time to upgrade, C100 or GY-LS300CHE

[funkytwig]

OK, so as it seems Panasonic have not intension of a AF100 replacement (and I probably could not afford it anyway) I am thinking of going to the C100 or GY-LS300CHE. Wondering if there are any AF100/101 owners who can help me to decide. Money is an issue. I will probably get a used C100 and there are not really any used GY-LS300CHE around. I would really love 4k but can live without it.

If I got for the c100 I am wondering what would be good lenses to replace the Lumix 12-35 2.8 and the 14-140 kit lenses. What equivalents for a ld I be able to sell the Panny ones and get Canon equivalents for a similar price.

Picture quality is another issue but I do mainly do corporate and documentary. Is the GY-LS300CHE image as good as the C100.

Lastly focusing, love the idea of push focus, used it all the time on the VX1000, but wondering how good the peaking and auto focus is on the GY-LS300CHE. Autofocus is not essential but VERY useful in run-n-gun doc work and. I had a Z1 and did sometimes use it.

Asking here as I am perpendicularly looking for negative things for the two possibilities compared to the AF101, which I love but the image is not quite up to scratch for some of the clients I have.

Lastly I also have a GH3, which produces great images. If the images from the GY-LS300CHE are at least as good as the GH3 I would be happy, I am fairly sure the C100 produces images at least as good as the Gh3 (although if you want to push the grade imagine it would be better).

I am hoping I can sell my AF101 kit and lenses and get a comparable setup (probably used) by adding around £2000.

was hoping to wait a little but worried that Bexit are going to push up prices so want to make a decision in the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading this far;).

Ben

[Greg_E]

Does the GH3 have a clean HDMI output? If it does I would probably add an external recorder and wait a bit. The Euro to pound will probably collapse making your pounds far more valuable later than they are now, which should allow for a better purchase latter. A lot of this may hinge on how much you can really get for your Af100, it's only going to go down in price so unloading it sooner would be better.

I would suggest renting or demoing an LS300 and really test it hard before you decide to buy one. And certainly use the lenses that you intend to shoot with so you can check it properly.

[TheDingo]

I am curious to see some LS300 J-Log footage corrected with the Leeming LUT One 3D LUT. I've been very happy with the Leeming LUT for my GH4, so I'm interested in seeing what this LUT can do for the LS300.

[Greg_E]

I wouldn't mind testing an LS300, but the only place I can get a demo wouldn't be the place to get the sale so I don't want to bother them. I have mixed results with JVC so they may not be willing to send me a demo either. That said we use 12 HM700u cameras right now and probably won't look to switch them out for several more years. We don't need 4k to teach basic normal concepts.

[mcbob]

I've been in the same boat as your for a while. The reason I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet: "what does the camera you have NOT do that you NEED it to do?" It still meets most broadcast specs with my Samurai. It still shoots decent HD up to 60p. It's still relatively light and easy to sling about. Its problems are in lack of 4K, ultra high frame rates, and image quality/resolution.

Panasonic "kind of" have an AF-100ish full-professional upgrade in the Varicam LT... albeit far far out of the same price point and not M43. But it is a midsized cinema camera.

Having used and fought with the C100 repeatedly, I have never seen it as convincing enough of an upgrade to justify its cost vs. the AF. The image is nice, but it's a pain to work with.

Mac (from these forums) seems very pleased with the LS300. LensRentals has it available for rental... but then I notice you're not stateside, so CVP or similar may offer rental.

Personally, I bought a GH4 last year (covers the 4K need, which isn't frequent) and rent as necessary for UHFR or extra-special broadcast level needs. Once my rentals look like they'll exceed the cost of an FS5, I'll probably pull the trigger on one of those. The image is excellent and offers a lot more capability and usability than the Canon alternative.

[KyleProhaska]

I think the C100 Mark II is as close to the AF100 as you can get in terms of functionality and features. The C100 MKI no, since it lacks the useable EVF and 60p. AF100 was one of my favorite cameras ever to use because of the internal ND, top handle, menus, etc. C100 Mark II is as close as I've ever seen, and it has a superior image on every level (to me).

It's worth the switch!

[EndCredits]

If I had to upgrade our AF100s now, I'd look at the Sony FS5. The C100 has a nicer image than the AF100 but its just not enough of a step up to justify the change for me. I'm no fan of Sony but the FS5 has more DR and it offers 4k so at least its a valuable step up. And the ergonomics are similar to the AF100.

[Mac]

I have an LS300, have used it to make over a half dozen docs from 6-30 minutes in the past year, two for broadcast. It is far superior to the AF100 and the C100 (MKI) that I sold when I bought it. It's still 8 bit, so banding is an issue, but it doesn't exhibit any of the chroma clipping the AF had, and the resolution is way above the C100. It uses MFT lenses, probably the last full-featured video camera to do so - and VSM, the Variable Screen Mapping (in 1080), is the best "new feature" I've experienced in the past 10 years.

I've used the FS5 (I was considering it because is also has a version of VSM) and didn't like it - at all... It's personal, but it's personality just didn't sit well with me, and I really hated the Sony lens - which would mean adapting my two EF lenses - and adapting control-by-wire lenses is always iffy (they don't work well on the JVC for instance).

In my case, I use the EFs with a SpeedBooster mostly on my 2 Pocket Cameras, and all my MFT zooms (Olympus & Lumix) and MFT/MFT adapted primes on the JVC.

Clearly I have a lot of MFTs after two + years with the AF, so that is a major factor in my choice of cameras (in fact I just bought what may be the last production model of the Digital Bolex D16). There, sadly, aren't many choices left.

[funkytwig]

Thanks everybody. I ended up getting a GH4, mainly as they are now chap to pick up used.