Will the HPX370 get replaced/updated next month at NAB 2011?

I had the same thoughts. Should I wait? But I needed a camera now so I jumped in and bought the 370. My reasoning was: The 370 was a upgrade to the 300, why go to all the
trouble of upgrading the 300 if you are going to replace the upgrade in a few months. The 300 had some faults but overall not a terrible camera. Plus, even if they were to upgrade/replace
the 370 they would not have a $2000 rebate on the new camera. That was my reasoning, the main reason was, I needed a camera like this now. With all that said, it would not surprise me
if Panasonic introduced a new, better, cheaper camera at NAB. Just the way my luck runs.
 
Statistically, manufactures make announcements at NAB and new models do not ship until summer or thereafter. Sometimes they are available immediately, depends on the manufacture. I have a Tricaster 850 mobile flypack with no cameras and a few gigs scheduled for end of March and early April. This sucks!
 
Well the 370 was supposed to have an upgraded sensor but as was found it had increased filtering on it that made it worse, a firmware release basically gave you a 300 again.

Will it be replaced? I suspect not but it's a good camera and with a $2k rebate very good for the money.

I would still wait till after NAB though as they did the rebate with the 500 and that has yet to be replaced so will we see the HPX600 this year?
 
+1 what dpavid said, just because it's announced, doesn't mean it's going to be available... is the 3100 out yet? I can't really tell, I search the net and all I get are previews and release announcements, even though it was promised October 2010. Speaking of which, I really hope that the next 3xx/5xx replacement keeps 720p for the VFR.
 
I'm sorry Scott but i agree with Gary. The 371 has the same problems of the 301 + the noise filter.... i really hope that a new 3xx will have a 1/2 chip, another 1/3 chip = same problems! I'm really intersted if a new 500 will came out...but i think this:

a new 500 with ccd and AVCIntra for full hd = 2700;
a new 500 with mos and AVCIntra for full hd = 300/371;
a new 500 with ccd and AVCHD for full hd = this may be the way. If you want AVCIntra you can use a P2 Gear...

We all wait for NAB...
Roberto
 
Because so many cameras are announced/released this time of year, it could just be that Panasonic want's to keep everyones attention. If you need a good camera now, and know it will pay for itself within a reasonable amount of time, go for
the savings. There will always be something new coming out. This year, next year, year after...don't sweat it.
 
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500 probably first on list to get updated. Its the grandpa in the p2 line-up. 370, probably not. Just a guess. With P2 media prices lowered, I would assume the ENG update in the press release would target the P2 line. Just a guess.
 
GaryNattrass said:
Or a 600 with a 4/3" chip and P2 AVCIntra?
Click to expand...

Yes! I forget 4/3...but...sounds like a new AF101!
I will change the 301 only if the next product will resolve the issues that you may have with this model. I have to say that in Italy a lot of users are changing their units with the new 101. But...some problems are coming out! The iris is not stepless,there is no FBC, there is a bit of noise in the picture ( i still prefer my 5D... ) and the color balance is not so good ( cyan in highlights and yellow as dominant with sunlight ). I've seen a lot of footage and i have to say that the picture is not so bad! But i'll never change the 301 or the 5D for that camera.
That's my thought...

Roberto
 
I doubt Panasonic will get rid of the 370. It seems to be a good seller. A local TV station just bought a bunch of them.

If Panasonic really is going to cater to the TV news stations who want a smaller, lighter ENG cam, then Panny will have to put out a brand new shoulder-mount design. If so, I expect the same chip-set from the 370, AVC-intra and 2 P2 card slots. Basically a smaller 370, maybe the size of the HM750. Just speculation, of course. Or, it could be small, hand-held cams replacing the HPX170, but with the 370 chips and AVC-intra codec.
Panasonic doesn't have 2/3" CMOS cameras, so that's also a possibility - a cheaper version of the 3100.
 
has to be something better than intra: intra is only good for 30 fps at 1080. We need more frames /sec, 10 bits and 4:2:2
 
Panasonic did announce AVCultra which will allow 4:4:4 recording, hopefully straight to P2 cards, so it could be that the next model will have support for that; E-series P2 cards are certainly fast enough to allow that.
Here's a bit from wiki:
  • AVC-Ultra:
    • announced in 2009 [6]
    • adding support for 3D
    • new HD formats supported:
      • 1920x1080 (50p / 59.94p) 4:2:2 10bit
      • 1920x1080 (24p) and 2K (24p) 4:4:4 12bit
    • higher bitrate - up to 200 Mbit/s
Click to expand...
Also, I doubt Panny's going to toss an entire industry of 2/3" lenses out the window and make an ENG camera with a larger sensor, especially since a smaller sensor camera is sometimes a good thing... It's hard enough as it is keeping stuff in focus when you have to run & gun in a darkish room with the iris wide open.
 
If you can wait until after NAB, do it.

If you can wait until after NAB, do it.

Anything is possible, especially when you consider that this scenario looks a lot like last year.
I own a 300 and its a great camera for the price, but if your on the fence or looking for a flawless camera the 300 or 370 is definitely not it.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I have had a 300 and own a 370. The 370 is huge bang for the buck. No camera is perfect but for many situations the 370 is a tremendous value
 
ccastro said:
Anything is possible, especially when you consider that this scenario looks a lot like last year.
I own a 300 and its a great camera for the price, but if your on the fence or looking for a flawless camera the 300 or 370 is definitely not it.

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with you! AVCUltra is the next step for Panasonic. But i still consider the price range for the new products... If they want to replace the 5xx and the 3xx they have to remain in the same price range ( about 12.000 € - it was the first price for the 371 in Italy, and for the same price you can have a 500 with a decent HD lens ). So this rumors about the new 500 and AVCUltra make me curious!
I consider that the 500's price in Italy is never changed from its release. 10.000€ for the body...
 
There is rarely a good time to buy as there is always always something around the corner! The decision to buy has to be practically led by production needs versus the hire cost if you cant fulfil that need with current owned kit.

The 301 ticks so many boxes and has given us similar to what clients perceive as Digibeta quality for most jobs but at a fraction of the Digibeta price. It also does HD :happy: and those bizarre fractions of frame rates for jobs we've done for our cousins across the ocean!

Its earning its living nicely.

BD
 
Ben Digedig said:
There is rarely a good time to buy as there is always always something around the corner! The decision to buy has to be practically led by production needs versus the hire cost if you cant fulfil that need with current owned kit.

The 301 ticks so many boxes and has given us similar to what clients perceive as Digibeta quality for most jobs but at a fraction of the Digibeta price. It also does HD :happy: and those bizarre fractions of frame rates for jobs we've done for our cousins across the ocean!

Its earning its living nicely.

BD
Click to expand...

Digibeta Quality ? Huh? Digibeta is standard def. 370 is far better than that
 
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