Panasonic Adds Free 16 GB P2 Card With HVX200 Camcorder, Releases 32 GB P2 Cards

Panasonic is shipping the new AG-HVX200 P2 HD camcorder with a free 16 GB P2 card (model AJ-P2C016RG) this month.

A single 16 GB P2 card will yield 16 minutes of DVCPRO HD, 40 minutes of DVCPRO HD in native 720/24p, 32 minutes of DVCPRO50 and 64 minutes of DVCPRO. With the HVX200, which has two P2 card slots, users can double record times.

The HVX200 records in 1080i and 720p in production-proven 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD quality with the ability to capture images in 21 record modes. The DVCPRO HD format offers users intraframe compression, where each frame stands on its own for editing, and its full 4:2:2 colour sampling allows the image to hold up under colour correction.

Panasonic has also announced that the 32 GB version of the company's P2 solid-state memory card is now available.

The increase in storage capacity will allow users to shoot up to 120 minutes of DVCPRO video and up to 32 minutes of AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD quality. When used with Panasonic's AJ-HPX3000 HD camcorder and its five card capacity, the new card will provide up to 200 minutes of AVC-Intra 1080/24p video.

Panasonic said the new card has a transfer speed of four times that of a single SD card and can be used at temperatures up to 80°C.

The 32 GB card is fully compatible with current Panasonic 16 GB P2 cards, allowing users who have upgraded to the 16 GB P2 to instantly use the higher capacity storage device. For users who have not converted to the 16 GB cards, an upgrade will be necessary.