[Mike Bannon]

I have a film background, I do TV commercials and animation. Shopped a lot of cameras at NAB Convention in April. Then had both HPX3000 and HPX2000 side by side for a day, ended up ordering one of each. They both look good, but by the time you factor in actual retail (not list price) and add the optional AVC-Intra card ( ~$3000) to the HPX2000 side of the equation, the price difference is more like $14,000 to $15,000. Not chump change, but you probably get what you pay for.

The Hpx3000 has an optical block that is twice as large as the HPX2000.

If you are blowing it up to 50′, it may be worth the true full-raster 10 bit imagery of the HPX3000. I’ve never regretted erring on the side of overkill as one needs to take the possibility of future gigs into account.

A reputable Panasonic re-seller might provide you with footage from both cameras for comparison. Our re-seller was very helpful. Maybe you can put a shot or two through your whole work flow ending with the projection.

The AVC-Intra 100 codec imports into Final Cut with a (free) download from Panasonic, and the latest Avid release deals with it natively.

Mike Bannon