HPX250: In The market for a new camera

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DVXonsnow

Member
Hello DVXUSER community!!!

I haven't posted on here in quite a while, I'm at a crossroads I'm in the market for a new rig and I'm in between the HPX170, HPX250 or the AG-AF100; I'm shying away from the AG-AF because of the cost of a set of prime lenses, and considering I do a lot of run and gun shooting from the hip having all the lenses on hand could become troublesome. I've also read that the AG-AF100 is not the best for doing timelapses and that IS definitely something I'm going to be making use of this new rig for!

That aside I'm looking at the 170 and the 250 but I can't really make a decision, any input from ANYONE on a way to go or why would be AWESOME!

Thanks in advance everyone!
 
Do you use auto-focus much? If so, and your shooting style is "run and gun" you may want to consider the older HPX170 which can be bought at a very nice price now. If you mainly shoot manual focus, need a very long telephoto range and you want "uber" sharp video then the HPX250 may be a better choice. You also might want to explore the differences in performance of CCD(HPX170) and CMOS(HPX250) chip cameras.
 
I have the AF-100 and love it.

That being said, I just bought the 250 because like you in fast moving run and gun shooting, switching lenses can be problematic.

Plus, Panasonic has a promotion until the and of March where you get a $730Amex card back when you buy a 250 with a 64gb p2 card.
 
I don't like any of the auto settings, I'm a manual shooter and I have done the research on the difference; I've been waiting and biding time hoping technology would improve and catchup.

I've been reluctant to really accept the 3mos,CMOS or any of the MOS chip sets merely for the varying lighting issues their known for; I do know there's a flash band compensation feature but I'm still weary when I'll be shooting in the occasional night time setting with people who are shooting digital and film flash photography, I've seen some really nice test and demo reels of both cameras but I guess I'm trying to hear hands on experience from people.

I guess one other reason I'm in between them is the difference in format recording, is AVC something everyone is pretty happy with because I'm also reluctant to shy away from the amazing and classic standard of DVCPRO....

Would anyone agree that my best bet is to get myself to B&H in NYC or something of the sort and get my hands on them both and see how they stack up?
 
DVCPro is an old codec. AVC is new,and if you shoot green screen or backgrounds/skies with subtle gradations, you will notice the difference with 10bit depth.
 
Note that the 250 offers both AVC-Intra & DVCPRO-HD, it's not a case of one or the other, it has both.

HPX170 is a true classic, my favorite handheld camera of all time. Perfect size and balance, great colors, excellent ergonomics. The HPX250 is the next generation. Sharper image, cleaner footage, longer zoom, more features, better for multi cam stuff. But, it's much larger than the 170, and it can have MOS skew in some scenarios. Autofocus isn't as snappy, but the focus ring is smoother in cold weather. And the codec is quite improved.

170s advantages are smaller size, lower cost and immunity from MOS artifacts. Other than those things, the 250 is the better.camera, especially with the current rebate.
 
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