Help with Panasonic HVX200a and P2 cards

I

ibezdechi

Member
In my line of work, I'm still finding my hardy Panasonic HVX-200a camera works just great. FINALLY after have the camera for several years, I want to graduate to using the Panasonic P2 cards so I can shoot in 1080i 16:9.

Does the camera itself "know" when a P2 card is being used that it shoots in 1080i/16:9?

What is the difference between the "A" series, "B" series, and "E" series, and "R" series P2 cards?

Thanks, in advance, for anyone's help on these questions....

All the best,

Ivars
 
Hey Ivars,
you need to flick the switch on the back of the camera. I think it says tape/P2, something like that. Then the camera will know it is in P2 mode. The difference in cards is the number of input cycles they have. The number of times they can be recorded and then formatted. But we are talking thousands of cycles for all above mentioned cards so it is a bit of a non question. They'll all work for a very long time unless you are a shooting fiend working hundreds of hours a week.:) I myself have picked up some of the R series off eBay for cheap. Hope this helps.

I actually just re-purchased an HVX two years ago and am loving the camera all over again, and since computers have gotten faster and FCP X works with the mxf files now with ease it is a real joy to shoot with the camera, and the image still looks pretty good as long as you don't need 4K.

Cheers.
 
Hey Doug!

THANKS A MILLION for your great post. I use the HVX200a in event videography and TV news videography. I have loved the camera ever since it came out of the box. It is now time, however, that I put on some "big girl" panties with some true professional video cards.

While I'm bugging you with this, where is a good time table of number of gigs and resolution? What do you usually use? From what I've seen, I guess using the DVCPRO codec is the best one to use.

BTW, I looked at your links of your motion control systems. VERY impressive.

Again, thank you for you great reply.

All the best,

Ivars
 
Glad to help out. I believe the going rate is 1 min of 1080 footage uses 1 gig of card space, give or take. I have mostly used the 720PN mode which gives max time on the cards but you do get a cleaner image in 1080 mode.

My new/old passion is motion control. I have always wanted a moco rig since that day in 1977 when i saw that weird movie. Fun Fact: That first year of SW it didn't say EpIV New Hope, the title scroll just said Star Wars. It wasn't until the next year that they changed the title card, since they knew there was going to be another. So unless you saw the movie in a theater back in 77 you have never seen the original film, not even on those special edition tapes, DVDs or Laser Disc. Its a fact.
 
HVX200 is not recognizing F-Series Cards

HVX200 is not recognizing F-Series Cards

Can someone please help? HVX200 is not recognizing F-Series Cards.

Like you, I have been using a few HVX200 cameras for years and now I can finally afford P2 cards. I just bought two F-Series 64GB P2 Cards. I was so excited to try them out, but my cameras won't recognize them. Can anyone help me? I am thinking that I need to update my firmware, but I can not find it anywhere. There is nothing that I can see on Panasonic's website and all links on this forum are broken. Why are they selling these cards and claiming they work in all P2 cameras but not telling you that you need to update the firmware or providing the support?
 
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We need input from Barry Green on this. I don't believe the 64 Gb cards were available at the time of the 200a cam and it might have a 32Gb max. also, are you certain you have a 200a model and not the original 200 as that may make a difference also.

I understand your frustration, but in the world of video, you are dealing with some legacy gear and support will be diminishing more over time. Having said that, I still have a very soft spot for the hpx170 which is a similar cam.
 
I'm in a similar situation. Waited a long time to buy any "large" P2 cards for my HVX-200P. Found some for sale online and bought 4 x 64 GB R series cards. Have had no problem with them, on version 4.10-00-0.00.
If you need to update the firmware, it's my understanding that it is best - and maybe can only - be done with an "old-style" SD card. I recall seeing comments around the web that anything newer than an SD card won't work, or will at least cause problems.
 
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