AF100 depreciation is bad for Panasonic

From my point of view, my equipment investments are in myself and what I can do with it.
It's pretty much a no-brainier that if you're concerned about resale/retained value you should be considering a different commodity.
Even a semi-professional knows you don't buy a camera only to ditch it 12 months later (unless someone else is paying for it).
I suppose if I thought about it I might be as hopeful for a GH2 hack for the AF100 but be as expectant as seeing teleportion come into existence . . . Not likely.
I didn't buy the camera for what I wished it would do but rather for what it does . . . Odds are, at today's prices I'll probably soon purchase another. Hello multi-cam!
 
Odds are, at today's prices I'll probably soon purchase another. Hello multi-cam![/QUOTE]

Great! Then I will conclude this thread... since I started it with my AF is still unsold and entertaining generous sympathy offers...
 
Paul Hudson said:
Depreciate it on your taxes. Be done with it and move on. A camera is not an investment it is a tool.
Click to expand...

plus +2

I'd been waiting for an HD cam with interchangeable lenses in the $5k price range since I bought the original HVX back in 2005. I'm satisfied now. Anything else I need I just rent it.
 
FilmBoy77 said:
I'm satisfied now. Anything else I need I just rent it.
Click to expand...

+1 ....... and my AG-AF may at some point in the future "shrink" to become a camera for research, castings, odd shots ..... while my lenses live on with another camera ....... and then the AG-AF may end it's life gloriously as a crash-cam.... ;-)
 
Mestizo Devon said:
The red one is 5yrs old, I think its holding up very well
Click to expand...

The Red One M was released in 07, the updated Red One MX in 2010 and still currently for sale new for $25K body only.

A search this morning showing used full package Red One MX kits for sale at $10,6k which is not much considering how much a full kit costs.

That being said, if I were shooting a feature film I would be all over a used MX kit. It's the best value out there for that type of work right now.
 
Last edited:
tipota said:
+1 ....... and my AG-AF may at some point in the future "shrink" to become a camera for research, castings, odd shots ..... while my lenses live on with another camera ....... and then the AG-AF may end it's life gloriously as a crash-cam.... ;-)
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
coltonokeefe said:
To be fair it's the market determining the pricing for these cameras, not the manufacturers or resellers (in the interest of full disclosure I work for a major reseller). Resellers have put the AF100 on sale or dropped the price because they're just not selling all that well anymore, that's the same reason Panasonic put the rebate on, to spur sales. If customers were still buying the product the prices wouldn't be dropping so much. And about your second point, if the AF100's sales are already dramatically declining then what do you think will happen to the remaining stock once a successor is announced?
Click to expand...

Totally agree. My usual Pana reseller for north Italy has told me that he is not selling AF-101 anymore. Usually I was able to give him my used cameras with good discount on new stuff. This time, also due the lack of new stuff (AF-100 successor), he doesn't want my AF101 back and suggested to sell it via ebay.
As investment my older HPX171 was a better deal...

Let's face it: AF-100 has not been the new "DVX100" as we all wanted. It's a good camera, but not a great one. At least for my needs (indy movie etc.) there are cheper cameras with better image out of the box (GH2, MKII and III, 7D etc.).

I don't think there will be a successor of AF100, but I hope there will be one.
 
alexthecat said:
It's a good camera, but not a great one.
Click to expand...

Things are changing faster than ever before in the world of camera-manufacturing. When the AG-AF came out it was - at least for me - absolutely sensational for the price. Within one and a half year "sensational" has shrunk to "quite all right". But this is due not to lacking performance (for the price) of the AG-AF, but because of the almost flabbergasting developments in the whole camera sector. So: No remorse on my side about the AG-AF. Shoot with what you have, buy something new when you really feel the need for it.
 
In alot of ways the camera culture that has developed over the past 6 years is a mirror of the Android community... Everyone geeks out over new hardware, rooting their phones, spending all day and night trying new builds, modifying their phones to extreme levels of awesomeness... In the end, THAT is how they use their phone. They are forever tinkering with it. Never actually using it.

Most of the 'pixel-peepers' out there are hobbyist. Those of us who make a living doing this will always use what we have, to the best of our abilities, and as long as possible! My first DVX was a beast and did great work for me. My first condenser mic the same. Heck, I STILL have my HS80M monitors from my first recording studio and they sound as great as the day I opened them!
 
Ahh, buyer's remorse. I had a plan when I purchased my camera that I'd use it (warts and all) for 3 years and buy the next latest, greatest thing. At the end of three years I'd consider its value to be zero. Either I'd make money or not (I have). I know some of you buy the camera for a particular project then hope to sell it afterwards for a price that is better than you could rent it. Others purchased this camera hoping it would be some kind of sub $5K version of the Alexxis. Some brought and then complain it's not as good as other cameras. My customers are more than happy with the pictures the AF-100 produces. I know its strengths and its weakness (which I work around). BTW, I have yet to shoot the human face lit by a single candle :-)
 
tipota said:
Things are changing faster than ever before in the world of camera-manufacturing. When the AG-AF came out it was - at least for me - absolutely sensational for the price. Within one and a half year "sensational" has shrunk to "quite all right". But this is due not to lacking performance (for the price) of the AG-AF, but because of the almost flabbergasting developments in the whole camera sector. So: No remorse on my side about the AG-AF. Shoot with what you have, buy something new when you really feel the need for it.
Click to expand...
i second this :)
 
To be honest... what other camera can you get (for less than 5k) that sports interchangeable lenses, HDSDI, XLR inputs, waveform monitor, built in ND filters, variable framerates AND can shoot NTSC or PAL? I think it's easy to forget exactly how unique the AF100 is in this price range, and how much you really get for the money. I guess it comes down to how you measure the value of a camera... is it cost+resale value, or is it what you can produce with the camera minus time in post?

Shawn
 
Same thoughts here Shawn. I still think it's a great camera for what it does with all it's features.
 
ShawnMi said:
To be honest... what other camera can you get (for less than 5k) that sports interchangeable lenses, HDSDI, XLR inputs, waveform monitor, built in ND filters, variable framerates AND can shoot NTSC or PAL? I think it's easy to forget exactly how unique the AF100 is in this price range, and how much you really get for the money. I guess it comes down to how you measure the value of a camera... is it cost+resale value, or is it what you can produce with the camera minus time in post?

Shawn
Click to expand...

I agree...which is why I always get confused when people keep comparing it to DSLR's like the 7d and 5D. Do those cameras have a majority of those things? I'm asking not to be asmart a$# but because I have never considered a DSLR and have no idea what shortcomings they have other than no xlr inputs and a coupla other things that may or may not be included in whatever the hottest version is out now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top