Adapters and Five-Meter Cable Allow Separation of Compact Camera Head from Recorder

Panasonic has begun shipping a five-meter extension unit for the VariCam 35 and VariCam HS camera/recorders that will finally allow users to take advantage of the new VariCams' modular design, separating the camera head from the recorder. The company said a 20-meter extension unit is in the works.

It took a while, but this has been a very good week for VariCam, with the long-promised Codex V-Raw Recorder shipping six days ago and enabling raw recording on the VariCam 35. With the availability of the extension unit, the new VariCams will be a better match for Steadicam, crane and jib camerawork, and other situations where the more compact VariCam head can go where the full camcorder doesn't quite fit.

Also thanks to the modular design, a user can buy a single recorder that works with either the VariCam 35 or the VariCam HS head unit, allowing the user to swap out camera heads as needed for a given job without investing in two complete camera/recorder systems.

One thing it won't be is cheap. The AU-VEXT extension unit, which consists of one adapter that fits on the camera and another that fits on the recorder, lists for $7,000, and the five-meter AU-VCBL05 cable will set you back another $1,800 by itself. No word yet on how much the 20-meter cable will cost.