Kristiaan Boschman
Forum Replies Created
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If you need 4.2.2 and timecode you can take the AG-HPX250 which uses Intraframe compression at 100 Mbit/sec; the AVCHG model HPX160 supports up to 4.2.0 unless you take the SDI output to an external recorder like the Samurai. No CCD however; but i.m.o the most recent generation of CMOS sensors is better.
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The card might have to be formatted in FAT32
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Broadcast quality means that in post-production colour grading can be applied; this implies that the colour space of the recording is at least 4.2.0 or by preference 4.2.2.
A combination of a DSLR like the Canon 5D MKII – topped with an additional sound recording device like the Zoom H4n with its internal stereo mics and capability for connecting an external mic like a Rode NTG2 shotgun via the SLR inputs is great for providing good sound on the SLR recordings, but at a cost of additional equipment to carry, additional batteries to load (the Zoom H4n is fairly power-hungry), and supplementary memory cards to download. In addition, you are to keep the sound in sync with the video from the DLSR recordings (sync cable with attenuator from the zoom output to the 5D mic input), so a 5D-rig is not a clean solution compared to a good handheld camera like the Panasonic AG-HPX250 were you have the sound nicely integrated in the camera. IMO this camera comes pretty close to the ideal adventure documentary camera, specially since it has a 21x zoom lens, great for bird spotting.
Most of the handhelds are limited to a 10x zoom, not enough for this purpose.By the way in the US there seems to be an action ongoing with considerable price reductions and rebates, making this pro camera available at nearly the same price as the AG-AC160, its prosumer version that records in AVCHD and works with the cheaper SD cards. I wonder if in Europe a similar action is planned.
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I’m in about the same situation,looking for ‘most camera for the money’ for a handheld ‘run and shoot’ pro camera. After studying and comparing a lot of options, I came to the conclusion that the new Panasonic AG-HPX250 P2 HD Camcorder is my preference: full HD 3xCCD in AVCIntra intraframe compression (4.2.2). SDI output, all bells and whisles, a great 28-616mm lens ( a 21x zoom!) but not interchangeable ( who cares when you have a 21x zoom, better not having to change lenses in a dusty outback). The only negative point: uses (very) expensive P2 cards, and that’s an important point when you need a lot of autonomy: in the best – broadcast quality – AVC100 quality you need about 60 GByte per hour. If that’s killing you, you might either go for an external storage device such as the Atomos Samurai, or alternatively take the HPX160 model instead; this ‘only’ stores in AVCHD 4.2.0, but uses 6x less storage capacity per hour of video and stores on cheap SD cards. It has the same optical block as the HPX250. Difficult choice, but both are well within the 10K$ range. I’m also the -very happy- owner of a Canon 5D MKII, which is great for taking fixed shots; once you are to move or focus fast, it can be hardly done. Then, you need a ‘real’ video camera with focus assist. Haven’t got the opportunity to use this machine, but hope to do so soon. Saw the results, and the image quality looks stunning. The reviews are also very promissing.
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I’m in a similar situation. I intend to buy one of these fantastic Panasonic AG-HPX250 machines, but de cost of the media would kill me. These media – spare me from the sales talk that they are professional etc… are simply overpriced.
I’m also an electronics engineer and I learned that the P2 cards use a PCMCIA-interface. This used to be a high-end interface … long time ago! I respect that Panasonic keeps its interfaces stable over several generations of camera’s, but things move fast in cameraland these days.
Take some distance: a 64 GByte card that supports a read/write speed of 150 MByte/second at a cost of over 500 USD? I pay less then 400 USD for a high-end 240 GByte SSD like the OMC Mercury extreme that read/writes at over 500 MBytes/s that also includes a RAID configuration just like the P2-cards.
When you calculate the sustained data transfer rate for AVC Intra 100, it is (only!) 15 MByte/s.
It might be interesting to check out following alternatives:
a PCMCIA-to CF (Compact Flash) adapter is cheap and fits in a P2 memory slot. Try with a fast Sandisk CF card.
insert a a PCMCIA to ESATA converter in a P2 slot and connect an ESATA-interfaced SSD to it.
a third solution – the best – would be that Panny, since one may directly export the P2 card content to an external drive via the USB interface, optionally supports the direct storage on an external SSD.It’s a small issue, but it might add so much value to this camera.