DVC80 vanishing?
 

I heard from somebody that Panasonic may be doing away with the DVC80 because it is competing with their own DVX100/100A. Is this true? I just checked out www.panasonic.com and couldnt find DVC80 listed anywhere. It is starting to scare me because I just listed my trv950 and all my equipment on ebay just to buy the DVC80.

Get in the way of DVX100a sales? No. But it would compete with the DVC30. Why not e-mail Panasonic Pro USA about it? Do you want their e-mail address?

You're right, the DVC80 is no longer listed on the DV Pro line camcorders page at http://www.panasonic.com/business/pr...camcorders.asp. However, consider this. Authorized Panasonic dealers probably still have DVC80 inventory in stock, and service and support are still available (by federal law) for at least seven years past the date of discontinuance. Even if it's no longer being made, it will still operate for you just fine. You might want to get one while you can. Hope this helps,

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Hurd : You're right, the DVC80 is no longer listed on the DV Pro line camcorders page at http://www.panasonic.com/business/pr...camcorders.asp. However, consider this. Authorized Panasonic dealers probably still have DVC80 inventory in stock, and service and support are still available (by federal law) for at least seven years past the date of discontinuance. Even if it's no longer being made, it will still operate for you just fine. You might want to get one while you can. Hope this helps, -->>>


Yea...I'm just hoping that BH isnt sold out by the time I get the money from the trv950.

I'm glad I got mine a month ago while they where still available. This camera is destined to become a cult classic. This camera is a godsend for those of us slugging it out making industrial and training videos. It has the necessary features at a better price point than what the other manufacturers were offering.

I think the DVC30 is overpriced for the features it has, but I suppose Panasonic figures it can make more money with a cheaper 24p camera. They should have raised the price of the dvc80 $200 and sold the dvc30 at $1995. They would have locked up the market.

Michael

DVC80 gone?
 

Yeah, I got mine about 3 weeks ago. Glad I did. I was kinda hoping to get another in a little while, maybe I won't be able to. It is a great camera, the more I use it, the more I apprieciate it. It does a great job, great sound and I love all the features including it's little joy stick. Sure will hate to see it go. Is anyone at Panasonic listening?

Craig

Nope. :-))

It just seems like a horrible manuever to pull off. I mean, with the prices they had, they could be giving the market a run for its money right now the with dvc30, dvc80, and dvx100a.

> It just seems like a horrible manuever to pull off. I mean,
> with the prices they had, they could be giving the market a
> run for its money right now the with dvc30, dvc80, and dvx100a.

Well, considering that the main difference between the DVC80 and DVX100 is a software issue... guess what can happen to the price of the DVX100a when all that DVC80 inventory is gone... so it might not be all that horrible at all. I suspect they want to get more people steering from the PD170 to the DVX and if they lower the price they will do just that I whink.

A complete shame, the DVC80 was catching on slowly but surely...
 

It's really pretty sad. The DVC80 hadn't even been out for a year and they've just given up on it.

This camera is a great competitor to the PD150/170. As I've stated before, the Journalism/Telecom Department at the university I work at made a sizeable investment in the DVC80s -- this was a heavy PD150 program just over a year ago and now the DVC80s outnumber the PD150s. The professors in this program have decades of experience in broadcast media/photojournalism/ENG and they say the DVC80 is equal to the PD150. This program works closely with CNN, trading material back and forth. According to another dvinfo member, the Univeristy of Colorado has made a similar investment in the DVC80.

If Panasonic had the guts to stand behind this camera, I honestly believe it would have made a big dent into TV production, taking the place of the PD150/170 in many more crews. Seeing how MTV and others were gravitating to the DVX100, it seems natural that eventually they would pull in a few DVC80s to take the place of some of their PD150s and VX2000s. As one professor at my university (a man with over 30 years experience as an ENG cameraman) said, the DVX100 was $1000 too expensive for news and television work where they'll never use 24p or 30p. But, he said, it's an incredibly priced camera that equals the PD150 in quality and beats it in value.

Unfortunately, Panasonic let the DVX100 take the spotlight and spent little time pushing the DVC80, it seems. And now they throw out a PDX10-type 1/3" chip cam with a bunch of frills. Frills, but a smaller chip that simply won't be as good in some situations as the DVC80's CCDs would fare, nor does it have the native XLRs and phantom power. It seems short-sighted and silly on the part of Panasonic.

Chris, you mention that service will last for at least 7 years. But that isn't the real problem. The problem is more that it takes time for a product to build a following and create a community. The DVC80 has not had enough time to find enough buyers and create a community -- it is painfuly obvious to the few DVC80 owners on this board that out voices our rarely heard above the DVX100 din (and that's no complaint re: the board, Chris -- the DVX is simply a more attractive and interesting cam in many ways). The one lone fellow who tried to create a DVC80 board gave up on it after only a month or two. I try where I can, posting clips of the DVC in action on my website, but it takes time to create a community. With only a year of sales, there simply hasn't been time to sell enough cameras to create the community that the PD150/VX2000, or even the DVX100 have created. *That* is the type of "support" that will truly be sorely lacking for us DVC80 owners, no matter how many years the government declares that Panny must offer customer service on the camera. And let's not even bring up the loss of "legitimacy" that comes with trying to professionally use a camera that barely made it to its first birthday...

Things change, models come and go, but I can't blame it if current owners feel bitter or if would-be owners second guess buying this great cam. It's a shame that Panasonic barely gave the DVC80 enough time to exist.

If anyone's interested, I'm open for a DVC80 support group. I'll keep posting video at my site, both in the regular Videos section, and the direct-link-only page, www.karatemedia.com/video/dvc80.html. The only good thing that might come out of this is getting my hands on a second DVC80 for a fraction of what I bought the first one for.

Profeel.com still shows some in stock at $1987.00. Other discounters have already raised the price $250 above this.

What's B&H selling the DVC80 for?

As John just mentioned, the DVC80 was already competing nicely with the PD150/PD170.

Frank,

About $100.00 higher than Profeel at $2099.00. Still a good price to me and $200 less than the DVC30.
See

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=277532&is=REG

Mark

Thanks! So it's still a PD170 killer in way of price, and while stocks last.

Well damn. I doubt I will get my hands on one now. Maybe I will be able to find a used one on ebay when I get my money.