Success! I kept monitoring the B&H website and a copy of the camera suddenly appeared. I called and bought it. It arrived Friday and appeared to be brand new, packed at the factory.

Thanks to everyone for help and suggesstions. Now if I could only figure out how to operate the thing! See my new post.

set the manual exposure on the lower left middle side of the cam, theres a dial. next to the dial is a button should trun auto iris on or off. you cannot change the iris in full auto mode (top left rectangular button under the 3CCD symbol) unless you change it in your menu options under auto SW. i know this may sound crazy because you dont know the terms, but read everything, i mean everything in the manual and you should learn more than you know. the dvc80 is the same as my dvx100 i think except for a select few things (and 24p :)) so check out the dvx100 resources on this page, they all pertain to dvc80.

Tim... have yourself a HUGE bowl of chili and be sure to use PLENTY of jalepenos... Oh yeah, be sure to leave the owners manual of your camera on the bathroom floor.

Within about 12 hours you will know exactly how to use your new camera's extra features... in a mostly painless and relatively quick study session.

Really the 80 is an excellent camera. Even though I have a DVX I felt like I was missing out by not getting one before they were gone. I really feel like that cam will go down as one of the best price/performance cams of this decade.

You are about to embark on an INCREDIBLY satisfying journey of video production... I still find that the images I can get inspire me to find stories where it doesn't seem like there is any story... You'll be having the same experiences soon.

Give it two weeks and you'll be jumping with excitement at each new suprise your cam will give you.

One thing I love about the 80 is being able to have a semi wide angle perspective without the heavy lense attachment. It works great for weddings while using my flowpod without the extra weight of an extra lense.

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Easler : It works great while using my flowpod. -->>>

Hello Rob :-)

How well does the flopod work ??

Thanks

Scott

New AG-DVC80 Available anywhere?
 

I really don't need all that a DVX100 or 100A has. The feature set of the DVC80 was pretty good for what I want to do.

But the only place I can find DVC80s still for sale as 'In Stock' are at sleazy webstores. B&H has a feature where they will notify me via email if they get any, but no word for a while.

Does anyone know of a reputable dealer that has a Panasonic AG-DVC80 in stock and ready to sell and ship?

B&H says no longer available
 

I had no more than posted the previous message than I got a reply from the B&H store indicating the DVC80 wan not going to be restocked and that I should consider the DVC30 as a replacement.

Kudos to B&H for actually sending me that email. I think it reflects very well of that store to send it and I'm more prone that ever to deal with them becasue of that small thing.

That said, I'd still like to find a new AG-DVC80 somewhere and then shop at B&H for all the necessary gadgets and googahs.

from what i hear, the DVC80 might indeed have been halted. while it has a good featureset, it is supposedly still a flop for Panasonic, as it still costs enough that most people will buy the DVX100 instead or go for a lower-end model such as a GL-2.

i hear the DVC30 is the model they are using instead as the model below the DVX. it's further below the DVX than the DVC80 was, but that's supposedly the point.

haha, your second post wasnt there when i posted mine.

anyway, wait for the DVC60. both this camera and the DVC30 are going to be the cameras targetting the DVC80's market.

hrmm, what the going rate on DVC80's? I have one with 7 hours on the head. It doesn't have an eye cup, haven't ordered a replacement yet. It is in great shape. You guys know what I could get out of it? I'd like to scoop up a DVX100 if i could sell it.

Any word on DVC60 chip size?

dvc60 i think is 1/3, but one person i know said 1/4. i think its 1/3. people, you dont need the eye cup, infact its annoying and ill sell mine if you want it :)

DVC60 is 1/4. It's the same camera as the DVC30 but in a different shoulder-mount form factor.

FYI - B&H has DVC80 in stock
 

Just a heads up for anyone that might be interested. I just happened to spot it while surfing their site. Asking $2400. Probably won't be available for very long. I bought mine when the rebate was in effect and its certainly a great camera for the price.

way overpriced you could get a used dvx-100 for the price