Panasonic HPX3100 WiFi link

Panasonic's new 2/3-inch ENG P2 camera, the AJ-HPX3100, uses WiFi to allow other users to view proxy video and add metadata.

It can use a standard web browser, so up to three people, such as the director, camera assistant, continuity or logger, can access it at once using their laptop, iPad or mobile phone.

The €32,500 mid-range camcorder replaces the HPX-3000 (but is smaller and lighter), and now generates much more usable proxy video files, thanks to improved resolution of up to 960x540 from 320x240 previously.

"We've adopted the .mov format for the proxies, so they are easier to handle than MP4, and we haven't forgotten the audio, which is now AAC or uncompressed 16-bit 48kHz [up from 24kHz on the 3000], so that an editor can do a complete audio edit on the proxies and not have to redo anything for the full resolution video," explained Jerome Berrard, director AV Systems, Panasonic Europe (pictured above).

It weighs 3.9kg, has three 2/3-inch 2.2-megapixel CCD sensors, has Chromatic Aberration Compensation and Dynamic Range Stretch.  It records AVC-Intra (up to 100Mbps 10 bit, 4:2:2) at various HD formats, plus SD, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO and DV, to two P2 card slots.

[[UPDATE: Panasonic has released 18 new, free, downloadable scene styles for the HPX3100]]

By David Fox