Good price on PAL HV20 (for USA)?

[lordtangent]

Based on the simpler 25p handling and improved picture quality, I'm looking to get a 50i/25p HV20 rather than the 60i/24p version sold here in the USA. B&H has them, but not for a good price. Does anyone know a reputable seller I can purchase a "PAL" HV20 from here in the states?

[Mal]

That's a question that's often asked; unfortunately it's simple supply and demand. B&H may in fact be the only one offering this "service" for a niche market. And you pay for it.

There's was a company out West that did this also, but I can't recall their name, and I am not sure I'd of trusted them anyway.

You want PAL in USA?
You're stuck with B&H (as far as I know). Just be glad they even do this.

(except, of course, there's cams that do both PAL and NTSC, and hopefully more and more will....or better yet, do away with PAL/SECAM/NTSC, etc.... altogether.....ah....what a DREAM!!!)

[theprophe]

I dont think the picture quality is any better on the pal version, do you have a link? rolling shutter is definatly worse. prices in europe are alot higher then the US, so probbly BH is probably your best bet if you want pal. The cheapest in europe is around 850-875euro minus the VAT tax around 19%

[directore]

My gut feeling is there is no physical difference between PAL and NTSC models, the only difference is in labels and software, and software can be easily changed by installing new firmware. So here is an idea for somebody with access to firmware to test (service shops should have firmware appropriate to their territory). Get say NTSC model and upgrade it with PAL version of firmware. See what you get. Revert back to NTSC firmware to see if everything is still in order.

No overriding reason to test it the other way around, who in his right mind wants to convert PAL to NTSC?

If this works imagine the benefits. No more any problems with editing progressive footage, clean workflows for users in the US, plus 25 fps directly importable into US iMovie (I think), better camera performance, better image quality, and no need to pay inflated PAL prices. And full fallback position in case you want to go back to NTSC. Ideal situation. Everybody and his uncle benefits.

The only thing needed is two versions of firmware, PAL and NTSC, and a camera to test. Any takers?