Panasonic HX-A500 4K

derek

If you don't mind your wearable action cam being tethered to a separate unit for wrangling controls, Panasonic's HX-A500 offers 4K video capture in return. The company touts the camera as the "world's first" option for said resolution, recording the those exploits at 25fps. There's also a 1080p option at 50fps, 720p at 100fps and 480p an a 100fps crawl for judging that swing in time for baseball season. It will also capture up to 30 minutes of video in up to three meters (about 10 feet) of water, should the need arise. Need to get the footage to another device? NFC and WiFi connectivity are built in with compatibility with Ustream for live broadcasts. The HX-A500 carries a similar look to the outfit's HX-A100, but the "main body" now packs a 1.5-inch LCD monitor for keeping an eye on things and tweaking settings. Other notable features include a IPX8 waterproof rating, automatic leveling correction, image stabilization and a variety of mounts to keep the dustproof cam in the right spot for optimum capture. The HX-A500 is set to arrive in May with a £379.99 (around $626) price tag in tow.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/24/panasonics-hx-a500-claims-worlds-first-wearable-action-cam-w/

MRfanny

that orange won't go well with my handbag and google glasses =) I was hoping for something less attention grabbing lol

joesiv

I kind of like the tethered setup, that way you can have the camera module mounted, and it's small, but have the screen more accessible (you can see what the camera sees while it's attached to your head for example).

More competition in this space the better I think!

Vitaliy_Kiselev

SOme review

http://www.ixbt.com/divideo/panasonic-hx-a500.shtml

driftwood

In UK Shops now!

derek

markr041

@Derek: the (orange) camera worn by the subjects in the video you linked ("Panasonic HC-A500 in action") is the A100, not the A500. It is odd they only show the A100.

Also, there is no Panasonic HC-A500. It is the HX-A500.

Maybe a prototype was used to film...

markr041

HX-A500 4K Road Test:

4K original is downloadable.

markr041

Left the A500 next to the hotel window in time-lapse mode, and got a thunderstorm. 2.5 hours collapsed to just over a minute.

markr041

markr041

3-second interval; powered by external battery (not needed, just checking). Put together in Sony Vegas Pro 13.

markr041

LesNumeriques, a competent tester of video cameras, concludes that the image of the Panasonic A500 even in 1080 mode (disregarding 4K mode) has higher resolution than does the Sony AS100V in 1080 mode.