The solid state P2 cards are the most important part of the Panasonic AG-HVX200 camcorder. These cards are currently available in two and four GB sizes. Panasonic says that an eight GB card will be available when it launches the AG-HVX200. Officials are tight-lipped about how much the eight-GB card will cost, but there are rumors that they will retail for $2,000 each, which would make the camcorder and two cards about $10,000. Since the P2 cards are basically PC cards, with built-in SD memory, prices will inevitibly to match the downward trend in SD prices.

Even though the P2 cards are much more expensive than tape, they do have some unique advantages. Unlike tape, these cards are shock-proof, because they are solid state with no moving parts. The cards are also fairly impervious to moisture, which eliminates the dreaded "moisture detected" lockup on tape-based camcorders. According to Panasonic, the cards can withstand up to 100,000 rewrites. Try doing that with tape.

The amount of video that you will be able to store on the cards will depend on the resolution and bitrate at which you record. At 1440X720 and 24 progressive frames, an eight GB card can store 20 minutes of video. The AG-HVX200 has two P2 slots and the camcorder will switch to the second card, after filling up the first card. While writing to the second card, the user can pop out the first card and put it into a belt-mounted hard drive.

Since the P2 cards fit into any laptop PC card slot, you can begin to edit right away, without having to capture the video to hard-drive. With solid-state recording, transfer decks have virtually been eliminated.

If you plan on doing long shots, Panasonic will sell its AJ-PCS060 portable hard drive (which is not pictured) with a capacity of 60GB or the equivelent of 15 four GB P2 cards. It uses 2.5 inch drives and can be belt mounted. The interface is USB2, which Panasonic says can transfer the information from the 4GB P2 card in four minutes. The drive will be available in August for $1,800.

Conclusion

It's amazing how far recording technology has come in the past few years. Being able to record in full HD resolutions at 100 Mbps is an incredible feat in itself. Morever, while professional HD camcorders used to cost $30,000 and up, Panasonic's AG-HVX200 for $5,995 has the potential to open doors for the average Joe who wants to make true HD content.