When you film nature and wildlife more often than not you wish you had a camera that had a longer zoom. The bigger the zoom, the further away you can be from skittish wildlife and still get great footage.
So when Panasonic called asking if I’d be interested in testing their latest camera, the Panasonic AG-HPX250 P2 HD Handheld Camcorder, my only comment was how fast could they get it to me!

The HPX250 has the “insides” of their larger, over the shoulder camera the HPX-370 but the body similar to that of the HVX-200.
There are numerous features that set this camera apart from the HVX200 and the HPX170. The two biggest for me at least is that it shoots AVC-Intra and has a 22X zoom lens.

AVC-Intra is Panasonic’s best video codec. The image quality is truly amazing. But it was the new 22X lens that I was most interested in. If you want to see why I was so excited about this lens, check out my HPX-250 zoom demonstration I think you’ll understand why as a nature and wildlife filmmaker I’m so excited about this lens and camera.

I was able to film with the camera for a couple weeks and I made sure to make the most of it. Out every morning before sunrise catching the first rays of sunshine as they fell upon the Iowa landscape.

Iowa was kind of in that transition state between Summer and Fall where it’s not quite sure what it wants to do. So, I was a little worried that I really wouldn’t get much in the way of “pretty” footage. Sure I knew I’d be able to test the new lens and see the quality of the AVC-Intra codec, but I really wanted to see how the camera performed filming subjects I would have pointed my HPX170 at.

Calling in some good karma points gave me some fantastic opportunities to put the camera though a good workout. I travelled all over the state from the far NorthEast corner to the far SouthWest corner and all points in-between. But some of may favorite shots turned out to be within fifteen minutes of my home.

Whenever I get the opportunity to test a new camera, I always like to put together a little film with the footage shot. It’s no different with the HPX250. So below is a bit of edited footage that I shot with this fantastic camera from Panasonic.

Let me know what you think. And if you have any questions about my experience with the 250, feel free to drop me a line. I’d be happy to let you know how it performed for me.

If you want to know more about Panasonic’s HPX250, watch this short video Using peaking on the AG-HPX-250

You can also watch a short demonstration showing off the new 22X lens on the HPX250