AF 100 Good for a African Documentary?

M

Marinebuff

Member
Im going to Africa in Late February and also May/June to film a Documentary and was wondering if this new AF100 would be a good choice.
I would obviously need something sturdy enough to combat the elements. Something I can "Point and SHoot" while sitll having shallow D.O.F. for the film look.
I know all about the intercharngable lenses on this and 4/3 sensor but my question is, for this price range is this the best I can get for my situation?
If not Id be GREATLY appreciative of any advice/links.
Thanks guys!

heres my email if you can send it here i'll get it faster. Urah27@comcast.net
 
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"Point and Shoot" means a snap camera to me.

I dont think the AF100 is a "point and shoot camera" but maybe you should do a test with one and get familiar before you embark to a foreign land and make a doco with it.

I would suggest that for any camera.
 
Filming nature, tribal, urban? Obviously these situation could call for very different approaches and styles. The AF100 could be great in all these scenarios, however, it depends what you are trying to capture and whether you'll have time to setup and tweak your shots.
 
Depends on where you're going. Africa is big place, hot, cold, wet, dry and dusty.

I've had 9 cameras die out on the Serengeti plains. Dust and heat tend to do them in when bouncing around in an open top Land Rover for weeks at a time.

Also, animals often give you brief glimpses of action. You can't afford to be slow. I'd go with a deep focus camera.

Bring shade for the camera as most cameras will shut down at about 105F, and it gets hotter than that in the sun all the time. A dust cover for the camera is a good idea.

Filming people in the cities is like filming in most cities, give or take hyenas being used like pit bulls and Customs is going to try to get a bribe out of you for having pro equipment. ;-)

Some of the Masai are still living in mud and stick huts that use thick smoke to keep out the mosquitoes. Smoke gets into everything.

Also, think about how you're going to charge your batteries and store footage.

Food for thought.
 
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Duke M. said:
Depends on where you're going. Africa is big place, hot, cold, wet, dry and dusty.

I've had 9 cameras die out on the Serengeti plains. Dust and heat tend to do them in when bouncing around in an open top Land Rover for weeks at a time.

Also, animals often give you brief glimpses of action. You can't afford to be slow. I'd go with a deep focus camera.

Bring shade for the camera as most cameras will shut down at about 105F, and it gets hotter than that in the sun all the time. A dust cover for the camera is a good idea.

Filming people in the cities is like filming in most cities, give or take hyenas being used like pit bulls and Customs is going to try to get a bribe out of you for having pro equipment. ;-)

Some of the Masai are still living in mud and stick huts that use thick smoke to keep out the mosquitoes. Smoke gets into everything.

Also, think about how you're going to charge your batteries and store footage.

Food for thought.
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What cams have you had die on you in the African field?

That wouldn't be fun...
 
AF100's great for a lot of things, but in the scenarios you're describing I would think a combo of a GH2 and HMC40 might actually be better. They're smaller, the HMC40 has ultra-deep DOF for worry-free guaranteed-gonna-get-it shooting, and the GH2 should avoid the bribing of officials while delivering the occasional deep-DOF shots you need.
 
Thank you everyone for your helpful replies.
My apologies for not being more specific. I was running short on time when I made this post.
To clarify I will be around Kenya along a "busy" road but I ALSO may be doing some footage at Mt. Kilimanjaro so thats a whole nother thing.
We will be doing the documentary but we're also playing around with the idea of shooting a docu-drama at the same time. So two at the same time basically.
So with that being said, anything else to add?
I was also thinking a Varicam P2. Yay or Nay?
 
Duke M. said:
Also, animals often give you brief glimpses of action. You can't afford to be slow. I'd go with a deep focus camera.

Bring shade for the camera as most cameras will shut down at about 105F, and it gets hotter than that in the sun all the time. A dust cover for the camera is a good idea.

Filming people in the cities is like filming in most cities, give or take hyenas being used like pit bulls and Customs is going to try to get a bribe out of you for having pro equipment. ;-)

Some of the Masai are still living in mud and stick huts that use thick smoke to keep out the mosquitoes. Smoke gets into everything.

Also, think about how you're going to charge your batteries and store footage.

Food for thought.
Click to expand...
+1

Look into the HMC 150 ...works very well in the heat 40C .It's good in low light and they have gotten cheaper !
You can get some nice shallow dof shots for interviews.Not like the GH1/2 but still less videoish.
This camera loves the outdoors .
Goodluck !
 
Marinebuff said:
Thank you everyone for your helpful replies.
My apologies for not being more specific. I was running short on time when I made this post.
To clarify I will be around Kenya along a "busy" road but I ALSO may be doing some footage at Mt. Kilimanjaro so thats a whole nother thing.
We will be doing the documentary but we're also playing around with the idea of shooting a docu-drama at the same time. So two at the same time basically.
So with that being said, anything else to add?
I was also thinking a Varicam P2. Yay or Nay?
Click to expand...
Varicam P2 would look great but that is even bigger & heavier than an AF100.
Plus P2 off-load demands would really be a stuggle in your situation.
The AF100 uses SDHC or SDXC cards. You can buy a 32 gig SDHC card for about $175
You can record about 3 hours at highest quality with a 32 gig card.
At that rate you could buy enough cards and not worry about downloading.
(But I would want to)
I agree with Barry on the GH2...get a 14-140 and 20MM Pancake and use those
lenses on both cameras.
 
I personally wouldn't take an AF100 to africa, and not a tape cam. I think Barry's suggestions were good.
 
With an AF 100 and a Nexto NVS 2500 with a spare drive or two , I think you would be golden. I've been over the horizon a few times with HVX 200's and HPX 170's in unforgiving climes and not had a problem. THe nexto box gives you a speedy off load with back up capability to a second drive for a very modest footprint, size and power wise. I don't think I would gamble completely on the AF being the solo cam because there are going to be ( many) times you done want shallow DOF. If you took an HMC 150 and an AF, all your camera gear could still fit in a back pack and afford mobility.

I don't think right off hand that the AF is a point and shoot, but done the right way it could fit into a shooting plan where it would be beneficial addition.
 
It's funny, how people ask these questions and don't give enough info. So what kind of distribution are we talking about? TV, web? If this is a TV doco- what are the broadcaster specs? I think you should have at least 3 cameras, something like EX1, maybe new Canon XF100 and something really small like Go-Pro, plus DSLR. HMC-40 produces crappy sound, plus you'll have to spend additional $250 on XLR adopter. Canon XF100 can also serve as sound recorder, as it has LCPM. I would also use only 8 or 16GB cards max. Cards tend to die and with 32GB card the loss will be devastating. Nexto units are not reliable- use laptop and back up everything onto 2 separate drives.
 
Barry_Green said:
AF100's great for a lot of things, but in the scenarios you're describing I would think a combo of a GH2 and HMC40 might actually be better. They're smaller, the HMC40 has ultra-deep DOF for worry-free guaranteed-gonna-get-it shooting, and the GH2 should avoid the bribing of officials while delivering the occasional deep-DOF shots you need.
Click to expand...
HMC is not worth the money. You have to purchase separate XLR unit, for 1K more you'll get new Canon XF100, with LCPM, IR night shooting- very important for wildlife night shots, same size as HMC40. GH1 is inferior as still camera compared to T2i or 7D. For a trip like that to produce sellable stills I doubt GH2 is much better.
 
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