Panasonic EVA1 gets firmware upgrade and price cut

Panasonic's popular EVA1: now more features and lower price

Panasonic’s third firmware upgrade for the EVA1 adds an important new HEVC codec while its price has dropped by nearly 8%.

The EVA1 has been a popular choice with a lot of people since release and the latest free firmware update announced by Panasonic, which is available straight away, only increases the unit’s already rather impressive functionality.

Headline is undoubtedly the inclusion of a new H.265 codec which allows the camera to record 4K 50p/60p video with 4:2:0 10-bit video sampling. The camera’s v2 firmware only went so far as supporting H.264, so this effectively doubles the amount of compressed data that can be stored on anything associated with its use.

There is also new support for CyanView’s USB-LAN adapter with Internet Protocol control. This effectively enables the EVA1 to be used in multicam setups by allowing users to integrate the CyanView Cy-RCP remote control panel with the unit/s.

Elsewhere in the update, new functions can be assigned to the User Buttons to allow quick switching between shooting modes and framerates; still image capture in playback mode lets the EVA1 capture still JPEG images and store them on to its SD card; and it can now support two auto white balance presets, there’s a focus indicator in the LCD head-up display, and it also features SDR monitoring when shooting in HDR (HLG).

It’s a decent combination of features by any reckoning, and made even better with a price cut. This sees the unit’s list price come down to £6023/€6790 (excl. VAT) in the UK and Ireland; a reduction of £507/€500. No word as yet on whether that is reflected in other countries or is just an attempt to dial out recent currency variations.