OK, looks like I'll have to resurrect some of it...

You're all assuming that there is someone who knows the whens and how manys. I'm as much in the dark as you, but having been on the other end of product development, and having followed the development of other consumer products, I am certain that noone at Panasonic knows the answers. They are grappling with some issue, and know only that "it'll be ready when it's ready". They don't want to release a camera with a problem, and don't want to release an "improved version" very soon after initial deployment. So they're probably making a few final tweaks that will mean a better product. Whether it's fixing a problem or improving capability we don't know. Whatever it is, they're being conscientious and protecting both themselves and buyers from future frustration. And I'm sure they want to be able to name a date and ship on that date... but product development doesn't usually work that way, especially on the cutting edge.

Come on, guys... you want them to thoroughly test your $6,000 item before they send it to you, right? You want them to fix it now rather than recall it later? You want the one with the better performance, not the one that is replaced by an improved model, right? Sure, it would be nice to know more about what's going on... but, really, there's no way this is deliberate, or that people know when it will ship but aren't saying. Give 'em some peace to work things out...

Seeing as some people have already received their cameras in early January (very few) I'd say that the camera is done. If they are fixing some new issues then just come out and say so and make us all happy. I think we'd rather wait and get a fully tested camera as long as we know why we are waiting. Currently Panasonic's statement is that they are shipping. Just nobody is getting any and the retailers are getting "no info" from the Panasonic reps.....at least the few dealers I deal with are saying this.

Derek my boy, you hit the proverbial nail on the head.

The marketing company Panasonic hired has done their job very well; they've gotten us interested and excited for the HVX. Now that the Panny website says, "now shipping" and none of us have one yet and no info is coming forth as to why, we've become like expectant mothers - we're anxious for the newborn to arrive but the pains of this extended labor is making us, well...grouchy!

True Barry, nobody wants to have a defective product on their hands, but let me give you another real world example of a manufacturer that DID have issues and they came forth and admitted it publicly:

When Canon released their new 1Ds MkII body, it immediately came under fire for having an incompatibility with certain Lexar CF cards, and there were a few other bugs that cropped up initially which made the camera unreliable. In some cases, entire banks of images would be lost to this buggy behavior. Within two weeks of the MkII's release, both Canon and Lexar made a joint public announcement of the "known issues" and that they were working on them.

At first it looked like Canon had released a lemon on the market and the initial lashing from customers was pretty severe. But, Canon saved face - and their customers confidence - by admitting the problem and solving it quickly with a firmware update.

So here we have Panasonic who *seems* to have some issues with the release of the HVX but instead of honest, straightforward communication adressing this issue to their waiting customer base, they're being purposely vague and silent.

If Canon and it's new model can survive their little "new model glitch" (and I'm an owner of that new MkII body) so can Panasonic - just let's be forthcoming with some info already.

At this point Panasonic would gain customer confidence and loyalty by being open; they stand to lose our confidence every day they remain silent.

Except,
if you wait until what will probably be March, you might as well see what happens at Nab, by then, a few more months with the Fx1 is in order...

I dunno. I imagine Canon would have preferred (in hindsight) to just have waited and tested that particular issue. Not sure - but it probably would have saved them money and embarrasment. Further, if there are issues that are not firmware-fixable, then the cost savings of holding back would be tremendous. They can easily replace the three cameras ;-) they've shipped already; but if there were hundreds or thousands.. it would be a nightmare.

I'm not saying Panasonic couldn't be handling this better; I do think they could. I'm just saying that I don't think they're holding back answers; I think they're trying to figure out the answers. So for all our sakes, it'll be better for us to be supportive rather than demanding. And if you need an answer now, or will have to buy another product... do what you have to do.

As for me... sending out good wishes and thanks for all the hard work to the Panasonic engineers!

-Barry

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking anyone's efforts at Panny to resolve whatever is going on, but it certainly would be nice if they would at least SAY that there is a problem and that they're working on it.

Addressing the issue directly would eliminate all the guessing, speculation and anxiousness surrounding the HVX release. I feel Panansonic has nothing to lose by sharing info and risks losing some of it's first customers by not doing so.

Besides, how bad can the problem be? I certainly haven't heard anything but praise from Kaku about it's operation, so it certainly can't be a debiliating issue to the model. But then again, that's just more guesswork, isn't it?

I agree Mr. Lane.
It would be nice to give an explination for the delay. It's a great camera though and I think that whatever reason Panasonic has for the delay, it must be a good one.

Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Specialized Communications Corp.

Cameras are shipping.
 

We had one camcorder arrive yesterday without 8 gig cards for a customer that we were expecting.

Two more with cards showed up unannounced today.

Arrivals
 

Indeed, bodies are starting to trickle into dealers with promises for more on the way. According to my retailer I should have mine by end of next week. I'll of course keep the forum updated.

WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!

Dear Steev Dinkins,

We are pleased to inform you that the following order has been shipped.

Item Qty Item Description
PAAGHVX200 1 HD/DVCPRO/DV CINEMA P2 SERIES CAMERA
PAAJP2C008HG 2 P2 SERIES MEMORY CARD 8GB

We hope you enjoy your new purchase and look forward to serving you again.

Thank you
B&H Customer Service

Yes!! :D :D :D

Congrats Steeev. I'd hoped you would be the first to get it. I know you will really put this camera to the test and look forward to seeing your footage/work. Better go get all your chores done now before the HVX arrives.

Mine's here too
 

My camera arrived at my retailer today; it's missing the P2 cards but those are supposed to be in later this week.

So it looks as if Panasonic is finally shipping units in decent numbers, so the wait is over. I imagine we'll be seeing lots of test clips soon.

Got mine after a 6 day wait.....
 

Ordered mine on the 25th, and it arrived yesterday. So either I'm ridiculously lucky, or Panasonic is ramping up its shipments.

The 25th of January? And you got it already? Where are you so we can all beat you with a stick!

:)

Just kidding. Welcome aboard and congrats! I am sure Pana is ramping up but in your case I do think you got ridiculously lucky!

I have had mine on order since Nov.6 and still nothing!

Marty

I will have mine early next week

And I suppose you ordered yours yesterday?

:)

Nah, 1-16-06 order from avsupply.com.

Hahaha. Now that is hilarious. :P

-steeV

Thank you. thank you very much. Please send money or an HVX.

That might still be worthy of a beating!

Damn! What was I thinking pre-ordering in Novemember?

Tax write off. :D

Good point. Still I'd rather have it in my grubby little hands right this minute and not have the write off until next year. It was hard to be patient in the first place but hearing all these reports of people getting it and they ordered well after me has just kicked my impatience level up a few notches.

I hear ya. I don't think I mentioned this, but I called BH on Sunday to actually cancel and find the camera in stock somewhere else faster, and that's when they said, "Sir, it says it's in stock and about to ship. Do you still want to cancel?" HELLZ NO!!! Ship That Sucka!

So I mention this because it could very well be that other smaller distributors may have it sooner. I emailed 50 distributors across the US and a number of them reported shipments coming in this week without all units being pre-ordered. Yes - "leftovers".

Now there's a new snag, there doesn't seem to be any P2 cards out there. I've got my HVX but no cards and all the retailers I've talked to are saying the same thing: Got bodies, no cards and it's unclear when they're coming.

My retailer says cards are now on "manual allocation". So, while this mish-mash of availability continues I'm going to capture directly to a Powerbook with an external drive and get things rolling.

Well I also preordered from EVS in Early DEC - high above 150 in line.

You've got alot of waiting to do then. =P

Tell us that goes. Length of cable, settings for the cam and FCP.

David,

I'm actually creating a new post today on just that topic: My FCP/Powerbook capture setup. Look for it on this board this morning.

Jan has mentioned in other threads and sites that the HVX shipments are ramping up, and bottlenecks are resolved. She said we should be seeing a leap up in numbers coming in to the US. I have extra 4GB cards at EVS if people need them. We got a bunch, and since the 8GB card prices have plummeted, many of my customers are opting to wait for them. Meaning there are leftover 4GB cards : ) Call any of my guys (Ramzi, Tommy, Randy) and ask for one if you need it. Forum price is $624.95.