ITN has purchased a “significant” number of Panasonic cameras and broadcast kit.

The news organisation has invested in the P2 cameras as part of its shift to HD.

Panasonic has also signed a deal with Sunset + Vine to supply the production company with AJ-PX5000 and AJ-HPX270 cameras.

“It’s a major coup to be supplying ITN and follows hot on the heels of the decision by Sunset + Vine to implement Panasonic cameras in their sports production for BT Sport,” said Panasonic Broadcast group manager Nigel Wilkes.

The AJ-PX5000 also offers dual recording using P2, Micro P2 or class 10 SD cards.

ITN’s director of technology Keith Cass said: “The ability to capture full 10 bit HD 4:2:2 images using a 25Mbps codec was an extremely attractive proposition for us.

“We conducted a thorough evaluation of the camera’s operation, feature set and technical performance.

“With the addition of the camera’s wireless technology this camera was the most appropriate match to ITN’s future newsgathering strategy. The AJ PX5000 really is a cameraman’s camera.” 

Sunset + Vine will use the Panasonic cameras on next year’s Commonwealth Games for the BBC as well as Barclays Premier League and Aviva Premiership Rugby for BT Sport.

BT Sport chief engineer Andy Beale said: “The AVC Intra codec helps us to get our content to air quickly, which is essential in a 24/7 sports environment.

“As the first fully DPP compliant broadcaster, BT Sport has deployed a transcode free end-to-end AVC workflow.”

Broadcast & Production Services (BPS) supplied Sunset + Vine with the kit.