Panasonic Memory Card Camera Recorder Ag-hpx500p, Ag-hpx500e Operating Instructions

31P2 Cards
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

5Close the slide-out door.
< Note >
•  To prevent cards from falling out, dust from entering and reduce the risk of exposure to static electricity, do 
not move the AG-HPX500P/ E with the slide-out door 
open. 
•  Format P2 cards on a P2 device or on a PC using P2  Viewer software. 
Removing P2 Cards
1While pressing the slide lock button, 
move the slide-out door to the left.
2Tilt down the EJECT button.
3Then depress the eject button to 
release the P2 card....

32P2 Cards
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

To Prevent Accidental 
Erasure of P2 Card Content
To prevent the content of a P2 card being accidentally 
erased, position the write-protect switch on the P2 
card at [Protect].
< Note >
Write-protect switchover can be performed while the 
card is being accessed (during recording or playback) , 
but does not take effect until access to the card ceases.
P2 CARD ACCESS LED and 
status of P2 cards
P2 CARD ACCESS  LED Status of P2 Card
Stays on 
in green...

33P2 Cards
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

•  The DVCPRO P2 format records data as files, making it ideal for computer processing and 
compatibility. A proprietary format is used for the 
structure of these files, where in addition to video and 
audio data recorded in MXF format, various relevant 
metadata is recorded in the folder structure shown 
below.
All these folders are required. 
* This file contains the last clip data 
 recorded on a P2 device.  Drive:\
CONTENTS
VOIC
E
VIDE
O
PROX
Y
ICON CLIP...

34Basic Procedures
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

This section describes the basic procedure for 
shooting and recording.
Before you embark on a shoot, pre-inspect your 
system to ensure that it works properly.
For directions on inspecting your memory card 
camera-recorder, see [Inspections Before Shooting] 
(page 137).
Battery Set-up to P2 card Insertion
1Insert a charged battery pack.
2Turn the POWER switch to ON to check 
the battery remaining level in the 
viewfinder. 
•  When battery capacity is...

35Basic Procedures
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

Setting the switches before shooting 
and recording
When a battery and P2 cards are installed, set the 
switches as detailed below, before starting to use your 
AG-HPX500P/E.
1  Iris
The iris is automatically adjusted when the lens is 
set to the auto iris mode.
2  USER MAIN / USER1/ USER2
Assigning the SLOT SEL function to a USER 
button allows you to select a P2 card among 
multiple P2 cards for recording. 
The P2 card selected for recording...

36Basic Procedures
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback
4To use the electronic shutter, set the 
shutter speed and shutter mode. 
For more information, see [Setting the 
Electronic Shutter] (page 53).
5Press the REC START/ STOP button to 
start recording.
•  During recording, the REC lamp in the viewfinder stays illuminated.
6To stop recording, press the REC 
START/ STOP button.
•  The REC lamp in the viewfinder goes out.
< Note >■ Operation Buttons
In CAMERA mode, all operation buttons (REW, FF, PLAY,...

37Variable Frame Rate (VFR) Recording
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback
This camera takes full advantage of P2 card 
characteristics by providing frame skipping 
(undercranking) recording and high-speed 
(overcranking) recording without the use of a frame 
rate converter. (The camera must be set to 30PN, 
25PN or 24PN to use these functions.) Since the 
camera records only the effective frames (native 
recording), recording time is 2 to 2.5 times longer than 
in the 24P, 30P and 60P modes (25P or 50P at...

38Variable Frame Rate (VFR) Recording
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

4Press the REC START/ STOP button. 
•  Pressing the REC START/STOP button starts native recording in the VFR mode. 
•  No signals are output from the 1394 terminal during  recording or recording standby in the native mode.
•  Sound is not recorded. However, sound will be  recorded when the same frame rate is used for both 
recording and playback.
•  When a recorded clip lasting a long time is to be  played back and imported using a...

39Variable Frame Rate (VFR) Recording
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

Undercrank shooting
This way of shooting provides quick motion effects 
used to present such scenes as the movement of 
clouds, someone standing among crowd of people, 
and moves made by martial artists. If, for instance, you 
have shot scenes using the 24P recording format for 
specifying the playback frames, you can double the 
speed of the quick motion effects by setting the VFR 
recording frame rate to 12 fps.
Recording format...

40Special Recording Modes
Chapter 3 Recording and Playback

During P2 card recording, setting items in the menu 
option RECORDING SETUP screen provides the 
following special recording modes: pre-recording, 
interval recording, one-shot recording, and loop 
recording. 
These recording modes are available only with the 
following settings. 
•OPERATION TYPE item: VIDEO CAM
• Recording format:  They are available at 1080i /60i (50i), 1080i /30P 
(25P), 720P/60P (50P), 720P/30P (25P), or in SD at 
60i...