Question and or opinion about buying the HPX-170

J

Jonathany26

Active member
I have had two Panasonic DVX-100p's for a long time, I LOVE them, I am ready to sell them and upgrade, I had a chance to get a GREAT deal on two new Canon XH-A1's but I don't want to deal with tape anymore and the HDV format would be a hassle I think, I would have to use my camera to capture or buy a deck or cheap camera to capture, with my current set up I already have a Panasonic dv deck, so that has always worked fine when it was time for me to digitize my footage from my DVX-100. My question is since the HPX-170 has been out for a while now, should I wait to see the next version of the HPX-170, I am assuming it will be a HPX-170A and I am thinking they might do it at NAB in April, so the price of the HPX-170 will drop or I can get a HPX-170A for the same price I would be buying the HPX-170 for now. My Panasonic DVX-100p's are not worth much, but the longer I hold on to them, the less they would be worth, one only has 85 hours, and the the other only has 26hours on the heads, I am guessing I can only get about $1000 for them each. The other question is if Panasonic releases new camera's at NAB, they probably won't be for sale until the fall, am I correct ?
what are your thoughts ?

Thanks
 
Hi:

1. Do you do this as a hobby or as a professional? If you are pro and make money from your productions, without a doubt, buy a 170 now and make some money. If you are a hobbyist, perhaps you can afford to wait.

2. Personally, I don't feel that Panasonic will update the 170 at NAB, their have been zero rumors or rumbling but you never know, they might.

3. 90% of the time, when new products are announced at NAB, if they are Panasonic, they have a long track record of delays in having actual units available in the retail channel. You MIGHT be able to buy a new camera introduced at NAB by the Fall of the same year. Or it could take almost a year to be widely available where you don't have to be on a waiting list.

In short, if you are a pro, buy now and make money with it. If you are a hobbyist and on your own timeline, sure, why not wait and see what is introduced at NAB?

Dan
 
Yes, I do this for a living, but most of my work is video done for the internet, so I could wait and continue using the DVX-100's, I have been doing a lot of shooting lately and I am tired of digitizing, I was just thinking if i waited this long, should I wait a little longer, but I think I will just get the HPX-170's, I just hate buying stuff and a month or two later they come out with a newer model for the same amount of money I spent, I had that happen with my mac desktop an mac laptop.
 
I'd say the merits of the existing model alone justifies the purchase. P2 solid state memory, easy access to multiple over and undercranking frame rates, better resolution, more tweaks on the scene files.........

And the fact that you recoup costs makes it a no brainer to me. And as mentioned, you may be waiting a long time if you sit on your hands for an update.

Mostly though, I never want to touch tapes again. I think you'll feel the same way after playing with P2.
 
And you will save a lot of time in downloading the P2 footage and start editing. no long wait for the tape digi......

HPX 170, HPX2000 AVC Intra, HVX200, DVX100, Canon 5MKll
 
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