I understand Panasonic's concerns on the issue of upgrade. It would be terrific if they would change their tune and provide a path for upgrade.
If they provide the HDD and upgrade service through authorized service centers, the only limiting factor would be whether the end-user wishes to spend the money.
It is disingenuous to say "we should have known" we were purchasing an obsolete device - especially one that is still offered in the first-hand market as new. Panasonic has had a charted path for memory size of the P2 card since its announcement. Did they not see that one of the first two P2 products/ devices had a limited functionality horizon? Sure they did. And still do.
Imagine a scenario where Panasonic told every HVX200 owner (again, the early adopters) that nothing bigger than a 4GB card would work in their cameras? That they'd decided not to write new firmware for this? Of course, this is less probable and didn't happen.
HVX200 owners were also left out of the 5-year warranty. These few niggling items lead me to believe that there is a system-wide cavalier attitude toward the early adopters of P2. Being told that, in today's P2 world, I don't need the P2Store anymore is, frankly, maddening. Using our batching laptop deep in the field isn't always an option. Neither is carrying twenty "raw stock" 32GB cards at $1600 a pop.
P2 is a terrific technology and I've personally championed the format to the tune of dozens of clients since we were one of the first companies to adopt it. That a device like the P2Store, which is incredibly reliable in my experience, is being left behind for no good reason is unfortunate and doesn't paint Panasonic in a perfect light.
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If they provide the HDD and upgrade service through authorized service centers, the only limiting factor would be whether the end-user wishes to spend the money.
It is disingenuous to say "we should have known" we were purchasing an obsolete device - especially one that is still offered in the first-hand market as new. Panasonic has had a charted path for memory size of the P2 card since its announcement. Did they not see that one of the first two P2 products/ devices had a limited functionality horizon? Sure they did. And still do.
Imagine a scenario where Panasonic told every HVX200 owner (again, the early adopters) that nothing bigger than a 4GB card would work in their cameras? That they'd decided not to write new firmware for this? Of course, this is less probable and didn't happen.
HVX200 owners were also left out of the 5-year warranty. These few niggling items lead me to believe that there is a system-wide cavalier attitude toward the early adopters of P2. Being told that, in today's P2 world, I don't need the P2Store anymore is, frankly, maddening. Using our batching laptop deep in the field isn't always an option. Neither is carrying twenty "raw stock" 32GB cards at $1600 a pop.
P2 is a terrific technology and I've personally championed the format to the tune of dozens of clients since we were one of the first companies to adopt it. That a device like the P2Store, which is incredibly reliable in my experience, is being left behind for no good reason is unfortunate and doesn't paint Panasonic in a perfect light.
e
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