Anyone who knows me has probably witnessed me taking issue with Panasonic's sales hyperbole (when I'm not taking issue with Sony's sales hyperbole...or anyone else's) surrounding their line of DVCPROHD cameras.This is not one of those times.
At 5,695 USD, the AG-HPX170 is the least expensive small camcorder with HDSDI out. This connector seems to be worth as much as the entire camcorder for most manufacturers. (Canon's step between their entry level HDV camcorder and the next step up, which adds primarily HDSDI, nearly doubles the price) The HDSDI out allows the camcorder to be used as a 'baseband' capture device to capture live, uncompressed, or use an external recorder such as Convergent Design's Flash XDR. This is a feature that is not included on the HVX200a. This may be the single most important versatility feature on small camcorders as we go forward, allowing the largest variety of recording formats to be used downstream from the camera if the on-board recording mechanism is inappropriate for a given application.
At a full 2,000 USD less than Sony's PMWEX1, the 170 is a worthwhile consideration for those who have a comfortable history with Panasonic's small camcorders and even with the EX1's 1/2" CMOS sensors with higher native resolution beckoning, one can realize value from the P2 cards (and experience) they already own. This is not to mention Panasonic's clear edge in the HD professional production marketplace, which is "buy the small P2 camera and rent a Varicam 3700 or an HPX 3000 when you need it" using the same P2 media and the same post workflow (using DVCPROHD of course)...try that with a Sony Z7 and an F23 or F900...
Panasonic has taken some flack for the sensor in these cameras (some from yours truly, though I took more issue with the early marketing strategy of appearing to try to hide the spec as opposed to explaining it) , which creates an HD image from super-sampling a sensor lattice that has less photosites than the ouput image has pixels. Anyone (myself included) who has actually used the HVX camcorder knows that the aesthetic of the images created is simply better than the specs give it a right to be. (Frankly, I find this to be the case with the vast majority of handheld HD camcorders in the pro marketplace, HDV included.)
When you add in the 170's waveform and vectorscope monitoring on-board (also not available on the HVX200a...or anything else in this price range AFAIK) and a slightly wider lense...
....and you really examine how many HVX200 users have really utilized their tape drive in the time they've owned the camera...you realize that the 170 isn't the 200's little sibling at all...it's the next generation.
For small, handheld HD cameras, the HPX170 will prove to be a pretty good value to those who find it fits with their needs.
TimK
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