the best and most knowledgable sales staff) and managed to spend five mins playing with an MX500 and even managed to get some footage on to a tape, which I have not yet had the chance to play back and check... :-( My first impressions from this brief encounter were that the MX500 is a good deal smaller than the 300, has a whopping great flip out screen, a better OIS (very important to me - my MX300's OIS is not good!) and some rather nice features - top loading and the extra record button are two big plusses... Don't know how well the flip out screen copes with sunlight - the shop was not that bright and it worked well there. I guess battery life will be shortened by this monster screen? More good news - the batteries are the same as the MX300's unlike Sony's new models - one reason why I would never go back to Sony. According to the cam it is something like 3megapixel capable for stills which I strongly doubt - I really can't see how the pixels for each of the 3 chips can be added together to claim such a res - I think this is somehow cheating, something that is supported by my MX300's claimed 1.8megapixel stills which is nowhere near the truth in reality... The zoom lens is DOWN from 12x to 10x! Big error IMHO - we need a smal cam like this to have a 20x optical zoom - then it will be a killer cam... My overall impressions were that I would like to upgrade to this little beaut - especailly if the 16:9 stuff turns out to be as good as they claim. Oh and the mpeg4 streaming capability could be handy too, as would the instant closeup zoom function which I forgot to check out... Going back for a more detailed look next weekend.. :-)

November 24th, 2002, 03:49 AM	#3
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Wow! What a review! Do post more next weekend after you look it over a second time. A big thank you. I keep telling people about how small the MX500 is. A lot of people think it's the same size as the TRV950. This is simply not true. I have a couple of pics posted on my MX500 page, thanks to the Chuckmeister. One pic is next to a can of Coke, the other one is in one hand from the Chuckmeister's mother. It's small!

November 24th, 2002, 12:40 PM	#4
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	I just emailed them for a Price quote, including wideangle and telephoto leneses, plus extra battery. Hoepfully they will respond soon. AngryoMayfiar, you must have spoken to Grant over a Provisual, becuase they finally got me a quote for the DV301E. Unfortunately it was much higher than a quote I got from a local FL reseller. Very wierd. And I thought the FL reseller was high. (US 3495.00) vs Aus 7980.00 (roughly 4499.00 US). Still, thanks for motivating them. Street prices for the US version are down to 2700.00 US. For 3495.00 I can get the DVX100. I guess the MX500 is looking better and better for the price, even if I end up paying a small premium for getting PAL. Note: Allen Rejoso emailed me and stated, if you buy the PAL version from Japan, you will have no warranty on the camera. If you want a warranty, you need to buy from a country authorized to sell PAL Panasonic cameras. So make sure who ever you buy your MX500 from can get it fixed legally.

November 24th, 2002, 08:27 PM	#5
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	Correction Jojo: If you buy a PAL camera from Japan, you will get international warranty. However, according to Pany Japan, PAL cameras and TVs cannot be serviced in the US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan and some South American countries because they don't have the PAL compatible facilities to do it.

November 24th, 2002, 08:34 PM	#6
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	Sorry I forgot to add.. Hence, in case you need to avail of warranty service, according to Pany Japan, you should send the cam to any authorized service centers in Europe, Australia, Singapore and other Pany PAL service centers listed in the warranty card. The service would be free of course, but international shipping isn't.

November 24th, 2002, 09:34 PM	#7
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	Thanks for cleating that up. hmmm, I'll check with Pana USA to get some official word on this. I'll try tomorrow. Joe C.

November 25th, 2002, 03:05 AM	#8
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Allan, don't forget Korea. They're NTSC as well, and Pana probably can't handle PAL cams there either.