Af100 has been discontinued

I just saw this camera online on B&H the other day...it's so random how companies just discontinue products one day.
 
They had it on sale for $1999.00 for the last 2 months. previously they told me that it would be a temporary price and would go back up to the $3999.00 in August.

I checked everday because i wanted to sell my af100 and at the special price it wasnt going to happen. So know Im guessing if the used prices go up of fall?
 
I always look to ebay to see what things sell for. If you look up "AF100" you can go to the "advanced" section on the ebay page (it'll be somewhere in the upper right, tiny print) and select "sold" listings, and that should display every sold AF100 and what they went for.
 
AF-100 production probably ceased months ago. This was the sign that B&H has finally cleared its inventory.
 
To be honest I thought this camera was out of production for a long time now. Seems like Panasonic has given up on this market segment (large sensor, interchangeable lens).
 
Fahnon said:
To be honest I thought this camera was out of production for a long time now. Seems like Panasonic has given up on this market segment (large sensor, interchangeable lens).
Click to expand...
The "large sensor" these days is s35 and up, so Panasonic has probably given up on an upscale MFT shoulder cam. From the bang-for-the-buck perspective, A6300 + an external 4K recorder will run in the mid'$2,000's and deliver an oversampled 4K from an APS-C sensor into ProRes. An "AF200" would have had to, at least, match those specs and in the same price range, which made it a long shot.

Instead, the money was put into the GH series, with GH4 being a mega hit and an expected GH5 promising to be very competitive as well. In the $5,000 range, there may be a room for a S35 camera but Panasonic aimed much higher with Varicam LT and, at the moment, is yielding that territory to Sony (FS5 and FS7) and BMD URSA.
 
Panasonic has most likely not given up on this line of camera. AF100 filled a niché and it can do it again with a proper updated camera. I predict something along the lines of a DVX200: a DCI 4K-capable camcorder with 4/3" sensor and an MFT mount. Voila! You have the AF200.
 
The AF100 did have an updated model- JVC makes it, the GY LS300. And although a bargain and quite capable in its own right- it's not flying off the shelves either. So why would Panasonic put any more effort into this line of camera when:

1) the AF100/a floundered
2) JVC's "successor" still struggles despite heavy discounts
3) Panasonic's own GH series continues to eat into it's market
 
The issue today with the AF100 and the JVC LS300, is they are 8-bit cameras with a highly compressed recording codec. Even current broadcast TV production cameras are at least 10-bit, to avoid the 8-bit banding issues.

An AF200 (AF100 successor) will need to be at least a 10-bit camera with a good "film log" codec, or raw recording capability.

Currently, the BlackMagic Ursa Mini is the only camera that comes close, while larger than the AF100, it has the internal recording capability that is currently in demand, is a 12/10- bit sensor, and at a very good price point, that will be a challenge for Panasonic to meet. The 4.6K model offers,a variety of windowed sensor options, including a 2K widow which S16 lenses will cover. If only BM had a MFT mount option, but it does have a PL/B4 mount version, which will support HD B4 servo zooms and S16 PL lenses in the HD and 2K window mode.

I personally would live to see a MFT mount 4/3rds to Std. Cine 35mm format 2.5-4K sensor (with HD and S16 2K window options) that the will work with good MFT/PL Lenses, like the Veydra Mini Primes.
Cheers
 
Last edited:
Ed Kishel said:
JVC makes it, the GY LS300. And although a bargain and quite capable in its own right- it's not flying off the shelves either.
Click to expand...
Maybe it's because JVC isn't making them easy to get. I've been trying for weeks to see one in the Vancouver BC area but haven't had any luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top