Panasonic has now released an economical introduction into their P2 based tapeless workflow. The "E" Series P2 cards come in a 16 and 32 Gigabyte card. A larger 64 Gigabyte card is slated for release around August 2009. These new cards offer the rugged characteristics and durability expected from P2 technology. P2 cards are impact, vibration and shock resistant. Temperature changes, nor dust or debris will hinder the P2 card's ability to function.

"E" series cards not only offer cost savings over the previous P2 cards, but a faster 1.2Gbps transfer rate too! Built with the same aluminum die cast casing, the "E" series cards will offer the same durability and ruggedness at a lower cost.

P2 cards are designed for high reliability over a long period of time. When used once daily at full capacity the cards are reusable for up to five years. Used daily at half capacity the card will last up to ten years. When the card is nearing the end of its life cycle a notification will be given in the LCD screen on the camera or viewfinder, or the display on the recorder. Panasonic also offers formatter software to keep track of the card's usable life cycle on a computer.

The "E" series cards use Multi Level Cell (MLC) NAND flash memory versus the Single Level Cell (SLC) NAND flash memory used in the "A" series cards. The advantage of the MLC flash memory is more data and a reduced unit per byte, however, it also means a shorter life cycle and fewer overwrites.

The "E" series cards are fully compatible with all P2 HD camcorders, recorders, and workflow tools. Panasonic's AJ-PCD355 will require a firmware upgrade and driver upgrade that can be found on Panasonic's website.