[Elevate29]

Hi there,
While I don't profess to know a huge amount about consumer camcorders there are a few things that you'll ideally need for wildlife filming. Image quality and zoom capability are probably the main considerations for you and unfortunately £250 doesn't buy much in terms of features. Go for the longest optical zoom you can... ignore claims about digital zoom as this affects image quality especially in low light conditions.

Also consider format, mini DV is fine and probably more affordable now but everything is heading toward HD technology and you may find your camera is soon left behind. If you're serious about wildlife video it may be better to save for an HD hard drive camera as this will also broaden your choices. Try and get a decent sized, weighty camera too, a tiny pocket size one that's lighter than a feather is not going to be very stable when fully zoomed into that deer in a windy field!

I'd suggest visiting your local camcorder/photography dealer (not currys, comet etc!) and telling them exactly what you aim to use it for. Many consumer camcorders are full of gimmicky features that you'll never use so why pay extra for them?

Good luck!

Elevate