P2 exact pricing and availability

[Mike Medavoy]

Hello,

Looked at (potentially) buying some smaller P2 cards, but prices don't seem to be consistent. In fact I find that there is a very limited availability of P2 cards -- not many retailers have them.

Can someone specify what the "normal" price is for a 2Gb, 4Gb and 8Gb P2 card? And where to find them? B&H lists them for ridiculous prices.

And, is the rumour of a HVX200+2x4Gb P2 cards package confirmed? How much that would run? About seven grand?

[Chris Hurd]

I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that the 2GB cards aren't even being made any more. Right now (prior to the release of the HVX200), the availability of P2 cards fall pretty much within the realm of higher-end professional ENG suppliers. I'm sure we can expect that to change soon. Posting current P2 card prices now isn't going to help much, because memory prices are falling all the time and a cost listed now will not be accurate in a month or so when the HVX hits the market.

I would suggest staying away from the 4GB cards... that money would be better spent on the FireStore for this camera. If the bundle with a pair of 8GB cards is cost prohibitive for you, just hold off and wait... the pricing will come down soon enough.

[Mike Medavoy]

I'd like to be able to hold off and wait... but not when you have to shoot a project soon (February-March).

Either that, or just live capture into a Powerbook, if the price doesn't fall down fast enough.

Really? The 2Gb P2 card is not made anymore?... That means is it cheaper to find (even used) or on the contrary, more expensive?

Thanks for the quick reply above.

[John Benton]

There were rumors of a new buy 2x4G package that was coming as well - I think around Dec 8th -
The ability to Swap/download/swapback to have continuosw shooting is alluring no??

[Jimi Colteryahn]

I just talked to my local Panasonic dealer. My little Panny GS-250 broke down two months ago and they might fix it this week finally.

Dealer says, " HVX-200 + 2x4GB P2 cards for $5,489."

I really like my Panny GS-250. But the thing won't stay fixed. It told me i had dirty heads the 2nd time i used it. It broke-down the 4th time i used it.

To make a long story short, I was going to buy another cheap small camera but instead I put that money on the downpayment for a HVX200.

I'm a sinner... :(

[Mike Medavoy]

That price is good, for the HVX200+2 4Gb P2 cards.

To post publicly maybe will upset Chris, but can you e-mail me what is your local Panasonic dealer? In fact, if one local OFFICIAL Panasonic dealer offers this bundle, it's gonna be a constant price throughout the territory, I assume...

P.S. Ahhh... you're from Panama... I remember you posting the same thing a few weeks ago... it's bad... I thought you're from the US... probably we're not going to see this bundle price here....

[Barry Green]

Dealer says, " HVX-200 + 2x4GB P2 cards for $5,489."

That sounds deceptively low. I've seen stores offering the camera by itself for $5500, so cam+2 cards for the same price sounds ... well, sounds like someone got it wrong somewhere. I'm sure we'd all hope it is true, but it doesn't sound like it could be...

[Chris Hurd]

Yeah, sorry, but in fairness to our sponsors there will be no public discussions here about other dealers. I don't believe in low-ball pricing and this community does not exist for that purpose. Thanks in advance for understanding,

[Mike Medavoy]

I agree, that is something not totally right about this price from Panama...

Looking for this camera, I also found a store (let's keep it unnamed) that offers this camera for $4, 235! I e-mailed them asking what the catch is and they said there is no catch, they are offering the camera w/ all accessories for this price. Moreover, they are offering the 2Gb card for $700 and the 4gb card for $1,500.

I STILL believe there is some catch here, especially with the camera price -- yet I cannot explain how come these stores stay in business if they are tricking people somehow.

Chris, it's a good policy that you are not allowing but a few select, serious sponsors on the site as far as buying products is concerned.

[Adrian Vallarino]

Panama is a HUGE distribution hub for Sony. And there are virtualy no import or sales taxes what so ever, It wouldnt surprise me if that was a real price down there. I remember buying a couple of my u-matic field recorders in Pananama back in the 80s. The trip from Uruguay + the deck was a lot cheaper than buying it in Uruguay.

[Philip Williams]

Originally Posted by Mike Medavoy

<snip>
Looking for this camera, I also found a store (let's keep it unnamed) that offers this camera for $4, 235! I e-mailed them asking what the catch is and they said there is no catch, they are offering the camera w/ all accessories for this price. Moreover, they are offering the 2Gb card for $700 and the 4gb card for $1,500.

I STILL believe there is some catch here, especially with the camera price -- yet I cannot explain how come these stores stay in business if they are tricking people somehow.
<snip>

I suspect its like the carpet cleaning business. There are tons of guys out there with their "$5 per room" specials that get their foot in the door and then hard sell the price to 200-300 bucks. These guys don't have a single repeat customer and no customer referrals (quite the opposite in fact). But there's just so much population churn and people are always so thrifty (Ok, cheap), these con artists can still thrive.

Philip Williams

[Jay Dee]

As the saying goes: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

[Edwin Hernandez]

Originally Posted by Jimi Colteryahn

I put that money on the downpayment for a HVX200.
(

Jimi: I actually put money on that offer too and I feel very confident it was a good deal. I'm from Panama and I was the one who posted that before. We don't discuss other retailers on this site, as a way of being loyal to those who sponsor this site.

Please give me a call and we can talk about it privately. It would be good to start a club of those having that camera in Panama, so we can borrow/rent P2 CARDS and maybe even have dual camera productions.
My cell phone is 6674-1701. Hope to hear from you soon.

[Edwin Hernandez]

Originally Posted by Mike Medavoy

I agree, that is something not totally right about this price from Panama...

I'm not going to discuss about the dealer, but Panama is Sony's and Panasonic's headquarters for almost all Latin America and the Caribbean (except Perú, Brazil & Mexico in the case of Panasonic).

The price WAS almost right... It was a 3 day special, but it didn't include import tax and shipping. Price was FOB Miami, so you'll have to add like an additional $800. It was done this way to give different import options to the customers. Not available anymore.

Last I heard from them (yesterday) is that the camera will be available in January 3rd.

[Betsy Moore]

I did buy an FX1 from Singapore earlier this year, got a great price and had no problems whatsoever so sometimes it works out but yeah it's risky. P.S. I don't think you can call 6000 dollars for a prosumer camera with only a few minutes of recording ability "lowballing".