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Panasonic Pro AG-DVX100A 3-CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

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Panasonic Pro AG-DVX100A 3-CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

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The AG-DVX100A is equipped more than 20 new user-requested features including: enhanced 24p and 30p progressive mode functions; improved color reproduction; new cine-like gamma curves and enhanced image adjustments; a slow shutter function for higher sensitivity and dramatic motion effects; smoother zooming and focusing; a new squeeze mode for 16:9 recording; and new auto focus assist and interval recording modes for improved ease and versatility. Panasonic has outfitted the AG-DVX100A with a new prism to deliver the best picture quality in its class. New on-chip lens design delivers more than 500 lines of horizontal resolution, lower flare and smear, and a high F11 sensitivity, allowing the camera to record at 3 lux (at +18dB) for nighttime acquisition. Native progressive-scan CCDs eliminate interlace artifacts including horizontal jaggies and motion-edge tearing. Large Electronic Viewfinder 3.5 Color LCD Monitor Built-In SMPTE Time Code Generator/Reader External Backup with the IEEE 1394 Synchro Lock Function XLR Input

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Product Details

Product Length:	14.3 inches
Product Width:	6.3 inches
Product Height:	5.5 inches
Product Weight:	8.6 pounds
Package Length:	14.3 inches
Package Width:	6.3 inches
Package Height:	5.5 inches
Package Weight:	3.7 pounds
Average Customer Rating:	based on 12 reviews

Features

Superior Image Rendering with the Leica Dicomar Lens
410,000-pixel (NTSC), 3CCD Image System Provides F11 Sensitivity for Superior Image Quality
High-Sensitivity Slow Shutter
High Image Quality with 12-Bit A/D Conversion
RGB Gamma Processor Provides Rich, Cine-Like Tones

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 4.5

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The Worse Service Dpartment in the Digital Universe May 12, 2008
Good Camera nice color beautiful image, as time goes by image dulls, Good Camera nice color beautiful image, as time goes by image dulls, focus softens, if you have to get it serviced -Forget it! I had to pound my way all the way to the CEO in New Jersey, took 3 months!
Stick with Cannon, they have it together, I have a DVX 100A from Panasonic and an XL2 from Canon, so I have the luxury of comparing, Cannon has it more together.The hardware on this DVXA Camera is also not as solid as the Cannon (that cheap red turn on and record button has been used by all models including the cheap one chip cameras, grow up Panasonic, the 24 frame per second does not allow you to be sloppy in other fields. But I am not a panasonic fan.

27 of 27 found the following review helpful:

a serious improvement over the DVX100 Apr 19, 2005
I have been using the DVX100A in Iraq for over a year; I had started shooting on the previous model, the DVX100 -- and then upgraded to this one. Filming in 24p(Advanced) letterbox format. Between the two cameras I have shot 300 hours of material in difficult conditions. The DVX100A is a very serious improvement over the DVX100 -- and the difference lies in better signal processing that stretches the exposure range of the camera. My material shot with the DVX100A has much better latitude -- the skies don't burn out so much, detail is better, colors are richer -- and the blacks are far nicer and less noisy.

I owe a great deal to Panasonic for making a camera like this -- it really is the best low-budget filmmaking tool around. The quality is something like shooting on 16mm film -- but much easier and much less expensive. If you are a documentary filmmaker, or interested in shooting an indy film -- this is an excellent choice. The only DV camera I would consider buying, in fact. Now Panasonic has released a HD camera with a similar form factor called the AG-HVX200 which may be a better choice for productions with slightly more financing -- but the DVX100A is going to stay around for a while as the standard for what DV tape can do in SD. It remains a very viable camera for making films.

A side issue:
Many people have commented that they prefer to use an anamorphic adapter on this camera to give a 16:9 aspect ratio without losing resolution -- I think this is a toss-up. The anamorphic adapter itself will slightly lessen the sharpness of the image, and close-up focusing is very difficult. I think the option of using "letterbox" or "squeeze" (the same thing, in terms of resolution) gives very nice results without adding extra weight and optical issues to the camera. It's analogous to the difference between shooting Cinemascope and Super35 on film -- Cinemascope uses the whole area of the negative, but Super35 (which crops the top and bottom of the frame to get a wide aspect ratio) has much nicer optical resolution because you can continue using spherical lenses instead of anamorphic. I once asked Robert Richardson (ASC) about how he dealt with this issue when he was shooting widescreen on Super8mm film for inclusion in JFK -- he preferred to simply letterbox the tiny frame and live with lower picture res than mess around with the focus problems of anamorphic lenses. The case with the anamorphic adapter on this camera is similar -- I think you can get fine results using letterbox format on the DVX100A, with fewer complications.

19 of 20 found the following review helpful:

A great camera for advance amateurs and above Apr 07, 2005
If this is your first camera, you will be in trouble. Because, yes, the manual is very limited, and it has a lot of advanced features. However, this camera was not made for the beginner's market. This is my third video camera, an upgrade so that I can produce higher quality independent films. First, the 24P feature, it shoots 24 frames per second and I must say, it does look like film. It looks rather spectacular, actually. The first day I had it, I was a little overhwelmed. But, with every feature available as both automatic and manual, a little experimentation, the quality of my images has improved drastically. The 24P does take a little work and knowledge in order to make it work, but the result is well worth the time. Also, there is a spectacular user website out there with hundreds of users and experts who can help. Personally, I love that everything can operate manually, as I now am able to correct for poor lighting when shooting scenes that do not allow studio lights, like birthday parties, and the such. For a year, this was my dream camera, and once I got it, I was not disappointed. For any people out there who are considering this model, feel free to contact me, and I will either answer any questions I can or direct you to someone who can. This camera is an independent filmmaker's dream.

36 of 38 found the following review helpful:

Film or Not - Free from Labs, Middlemen and No-shows Mar 28, 2005
I just bought the DVX100AP to shoot a documentary, and I'm so glad this camera is available. I don't need soundmen, grips, or other crewmember to just shoot. The quality of the images from the camera, set on the cine-switch shot at 24fps are amazing - no, not 35mm film shot by a member of ASC with a $100,000 Arri package, but compared with the 16mm world, this Panasonic liberates filmmakers from the world of chemical filmmaking.

You don't have to wait days to see your work back from a lab; you can plug in your firewire and capture to Avid Xpress. You don't have to pay through the nose for syncing, work prints, answer prints, release prints which are really besides the point for independant filmmakers anyway. If you've ever shot and cut film, you know what I mean.

No question: this is a pricey unit. No question, it is worth the money because even if the images aren't absolute film quality, they are not simple video either. When I first opened the camera and starting shooting, I couldn't believe what I saw in the viewfinder, not what I saw when I watched the footage on a tv, or on my plasma monitor. This camera loves to shoot well-lit shots too. If you take time to emulate film lighting of any kind, you will end up with a rich, detailed look that includes richness in the shadows and a wide exposure latitude.

Whoever said you can't do depth of focus with the DVX-100AP ain't trying hard. The utter crispness of the focus I've seen knocked me out. Other great issues: 2 XLR jacks, firewire connector, and usable on-board mics, which while not great for interviews, do a fine job for ambient and room tone captures, and in a pinch, with work in Avid, even interviews shot without an external mic are not only useable, but good. And nobody else need be there; no unwilling family members, no film-school whiners, no untrained sound recordists, no Arrifascists looking down at your Bolex.

I love film; I love the smell of film in the morning; but man, film is the crack of visual arts, and I have hocked blood to burn light onto Kodak emulsions. Freddy's dead. DVX-100AP my ass, honey.

15 of 22 found the following review helpful:

screenwriter's perspective--why DV is a solution Feb 07, 2005
All of these technical details are important; I find them fascinating and vital to read, as I am trying to decide on a camcorder to shoot a feature with. But I do think some of you DPs have missed the point.

THE most important factor is getting your work out "there," and "there" does NOT need to be Sundance. The work simply needs to be a finished product, not an idea in your head that has nowhere to go.

I, and many like me, cannot afford to make a film for 50 or 100 grand. It is not going to happen. But if there is a way to get a film done, or a promotional short of your film done for much, much less, then every writer and filmmaker now has a chance. [And many producers merely want a decent visual form of one's story; they have money to invest in remakes.]

To all the DPs who chastise would-be DV filmmakers by saying it is going to be so far below quality that the finished product will be limping around to sorry, class B festivals... better to have a faulty DV product and be in the race, then be sitting on the sidelines empty-handed.