In our WEVA brief we teased that Panasonic is developing a new DVCPRO camcorder to fit between the AG-HPX500 camcorder model ($14,000) and the AG-HVX200 camcorder model ($5,995). What we know at this moment is that it's likely to be a shoulder-mount camcorder. Other than that initial information we gathered at WEVA, despite several failed attempts to contact our Panasonic peeps via emails and phone calls, we have no more news to report from Panasonic. But hey, we didn't start the fire, so let's just fan the flames a bit and see if we can't get this topic noticed. Thus, we begin our conversation of wild speculation. This should be good. Panasonic's Opportunity What we do know through a multitude of interactions with our readers is that there are small to medium-sized studios out there looking for a versatile HD camcorder with some professional fixings (i.e., HD SDI, interchangeable lens, shoulder-mount, etc.). Panasonic (as you can see from the image we manipulated above) doesn't have a horse in this race. Well, at least not one with DVCPRO P2 technology at this price point. The Panasonic AJ-SDC615 ($9,995) is the closest we come in terms of price, but it's a standard definition camcorder and without P2. Needless to say, Panasonic has an opportunity here and it will be interesting to see what they develop. Product Spec-Speculation We can't help but speculate what this opportunity-of-a-camcorder might look like, and for the humor of revisiting this post 6-18 months from now (even more speculation), we'll let you explore this further. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think might be the best solution for a shoulder-mount camcorder somewhere between the HPX500 and HVX200 camcorders. We'll keep you informed if we see or hear any official information following this very unofficial post.
