Af 105a announced in japan

[FrameFarmMedia]

I'm still using the af100 for things here and there, but it's starting to collect some bench time.

Just curious but what camera are you finding that is your go to instead for those 1080p jobs you used to do with the Af100?

The C100 has me really interested but without 60p and about $1500 too much its not enough to make it a no brainer so to speak.

 

[John Andersson]

Both Panasonic and Sony have their respective new breed of codecs XAVC/AVC ULTRA. Sony has showed they can do 10-bit 4:2:2 internally and I'm surprised Panasonic didn't seize the opportunity to really get the AF back on track.
I'm no longer an AF100 user, I moved to Sonys F3 to get a better image, but there are many things I like on the AF.

 

[Matt Gottshalk]

...When compared with other 1080 HD cameras shooting in real world situations the AF-100 image appears a little soft, even when put up against Panasonic's own GH2 EVIL camera. ( extremely low aliasing/moire, but a softer image )

I shoot my AF-100 in "real world situations" every day and have not experienced this "softness".

That is FUD.

 

[Erik Naso]

I love the F3 image and rent one when I know I won't be handholding the camera. It's a beast ergonomically since it's so heavy and the viewfinder is crap. You can't shoot comfortably without a rig like you can with the AF-100.

 

[Erik Naso]

I shoot my AF-100 in "real world situations" every day and have not experienced this "softness".

That is FUD.

I don't have sharpness issues either.

 

[Seamus McFlannel]

This looks nice, but it is not nearly enough to make me upgrade from my AF-100. I've had no softness issues with the camera. Every softness issue I've had is when I have to shoot with a lens all the way open, or if my follow focusing hasn't been perfect when shooting wide open.

 

[TheDingo]

That is FUD

...This is the only source that I could think of right away that shows a ( non-chart ) resolution comparison of the AF-100 with the GH2.

Frame-grabs From Philip Bloom`s Xmas 2011 Camera Shootout, taken from the 1.1 GB 1080HD Mpeg-4 Vimeo source file.

Scaled down to fit the Dvx forum:



Link to full 1080 HD resolution version of the same frame-grabs. Download to open up as a full 1080 HD image.

1080 HD Frame-grabs from Philip Bloom`s Xmas 2011 Camera Shootout

 

[Erik Naso]

Well then I will avoid shooting at 400%

I'm not going down the GH2 comparison road. That has debated to death. I won't use a GH2 as a main camera. I love it but the AF-100 is just all around a better camera for what I do. If all that matters is sharpness on a hacked camera then go for it.

 

[Lpowell]

Here's an AF100/GH2 sharpness comparison with the Scene File and Film Mode tweaked to match color balance:

Here's a link to the original forum discussion: Matching AF100 footage to the GH2

The patch used on the GH2 was Flow Motion v2

 

[TheDingo]

I'm not going down the GH2 comparison. That has debated to death.

I totally agree with you.

The GH2 image is only used here as an example of what the full resolution of the 1080 HD format looks like.

I would expect cameras like the Canon C100, Canon C300, Sony FS700, Sony F3, would show the same resolution under similar conditions.

 

[John Andersson]

As the AF100 is tuned to deliver clean 800 lines of resolution it has less resolution than many other 1080p cameras like the F3. I see a clear improvement in image detail comparing my previous AF101 with my present F3. It's not FUD, to me it's real.

 

[Erik Naso]

As the AF100 is tuned to deliver clean 800 lines of resolution it has less resolution than many other 1080p cameras like the F3. I see a clear improvement in image detail comparing my previous AF101 with my present F3. It's not FUD, to me it's real.

I also see this compared to the F3. I shot a commercial with the F3 and had to do a pickup shot several days later. I rented the F3 so I used my AF-100 for the pickup. I used the same lens and the image wasn't as sharp. But it shouldn't be because the F3 is a better camera and the price you pay for it is three times as much. With that said I don't have a sharpness issue with the camera.

 

[TheDingo]

because the F3 is a better camera and the price you pay for it is three times as much

...Very soon we will find out if the Canon C100 is in the same F3 resolution ballpark ( I expect it will ), and likely it will only be a couple of thousand more than the new AF-100A camera.

 

[Erik Naso]

...Very soon we will find out if the Canon C100 is in the same F3 resolution ballpark ( I expect it will ), and likely it will only be a couple of thousand more than the new AF-100A camera.

I wouldn't doubt it. The issue I have with the C100 is lenses. I have very good ones that won't work on it and I don't intend to sell them and go EOS.
The Canon mount or PL option is a hard one. No way to use an adapter for EF mount so you have to pick. If only it was swappable.

 

[Wesley Byram]

Maybe someone who has both cameras can chime in, but I was under the impression that, in terms of actual resolved detail, the AF100 and GH2 are very close (high bitrate hacks notwithstanding). The GH2 looks sharper because its OLPF is less aggressive than the AF100's, but aliases more.

So, maybe Panasonic could have tweaked the OLPF in the AF100A? No evidence that they did, just speculating that they might have made an improvement there.

 

[dustylense]

I wouldn't doubt it. The issue I have with the C100 is lenses. I have very good ones that won't work on it and I don't intend to sell them and go EOS.
The Canon mount or PL option is a hard one. No way to use an adapter for EF mount so you have to pick. If only it was swappable.

You could always buy the Canon Cine lenses and some Eos L's to compliment.

 

[TheDingo]

The issue I have with the C100 is lenses

I agree, but at least Canon lenses are easy to rent. ( at least 3-4 local places here in Toronto rent Canon )

Not many places rent m4/3 lenses.

 

[TheDingo]

The GH2 looks sharper because its OLPF is less aggressive than the AF100's, but aliases more.

...I noticed that in Lee Powell`s example images above, the AF-100 appears to aliasing on the diagonal wire on the metal fence but not on the curved metal shapes, and the opposite is happening with the GH2. ( the diagonal wire seems to be OK, but the curved metal shapes on the top of the fence are aliasing )

 

[Wesley Byram]

...I noticed that in Lee Powell`s example images above, the AF-100 appears to aliasing on the diagonal wire on the metal fence but not on the curved metal shapes, and the opposite is happening with the GH2. ( the diagonal wire seems to be OK, but the curved metal shapes on the top of the fence are aliasing )

Looking at the images again closely, you are right. The edges of the orange sign in the background look a bit smoother on the GH2 as well. I do wonder how much of the apparent mushiness in the AF100 footage is due to the codec vs the sensor, and if using an external recorder would have made a difference in that shot. I've noticed a subtle bit of mush and jagginess on AVCHD when compared to uncompressed on my HMC40.

 

[Straw Man]

Would it even be feasible to have 10 bit 422 recording internally on SDHC cards? I ask that not as a rhetorical question but because I really am not sure. When the AF100 first came out one of the most impressive features was the image quality it could get with lower bitrate AVCHD internal recording to cheap SD media. Cheap media, low storage requirements, and quick workflow are important benefits that overal IQ doesn't trump for every project.

It seems a lot of the wishes on people's lists are for a camera that the AF100 is not meant to be in the first place, and most of which would drive the price up by thousands, as Barry points out in regards to the features the C300 has.

We stare at footage all day, so I think it's easy to lose perspective and get hyper focused on IQ and obsess over detail that will be pretty much invisible to most of the people viewing our work. I'm not arguing that IQ doesn't matter, but a a lot of people watch SD DVDs blown up on their HD TVs and are perfectly happy. I've never been home for the holidays, watching a movie with a room full of family, and had anyone comment wishing they had blu ray so the picture was sharper. Maybe 400% zoomed frames are helpful when you're researching a camera and you're diving in deep to understand what it can do...but I think that when pros are blind picking a GH2 over an EPIC in the Zacuto shoot out, it's pretty good evidence that at a certain point, the camera is not what will be holding you back, or making/breaking the success of your project (within reason).