Video review of Panasonic HPX 301e coming very soon

I was lucky enough to be invited down to Panasonic HQ in sunny Brackenll today to be given an HPX 301e to play with for a few hours and to shoot a review video on it with Dennis Lennie of CVP.Com.

The 301e is the European version of the 300 and luckily for us EU chaps we have an advantage over the former colonists in that our camera is a “world camera”, that means it is fully switchable between 50 and 60hz. Perfect for globetrotters like me who will work for anyone and have no loyalty to any country!

First impressions were very positive. Very solid, great ergonomics, amazing flexibility in recording modes, superb LCD screen and EVF. Nice enough lens for the price. light but heavy enough for handheld work and beautifully balance. 

Basically this is the Panasonic camera I have been waiting for. Do I wish it was 1/2″? Of course! But at this price point you can only get so much…there have been compromises and some corners cut but nothing major. Just about every feature you want on there is on there (and then some!)

One thing I need to investigate further is I found the image noisier than the EX3. I need to check with Panny to check what their camera details settings were set too as I didn’t check. Someone has told me that the factory preset for detail is +14!!!! If that is the case we have our culprit. Detail should always be set to a negative value or just turned off. It’s evil!!

We shot the review on a 171 and looking at those pictures next to the 301e is like night and day. Almost like looking at SD compared to HD. 

I still prefer the SxS workflow as am a macbook pro freak through and through and I hate the dual adapter almost as much as I hate the movie Mamma Mia. Man does it make my mac crash. 

Now I have a lot of editing to make my nonsensical gobbledegook comprehensible and of course make sure I get the facts right! I hope to have the video up, with a written review to go with it by the end of the week. As soon as it is ready i will post the link here. 

So far…so good!

3 comments

  1. Philip, the model of your laptop is not a good reason to choose a codec! AVC Intra is really in another world compared to XDCAM EX–tell Panasonic to give you a P2 reader.

    Now the noise issue, that is of concern. The EX1/3 are quiet cameras, albeit slow compared to good 2/3″ cameras. I should think that a 1/3″ CMOS sensor set would be at a slight disadvantage sensitivity wise to 1/2″ CMOS in the EX1, so the HPX300 may have its preamps turned up a bit to compensate.

  2. AH but in the field I need a laptop that doesn’t crash when offloading! Panasonic will bring out an affordable p2 reader soon I hope!

    I think the noise issue is down to the detail being at factory preset which someone said is +14. If that is the case, we have our solution!!

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