With all the hoopla surrounding “full frame” camcorders this year, it’s easy to forget that smaller chips have their benefits too, we just take them for granted. Certainly in terms of resolution, the smaller 3-chip models still beat the socks off their DSLR competition, and frankly you often want deep DOF in your shots. Panasonic stepped up to the plate to announce their newest 3 CMOS 1/3″ camcorder, the AG-HPX250. This is the latest model in Panasonic’s legendary P2 stable.
It records to AVCHD Intra 4:2:2 10 bit, which is the only good implementation of AVCHD as far as I’m concerned. It also records in DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO, and even DV. I really appreciate that Panasonic keeps bringing it’s legacy codecs to its newer models. It makes me as an owner feel more secure that if I invest in a new technology, Panasonic won’t end-of-life it in a few years leaving me high and dry. Say I bought an expensive DVCPROHD deck back in the tape days, I could still use it natively with this new camera for backups. Speaking of which, the media is still P2 cards, which you may have lying around from when you first bought an HVX-200 in 2006. 10 out of 10 for compatibility.