Panasonic release professional camcorder with CMOS sensor.

Hardly dumb.

AVCIntra, a completely revamp sensoring system among dozens of other things in a shoulder mount ENG style cam that also shoots DVCProHD and SD.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=149618

The last fifteen pages of this extensive thread are instrumental to understand why the 3MOS shutter architecture was chosen among other things.

This is a very attractive camera, but remember that you decide whether its capabilities and limitations fit your workflow.

best
 
I doubt that they would have picked CMOS if it was going to present problems in the image.

Personally though, I'm sure this will shoot nice images, but $10,000 for a 1/3 sensor large ENG-style camera does not fit into my budget nor does it really interest me.
 
As much as I'm a Panasonic fan I'd rather spend the money on an EX1 and get the low light & bokeh benefits of 1/2" imagers ;)
 
lifepo4 said:
Did they solve the problem caused by rolling shutter? I mean why not use CCD, which has a global shutter. Is it because they want to lower the cost and increase the sensor resolution? Anyone can explain the motive of Panasonic?
Dumb!!!
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Because people wanted it, that's why they went with it. People wanted full raster chips which you're only going to get with a CMOS chipset, as I believe a full raster 1/3" CCD would probably melt.

Knocking CMOS and how "inferior" it is for the rolling shutter issue sounds about as bad as folks knocking the HMC150/HPX170/HVX200a chipset and how "inferior" it is for the pixel shifting it uses. Both have limitations and advantages. There are plenty of folks shooting on the EX1/EX3 with great results. There are people shooting on RED with fantastic results. As long as you know what you're getting into, it's not an issue.

Honestly, this will quite possibly be an EX killer. Same price range, same general media costs. The only downside would be more expensive batteries. But actual image flip (not in the LCD, but how it's recorded) for 35mm adaptors. Real viewfinder plus flip out LCD.

And AVC-Freaking'-Intra... which is a better codec than either DVCProHD or XDCam-EX. That alone will probably make up for any shortcomings of the CMOS chip.
 
Why would someone want that over the HPX-500?

I know Panasonic needs a $10,000 segment camera, but I see no value to this compared to others in this segment.
If it were small and light weight then maybe, or if it were this size, I would prefer 2/3 sensors....just me.

I could do shoulder mount, but not at 1/3 sensor size.
 
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Mike Harvey said:
Knocking CMOS and how "inferior" it is for the rolling shutter issue sounds about as bad as folks knocking the HMC150/HPX170/HVX200a chipset and how "inferior" it is for the pixel shifting it uses. Both have limitations and advantages. There are plenty of folks shooting on the EX1/EX3 with great results. There are people shooting on RED with fantastic results. As long as you know what you're getting into, it's not an issue.
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I'll take this even further and add that people are shooting on 5D mk2's and D90's with great results as well.
 
Green Hornet said:
Why would someone want that over the HPX-500?
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My guess is that the HPX500 will go over better for broadcast uses like smaller TV stations, and the HPX300 would go better with the independent production companies and folks considering a full raster chip with a full raster codec. Different markets. In the other thread, Jan gave a bunch of reason why they were different.
 
For a lot of the work I do this HPX-300 is overkill, and is currently out of my budget for a single camera.

The AVC-Intra codec is a nice touch I have to say. And if you really add things up and compare this to an HPX-500, then this is a pretty good price. Plus, this HPX-300 comes with the lens. I would love to see the 3MOS technology and AVC-Intra codec filter down into a future HPX-170 style camera.

Throw a 35mm adapter on this puppy, and I could see this as being a good digital cinema camera for those that want something a bit higher end than an EX1 or HPX-170. With the full raster AVC-Intra codec plus a DoF adapter, wouldn't this give a Varicam a pretty good run for its money, especially when you consider the overall price (HPX-300 + P2 cards + DoF adapter)?
 
Nektonic said:
DoF aside, would AVC-Intra put this camera on a much more level playing field with some of the much higher end cameras like the newer Varicam for example?
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10 bit, full raster, 4:2:2, I-frame... I would think it would give it one heck of a run for it's money for a lot of lower end productions. I could see some primetime stuff or a soap opera being shot on this, or maybe a lower budget movie. Especially with a DoF adapter, some nice glass, and the proper lighting.
 
Mike Harvey said:
10 bit, full raster, 4:2:2, I-frame... I would think it would give it one heck of a run for it's money for a lot of lower end productions. I could see some primetime stuff or a soap opera being shot on this, or maybe a lower budget movie. Especially with a DoF adapter, some nice glass, and the proper lighting.
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Hmmm.... maybe I jumped the gun and prematurely judged this camera. Granted, I wouldn't want to get it to shoot my wedding videography, but for some other types of event and corporate work it could be a good piece of gear. One advantage to the larger size is that it can help to impress certain clients as opposed to a smaller format camera.

The reason I asked about how it might compare to a Varicam is that I'd consider this mainly for a film, commercial, documentary, and music video camera. But that is just for my needs. Others will probably find more uses for it in different situations.

As for using a DoF adapter did I read somewhere that you can record the image un-flipped, but that the LCD/viewfinder doesn't actually flip the image? That just doesn't make any sense to me that it would not allow a flipped display if it can record a flipped image and turn it right-side up.
 
Yes, either Barry or Jan in the other thread said that yes, it can record the image from the chips upside down. So if the image on the chips was already upside down from a DoF adapter, the it ultimately records it right side up... negating the need for a flip module. And since there are apparently relay lenses on the market for 1/3" chips (and I'm sure more will pop up real fast)... this will probably be great for films, commercials, and such. As to not flipping the LCD image, I don't hink that would be neccessary, would it? I mean, if the image in the LCD is what is being recorded, not what the chips see, I would think that would negate the need for and LCD flip.
 
Mike Harvey said:
As to not flipping the LCD image, I don't hink that would be neccessary, would it? I mean, if the image in the LCD is what is being recorded, not what the chips see, I would think that would negate the need for and LCD flip.
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Ah, that makes sense. I just didn't work it all out in my head as to the order the camera was sending the signal to the LCD and viewfinder.
 
I did not see where its a 3 chip cam--
I do think its main appeal willbe in the AVC-Intra codec, that is the BIG DIFF. You start first with the codec, then consider the rest.
 
The hilarious thing is the letus ultimate that looks like a good mate for this only comes flipped! If you use letus' or cinevate's upcoming relay they seem to require flip modules, negating in camera flip. Looks like they might have to optimize their relays for non-flip work.
 
Any indication as to if it will be competitive with the EX3 in terms of low light?
If it is, (and there would be no reason why it couldn't be)....then Panasonic could really make a dent in EX3 sales.
 
AVC-Intra is indeed impressive, but it'll remain to be seen whether the camera itself can do the codec justice. The codec is full raster, but will there actually be that many pixel on the chip, which is still smaller than the EX3? My thinking is that there won't be since Panasonic has never been about the resolution. My guess is that resolution wise the EX series will remain the champ, and low light performance might be a toss up.
 
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