DVC30 Early Review

Mark Williams · May 23rd, 2004, 05:45 PM

Steve,

One more thing since I know you were interested in hard drive vs. tape acquisition. I was in contact with MCE quickstream back about 2 months ago and was promised a drive to test for them on my Matrox 2500 NLE system. They never delivered and now don't respond to my e-mails. I have also read a lot on other forums about customer problems with their drives so it might be something to keep in mind if you are still in the market.

Regards,

Mark

Dave Croft · May 29th, 2004, 08:24 AM

This new dvc30 looks like a pretty sweet camera. I had thought about getting an XM2 (GL2) but the panny seems alot better.

1. Rugged Magnesium chassis (and not plastic like GL2),
2. Has frame movie mode but ALSO cine gamma found on DVX!
3. Apparently sharper and clearer than GL2 in low-light,
4. The first 3ccd ever (apparently) to have a good IR nightshot.
5. Only has 4x zoom less than GL2.

Not sure I'm allowed to link this (delete if i'm not ;) here is a review and they rate it above GL2:

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/panasonic-ag-dvc30-camcorder-review.htm

I'm in the UK and Pal versions (as usual) seem a bit thin on the ground - I have been waiting for ever for UK places to stock the DVX100, but no such luck.

Dave.

Mark Williams · May 29th, 2004, 01:43 PM

Dave,

I agree with the points you made. Being a long time owner of the GL-1 I can attest to one of its major faults which for me was its plastic construction. The GL-2 is very similar. I can't tell you how many times I had to glue major body parts back together. Although I have been generally happy with the cam it has finally died. I decided not to replace it with another all plastic cam. I just bought a DVC 30 which will arrive next week.

Regards,

Mark

May 23rd, 2004, 05:45 PM	#16
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Steve, One more thing since I know you were interested in hard drive vs. tape acquisition. I was in contact with MCE quickstream back about 2 months ago and was promised a drive to test for them on my Matrox 2500 NLE system. They never delivered and now don't respond to my e-mails. I have also read a lot on other forums about customer problems with their drives so it might be something to keep in mind if you are still in the market. Regards, Mark

May 29th, 2004, 08:24 AM	#17
Dave Croft Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yorks UK Posts: 89	This new dvc30 looks like a pretty sweet camera. I had thought about getting an XM2 (GL2) but the panny seems alot better. 1. Rugged Magnesium chassis (and not plastic like GL2), 2. Has frame movie mode but ALSO cine gamma found on DVX! 3. Apparently sharper and clearer than GL2 in low-light, 4. The first 3ccd ever (apparently) to have a good IR nightshot. 5. Only has 4x zoom less than GL2. Not sure I'm allowed to link this (delete if i'm not ;) here is a review and they rate it above GL2: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/panasonic-ag-dvc30-camcorder-review.htm I'm in the UK and Pal versions (as usual) seem a bit thin on the ground - I have been waiting for ever for UK places to stock the DVX100, but no such luck. Dave.

May 29th, 2004, 01:43 PM	#18
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Dave, I agree with the points you made. Being a long time owner of the GL-1 I can attest to one of its major faults which for me was its plastic construction. The GL-2 is very similar. I can't tell you how many times I had to glue major body parts back together. Although I have been generally happy with the cam it has finally died. I decided not to replace it with another all plastic cam. I just bought a DVC 30 which will arrive next week. Regards, Mark