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Product Review: Page (1) of 2 - 10/02/07

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Panasonic HPX500 shoulder mount P2HD camera

Shoulder-mount P2 camera with three-2/3? progressive-scan CCDs

By Heath McKnight

The Panasonic AG-HPX500 is a DVCPRO HD, shoulder-mount P2 camera with three-2/3 progressive-scan CCDs.  Think of the HPX500 as the father to the HVX200, only with more advanced features and the ability to use interchangeable lenses.  This camera is great for shooters looking to step up from the excellent HVX200, the DVX100-series or any other sub-$10,000 hand-held cameras.

The camera can hold up to four P2 cards, and with Panasonics latest 16 GB entries, youre going to have plenty of space to record longer takes. Documentary and news shooters, take notice!  Though the camera doesnt come with a lens, a good piece of glass from Canon or Fujinon will work just fine. Because of the bigger sensor size (2/3), a longer lens can be used (which can help give more depth of field options); cameras like the HVX200 with its 1/3 chips need wider, higher-resolution lenses. A wider lens doesnt give depth of field quite as well.

The camera can shoot in DVCPRO HD (1080i, 720p), the excellent DVCPRO 50 (480i/p) and DVCPRO (480i/p).  Frame rates include 60i, 60p, 30p, 50p, 25p, 24p, along with the ability to under-crank and over-crank to get fast and slow motion, respectively. There are 11-steps between 12 fps and 60 fps, according to Panasonic. Obviously, HD and 50 modes will take up more space than regular DVCPRO on the cards, and frame rates will affect space, as well. There is an advanced focus assist that can help maintain your shots focus. Too often, Ive seen HDV and HD video out of focus, even slightly, because the higher resolution of the cameras creates a more focus critical situation than SD cameras.  You can find this assist within the camera, and I highly recommend it because even if you think youre in focus, you may not be.

When I review cameras, I always try to put them in the field and do a review. Recently, I was a gaffer on a short film and we used the Sony HVR-V1u, which I reviewed.  In mid-September, I had a short film called HELLEVATOR, written by David Michelinie (creator of Marvel Comics Venom) that we had set up. The film was produced like 300 and SIN CITY, utilizing green screen and virtual sets. The visual effects (VFX) supervisor/director of photography Matt Miller was excited to learn I was reviewing the HPX500, and we made plans to use this amazing camera with a Canon KJ16ex7.7B IRSD PS12 16X w/2X CAC lens to shoot the film.

We decided to shoot in 720p 24pn (native), which records 24p without the pulldown to 60i. Shooting in this mode uses less space on the P2 cards because of fewer frames. We were able to get around 170 minutes on the four-16 GB P2 cards, though in 720p60, we were averaging around 80 minutes. Because of less compression and 4:2:2 sampling, the camera did very well during our shoot. Not just for VFX work, but also for general shooting. The colors I was able to get shooting in sunlight and under cloud cover was amazing when I displayed the footage on my widescreen HDTV (1080i).

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960x720 video ran through FCP

Though the camera can shoot in 1080, I personally prefer shooting in 720p. There are more than 600,000 pixels on each CCD, and for me, shooting in 720p takes the best advantage of those pixels. Also, because there are larger CCDs, again 2/3, low light capabilities are excellent and much better than the HVX200s 1/3 and certainly the V1us ¼ CMOS.