AF100-Successor in 2015!!!!

They could design it like a sphere but if the specs and image quality is good, people will still buy it. (Im exaggerating here)
 
Hi guys,

Spoke with the Panasonic Engineer(forgot his name) in June over at Cinegear Expo. Was asking about the AF100 successor and explained to me that the GH4 line was it because of the popularity of the dslr craze. However, it seems that Panasonic is moving forward and continued to have him elaborate, he said with a wink, "Expect something new in the next year or two". Also mentioned moving away from m4/3, at least from the Broadcast line.
 
boo said:
.....However, it seems that Panasonic is moving forward and continued to have him elaborate, he said with a wink, "Expect something new in the next year or two". Also mentioned moving away from m4/3, at least from the Broadcast line.
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From that, it sounds like he's talking about the S35 VariCam. But who knows... this entire thread is mostly (yet more) hearsay and speculation.

Right now I'm budgeting for an FS7 next year, which will be a significant stretch in my budget. My AF is losing its marketability. There's definitely room for a less expensive, smaller, m43, fully professional codec option to the FS7 that isn't a DSLR; I haven't sold my AF yet because the GH4 just doesn't cut it in certain situations, even if I had the YAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!. Panasonic has had all the elements to make such a thing for years, and we've been hearing hints and rumors of such for years, and so far only have the fake 10-bit output "A" model.

If or when it does go on sale, sure, I'll give it a look. It's been a shame watching Panasonic abandon the middle range.
 
boo said:
"Expect something new in the next year or two". Also mentioned moving away from m4/3, at least from the Broadcast line.
Click to expand...

I'd be happy to see that. The AF100 did a good job, and the price point was unbeatable at the time for what it offered. However, I am not interested in a camera with the GH4 sensor and M43. If Pana come out with an S35 4k chip built for a new line of cameras starting with a 4500k low end version up to a higher end iteration around 30k, Im pretty sure they'd peak my interest in there somewhere.
 
"Expect something new in the next year or two"? Might as well say the next decade. The technology changes quickly enough that I expect some serious 6K or even 8K rumblings in a year or two.
 
Noel Evans said:
If Pana come out with an S35 4k chip built for a new line of cameras starting with a 4500k low end version up to a higher end iteration around 30k, Im pretty sure they'd peak my interest in there somewhere.
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It seems that Panasonic has spoken. The company priced the Varicam S35 at $55K, not $30K (the Sony F55's price range). So I wouldn't expect anything with a video camera form factor priced at $4,500. I think the GH4/YAGH might be it, at least for a while.
 
I was excited hearing about that JVC cam at last NAB. Article states it likely won't be ready by the next NAB. Not the world's most encouraging news, but eager to see what it eventually becomes.
 
No he wasn't talking about the Varicam. My focus was asking on the AF100 replacement. I mentioned the HPX270 but with interchangeable lens. He mentioned a successor without m4/3...similar price range... Wouldn't be surprised as the previous poster mentioned something announced at NAB then be delivered by end of 2015.
 
I'd be extremely surprised (indeed disappointed) if panasonic put out a prosumer interchangeable lens cam without an m43 mount. They make m43 lenses. PL is financially unviable in that budget range, and any other mount means Panasonic effectively begins licensing and marketing other peoples' lenses, which would obviously be dumb.

Now, if they did the whole thing like JVC hints and offer a series of selectable crop modes from S35 on down utilizing the m43 mount and manage to do it without mucking up the image, then sure, pleased as punch.
 
While im happy about any new cameras, this feels like it'll either be too little to late, or something a bit off the traditional path. Considering how well cameras perform these days, i suspect Innovate or Dissipate will start to be a reality for some camera makers.
 
mcbob said:
I'd be extremely surprised (indeed disappointed) if panasonic put out a prosumer interchangeable lens cam without an m43 mount. They make m43 lenses. PL is financially unviable in that budget range, and any other mount means Panasonic effectively begins licensing and marketing other peoples' lenses, which would obviously be dumb.

Now, if they did the whole thing like JVC hints and offer a series of selectable crop modes from S35 on down utilizing the m43 mount and manage to do it without mucking up the image, then sure, pleased as punch.
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Same here. If it's not m4/3 mount, it's a non-starter for me. Between my AF100 and GH4, I've got nearly $3k invested in m4/3 lenses. To need to buy new lenses for a new format means I'm just going to stick with the AF100 and GH4. The flip side is if it's effectively a PX270 with a large sensor and m4/3 mount, I guarantee I'll be buying that thing (and investing in P2).
 
At the risk of adding fuel to this fire: http://www.43rumors.com/ft4-panasonic-af100101-successor-coming-at-nab-2015/

Since there's already a thread going for this rumor, I figured I'd post that link.

After seeing the response to the various sensor options that were offered in the recent Apertus Axiom indiegogo offering, I feel like Micro 4/3 may be a bit of a dead end when it comes to dedicated video cameras. Unfortunately you can't see it now, but when I last looked a few days before it closed, the Axiom with the S35 sensor had "sold" 300 or 400 units, while the M43 option had "sold" 1 (one!) unit.

That tells me that if Panasonic decided to use M43 for this rumored new camera, they would have make it very enticing (price, features, or both) for people to buy it over an S35 offering from a competitor. I doubt that they would go the JVC way with the S35 sensor in a M43 mount because that's quite a hack - it would go against the standard specifications and many of their lenses probably would not work (vignette, etc). What they could possibly do would be an adaptable lens with a sensor crop mode that would allow M43 lenses to work, but also APS-C/S35 lenses. Still a bit of a hack, however, and would probably mean an entirely new mount for them, which would be kind of crazy at this point.

It seems like a true AF100 successor would be stuck between a rock and a hard place, but perhaps the Panasonic engineers have figured out a clever solution that won't seem as hackish as JVC's. Either that or they will really sweeten the deal to make people buy.
 
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Realistically if they show a new AF100 successor at NAB 2015, that means orders late November with shipping late December early January 2016. Which means as fast as camera technology is advancing, this thing will be DOA.
 
I don't follow that reasoning, David; by that logic, Canon is foolish for (rumored) updating the C-series; indeed, nobody should ever make a new camera.

Sure, tech is advancing quickly... but we have no idea what sort of tech this completely rumored thing will incorporate, or how advanced or lagging it will be in comparison to its competition whenever it might be announced. We know nothing.... thus can't really damn something based upon our ignorance.
 
So without knowing price, features, specifications, options, anything other than someone announcing that they may have heard that there might be a rumor... you're pronouncing it DOA?

That does seem a bit unwarranted.

Even in today's fast-paced short-attention-span world, it seems like a product should at least have a chance to be actually announced, before it's declared DOA...
 
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