At the recent Digital Video Expo in Los Angeles this past December, Panasonic unveiled the AG-HVX200, long-awaited big brother to the AG-DVX100, a lightweight SD camera launched three years ago that allowed an affordable way to shoot in true 24p. In addition to shooting HD in various flavors including 1080p, the biggest revelation from the 200 is its use of solid-state technology – similar to digital still cameras – to allow capture directly onto removable cards called P2 (Professional Plug-in).

‘We’ve passed the film can,’ says Terry Horbatiuk, senior manager, systems engineering at Panasonic Canada. ‘We’ve passed the tape box. We’re at a point now where we’re going to hand over the product in a medium [our customers] can utilize within a digital environment.’

Indie filmmaker Kevin Smith (Mallrats, the soon-to-be released Clerks 2) seems to agree. A known DVX user, Smith was on stage in L.A. for the launch. ‘Within our small community, the buzz is huge,’ he said. ‘Because you’re talking about something that really revolutionizes how people can shoot a movie. It really democratizes filmmaking.’

Though the 200 can also shoot onto miniDV tapes, what really had Smith jazzed is the ability to shoot to the cards and then go directly into a nonlinear editing system such as Avid or Final Cut Pro.

‘Speed is always important [to filmmakers],’ he said. ‘The sooner you can get to the footage, the better. You can cut something together quickly to see if you’re missing anything and go back [to shoot more].’

Smith’s ‘community’ includes guys like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, but the most exciting prospect for regular shooters might be the ability to deliver the same HD offered by Panasonic’s high-end VariCam, on a camera that will retail for $80,000 less, at $7,500. As of press time, there have been reports of HVX footage on indie Internet message boards, but it’s still too early to gauge whether a revolution is afoot.

James Tocher, DOP and head of Vancouver DI and film-out specialty company Digital Film Group, is excited about what the 200 offers, but cautious.

‘The concept of recording onto solid-state medium is a fantastic concept,’ he says. ‘I’m just afraid it’s too far ahead of its time to be practical.’

The use of the cards is akin to the 400-foot film magazine. You get about 10 minutes in 720p per 8G P2 card, and then offload them to a computer before hotswapping the emptied cartridges back in. The potential rub is that if you want to run and gun or make a feature, you’ll likely need four 8G cards, at about $1,800 each – not to mention a storage option – which means you’ll pay more for recording and storage than for the camera. And this doesn’t even address archiving issues.

‘Next year about this time you’ll be seeing 16G cards,’ says Horbatiuk. ‘But you’re not limited to P2 cards. There are a lot of other storage mediums out there. For example, the HVX200 has FireWire out, so you can use things like FireStore from Focus Enhancements.’

The FireStore FS-100 recorder will be available in March at a cost of about $2,000, and will take about 100 minutes of 720p or 1080i footage. The world is definitely going HD, but is the 200 slightly ahead of its time?

‘I’d love to see a tapeless environment, but we’re just not there yet,’ says Tocher. ‘Panasonic has always pushed the envelope, so I think it’s pretty cool that they’ve come out with something like this. Their intentions were good. I’m just not so sure their timing is very good.’

Horbatiuk thinks differently, citing users that will include news gatherers, war correspondents and even doc filmmakers who can take their 200 to the top of Everest.

‘It creates a very strong anchor in the DV world of what all HD should be from here on in,’ he says. ‘Basically this is the flag on top of the mountain now.’

www.panasonic.ca