HVX200B? When?

Jan at panasonic has already confirmed, "no new hvx this year." So I doubt the validity of an HVX210 reported for the end of the year.

MY biggest concern is that Panny would make improvments to the imagers which could not be done via firmware.

That said, I doubt that would happen since Juan is prepping Hydra for the HVX200. I would think that he'd put such a thing off for a while if he knew of a new version coming out within 2 years that would have any significant improvements.

Again this is all speculation, andI really started this thread out of insecurity since, as I statd, I bought the camera after it's been out for a year, and theDVX had a new version every year.

I don't think history is going to repeat itself in this instance, and if it does, I saved so much money by waiting to buy (for lots of reasons), if I had to sell this in 8 months to get the new version for some reason I could afford the financial hit.

I'm predicting an announcement of a successor in 2008, next NAB, with delivery mid-2009. I think the successor will not be the same cam, I think it will be different and work alongside the existing HVX200. Perhaps an HPX100, a slightly smaller cam with no tape deck. Panny struck gold with their imager setup so my guess is only minor refinements there. Perhaps the new one may have AVC-HD in it.

I think the new model would be to cross into a different market, perhaps.

The more I think about it, the less I think we'll be seeing revisions.
 
Jan said no new model this year. I love that Panasonic will tell you such things, unlike the other companies. I also read a post where a person was told no new cam for 11 months.

I wonder if the new HVX model will just be a slight change. Maybe lower noise and digital noise reduction controls added. I think it'd be great if they competed with the Sony XDCAM EX with a new 1/2" 3ccd AVC-Intra cam for $8,000. That would be truly awesome.

As for the german slashcam site, they also leaked a Sony Z2 upcoming in July. We'll see.
 
Hmmm... Maybe. They could push the resolution a bit with 1/2".

Right now the native pixels on the CCDs in the HVX are the same size as the RED's. Therefore, I think they have a good thing going; they're not going to want to screw up the good looks they're getting. Also with the HPX500, my guess is THAT was the HVX update.

To me it looks like Panasonic is getting away from updating products, but instead, rolling out new ones and discontinuing when interest fades in an older products, IF that happens. Like look at the HPX2000 and 3000. They are NOT replacing the varicam. People still go for that too.

They have a very diverse lineup. The right cam for the right job. Then they have the products like the HVX, which is a workhorse meant to be able to do everything.

It's impossible to tell what the future is for our little cam, but Jan has intimated that the roadmap for panny-cams are very very long.

With a statement like nothing new this year, I think it's fair to speculate that they have a good thing going, and no big requests (feasible requests) from the users.

I think the DVX revisions were really in prep for the HVX, and to future-proof the DVX, as the go to SD cam for 24p for the future.

Then again I just don't know.

The problem with digital is the obsolescence factor. I know personally I worry alot about my brilliant cam looking like old news in the future. Something the film community doesnt have to worry about, especially while we're seeing so much transition these days. That said, this stuff isn't that expensive. I'd feel much worse if I invested in an f900 five years ago!

Then you have guys like david lynch... shooting on a pd150... not a 170, a PD150.

I've been very active on the boards lately while I'm getting over a long term infection, but I'm looking forward to getting outside of my head again, and working.

It's good to think about these things, but then one needs to call it quits eventually. Otherwise you can keep going and analyzing until we ask the BIG questions and blow our brains out.

I have a camera that I love, I know it won't be obsolete this year, and probably not next year; I'll deal with it when it comes, of course it's all academic since I'd rather put the money towards hydra than buying the new revision IF they even come up with one. Which they probably wont.

I'm guessing in 2009 we'll see the HVX250, sans a deck, 4.5lbs weight or less, MAYBE bigger chips (though I doubt it), and they'll leave the hvx200 on the market until it stops selling.
 
arrestthisman said:
I think we're all damn damn lucky to live in this day and age where we have these tools.....

- Alex
Click to expand...

.....so that we can document the destruction of our planet with breathtaking resolution. Damn, I feel lucky.
 
Politics are one of the forbidden topics on DVXUser. Please take political discussions to other forums where such topics are more appropriate. Thanks.
 
Barry_Green said:
Politics are one of the forbidden topics on DVXUser. Please take political discussions to other forums where such topics are more appropriate. Thanks.
Click to expand...

No problem Barry.
Cheers
 
arrestthisman said:
Right now the native pixels on the CCDs in the HVX are the same size as the RED's.
Click to expand...

What? Are you serious? How is it that RED can get a 4k image if that's true? Is there some kind of voodoo that I'm not understanding here? Please explain. :)
 
Red's sensor is waaaaaaaaay bigger than the HVX's. The HVX sensor is about 5x3mm or so, the Red sensor is 24x12 or so. So it's about 5x as wide, 4x as tall, or about 20x as big. Lots more room to fit more pixels, but the individual pixel sizes are about the same as the HVX's.
 
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Yes aculag, that's basically what I said. I was speaking about the individual pixels NOT the chip size or total resolution.

uhhhh, yeah....

Anyway, I'm not one for specs though. I just got my new pocket-cg65 cam in the mail for fun /w friends (nothing pro or serious), and I swear the picture is better than a 700$ range miniDV camera. It records in AVC h.264. Not sure what the bit rate is, but like so clean. No compression artifacts. efc. Smooth as butter, way better about aliasing than miniDV. and it's a 300$ sd pocket cam. Go figure.

BUT, if specs are anything, I think the Hydra setup will edge out the SI-2k setup. If it were between a mini and hydra, I think I'd go for hydra, because I'm fairly certian that the pixels they're craming into the single 2/3" sensor are smaller than the 1/3" spread across the HVX array. This is where the pixel size issue we just had enters in. Plus 14-bit versus 12-bit. and works on Mac, AND PC, I'm a mac boy, and so far mini-2k is only PC.

I've seen SI-2k's samples and they look damn good, so I think they are both good options, but I guess what I mean to say is, no matter what revision comes out hydra will level out the playing field, and I'm sure many of us indies ARE planning on hydra if we want to stay loyal to our pannies.

I love the look. I love the motion. I love the color. The philosophy.

Between the RED, Hydra, SI-2k, and the plethora of other options approaching, as long as we stay up to date, aquire standards, and learn the skills to extract the best we can from out tools I think the next ten years will produce some very good films, and just as interesting, will be the new methods of distribution.

Honestly ask most people and they'll tell you they prefer their HDTV to the theater any day. Everyone I know with a plasma, or a projector feels that way. (especially when you own your own projector. Man I go to the theaters and pick out the flaws, blur in the corner, and how bad the keystone is for most screens. It's pathetic.)


With DRM-awareness coming out and hollywood deciding to put a bullseye on their foot when it comes to next-gen formats... DIY distro in high-def is the future in my opinion.

That does mean the well will run dry for a while as things change, but it's worth it.

Imagine five years from now... customers turn on hollywood, DRM is as evil as murder in the public eye, and movies are freely distributed on the internet at LOWER prices than now for download to a home media center with 1080p screens with 2000:1 contrast ratios on average.

The marketplace will shift from who you know, and contracts to who makes the best movies wins. It WILL happen.

Ironically I think it will break more dreams than now. As it stands, hollywood still gambles on a lot of talentless people. If the marketplace becomes truely product-driven, only the most talented will survive.

And budgets that big filmmakers are used to now will NEVER happen again. They really won't. The NY times did a huge article about how studios are aquiring financing with other studios, but are increasinly turning to movie-investment funds (like mutual funds for hollywood), the fund managers are pushing for lower budgets. That is #1 on their agenda.

The new wave of investment, period, is based on what my broker calls the "barbell." Higher diversification through controlled high-risk investment. In other words, 60% of your portfolio is very conservative, like bonds, 20% is cash, and the remainder is put into tempered funds of all high risk capital.

That is the future for film. In fact you could probably clock those numbers in, and it'll come pretty close. 60% traditional-big budget, known actors, in the genere of comedy or action, I don't know what cash or liquids would be analagous to, but the rest would be indie investing.

It's good that the big guys are losing money, every time that happens, there is change for the better.

Rant over.

The point is, and I think I've said this all throughout my post, that the HVX200 will get a revision next year maybe....

haha
- a;lex
 
Haven't looked at the SI 2K, so -- no opinion there. I'd expect a 2/3" chip could outperform three 1/3", but other than that I'd have to try 'em side by side to know what the real outcome is.
 
you know what would be AMAZING. 100mbps 24pn. Just cut a full bandwidth 100mbps into thoes native 24 frames.
 
Doesn't work that way. The compression ratio on DVCPRO-HD is fixed. What they could maybe do is 80mbps 1080/24pN, but it'd involve recording a non-standard format so I wouldn't expect them to actually do it...
 
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