Well, for me, this thread is turning out to be almost as enjoyable as a good 4:2:2 discussion. (thanks dhart
)
As for the U.S. List Price - guys, the prices are shown on the Sony site.
PDW Series XD-Camcorders
The top line
PDW530 lists for $34,000. This one will record/pb in both IMX and DVcam and has duel filter wheels.
The entry level
PDW510 lists for $19,900. This one will record/pb only in DVcam and has only one filter wheel.
So as you see dhart, not all optical disk decks are created equal, nor do they sell for equal prices. Both camcorders have the same super high quality CCD block as the
MSW-900 Betacam
- yet the "IMX XDcam" unit costs almost twice as much as the "DVcam XDcam" unit. No one can tell me that a duel filter wheel alone will bump the price up by $14,000. (from $20,000 to $34,000) The "extra" price of getting studio (IMX) quality
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As much as I like Ikegami, I think their "dinky tape" driven HL-DV7W DVcam is going to be in trouble. I understand that you can get one for around $11K. I bet soon you will be able to get the XDcam PDW510 (DVcam on disk) for around 15K.
I seen the picture from the
MSW-900 Betacam
and that newly developed EX CCD system with over one million pixels per CCD with extremely low smear kicks ass over any previous 520k system including Panasonic's Ikegami's and Sony's. Of course that is recorded on Mpeg-2 -- 4:2:2 @ 50Mbps
and not DVcam 4:1:1 @ 25Mbps
but I bet even the DVcam signal with the EX CCD looks better then the Ike.
Not to mention that the new Sony cams can record in P. (progressive scan mode @ 30p). What this means is that you can capture 30fps progressive - then in HDTV post, interlace it from the progressive signal and you end up with over 960i. Sure this won't be as nice as true HD 1080i with over 2 million pix but it will look closer to HD then any 520k 486i system upconverted to HD. Although up converting from a 4:1:1 25Mbps format to HDTV is rather silly in my opinion and anyone thinking of doing this should at least go with the 50Mbps 4:2:2 MSW-900 betacam or PDW-530 IMX XDcam.
Also both XDcams have an option for a video card that will record true 24p (24-frame capture in CCD.) Although in my opinion this is rather stupid to do with "any" SDTV format...
In any case, the new XDcams have many features not found on previous SD ENG cameras from any manufacture. If (and I stress if) this new professional disk system turns out to be robust and trouble free then the other manufactures better pay attention.
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PANASONIC
As to Panasonic's new system recording straight to memory chip -- no doubt this is more robust then any removable disk or tape system could ever be - but --- I can't imagine contractors, freelancers and independents using this in the near future. The cost of shipping memory chips instead of tapes or plastic disks just seems too costly today. I can see this being used for in-house news shops were no shipping of removable media is involved. I can see this being used in the ""future"" when all independent cameramen will upload their material to a company server were the edit bay, producer and network/station/house will have immediate access to the footage. But for now I have to say removable plastic disks are more feasible then memory chips. Especially for everyday freelance work...
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IKEGAMI
Ike has been pushing their hard disk (dockable system) for a few years now. But it doesn't look like many companies are biting. Even though the Ike system will record in DV25 DV50 and IMX - you still can't remove a tape or plastic disk - you still have to ship the hard-drive or upload the footage just like with the Pani system...
DNR-20 IKE dockable hard disk recorder