why is the DVX100AE cheaper?
 

Is there any reason why the DVX100 PAL is always cheaper then the DVX100 North American NTSC equivalent? On BHphoto, it is close to a grand cheaper!

well, not many ppl in NTSC land would buy a PAL model.. thats usually the first and most prominant reason

from there, cameras (and all tech based gear in general) usually drop between 10 and 40% within a 2 year cycle, the DVX100 has infact dropped 47% in price since its initial release... ie a 100b will set u back $4700AUD Street price, whereas the old original 100 was launched at $9300 (street $8800AUD)

when you consider the way technoology increases in speed (as in life cycles become shorter) im now of a mind to jsut sit back until theyve all fought about formats and delivery, then wait 6 months for it to establish itself and THEN buy some new video camera gear..

for now, my DX100's are perfectly sufficient for teh work i do

Well, the main difference I take it would be the 25p and the charger which would be european design and not the same voltage - but I just wondered why such trivial things would hurt the price by almost $1000.00 compared to the NTSC version...

The charger would be the same, except for the plug...unless they're being stupid.

At least my charger works worldwide, voltage-wise.

Don't forget that you get nearly 20% more resolution with a Pal cam. Even if I wouldn't live in Pal-land, I'd only buy Pal camcorders. Gives you much more room for postpro...
People here in Europe and any other Pal country are shocked about the low resolution of NTSC footage if they watch US shows in TV...at least I'm

Get it if you are in a PAL country- but it is quite useless in an NTSC country. You are losing true 24p and requiring a transcode to NTSC to get usable footage= big loss in time and quality and completely negates the PAL is higher resolution argument. If you're in an NTSC market, stick with the NTSC version of the camera. Also chances are the PAL versions you're seeing for sale are grey market imports meaning you get no warranty support.

Noah

in times of plasma and LCD TV's playing back Pal in NTSC land should be no problem...
BTW: Not having "true 24p" is no issue...you have a full progressive mode (25p). To the human eye movement from 18-20fps are fluid. Having more than 22fps doesn't make a difference to the huma eye. That's what german scientists say and they aren't stupid...at least not more stupid than any other scientist in this world ;-) ... So it doesn't matter if you are using 24p or 25p.I haven't heard of anyone seeing a difference between 24p and 25p. I myself use a PAL Pana DVX100A and a NTSC Pana DVX100A with Andromeda modification and neither I nor my clients can say any difference between 24p or 25p footage (when both cams are used in DV mode...of course the Andromeda HD footage looks much better :-) ) besides the lower resolution of the NTSC footage which is clearly noticable.The only issue you could have is the 60Hz frequency of US light bulbs and power sources...They could flicker when filmed in PAL mode, but as far as I know this is only happening with neon lights... If you look around the net you will find many US DOP's and Cameramen, who use PAL equipment. There must be a reason for this... The PAL color system is a good one :-) My Prof. at university allways translated NTSC with "never the same color" ;-) Everyone who compares PAL to NTSC over years will know what he means...
But it's right that you might have guarantee problems if the PAL cams are grey imports.

24p vs 25p actually matters a lot unless you're making silent movies. And working with the wrong power cycle for lighting is a nightmare- unless you like seeing random flickering artifacts in your footage. Again my advice is pick the camera that matches the TV standard used in your country/market.

Noah

You're right it does matter unless you have tools like the Canopus Procoder...Like I thought everyone has, but obviously not everyone is having them...
So if you would like to go the comfortable and easy way, you should use the format fitting your regions specs. If you are willing to accept some backdrafts in workflow and preproduction, you could use the higher res. PAL cam. Otherwise you should go with a NTSC cam....BTW, my knowlwdge is small compared to other users around here, so if I was U I would listen and refer to more experienced users like the ones that are answering here.
I hope I didn't tell anything wrong and if I did so, I want to apologize...
I will keep using PAL (as I live in PAL-land) Even if the 24p footage of my andromedized NTSC DVX fits perfect to 25p footage recorded with my PAL DVX, if treated proberly... And I shoot movies with sound ;-)

I bought my DVX100AP (NTSC) in Hong Kong (PAL-land). They specially ordered it from Panasonic for me. It was cheaper than PAL version. I don't know why.