Fujifilm P2 : Fujifilm Jumps into the P2 World (HD Video Recording)

As you may know, we at AkihabaraNews, NihonCar and ManualGear are using P2 based video cameras, Panasonic technology. P2 video cameras are among the best compacts and offer great video quality (up to 100Mbps instead of 27Mbps on MiniDV HD). The problem is the cost of the cards… Panasonic, the only manufacturer, is not very kind to us… (By "us" I mean all P2 product owners).

Today Fujifilm announced they will be jumping into the P2 world with the production of 64GB cards. These will greatly help us when shooting longer videos by eliminating the need of swapping a card every 8 minutes (recording in 1080p30 or 720p60 will give you 8 minutes on a 8GB card)…

The official press release is below:



Fujifilm announced today that it will introduce P2 format memory cards at the NAB 2008 Show taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada April 14-17. The addition of the P2 media compliments the full line of Fujifilm tape and optical storage media products and reflects the industry-wide acceptance of flash-based hardware as broadcasters integrate new technologies with existing operations and tape media.

Fujifilm P2 cards will be available in 16 and 32 gigabyte (GB) capacities at first, with a 64 GB version to follow later this year.

“Fujifilm offers the largest product line for the professional and broadcast market, and the addition of P2 media represents another unique option for our customers,” said Tom Volpicella, Vice President, Professional Market Sales, FUJIFILM Recording Media USA. “The size and ruggedness of the cards require less maintenance and offer greater productivity for camera crews in a variety of situations and environments.”

About the P2 Media Card

The P2 media card was developed for professional broadcasting and production use and is resistant to shock, vibration, and harsh environments (temperature and humidity) while offering high-capacity storage of broadcast-quality digital HD video with fast data transfer speed.

With fast reading/writing speed and no need to digitize content, the P2 Series vastly reduces production time for a dramatic improvement in workflow efficiency. The MXF (Material eXchange Format) employed by the P2 Series is an open file format made available to partner companies.

When the 64GB P2 cards become available, a single card will provide more than four hours of DVCPRO footage (64 GB X 4 minutes per GB); more than two hours of DVCPRO50, AVC-Intra 50 (64 GB X 2 minutes per GB) or 64 minutes of AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD.

The P2 card can be connected instantly with laptop PCs and major non-linear editing systems. Packaged in a rugged, die-cast frame, the Fujifilm P2 card is resistant to impact, vibration, shock, dust and environmental extremes including temperature changes.

The 64GB P2 card will work immediately with all P2 HD camcorders purchased since May 2007. P2 and P2 HD products purchased prior to that date require a free, downloadable software upgrade available via Panasonic’s website.

The pricing and availability of the FUJIFILM P2 cards will be announced shortly.