Rob Travis has alerted me to the Andromeda Data Acquistion System, which modifies a Panasonic DVX-100 to allow for capture of "4:4:4 10bit RGB Uncompressed output." Assuming you already own a DVX-100, it costs $3000, which includes the software needed to do the capture. You can read more about it at the Reel Stream website. Andromeda says they're considering offering this modification for other cameras. Needless to say, such a thing for the HVX-200 could be outstanding. Imagine: True 24P 4:4:4 10bit RGB Uncompressed HD.... for less than $10K....
Sorry. Back to reality. Some quick thoughts:
- $6000 ($3000 for Andromeda + $3000 for DVX100B at street prices) gets you uncompressed 4:4:4 24p in standard def. (See comments.)
- $6000 can get you a Panasonic HVX200 without P2 cards. No P2 cards means you're just using the HVX as a standard def camera. But you can invest down the road in P2 to get HD in true 24p.
- $9000 gets you a Canon XL-H1, which is HD. It can do uncompressed 4:2:2 via its HD-SDI output.... but it doesn't have true 24p.
The question for a lot of owners of the DVX-100 will be: Do I spend the cash on modifying my camera, or do I move up to something else?
Personally, if I had a DVX-100, I'd at least consider the Andromeda upgrade. All of the currently available under-$10K HD cameras are a mixed bag (at best), plus delivery of HD content is a big question mark (what with the HD vs. Blu-ray format war) anyway. Making a small upgrade investment in SD in the interim could be a smart move. Then again, I'm saying all of this speculatively since I've not seen anything except the tests on Andromeda's website.