It is a telling move by Panasonic that these cameras are not selling.
"Wow, great deal...(as I ponder what camera to dump and where to pull 30k from for a camera I didn't really want to buy)... 2 minutes later, I'm admitting to myself they really got me going there for a few minutes.
But even at 30k or half the price of a new 3700 its still 30k sitting on the shelf! Nobody in my part of the world wants this system. I'd much rather spend real money on a camera that we have demand for like the new Sony 800. Or a pile of Ex-1's and Ex-3"s, that's whats renting right now. Panasonic's stock is falling fast because of too much investment in P2 tech, and an unclear assortment of too many models to choose from.
Tom is right on the mark saying this feels like "transition time". That's one big reason why people don't want to plunk down 30-40-50-60k into any of these systems, because these flash cards are still relatively new and we can all see how fast the technology is changing and the price drop on memory. Most understand that the idea of paying 2k for a 32gb card these days will be looked at 2 years from now and laughed at. Clearly tape will be gone in years to come, but the next step up will be massive storage for very cheap and it wont be these little cards that cost a bundle, and we can loose so easily.
Panasonic has put way to many eggs into the P2 basket, at a bad time in the economy and a transitionary period in the industry (and will pay the price of the bleeding edge).
We are buying only what there is actual demand for, and waiting this round out if possible. the 3700 is the flagship P2 dog that nobody wants, even at 30k "a dog is a dog" (I wouldn't buy it for 15k). Sorry Pany, love your tape products, but you have way too many P2 models, and not enough raising the tech bar like you used to do. I'm buying a lot of Sony gear these days because the demand is rising!
Those new cheaper P2 cards are another odd move by this company (planned failure??) bizarre marketing ploy. Well dont load up on those slight cheaper cards because I predict that 3-5 years from now P2 is dying or possibly completely gone because of big advances in storage technology and this P2 card profile will look like child's play.
Wait this one out, save your money. Use the gear that's already available to get your job done, things are changing fast.
Erich Roland
http://www.dc-camera.com
HD camera rentals, Washington DC
(and Cameraman)
