Just played with the 500

[Joe Lawry]

Just had the panasonic rep come out to my work to check to see how our gear is going (we've got a couple of spx800s with triax on the back for OB work) and we got a talking about the new cameras..

Low and behold he had one of the first HPX502s (the nz/aus version im guessing) in the back of his car.

Out it came and play i did. I felt rather spoilt as it had a 30k fujinonHD piece of glass on the front however the the body felt pretty good. Slightly plasticy in some places but i guess im use to the extremely solid feel of our spx's however all in all a great camera.

The focus assist function was great too, must nicer than any of the other focus assists i've used before.

Once i finally decide i need to upgrade from my z1 i think i'll be going with the 500... unless they upgrade the 200 slightly bigger ccds/better lcd/viewfinder (and yes i know the chips in the 500 aint much better than the 200)

He also said hes got a 2100 back in the office and said he was thinking of getting someone to shoot some sports with it.. Now that would be fun.

[Joe Lawry]

Well im lucky enough to have just had the camera dropped off at work, the only one in nz which is pretty cool. Panasonic want me to shoot some Rugby in HD for them to showcase the camera with i guess (i work as rugby cameraman and we've got an all blacks game this weekend) going to shoot some 1080 50i as well as some 720 50p. Will report back on how the camera goes.

[Justin Kuhn]

I want to get my grubby little hands on this camera so bad.

[Barry_Green]

Any chance you could have an HVX200 side by side?

[Joe Lawry]

Hey

Umm no sorry Barry i havent got access to an hvx, wish i did. All i have access too are spx800 dvcpro50s..

Have the camera sitting behind me now in works fcp suite.. 815 pm and dark out.. lets see how this thing handles low light.

Joe

Edit: oh and btw its got a Fujinon HA18x7.6BERM-M48 on the front.. this is one hot piece of glass.

[Jan_Crittenden]

Slightly plasticy in some places but i guess im use to the extremely solid feel of our spx's however all in all a great camera.

Hi Joe, The only plastic is on the standard viewfinder and if you wish you could put the VF that is on your SPX800 on there and then it would all be a diecast magnesium/aluminum camcorder body. I think wht you really are reacting to is the fact that it is lighter by several pounds than the 800, and that can be very deceiving, but I will assure you that it has the design build of a broadcast level camera.


The focus assist function was great too, must nicer than any of the other focus assists i've used before.

I will second this, it really is the easiest HD camera to focus, and well so is the 2000 as it has the same feature.


Once i finally decide i need to upgrade from my z1 i think i'll be going with the 500... unless they upgrade the 200 slightly bigger ccds/better lcd/viewfinder (and yes i know the chips in the 500 aint much better than the 200)

The CCDs here are much better than the 200, keep in mind that they are 2/3" and there is a gain in resolution. Looks better than a 1/2" 1.1 mill imager and has better dynamic range and low light performance. Don't judge a book by the cover as frankly if one can take advantage of physics and technology, should it be deemed bad manners to do so. The 500 is a fabulous camera t the price point and it holds its own against the XDCam HD competition.


He also said hes got a 2100 back in the office and said he was thinking of getting someone to shoot some sports with it.. Now that would be fun.

The 2100 is also a great camera, similar to our 2000 here, not the same though. Menu structure is much more sophicated and the camera can virtually see in the dark!

Best,

Jan

[JimiK]

Its time to see some footage I believe.
Please any one?

[Joe Lawry]

Hi Joe, The only plastic is on the standard viewfinder and if you wish you could put the VF that is on your SPX800 on there and then it would all be a diecast magnesium/aluminum camcorder body. I think wht you really are reacting to is the fact that it is lighter by several pounds than the 800, and that can be very deceiving, but I will assure you that it has the design build of a broadcast level camera.

Best,

Jan

Yup i agree there, we actually upgraded our spx800s to the 2" 16X9 viewfinders which i've gotten so use to. Although thats not to say that the stock viewfinder is bad.. i actually had no trouble focusing with it.. using that focus assist of course.

So i think once we've got the OB event out of the way tonight (saturday) and i've shot what panny nz want im going to put one of our viewfinders on and on sunday shoot something else.

Im loving the weight of the camera. Going from the spx800s with digital triax backs to the 500 is great!



Joe