In the run-up to the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas (April 10-15), Panasonic has just unveiled a new, lower-cost camera it claims offers some significant improvements in high-definition image quality. Equipped with a Fujinon 17x HD lens and a new 1/3-inch, full HD 2.2 Megapixel 3-MOS imager that utilizes what the company calls Ultra Luminance Technology (ULT), Panasonic executive Robert Harris says that the P2 shoulder-mount camcorder AG-HPX370 offers 10-bit, 4:2:2 independent frame full 1920-by-180 resolution AVC-Intra recording. That means it is capable of producing high-definition images as good or better than cameras with more expensive half-inch imagers. He talked about the camera with HD Update contributor George Winslow.
 


Robert Harris: Certainly, there is less money out there. The days of selling a lot of $30,000 camcorders are probably waning. The sweet spot seems to be around $10 grand and we've hit that with this camera, which includes a lens.

HD is obviously very big and everyone seems to want a 2.2 Megapixel imager. But in order to get the costs down, all the manufacturers are moving to MOS imagers. With them, you get some power efficiencies and cost efficiencies.

But the big thing for us was coming up with a way to provide a really excellent quality MOS imager. With the new U.L.T. imager that we've developed for this camera, we are getting the performance of the 1/2-inch or better in a 1/3-inch imager.

Plus, we continue to address some of the issues with the MOS imagers and we've integrated flash band compensation technology into it.

So we are getting really, really good images, full-HD resolution images. And, of course, it also has the advantages of AVC-Intra and all the advances that are being made there.

AVC-Intra is certainly catching on, not only on the high end but also with our AVCCAM lineup we introduced a couple of years ago. In fact, we noticed that Sony has introduced a couple of AVC camcorders and a lot of the manufacturers are supporting AVC natively.

So, AVC-Intra is being very well supported and has the advantage offering users very, very high quality but better bandwidth.

We were first out there with solid state file-based workflow and now, of course, everyone has adopted that. We now sell our 64-Gigabyte P2 cards at under $1,000 with very, very high transfer rates and we've introduced a couple of new things.

Everyone's been saying "give us a cheaper drive that will work with Mac or a PC" so we just introduced a single slot P2 card drive [the AJ-PCD2.] With 64 Gigabytes, on a card a lot of people really don't need five slots.

We've also come out with the AG-MSU10 P2 Media Storage Unit, which has a P2 slot and a removable solid state drive. So you can just simply shoot and put the P2 cards in it. It sucks up all the data at about 4x and aggregates that on solid state hard drive. Then you can take it home instead of taking a bag of cards.

I think a lot of the issues with solid state file-based work are being resolved. You're getting better stuff, more affordably. It is really riding on the coattails of higher capacity and lower cost of solid state technology.

MCN: What kind of advances have you made with the MOS imager in the camera?

RH: The AG-HPX370 has what we call Ultra Luminance Technology, ULT. Basically, we put in a technology that has ultra low noise level so you can get much higher sensitivity with better performance. And we're making that available at a very good price, so there is a cost advantage as well. This is a camera that I think really kind of leapfrogs everyone at this point.

MCN: In February, you started taking orders for your first 3D camcorder, the AG-3DA1. What kind of demand are you seeing for that?

RH: We are still planning to ship the camcorders, the 3D production monitor and the new mixer that is capable of doing 3D switching in the September timeframe. When we announced we were going to start taking orders, we didn't expect a huge number of orders until we got to NAB, where everyone could touch and feel it and get all final specs.

But we've been surprised at number of orders we have gotten ... There have also been a lot of announcements by carriers [for the launch of 3D channels and services] and everyone is scrambling to get out and make some content. So we are hearing from a lot of production companies.

There is interest not only in the integrated camcorder but also in many of our box cameras and other cameras that are used in 3D rigs.

With the success of [theatrical film] Avatar and the success of [Tim Burton's] Alice [In Wonderland], the momentum for 3D is clearly on. I think that people are accepting it and certainly the production community is scrambling to make certain they have the capability to do 3D, which has impact on rental and everything else. This is a very good thing for the industry.

MCN: In the run-up to NAB, what are some of the biggest challenges you face?

RH: It is always a challenge when you had been selling $100,000 decks and then you can get similar quality for $5,000.

So the challenge is what do you do when the market for the $30,000 camcorder is not so great? You have to figure out how you can add value. What are some of the solutions you can offer at lower cost and reach a lot more people?

Certainly, HD has been around the broadcast and production services markets for a while. But another good opportunity is in the institutional markets -- the government market, higher education, the churches and the commercial market. Many of those institutions have not adopted HD. That makes them a new market, a whole new opportunity, that we are seeing now.

MCN: How do you see the religious market, which has been a bright spot in recent years?

RH: The religious market is still pretty good, although with unemployment over 9%, donations are down. With the support that churches have to provide to the public and parishioners, some of the dollars allocated to the evangelism efforts may be held off. So, personally, I don't expect lots and lots of growth this year.

But in a year we may start to see that recover.

Right now, I think the bright spot is higher education. People are getting advanced degrees and job retaining and so on. I think it will be a very strong area this year.