there is a lot of debate right now going on about how to transfer your p2 footage. panasonic just announce a simple p2 card reader which will be available in april for around $350.

to me, the best way to download p2 footage is still with a mac powerbook g4 and a lacie rugged firewire 800 hard drive. you can find a used powerbook g4 on craigslist or ebay nowadays for around $450, and the top models can still be fast enough to run the latest final cut pro.

So for just about $100 more than the panasonic p2 card reader you can get a reader and a laptop. panasonic knows this, and that’s why the new macbooks with the latest mac OS aren’t compatible with the usb-type p2 card adapters.

this is how we do transferring in the field.

Also, P2 is the official format of the vancouver olympic games – i wish i was there shooting!