Panasonic P2 HD equipment and six video crews will track 16 teams competing in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in Anchorage, AK. It will surely provide the ultimate reliability test for Panasonic's solid-state memory camcorders. This will be the first-ever Iditarod coverage in HD.
The company said that a select number of sled dog teams would be recorded during the 1150mi race, starting in Anchorage on March 4 and ending in Nome 10 to 17 days later. The race will field six video crews equipped with 10 Panasonic P2 HD cameras — the AJ-HPX2000 2/3in shoulder-mount and AG-HVX200 handheld
Among the environmental challenges the P2 HD cameras, P2 cards and media players will face are temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero, blizzards causing whiteout conditions, gale force winds and long, treacherous hours of climbs and darkness.
To record all facets of the marathon race, the six P2 HD-equipped video crews will use a myriad of vehicles, from airplanes to helicopters and snowmobiles. More than 140 hours of P2 HD video footage will be captured, using 6GB, 8GB and 16GB P2 cards.
The P2 HD footage will be showcased in highlight packages supplied to TV stations and networks from around the world.
For more information, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.