Today at NAB Panasonic introduced the AG-HVX200, a much-anticipated 16:9 HD handheld camcorder that records 1080i/720p/480i in HD and SD on P2 cards and is capable at 720p at 30p, 24p, or 60p. The use of semiconductor P2 card promises to make this a very reliable camcorder for a wide range of uses. Clearly there is alot of trickle-down technology development going on as this camera borrows alot of features from it’s big brother, the AJ-HDC27 VariCam.
Instead of jumping on the HDV bandwagon, Panasonic has decided to deliver a small camera using their proven DVCPRO HD format featuring intra-frame compression, full 4:2:2 color sampling, and high quality uncompressed audio. Recording files to P2 cards make them easy to mount like a regular file system from the NLE’s point of view, eliminating the capture process. The camera sports a native progressive scan 16:9 3-CCD imaging system and a Leica Dicomar wide-angle zoom lens. Panasonic stated that the AG-HVX200 will be available in the Fall 2005 with a suggested list price of $5,995.