In conclusion, this bastard is...

[hscully]

I thought Jan had moved on to another position that moved her more distant from this august group ;)

[Chris Messineo]

I still love my AF100 and use it every week. About the only thing I really wish it had was better dynamic range. I know 4K is all the rage, but for me and most of my students - we have no practical use for it.

[monks19]

I thought Jan had moved on to another position that moved her more distant from this august group ;)

Can't say. I've never knew about her until very recently. If she's no longer here, is there anybody else on this forum who works for Pany ? Unless they decided to completely ignore us, which I hope it's not the case...

[monks19]

I still love my AF100 and use it every week. About the only thing I really wish it had was better dynamic range. I know 4K is all the rage, but for me and most of my students - we have no practical use for it.

Agreed with all that. 4k dosn't have much more of practical use (for now, at least). It's mostly a marketing gimmick.

[David W. Jones]

Agreed with all that. 4k dosn't have much more of practical use (for now, at least). It's mostly a marketing gimmick.

It's not mostly a marketing gimmick if you need 4K.

Some people just don't need it for the work they perform, others do.

[ShawnMi]

Probably because it's not going to happen... While I was waiting for a successor, Panasonic introduced new cameras (particularly the HPX600, which I considered, but it somehow seemed like an anachronism), new codecs but no MFT offspring... It became clear that they are interested primarily in the home market on one hand (4K for the masses) and the broadcast market on the other.. The digital cinema market has become so glutted, considering the relatively small consumer base, I think they just decided to pick up their marbles and go home... I sincerely hope I'm wrong because I really do like the AF100.

Totally agree... I wish I didn't, but I do. It does seem like Panasonic (broadcast division) has lost interest in the sub $10k digital cinema market. Personally I find it baffling, as I think they could make a killer cine/ENG camera with their current technology. I was hoping the next version of the AF100 would record AVC-Ultra on P2 with an updated sensor, and possibly a log recording option... I wasn't even expecting raw (though that would have been fantastic). I admit that I'm not an engineer, but am I way off base in assuming that it's not completely out of Panasonic's capability to produce an AF100 style camera with a better sensor and CODEC? 4k be hanged, just give me a really nice, lightly compressed 2k image!

Shawn

[dregenthal]

I think the first update that Panasonic needs to do to the AF 100 is to lower the price.
Not some visa card or battery system that takes three or four months to arrive at your doorstep, but a true price decrease that positions the camera appropriate to the current market. I am sure that would generate significant new interest in its present iteration.

Then by NAB they could drag out the old Balsa wood and black spray paint and dandy something up called the AF-whatever with a new sensor. I have no great desire to purchase additional computing power just a process 4K footage. But a 2K camera might have some appeal for me… Or anything else that wouldn't amount to a complete disappointment at NAB again this year.

And it would give me something else to complain about for the following 6 to 8 months as we await delivery of the first units, a practice which seems to be very much in vogue these days.

[hscully]

I don't see them lowering the price. The used prices are dipping below $2K. If I were looking for another one I'd go there, and I might. It's almost too hard to pass up. The AF100 as it is, in controlled light is still a freakin' kick ass HD camera.

I agree about a good 2K camera. I'd really go for that. The thing is, I need a RAW option and I haven't heard any news or rumors to that effect for Panasonic, not even on the new Varicam. Sony nailed the feature sets I'm interested in with the F5. I'm DPing a short soon with some competent film people and it looks like we're renting that. The post people want that RAW at least for narrative work. It's a huge advantage to be able to rent that RAW recorder and still have a really good HD, 2K camera for everything else. It's still pretty expensive for me right now at $20k. I'd have to book a lot with it to justify that kind of lay out.

What would be even more fantastic would be if the manufacturers opened up to other RAW recorders with CinemaDNG or something not proprietary, or offer their proprietary schemes to other manufacturers, kind of like what's happening with the 7Q.

Has anyone heard anything about Panasonic creating a RAW option or it that just wishful thinking on my part?