Half off on 3700 Panny

I missed the deal on the 2700 which is really killing me. Question is, who would buy the 2700 at 40k right now? I'm hoping they come out with a update to the HPX500 at NAB this year. I'd assume they have to come out with something to compete with the Sony PWM350 at under 20 with glass. I'd buy it.
 
This new price includes the AJ-CVF100 $8,000 color VF so in essence, it is cheaper than the July 2009 promotion.

Robert, you can buy an eligible trade-in camera on Ebay for $300.00, there are plenty of old, thrashed Betacams out there.

Dan
 
I would be amazed if they have received any, who would be so dumb to trade in a camera worth so much? Really, why would you trade in any camera except the cheapest Beta SP thrasher that barely worked? Even the DVC Pro50 cams and some of the others eligible are still probably worth a few thousand dollars.

Interesting too how you CANNOT trade in any P2 camera for one.

I am still think the 2700 camera is the one to get, not the 3700. If I were buying, it would be the 2700 all the way, I am sure they will re-run the promo or come up with another promo around or before NAB on the 2700.

Dan
 
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300 would be a great B camera to go with the 3700 IMHO. Two AVC Intra cameras, similar colorimetry, just one looks a lot better with better dynamic range and shallower DOF and clarity.

D
 
It seems clear to me that these spate of discount offers on the 2700 and 3700 is a preclude to the release of a HPX-4000 that combines the full sensor of the 3700 and the Varispeed of the 2700.

The 2700 would be better re-branded and released as a successor to the HPX-502.

Panasonic need to consolidate their 2/3" line up and get AVC-Intra going across the board.

Panasonic can hit it out of the park with AVC-Ultra 4:4:4 and 1080 1-60p in a 2/3" Camera.

The question remains, can they and will they?
 
Rocketeer said:
The 2700 would be better re-branded and released as a successor to the HPX-502.
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Couldn't agree more. I've got a HPX500 and a HVX200. Both good cams but IMHO, they can't compete with the other cams in the market today. After shooting Panny for the past 4 years, I'm hard pressed to move into a Sony but the PMW-350 seems like a great camera for the money. Keeping my fingers crossed for Panny's response to this. I hope they don't think it's the 2700, at least at it's current price point.
 
Interesting speculation Rocket. Makes sense to me, but Panasonic wouldn't be the first video manufacturer to leave us all scratching our heads, wondering what the heck they were thinking. I do think that AVC Ultra could give them a leg up on the higher end but it seems that AVC Intra has barely even become known and wanted so I am not sure if they would introduce yet another new codec just yet. At this point, AVC Ultra is just a fake badge on a mock up camera, it doesn't really exist yet or at least outside of an engineering lab in Osaka. I mean Sony, well, yeah sure, they have to keep their new format per week ratio up but Panasonic has always been much more conservative.

I think with the newly cheap Sony 350 (A 2/3" full raster solid state Sony for that price with a lens!?!) and the discounts on the 2700 during the promo, a lot of people are thinking with this prolonged global Recession, that $20k is the new $40-60k in cameras, almost the highest end that mere mortals will contemplate.

Red was obviously a big factor in this as well as DSLRs. I don't see a lot of people in production who will be buying video cameras above $25k in the near future. I mean, sure, rental houses and networks, to a point, but owner operators would be crazy to keep buying really expensive cameras these days. I think that cameras like the 300, DSLRs, Scarlet, the 350, are pointing to a new direction for a lot of users, even a lot of high end users. There will always be the few who can drop $50-100k for a camera package but I see that the ranks of their herd are thinning by the week. The manufacturers will have to respond to the market and I see the market is expecting much more for much less, in general, just as our clients are expecting the same thing from us.

If you make television, a 350 for $22k or a 2700 for say $30k with a decent lens is just looking like a real sweet spot to me. I would want to use at least one or two main 2/3" cameras for shooting TV, the lower noise and better low light capability would be appealing and then use 300s, 170s, EX1s as b-cams. That sounds really workable to me with a high degree of quality. Unlike many people in this business, the more I shoot and light, the more I realize that all of the pixel peeping and endless debates about codecs and resolution mean diddly to me, I could care less if my camera has native 720 or full raster chips, CMOS vs. CCD, or long GOP vs. Intraframe. For making TV and telling stories, it just doesn't matter very much. Waaaaay less than most of the measurebators obsess about.

Making feature films that will be shown on the big screen? Then it matters more but for television? Naah, just doesn't matter that much. Having a financial equation that still makes sense, where you can buy cams, use them for a few years and make a profit with them while making your client happy, that's what matters. Then there is that 3D Juggernaut that is hurdling down on all of us that most people aren't aware of yet. It is coming and it is coming faster than most realize it. Not that consumers will care about that much at first, but being able to provide 3D programming will be a category changer for a few years to come. Futureproofing by shooting in 3D but delivering a 2D master will become a big thing, just like shooting HD when SD was king. It paid off for a lot of smart producers.

So debate away about the merits of 1080 60p, AVC Ultra, MPEG 50, etc. I think that a lot of people will have the 3D lightbulb click on over their heads this year and a lot of these concerns will become moot point, the game will change. Consumers will be likely be ambivalent about 3D at first but you don't get the Panasonics, Sonys, Studios, Discoveries of the world putting tens of billions of dollars on 3D (I just researched and wrote a big 3D article for a magazine and yes, it is a huge multi billion dollar gamble and they have rolled the dice already) and not have it affect us in content creation. It will. It's just a matter of when.

Dan
 
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Robert Ruffo said:
I wonder why anyone would buy this when a Red with a an X sensor kills it, and costs way less.
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I don't agree. I've rented the Red 1 and the HPX2700. Two totally different beasts with totally different applications. I love the look of the 2700 with a Pro35 adapter. The R1 in my opinion, looks very sterile. I do use it though. Mostly because of client request but if I only had one camera to shoot on, the 2700 is much more versatile and stable. Don't get me wrong, the R1 does produce some beautiful imagery but the workflow and stability still isn't there. That being said, if the scarlet does ever come out, I'll probably get one. I just not one of the Red fanboys.
 
puredrifting said:
I would be amazed if they have received any, who would be so dumb to trade in a camera worth so much? Really, why would you trade in any camera except the cheapest Beta SP thrasher that barely worked? Even the DVC Pro50 cams and some of the others eligible are still probably worth a few thousand dollars.

Interesting too how you CANNOT trade in any P2 camera for one.

I am still think the 2700 camera is the one to get, not the 3700. If I were buying, it would be the 2700 all the way, I am sure they will re-run the promo or come up with another promo around or before NAB on the 2700.

Dan
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Yeah, without the overcranking, the 2700 is THE one, IMO.
 
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