HVX200 very first impressions
 

Yesterday I put my hands on one of the first almost working prototypes of this camera. The menu was locked and the output was only 1080i 60 on an lcd display. No recording yet, the camera was side by side a Varycam and, the images on the same LCD were very, very, similar...

here you can find 2 pics

http://wave35.altervista.org/200/index.html

No info from the Panasonic man about the CCD type he didn't know anything about. The lens seems to be very good with no chromatic aberattions and real manual focus e mechanical zoom.

Thanks for those photos, Matteo!

Very nice. Many thanks Matteo. Where was this, by the way?

Not that this would make any difference in me wanting this camera, but I kind of wish Panasonic would pick another color for the body than "toy ray-gun metallic blue/silver". It just seems odd to me. OK, I'll shut up now.

Matt, that color shows up only when a photo flash is used. To the human eye it appears to be black or a very deep, dark charcoal gray. I don't know why a photo flash causes the blue-gray hue, but it does.

Yeah, in person it's nearly black. It's the same color as the VariCam.

Hey Matteo, are you planning on a lens removal project for the HVX?

Okay, got to vent.

Who cares about the color of the camera? Clients maybe? Well put them in their place by showing them the best product. Believe me, I'd take a viper camera if it was pink. Never quite understood that concern.

Not that it matters at all, but it sure is one ugly camera!

Like I said above, the color makes no difference to me. It was just an observation.

Maybe they're going to sell it at Toy R Us, hehehe. (Just kidding)

Steve,

Golly, I was thinking the same thing. Hands down the ugliest camera of this new round by a landslide. The XL in pink would be far superior.

That mental image just sent a shiver down my spine.
The "Barbie Playhouse XL-2"

I think it's close to perfect, an I'll tell you why-

It's that nice, big, friendly curve to the big ol' honkin' viewfinder. It's cute. This camera, although larger than the DVX or VX-2000, has a similar enough look that it's not intimidating. You could almost pass it off as an upscale consumer handycam. That means access. You will be able to bring this camera into places that would raise eyebrows with a shoulder-mounted camera, or even an XL-1/2/H1. It's my secret weapon. No one knows that I'm actually shooting 1080/24p, and I like it that way. It means less people asking me for shooting permits, and no one asking which news station I'm from. Not that I'd ever shoot somewhere illegally, but sometimes being a little stealthy is a good thing.

I'm aslo highly encouraged by the control layout. Everything is where it should be: lens controls, iris, shutter, gain and white balance up front; user modes underneath; menu/playback controls up top; audio that will be thumb-adjustable; and nothing cluttering either the LCD screen or the right side. When you get up close to this camera, you can tell it's been made to work, and all the most commonly adjusted controls are easily remembered locations with tactile clues aplenty for operation by touch.

I'm also glad Panasonic decided to go squat and chunky instead of long and thin like the Sony FX/Z-1. If the center of balance stays where it is, this will be a sweet camera to go handheld, despite it's larger size and extra weight. And for anybody who thinks a camera doesn't look "serious" enough if it's not all black, try shooting on a day that's 110 degrees in the shade with an all black camera. Hell, if they had an all-silver option I'd buy it! Not that it matters, becasue by the time I'm done hanging accessories and doodads off it, It'll look like an Arricam! Unless I'm in stealth mode, of course...

Ugly, sirs? - Pfft! Iconic!

Scott,

I hope you don't have a wife/girlfriend, she's gonna get so jelaous when you bring the HVX200 in... :-)

Ha! Yes, my wife just rolls her eyes at my various techno-fetishes... Sometimes, the function of a thing just makes it more visually appealing. Like when someone you really like who is not that attractive gets moreso, or when a very attractive person you hate gets to look ugly to you.

I truly hope this camera, over time, doesn't get to be an ugly b**ch.