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Activity › Forums › Panasonic Cameras › HDX900 discontinued?

  • Meryl Altman

    January 24, 2008 at 8:26 pm

    Hi John,
    My name is Meryl Altman and I am the Product Line Business Manager for both the HDX900 and Varicam cameras. I can tell you definitively that both products are alive and well and there are no plans to discontinue either product. While we continue to unveil new P2 products there still remains a considerable demand for tape based products, often in high profile productions. Rest assured that Panasonic’s commitment to our tape users is unwavering and the HDX900 is an industry work horse that will be around for years to come. Come to NAB and see for yourself.
    Best/,
    Meryl

  • Ernie Santella

    January 24, 2008 at 9:34 pm

    Glad to hear that too as an HDX900 owner! Mine has been flawless and I couldn’t be happier.

  • John Cummings

    January 25, 2008 at 3:23 am

    Makes you wonder where people get their info…
    That’s good news. Thanks

    J Cummings
    DP/Chicago
    http://www.cameralogic.tv

  • Pat Mcgowan

    January 27, 2008 at 5:14 pm

    Ditto, this camera has been great for us, now thinking of adding a second one.

  • Robin Probyn

    January 28, 2008 at 7:48 am

    Sorry that was me!

    I also love this camera,and was thinking to buy one.More than one person at rental houses in Japan told me that the HDX900 was the last tape based camera Panasonic would make,and they had officially announced it,so there was some doubt about how long it would be in production,as all efforts were going into P2.

    I,d love for it to be wrong,but this seemed to be the drift I was getting.

    But yes a really fantastic camera,use it all the time.Should have bought one when it first came out!!!

  • Ernie Santella

    January 30, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    I don’t think Panasonic is listening to users. Eliminating tape based cameras is a bad move. There are way too many of us who work in Corporate and long-format production. A card-based system is not practical. I can’t take the time to download cards to another storage media for archival. Especially when your project involves the equivalent of 40-50 reels of tape. (Some projects I’ve done have over 100) Tape is still the easiest and cheapest way to go for many of us.

    If they were smart, they make two versions, one with a tape transport and other with card slots in the same place. Can’t that hard, can it?

    I’m not Poo-poo’ing storage cards, if you shoot news, commericals or short corporate, then storage cards are perfect and I’d be all over it!

  • John Sharaf

    January 30, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    Ernie,

    I don’t think you read the memo. From what I understand, Panasonic will be manufacturing the tape cameras for the foreseeable future, not to worry. Formats have a way of lingering on and on, look at 3/4″ U-Matic, which only recently has finally disappeared.

    JS

  • Ernie Santella

    January 30, 2008 at 4:48 pm

    Haha!!! U-matic is still alive and well! I had a client bring me two 3/4’s last week for an edit!!! I’m working on an historical piece for a corporation. Glad I still have my deck lying around.

  • Jan Crittenden livingston

    January 30, 2008 at 11:56 pm

    [Ernie Santella] “If they were smart, they make two versions, one with a tape transport and other with card slots in the same place. Can’t that hard, can it?

    I’m not Poo-poo’ing storage cards, if you shoot news, commericals or short corporate, then storage cards are perfect and I’d be all over it!”

    That camera would be the AJ-HPX2000.

    And frankly films and longer productions also benefit greatly from the file based workflow.

    Best,

    Jan

    Jan Crittenden Livingston
    Product Manager, HPX500, HVX200, DVX100
    Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems

  • Ernie Santella

    January 31, 2008 at 12:59 am

    Jan,

    How do you feel long form projects benefit from file based workflows?

    Many of us don’t have time, staff or budgets to pay people to do the daily transfer of files. Maybe Hollywood can afford it, but many of us are fighting for every last dollar we can make on a project.

    With the prices of quality camera’s dropping down every day, now everyone thinks they’re Spielberg! It really hurts us older, experienced professionals. I get outbid all the time and it’s always the same story… “You’re too expensive, we went with fill-in-the-blank-newbie” and his HDV camera.

    The only saving grace to that is, they usually come back after he screws it up. Clients never learn.

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