Re: PDW-700 Now Available

I borrowed one for a weekend a couple of weeks ago. Uses the same body base as the SD cameras, so it feels a bit more solid than the 1/2" cameras and balances nicely. Virtually no noise at all on the picture.

It drinks power, but that is to be expected with those chips. The pre-production camera I used was rated at 40w. There a colour temp button can store five white balance presets that you can cycle between by pressing it. There was a 30sec cache, which is enough time to be able to swap out to another disc if you are doing a press conference etc.

The camera I tried had an early firmware and could only do 50i. 24p is likely to be via an option board just like it was on the SD cameras. No variable framerate (and for the record, non of the current tapeless Panasonic cameras above the 500 can do VFR either, and nor can the GV Infinity). However if you don't want odd framerates like 32fps etc, you can always record footage in 720p/60 and do a frame for frame conversion in post for smooth slow mo.

SDI in is an option, but it does have two SDI outs on the back. I have a run down of what I liked and disliked on my website. Hopefully it won't be too long before I get hold of a production model.