P2...ok, this is getting silly now...

[Peter Jefferson]

Originally Posted by Bennis Hahn

I don't get people's negative stances on P2 and Panasonic.

Panasonic is ushering in a new era of solid state recording. It expensive. Everyone buying into P2 right now is an early adopter. That comes with a price.

It is not Panasonic's job to make the whole work flow package meet people's budgets for a new camera model just because people are used to the "good ol' DVX"

Get over it, if you cannot afford the HVX and the whole P2 work flow that comes with it, then get something else. If you need long record times, get something else. Jeez, buy an A1 for $3,800 and keep on chugging.

The actual P2 card is a very complex piece of equipment whether you believe so or not, as evidence by the complete lack of third party alternatives. If someone else could come out with a P2 solution for half the cost of Panasonic's, don't you think they would have?

And please don't blame Panasonic for coming out with a business model that you cannot afford.

LOL

read the thread properly.. its not about money.. its about P2 usability TODAY

as for being "early adopters" this is an entirely different argument.. the fact is that P2 has been around now for what.. 3 years almost...a litle more? I was runnign the shop to the public back then so it would have been... about 3-4 yrs ago... Dont forget P2 was available for quite a while before DVCPRoHD was available..
Is 3 years considered early? Condsidering most camcorders dont have a lifespan for that long?

in regard to "panasonics job" comment.. youre going completely off track.. however in response i will say that it IS up to Panasonic if they want to keep this form factor a viable option..
Like i said, its a bread and butter camera.. and it keeps them in the loop with HDV offerings.. BUT it wont be there for long if something isnt done about P2

And like i said, read the thread properly because its not purely about cost..

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Robert Lane

And XDCAM shoots an HDV format, so the only thing XDCAM can offer over the handheld HDV cameras is longer record time, tapless workflow, access to a few lens choices and a higher bitrate of HDV. Sounds like you made the right choice for your needs.

That's a bit misleading, Robert. 'HDV' is a spec and has its own logo. It is only applied to cameras which meet that spec. XDCAM HD is NOT HDV. Anyone viewing footage between the two should see a clear difference in image quality.

Sorry, just trying to keep the facts straight.

-gb-

[Peter Jefferson]

valid responses here IMO here.. but one other thing i should note, is that the camera has now been around for over a year..
Pana are making strides with AVCHD camcorders as we have already seen, theyve also made strides with the new HPX.. however the camera itself is a totally different animal to the HVX and cannot be compared..

IF... and this may well be Panas saving grace.. IF they offered to sell EMPTY P2 card shells.. with no SD cards.... the life of P2 WOULD be sustained as users can upgrade their SD's as they see fit. You need 8gb? go for it... need to break down one P2 card to create 2 4gb cards for this particualr project? Go for it...

There are MANY SD card manufacturers out there, and speed tests have shown that theyre as fast, if not faster than Panas offerings... ive seen SD cards at 166x some faster than this. And yes, ive fed 35mbps XDCamHD footage through a 2g SD card and it didnt skip a beat...
May only be 35mbps, but it works.,, and with the P2 raid0 setup, it will be even faster than that..

Give us empty P2 shells... let us worry about the SD card prices

[Peter Jefferson]

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

That's a bit misleading, Robert. 'HDV' is a spec and has its own logo. It is only applied to cameras which meet that spec. XDCAM HD is NOT HDV. Anyone viewing footage between the two should see a clear difference in image quality.

Sorry, just trying to keep the facts straight.

-gb-

Agreed.. XDCam.. despite the codec being based on HDV, is NOT HDV.. its entirely different, and the differences are noticably on the outset... obvious in fact. One thing that surprised me about it was the fact that it didnt do 4:2:2 colour considering this is supposed to take over from where Digibeta left off..

[Chris Hurd]

Sorry but there are two misconceptions here that really need to be rectified:

Originally Posted by Bennis Hahn

Everyone buying into P2 right now is an early adopter.

Wrong. P2 has been around for three years. It was introduced way back in 2004.

Originally Posted by Robert Lane

And XDCAM shoots an HDV format

Incorrect -- XDCAM most certainly does *not* shoot an HDV format!


Folks, let's please get back to productive discussions that actually accomplish something, such as topics about *how* to use this gear and *what* are we creating with these tools. This thread has been pretty much a borderline platform war from the get-go, and we don't do platform wars here. It's time to bring this utterly pointless debate to a screeching halt. Let's focus instead on sharing *useful* information that you can carry into your day. Thanks in advance,