Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 HD Camcorder

This one is a winner. I havent put it to too much test because I am still waiting for my 32GB P2 cards. I had done a bit of testing with the FS-100 HD and had to return it double fast. If you want to fully enjoy the use of this camera, its best to go with the P2 cards, they are light-weight and dont have any moving parts. The FS-100s are clumsy, although a great idea, you could easily pull the firewire cord without realising it and waste several hours of valuable recording in the process.

Smaller components, such as the headphone jack, IEEE1394 jack, etc will fail on you and repairs will cost you hundreds of dollars. I purchased one of these cameras in august of 2009 only to have both the headphone jack and IEEE 1394 port fail - only days out of the one-year warranty expiration period.Do NOT buy this camera because for what your paying (an extremely expensive $3,000+ price tag) you would expect a much more quality product. **These various ports and jacks failing are a known issue with these cameras. See the panasonic forums and other websites**

The Panasonic HVX200 is a camera that will go down in the history books as a major milestone in the development of HD video and digital filmmaking. Literally entire books have already been written just about this camera. It may be "old" by today's standards, but turn on any news channel and you are sure to see journalists STILL using this camera for ENG (electronic news gathering) applications, which it is perfect for. This camera has been used to shoot literally hundreds of award winning documentaries, and incredible work continues to be produced with it on a daily basis. This legend of a camera once costed many thousands of dollars to own, but you can now get a used HVX as cheap as $700. Never before has a broadcast quality (100mbps 4:2:2 color space) camera been so cheap. Professionals worldwide continue to buy used HVX's instead of the newer cameras now on the market. Why? Because when a camera works, it just works. The HVX200 is a real workhorse that has truly stood the test of time.

Don't get me wrong, the video quality of this camera gets a five all the way, as do the functions of the camera. My disappointment with this camera is just the fact that it is an extremely pricey camera to operate. My point is, with a 32GB p2 card being over $1,000 (which will give you roughly 30 minutes at the highest quality of footage), you could purchase a firestore device with 100GB (or more maybe now, I have not looked at options in awhile) which will give you much more recording capability. I have used this camera for recording graduations, amateur band performances, and just about everything possible, and if you are a professional who knows what you are getting in to with the purchase of this camera, by all means, you should have already bought it. BUT, if you are an amateur film maker who lacks training with this or a similar camera, look elsewhere and work your way up, or have a professional show you the ropes of this camera.I also recommend "The HVX Book" By fiercely Independent Films. It comes with a cd-rom showing you how to operate the menus, and a very nice 200-some page booklet.

The camera was in great condition and came with lots of awesome extras, though some unnecessary items. Card reader that came with the camera did not work, and seller was unresponsive to questions, but the product was quality and at a great price.

Being a professional videographer/producer.... I anxiously awaited the release of the HVX200. Having rented the 100Kplus Varicam for 1500 per day plus 600 per day for the deck.... I was head over heals when I read about the HVX coming out. It's DVCPRO HD codec is Professional. Not HDV consumer quality codec.. but real big boy stuff here. Sure, it doesn't have interchangeable lense, and a 2/3 chip... but man it's Sexy. Man it delivers the goods for a very reasonable price. One week or more of renting the Varicam and this baby is mine. It's my daily shooter.. my hammer and it's allowing me to deliver broadcast quality results without breaking the bank. Great for indi filmmakers and those looking to up their quality without killing their savings. It's also REVOLUTIONARY. Truly Tapeless and that's a God send. Tape is DEAD. Film is nearly dead and this camera is the harbinger of good things to come. It's not a pick up and shoot cold kind of cam. There's a learning curve... there some post considerations.. but all in all it's a 16mm film killer. Quality on par with 500 dollar for 10 minutes of Film kind of quality. It's variable speeds and timelapse is un-parralled. Ask anyone shooting tape to compare their Post affected slow motion with your real 60fps slow motion. It's just glorious.. as well is the 4:2:2 color. A must for green screen and high end work.Best piece of technology that I've ever bought.... and I'm sure it'll be serving me well for more to come. Already had it for a year and still excited about shooting wtih it... been a while since I could say that...

ProsP2 compatibility with this pro camera, great price, amazing HD lens, build quality, design, pro configurations and controls, real film-like gamma curves and colors..ConsA bit heavy but not really a problem.SummaryThis is an amazing little machine. Highest video quality I have seen so far. It offers the same performance of much more expensive cameras. True progressive shooting in 1080, 720 and 576. Very extensive menus. It looks beautiful on a tripod. Wide angle Leica Dicomar 13x HD lens which produces mesmerising images. Professional audio. If you love film and film-making then there is no other camera for you. Get it while you can and enjoy..

Everything is great. It would receive a full 5 star if the P2 prices is more reasonable or Panasonic driver will accept the P2 adapter and read/write regular reasonable priced SD.