News: Panasonic to Ship New Master Quality 1080P AJ-HPX3000 P2 HD Shoulder-Mount Camcorder

New 1080p Solid-State Camera Offers Full Raster 1920 x 1080 Recordings with Faster-than-Ever On-set Workflow

(SECAUCUS, NJ--September 12, 2007) Panasonic announced it will begin deliveries this month of its new AJ-HPX3000, the industry's first native 1080p one-piece camcorder to acquire mastering-quality high definition video. With three 2/3" high-density 2.2-megapixel CCDs, the HPX3000 captures cinema-quality images in full-raster 1920 x 1080 resolution with 4:2:2 10-bit sampling, utilizing the powerful, new AVC-Intra codec.

Designed for episodic television, filmmaking and commercial production where mastering quality is essential, the HPX3000 records in industry-standard DVCPRO HD at 1080 in 24p, 25p, 30p, 50i and 60i, and in AVC-Intra. AVC-Intra, the industry's most advanced compression technology, is a professional intra-frame video codec with bit rates of 50 and 100Mbps, utilizing the Hi-10 and Hi-422 profiles of H.264 respectively. AVC-Intra provides high-quality 10-bit intra-frame encoding in two modes: AVC-Intra 100 for full-raster mastering video quality, and AVC-Intra 50 Mbps for DVCPRO HD quality at half the bit rate, thereby doubling the record time on a P2 card. For added flexibility, the camera can also produce standard definition recordings in DVCPRO50, and is 60/50-Hz switchable for worldwide use.

The HPX3000 offers intuitive film camera-like operation and its superb performance is enhanced with advanced 14-bit A/D conversion and a 12-pole matrix color correction function. Additional high-end features include six advanced gamma settings, including Film-Rec mode (made popular by the VariCam); a Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC) function that corrects for lateral chromatic aberration in lenses; film-like shutter controls; built-in scan reverse and a proxy video encoder. The HPX3000 has a high sensitivity of F10 at 1,000 lux in 1080i, and a minimum illumination of .064 lx (at +56db gain-up).

The camera offers five card slots and with five 16 GB P2 cards installed, you can record up to 100 minutes in AVC-Intra 100 at 1080/24p, 200 minutes in AVC-Intra 50 at 1080/24p, 160 minutes in other AVC-Intra 50 formats, and 80 minutes in other AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD formats. Recording times will double with the release of Panasonic's 32GB P2 card in November.

In addition to offering P2 HD's no-moving-parts reliability and innovative recording modes, the HPX3000's solid-state benefits result in a fast file-based workflow, providing immediate access to video content from all cards simultaneously for confidence viewing.

For creative picture enhancing, the camera has a three-level Dynamic Range Stretch (DRS) function that varies the gamma correction to match the contrast within the image. A Scan Reverse function allows the HPX3000 to use an ultra prime lens or an anamorphic lens adapter to create a 2.35:1 aspect image for wide-screen cinematic shooting without image cropping. In addition, the camera offers dual optical filter wheels for separate control of ND and CC, and a flip-out, 3.5-inch color LCD monitor for easy viewing. Available interfaces include IEEE 1394A in/out, USB 2.0 in/out, genlock in with HD Tri-Level Sync or VBS in, and SMPTE time code in/out. An HD/SD-SDI input for external line recording is offered as an option.

The HPX3000 can record full 48-kHz/16-bit digital audio on all four channels, and it's equipped with an RCU terminal for connecting the optional AJ-RC10G remote control unit for superb image and control adjustment.

To lower total ownership costs, Panasonic is offering a five-year limited warranty (Panasonic Broadcast's normal 1-year basic warranty plus an extended warranty for years two through five).

The AJ-HPX3000 is available this month at a suggested list price of $48,000.


About P2 HD

P2 HD products offer the benefits of pristine image quality, ultra reliability, unmatched flexibility and a faster workflow. They deliver solid-state high definition recording without the mechanical wear and environmental limitations of tape, hard disk, and optical disc based systems. P2 HD ensures the highest reliability, especially in challenging conditions of extreme temperature range, shock, and vibration. P2 HD products provide a significant reduction in maintenance costs, longer useful product life, and immediate access to recorded video (no need to digitize, ingest or create proxy video files) and metadata. P2 HD provides the reliability of solid-state production; the immediate connectivity to existing IT infrastructures; the speed, ease of use and portability of P2 cards; and interoperability with leading NLE systems.

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