Resfest - Info on new HD cams - Canon = wow!

[jdnau]

Perhaps not - but realize that anyone who put aside the funds to buy an HVX200 plus some P2 cards for this time of year, has the funds to buy an XLH1. Futhermore, it seems like the XLH1 will be here first - considering they already have a working model.

Not only do they have access to the money set aside for the Pansonic product, but they have the benefit of instant gratification.

-Spiff

I don't really believe people will spend thousands of dollars on a camera just to give them instant gratification when all they have to do is wait a couple of months for the hvx. These cameras are not really impulse buying items.

 

[jdnau]

There's one of those golden rules of marketing - "never create a demand for something that you can't fulfill." If Canon can ship their new HDV camera in good working order before Panasonic it will definitely help them sell more XL H1's.

Panasonic blew it badly when they showed up to NAB with a mock up of the HVX. They should have kept their mouths shut, let Sony have their 15 minutes of fame with the FX1 and once the HVX could make great pictures rocked the world with this great new camera. I'm sure the HVX will be a great camera, but the marketing folks at Panasonic should be [as donald Trump would say] fired. :beer:

Whose golden rule of marketing is that? If anyone's marketing dept should be fired it should be canon. Do you have any idea how much business Canon has lost to people who have already pre-ordered the hvx? The whole purpose of announcing something ahead of time is to gauge the public response to the announcement. If Panasonic made the announcement about the hvx and quickly learned that this camera was not generating any buzz among consumers it would be easy to halt or reduce production, or in other words cutting their losses. Canon does not have that luxury. They made the choice in assuming their product will be a big hit which it may very well be but by developing a full product without gauging the consumer response and awareness they left themselves vulnerable to having a product that could tank, costing canon big. What Panasonic did was they put this product out there, gauged the buzz it was creating and were probably able to come up with reasonable estimates of what this product was going to do, thus reducing their risk of having their product tank. Movie studios do this all the time, they put out poster and trailers well ahead of a movie's release. This helps create buzz among moviegoers. They screen movies to give them an idea if their product is going to be successful or not. They do not just come out and announce a movie is coming out a month beforehand.

 

[Neil Rowe]

i for one am pretty thrilled that panasonic let us know the camera was coming.. thats all they did is say it was coming.. and later they told us some of what it is going to have. that let me have the time to make some changes and gear up for a change in workflow to suit the product, and educate myself on the product and the surrounding workflow long before i made a purchasing decision ..while still being able to gauge what the competitors have brought or are bringing to the table. its been going according to a regular camrea release schedule since the very beginning and all theyve done is kept us as much in the loop as is reasonable with whats happening along the way. Im pretty thrilled to know that I can (..well .. already have) purchased this camera and dont have to settle for something of the HDV flavor, bacause HDV just wasnt right for me personally. knowing far ahead of time about the cameras release was a real good thing in my opinion.

 

[Sumfun]

I think Panasonic did us a favor by announcing the HVX so far in advance. It lets me plan ahead as to what types of projects I can do, and also lets me plan my budget in advance. I wish every manufacturer would let us in on their roadmap well in advance.

I think Panny marketing did the right thing. They announced the HVX early to slow down the sales of the Sony FX1 and to build some buzz about the HVX and P2. They didn't announce the DVX100b until late because they didn't want to hurt DVX100a sales. I think they accomplished both these goals.

Purchasing a camera is a big expense for most of us, so it's not an impulsive buy. If you need a camera now, then of course you have to buy what's on the market now. But if you don't need it now, then why not wait a few months for a really good solution.

Personally, I can say that Panasonic's marketing strategy is working on me. I can probably use an HD camera today, but I'm willing to wait a few months to see the picture quality of the HVX vs. all the other competitors. Then I'll make my decision.

 

[mmm]

I think where Panasonic have gone a little astray is that since NAB, we have had bugger all (there's that word again) new information. This has meant the interest in the HVX has dried up a little. Then Canon whammed in with the XL-H1 and stole the thunder. Now they need to get it in the shops quickly so people sick of waiting for Panasonic can buy it. I don't reckon I could get my hands on an HVX until MARCH in the UK!Tthat is too long.

 

[Spiff]

all they have to do is wait a couple of months for the hvx. These cameras are not really impulse buying items.

I'll give you that, but by the time that couple of months have passed, you could have bought-and-shot a feature on the XLH1, and paid off the camera. Don't think so? Our smiling friend Shannon paid off his Z1U in a couple of months, and is now excited enough about the XLH1 that he's planning on buying two of them.

Which is more important to you - the project or the camera? There's a very real opportunity cost to waiting several months to buy something.

-Spiff