Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4264 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: AG-HVX200A
• Dimensions: 14.20 pounds
• Display size: 3.5

Features

• True high definition image quality (1080i or 720p) with low-compression DVCPRO HD intraframe recording
• Supports HD/SD multi-format and multi-codec recording capabilities
• Includes the the P2 card, offering superior reliability, immediate playback and outstanding cost-performance
• Features the new Leica Dicomar HD lens, developed specifically for HD recording
• New progressive CCD and DSP for higher sensitivity and image quality

Customer Reviews

Tops for the prosumer
We used this camera to shoot our short film and it proved to be awesome. The P2 cards were a little tricky to work with, but certainly less difficult and more portable than film; without the added expense of telecine.

For the cost, we could not have gotten this level of quality otherwise. I believe its got the depth of 16mm, plus it shoots in 24p. When we saw our final projection, we were just amazed.

Great cam for the money.

Coming from DVX100...
This camera uses P2 cards or you can plug in a Firestore (you have to drop another 2K for that). I am using it with a Firestore in a chassis rig ($350) underneath the camera. This is a better setup for tripod work, but less than ideal for shoulder shooting. Its bulky and slightly delicate because you have the Firestore plug right next to the headphone jack, right in the same area as the record button. This could cause a serious problem if you accidently jar the plug while reaching for the record button.

The whole process of setting up a Firestore with the camera's menu system, and navigating the Firestore menu to record and organize footage is a little more involved than just using mini-dv tape, but the convenience of recording to a hard drive is wonderful. It takes far less time to get the footage into the system. Of course, this is compressed, but still very good quality HD footage. I couldn't fathom going back to SD minidv.

One last thing: I hope they make a higher resolution screen/viewfinder. I have noticed that it is sometimes hard to get things in focus because you just cannot see the fine detail needed. This is another drawback and a serious consideration. For the price, however, this is great for many types of shooting.