AF-100 for ENG?

[modus]

Is anyone planning to use the AF100 for ENG even though it lacks a servo zoom feature? I'd like to consider the camera for my business (and pleasure), but a lot of my work comes from event videography where manual zoom may look a little messy. I do a lot of single-camera events that involve constant panning and zooming (such as legal meetings, graduations & weddings).

Are there servo zoom controller kits available to retro-fit lenses with servo motors?

[Jesse Brauning]

This question has been kind of done to death as of late, but the answer is:
There are some pretty messy/expensive ways to add a motor that could control zoom, but chances are you're not gonna want to bother.
There probably won't be any servo zooms coming out for the format.
That being said, I do the same sort of things you're talking about right now, and I do them with a Gh1 and an HMC150.
I find that 99% of the times I use the HMC, it's not even for the zoom.
It's not like brides expect zooms. Unless they're Wes Anderson fans, or watch too much football.

[Vitaliy Kiselev]

You really need the following:
Good 2/3" ENG Zoom witn 2x extender and servo zoom. 12V battery and custom made connector.
B4 to Canon FD adapter and Canon FD to m43 adapter.

[maranfilms]

You may be better off with an hvx, or "traditional" prosumer type cam for what your asking. The AF100 will work best in a narrative style of filmmaking, with an AC, and operator. Thats not to say you cant use it for anything else, you can, but lets just say, you better know the limits of the cam, and your lenses to make it look good. Like anything, practice, practice, practice.

[Jaime Valles]

You may be better off with an hvx, or "traditional" prosumer type cam for what your asking. The AF100 will work best in a narrative style of filmmaking, with an AC, and operator. Thats not to say you cant use it for anything else, you can, but lets just say, you better know the limits of the cam, and your lenses to make it look good. Like anything, practice, practice, practice.

Agreed. Nowadays, a used HMC150 goes for around $2800, maybe less. It takes the same batteries and SD cards as the AF100, and has a nice servo zoom with all the autofocus / autoiris bells and whistles needed for ENG / event type shooting.

[modus]

Thanks for the answers, guys. I didn't mean to resurrect a dead subject, but all I could find were people saying that there would be no servo zoom lenses available. No one was actually saying what they would be doing in my situation with the af-100.

I'll probably just continue to use my hmc150 for most situations. If I were to invest in an af100, it would probably be utilized as a b-cam, for darker environments and for more stylistic shots. But I guess if I'm going to use it that infrequently, it's probably smarter to buy a GH1 or 2 or a 5D.

Thanks again for the responses.