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MillimeterP2 Hits Its Stride in 2009
Dec 21, 2009 12:00 PM, By Helmut Kobler
You can identify a Panasonic P2 E series card by its metallic-silver styling.
"Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it is." — Wayne Gretzky
I've always liked that quote, even though a little internet research shows there are a dozen versions of it, and whichever version is the right one actually came from Gretzky's dad, instead of The Great One himself. Whatever. The point is, the quote came to mind as I started writing this article, because it describes Panasonic's approach to its popular P2 format.
P2 was the first tapeless format to take the tired, old workflow that shooters and producers have used for 30 years and drag it into the 21st century. P2 has been around since 2004, and it's made its way into Panasonic's top cameras and been embraced by productions large and small. However, there were always technology and cost issues that made P2 a tough sell for some projects—for instance, some documentaries and reality TV shows.
But 2009 saw Panasonic's bet on where the technological puck is going pay off. New hardware, new software and inevitable price reductions have wiped away P2's earlier limitations and boosted the quality, convenience, and dollar savings that a solid-state format delivers. If you're looking to squeeze more efficiency out of your own workflow—be it tape-based or otherwise—here are five big changes in 2009 that help make P2 so compelling.
P2 cards: big and cheap(er)
One of P2's earliest problems was the cost of the P2 cards themselves. When Panasonic introduced the first P2 HD camcorder, the AG-HVX200, the 8GB P2 cards available stored 20 minutes of 720p24 footage and cost a whopping $1,200.
How things have changed. In mid 2009, Panasonic started shipping a new kind of P2 card, called the E series. E series cards can do everything that older P2 cards can but with two big improvements. First, E series cards come in huge capacities, up to 64GB per card. That's enough to carry 2.5 hours of 720p24 footage or 1.5 hours of 1080. Second, E series prices no longer induce cardiac arrest. The 64GB card costs $998, 32GB is $625, and 16GB is $420.
P2's new price and capacity mean great things for shooters and producers. You can now fill up a five-slot pro camera, such as the Panasonic Varicam AJ-HPX2700 or AJ-HPX3700, and shoot 13 hours at 720p24 each day (6.5 hours at 1080) without interrupting things to load or label a new tape, cart around dozens of blank tapes, or do a data transfer in the middle of the shoot. These shooting times can easily take most productions through an entire day (or days). At the end of the day, it's easy to bring the cards back to the office or a hotel to do a quick offload to editing or backup hard drives. If you're in the field and don't want to bother with a laptop, consider the handheld Nexto NVS2500 appliance, which automatically backs up P2 cards.
P2's leaner prices mean you can have this massive shooting capacity for less than $5,000 (five 64GB cards at $998 each). That may sound like a big upfront cost, but you'll potentially never have to pay for camera media again. When you consider that a 2-hour TV documentary can easily rack up 30 hours of footage—about $1,500 in tape stock—then you can see the magic of never paying for media year after year.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.