AF 100 or not?

G

G4MM

Member
Dear DVX User Group,

I am on the verge of buying an AF100 with the 14-400 with the Lumix 14-140 f/4.0-5.8

I have a few projects in mind of which some are solo adventures (jungles/mountains/long distance bike) & some are documentary style or public service announcement type projects. Will this camera be the best bet or what are my options?

Thank you!

G4MM
 
It will serve you well for documentary & PSA's (among many other things) . . .
If it were me I'd be looking at a GoPro Hero2 or similar for extreme environments.
(hot/wet isn't the best climate for the AF-100 . . . and most others).

Best.
 
The HPX250 has a better image, better handling, better codec, better build quality, and a huge range with it's great built in lens. I use both, and unless it's the shallow depth of field you're after, the HPX is better. The 14-140 lens is useless for zooming since it's not really parfocal. It goes blurry if you zoom at all, which for mountain scenes is a must. It's also very slow. The HPX is f1.6 at the wide end and with the pap1 setting it's pretty sensitive too. Because of the great codec (intra 100) it's way nicer to colour too.
 
Thanks for your replies: Dregenthal, Mike, and Whistler:
1. I was eyeballing a full kit with camera/lenses/case/battery/tripod/etc for about $5000. However, I am open at this point because I am not fully aware of my options.
2. Rugged is important too as it could get hurt on a long distance ride if the roads aren't that great. I would have to have a way to protect it.
3. Whistler, I'm doing some research on the HPX 250, thanks for pointing me there.
G4MM
 
The AC130 and AC160 are essentially the HPX250, but with the AF100's codec and shooting to SD cards instead of P2. They're $3,300 and $4,100 respectively. You might want to check into those as well.
 
I'd also seriously suggest looking at the Canon XF100 and 105 cameras. Great images, solid codec and small enough to travel light and easy.
 
Stephen Mick said:
I'd also seriously suggest looking at the Canon XF100 and 105 cameras.
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+1 to that. I'd also look at the Sony NX70 - dustproof and waterproof. I saw one working happily in a fish tank at IBC last year. I wouldn't take an AF100 on a solo trip up a mountain / jungle.
 
There was a person on this forum with username, Syd, who took the AF100 into the Amazon Jungle. Wrote him/her to see how it went but haven't heard back. Also heard of a guy at the Overland Expo recommending the Panasonic HMC 150 for documentary film project where he rode into the high Himalaya.

Will study the Canon XF100, Sony NX70, AC130, and HX 250. The waterproof/dustproof sounds interesting. Are these broadcast/film quality or does it have to be "10-bit 4:2:2 AVC-Intra 100 Mb/s"?

I think I will take a GoPro along so it can get helmet mounted now and then. But I doubt I could cut that in with some of these other cameras. And, will have give up on stills for now and maybe even Shallow DOF. Wish there were no trade-offs as some of the stills and portraits on these trips are really super.

G4MM
 
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G4MM said:
... Are these broadcast/film quality or does it have to be "10-bit 4:2:2 AVC-Intra 100 Mb/s"?
Click to expand...

Define "broadcast/film quality". :)

I have an HMC150 as well, and while I've never shot anything for broadcast TV with it, I would totally feel comfortable doing so. No, it's not up BBC/Discovery HD specs... but those specs are a particularly high bar. At the TV station where I work part time, we have been airing commercials shot on DSLRs.

In fact, at the end of last year, one of the two PBS stations in the market did a half hour documentary on a new weather radar system the weather service installed up here that was kind of a big deal. Because our chief meteorologist was one of the biggest voices trying to get it installed, we let her appear in the doc. It was shot entirely on GH2's, and it looked fantastic. It was so well shot that we ended up rebroadcasting it a couple of times. No one cared it was shot on a GH2's. Frankly, no one other than me even knew, and that only because I was helping their shooter/producer when he was here.
 
Mike Harvey said:
Define "broadcast/film quality". :)
What's the closest I can get to Discovery specs if I was willing to accept some inconveniences but not compromise on image quality?

Part of me wants to take a 7D or 5DMk3 with a Zoom H4n. That way I get stills, shallow DOF, and 12 to 30 minutes of continuous shooting respectively. But but it just seems like a nuisance relative to having a dedicated video camera.
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If you are shooting a project for broadcast on a particular network, then you should look over their acquisition format spec sheet for approved cameras.
Otherwise pick the appropriate camera that fits within your budget & workflow restraints.
 
David W. Jones said:
If you are shooting a project for broadcast on a particular network, then you should look over their acquisition format spec sheet for approved cameras.
Otherwise pick the appropriate camera that fits within your budget & workflow restraints.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

These days, once you start to hit the $3k mark, the gear is so good compared to even 5 years ago that unless there are specific requirements that need to be met for a particular project, it has less to do with if a camera is 8 bit 4:2:0 or 10 bit 4:2:2 and everything to do with the person using the camera.
 
We don't ask what camera or codec it was shot with. The station only cares that it's delivered in the right codec and audio rates for our air. We end up recompressing or sending spots back to be reformatted to our specs often. Being a post house or production company that delivers to several broadcast stations must be a real pain. It seems we all have different specs.
 
Thank you. Thank you.

I was initially giving up the idea of the AF100 and leaning towards the HPX250.

However, based on Mike & Dave's inputs, will the AG-AC130 will work just fine and save the hassle of P2 cards? Or would you still lean towards the AC160 or HPX250. I suppose another factor is what camera is a safer bet long term depending on where technology is going and what will be obsolete faster.

Also, Erik, get your comment and now wondering which camera would you recommend given your broadcast background?

Thanks!
 
G4MM said:
However, based on Mike & Dave's inputs, will the AG-AC130 will work just fine and save the hassle of P2 cards? Or would you still lean towards the AC160 or HPX250. I suppose another factor is what camera is a safer bet long term depending on where technology is going and what will be obsolete faster.
Click to expand...

The glaring difference between the 130 and 160 is the HD-SDI and variable framerates for slow motion. Are either of those things going to be important to you anytime soon?
 
Well, I'll be the contrarian here.

I had two af-100s. I sold one to get the HPX250.

Why?

AVC100 Intra: I have recovered blown out highlights that would be unrecoverable in any 8bit format, and you can push it farther in post.
P2: yes it is more expensive, but I have recovered clips from p2 using the utility software. There is no such method for recovering the clips from sd cards.
Built in zoom: The zoom range on the 250 is ridiculously good as far as range. In a run and gun situation I have missed shots changing glass.

I kept one of my af-100s for more controlled situations, but the 250 is a new favorite of mine.
 
XF100. It's perfect for travel. Plus it's not intrusive like the AC160 or HPX250, although they have a great range of focal length over the XF100. Af100 is a fine camera and I still have mine. The 5dmk3 is a great camera too (as you seemed interested in stills as well). It's a low light monster too and will defiantly stand up to harsh conditions. I bought the AF100 because of the 5dMK2's image issues. But since I bought the 5dMK3, it's been my camera I reach for first. You can't go wrong with the HPX250 as long as you can justify the P2 format. But the more I use my 5Dmk3, the more I love it. Hope they release the 70D or 7Dmk2 soon with the same performance but maybe a bit sharper. Hope magic lantern does some wonders to the Mk3 in the mean time. Again, it's a low light monster!
 
G4MM said:
Thank you. Thank you.

I was initially giving up the idea of the AF100 and leaning towards the HPX250.

However, based on Mike & Dave's inputs, will the AG-AC130 will work just fine and save the hassle of P2 cards? Or would you still lean towards the AC160 or HPX250. I suppose another factor is what camera is a safer bet long term depending on where technology is going and what will be obsolete faster.

Also, Erik, get your comment and now wondering which camera would you recommend given your broadcast background?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I use an HPX370 when I'm not shooting with the AF-100 or F3. It's the least expensive ENG camera Panasonic has and it's pretty good. Very good in low light but gained up the image looks bad. Its theta classic ENG noise. It's under $7K with a fairly good lens. I have a sweet Canon lens that cost another $8K. So It depends how much you want to spend as usual. I believe the HPX250 has the same sensor. I haven't tried it but if Matt bought one it has to be good.
 
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