Subject: RE: Panasonic beats Sony !!!!!!!
From: Emilio (starbright compuserve com)
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001

The Panasonic MX300 is the European (PAL) version of the Japanese MX3000
(NTSC) version.  It was released in Japan almost a year ago, in October
2000. Shortly after that, it became available in Europe, in Australia, Asia,
and even in Russia (judging by several Russian web sites that mention it).
The only place that it is still NOT available is in North America!!!  What a
shame.

The MX300 has 3 CCDs, and manual controls for everything, and it includes
the Zebra pattern warning for over-exposure.  Some web sites claim 1.8
Megapixel stills.  Others say only 1.6 megapixels.  The video, of course, is
the same as standard DV video resolution, but the colors seem richer and
warmer than those from other camcorders.

A videographer from England has posted a wonderful comparison of the MX300
and the VX2000, that shows the Panasonic MX300 having much better color than
the Sony VX2000. You can check it out at:

http://www.supervideo.com/shootout.htm

Another web site where you can check out comparisons is a site created by a
fellow called Vincent in Hong Kong. Check it out at:

http://members.tripod.com/vincent_ysc/index.html  (general introduction)

His site provides useful links such as:

http://members.tripod.com/vincent_ysc2/22DV.htm  (Resolution comparisons)
http://www4.big.or.jp/~a_haru/0011Goutdoor.html  (Comparison photos)
http://www4.big.or.jp/~a_haru/0103Goutdoor.html  (More comapred photos)

The good news for North America is that the Panasonic camcorder IS available
there after all.  There is a company in California, called "Q Technologies"
that imports it from Japan. Q Technology provides a 1-year warranty. They
sell the Panasonic MX3000 for US $2,895. Check it out at the following site,
where you can also find more info about the camcorder:

http://www.qtechnologies.com/imports/pana_1.htm

The Supervideo.com web site (Yes, the famous "Latest Rumor" pages created by
the "Chuckmeister") provides the greates abundance of information, and has
several web pages devoted to the Panasonic MX3000, and the new, just rumored
MX4000 (which might end up being called MX2500).  Check out the following
pages:

http://www.supervideo.com/mxhome.htm  (for the MX3000)

http://www.supervideo.com/panason.htm  (for the MX4000)

You can think what you will about the Supervideo rumor pages. They have been
wrong on occasion and have teased us about upcoming camcorders that never
materialized.  But this site also DOES provide the latest news sooner than
anyone else.

Also, Supervideo.com is absolutely right in pointing out the pattern
followed by almost all camcorder manufacturers, in that new models are first
released in Japan and Asia, then in Europe, and much later (or never) in
North America.  Sometimes so much times goes by that an even newer model is
released before North America ever sees the previous one, so a model is
completely skipped in the US and Canada.  This may be the case with
Panasonic right now. North America may never see the MX3000.  Instead, we
might get the MX4000 later this year (IF WE ARE LUCKY!).

Another difficulty in comparing camcorders is that they are often named very
differently in the United States.  Panasonic USA offers a model called:
PV-DV951, which is eqivalent to the older MX2000 (not the MX3000).   The
difference seems to be significant.  I have heard from people who were
disappointed in the MX2000 (DV951), whereas everyone who has tried the
MX3000 is full of praise.

Hope this helps clarify some of the questions.

I would urge everyone to write to Panasonic and ask about these newer models
(MX3000 and MX4000) and ask them WHEN they will become available.  Perhaps a
lot of public pressure might get them to move on that front. But don't
expect any useful response to individual emails.  I have written several
times, and Panasonic USA officially denies any knowledge of these models.
Which just goes to show what a backwater the US has become in the world of
video.  Everyone has the camcorder, including the Russians, but Americans
don't even know about it.

Emilio
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Date:  Sun, 19 Aug 2001
From:  "Graham Baker" (plantek bigpond com)


The latest rumour is that the MX300/MX3000 is about to be released in
the US, it will be known as the EZ-40, the replacement to the EZ-30
which was basically a 'pro' (matt black and with extra w/a lens) version
of the European DX100/110 - similar marketing strategy to Sony's TRV900
and PD100 - same (basic) model for different markets.

I have just posted a (rather long) detailed comparison of the MX300
compared to the TRV900 here:

http://www.dvdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000976.html

IMHO, the MX300 is *the* small 3 chipper of the moment but that may
change whenever Sony decide to release the TRV900 replacement, if
ever...

BUT, and it's a large 'BUT' - the 1 x 'demo' and the 2 x new MX300's
that I have had use of all exhibit a problem with 'glitches' from the
firewire output - small data errors that cause three consecutive frames
to have blocks of video either repeated or in the wrong place in the
image.
This was consistent from two new MX300's playing into two Canopus
Raptor's with two different firewire cables and it also showed similar
(but less number) glitches when just connected to my TRV900 via
firewire...

Not so good if you use an NLE setup!

The good news is that I have e-mailed the Panasonic Australia help desk
and they have been very responsive - an immediate (non-automated) reply
informing me that Panasonic Technical are investigating with the promise
of a reply next week.

I have to say that I have never had anything more than 'automated
acknowledgment from any e-mail that I have sent to Sony - at least with
Panasonic I am dealing with real people.

GB

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Followup, Aug. 24 2001
(hajjmahmud at unternehmen com)

Just to follow up on recent posts comparing the 900 to the Sony TRV30 and
the MX-300 from Panasonic, I've just had the opportunity to handle both of
these other cameras and thought certain features would be worth reporting.

re the MX-300: the bottom loading design could be an absolute disaster
under many pro and semi-pro shooting situations. If you have a quick
release mount, and who doesn't, then you've four operations to go through
to dismount the camera and get it back on the tripod and/or body mount,
etc. dismount the camera and get it back on the tripod and/or body mount,
etc.

Secondly, the LCD screen is miniscule in comparison to the 900 or the 30.
I would say it seems to be, purely subjectively, a quarter of the area.
Thus many options which we take for granted with the 900 (plus Hoodman or
similar screen shade as needed) would be much more difficult. Focussing
would definitely be harder, but framing shots would be fine.

I think those two points significantly tilt the balance back to the 900
for many potential uses/users. Now as to the TRV-30, the major news as far
as I could tell and I haven't heard any one else report this, is that
there is a manual focus ring on the 30 which allows, in its own way, a
real rack focus. Yes, that's right. Repeatable, slow slow slow motion to
the exact same point. Just like a real lens. Well, almost. In the few
informal tests I made, the focus ring, although I assume it to be a servo
system like the 900 and all other ring focus mini-DV cameras of the
pro-sumer class, actually responds to as slow a rotation as you care to
make. With this provisio, as far as I could tell: the arc of rotation is
proportional to the speed. But it is exactly repeatable. Ie. you could set
up a rack focus just like with a pro lens and learn your stop point and
then repeat it, as long as you do it at the same speed.

I tried this with very tight focussing on lettering about two meters away
in a tight zoom and was stunned with the repeatable beauty of a completely
out-of-focus hazy colour shot booming right into sharp focus every time.
The lcd screen on the 30 is the same size as the 900 but somehow didn't
look as sharp to these old eyes. The zoom is a lever and although it seems
infinitely speed variable, it also seemed hard to find and stay at a
particular speed outside of the extremes. I would think as a backup camera
with the rack-focus ability, that if the overall video could be made to
cut in with the 900 footage, the 30 could be an excellent choice. All in
all, even after three years, the 900 is still a solid candidate for anyone
considering the best quality mini-DV camera in this size range.

regards,
Mahmud

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