AF100 tips, tricks, and FAQs

AdamLPhotography said:
The AF100 *does* have support for servo zoom control. If you look on Panasonic's lens compatibility chart you'll see that there is support for controlling servo zoom via the S/S jacks on both the H-PS14042 and the H-PS45175 lenses. I ordered the H-PS45175, updated my AF100 firmware to 1.17 and updated the H-PS45175 to firmware 1.1. I then plugged in my VariZoom, set camera lens detect to On and away I went. Iris, focus AND zoom control!

Edit: Here's a video that shows the Varizoom in action with the AF100.
Click to expand...

I like the combo. Nice, smooth zoom action from the varizoom and a clean image. The stepped iris adjustment I could live with.
 
AdamLPhotography said:
The AF100 *does* have support for servo zoom control. If you look on Panasonic's lens compatibility chart you'll see that there is support for controlling servo zoom via the S/S jacks on both the H-PS14042 and the H-PS45175 lenses. I ordered the H-PS45175, updated my AF100 firmware to 1.17 and updated the H-PS45175 to firmware 1.1. I then plugged in my VariZoom, set camera lens detect to On and away I went. Iris, focus AND zoom control!

Edit: Here's a video that shows the Varizoom in action with the AF100.
Click to expand...

Why the heck isn't that little nugget of love being advertised? That's the first I've heard of it. When the AF100 came out, I distinctly remember Jan telling me in a thread that the m4/3 standard doesn't have any sort of zoom protocol. That it's now been updated to include it (at least in regards to the AF100) is huge. Seriously, if the new 12-35 and 35-100 X lenses had that feature (which I don't believe they do), they would sell like hot cakes, and give the AF100 a distinct and very large advantage over the competition.
 
Mike Harvey said:
Why the heck isn't that little nugget of love being advertised? That's the first I've heard of it. When the AF100 came out, I distinctly remember Jan telling me in a thread that the m4/3 standard doesn't have any sort of zoom protocol. That it's now been updated to include it (at least in regards to the AF100) is huge. Seriously, if the new 12-35 and 35-100 X lenses had that feature (which I don't believe they do), they would sell like hot cakes, and give the AF100 a distinct and very large advantage over the competition.
Click to expand...

I have no idea why it's not mentioned more often, but it's what swayed my decision to get the AF100. I shoot on a crane at sporting events, and remote focus, zoom and iris are must-haves. Without it, I would have stuck to my HMC-150 (or maybe gone with an AC160). I'm glad it has this, because I like shooting sports, but I also like the option of DOF and with the AF100 I get the best of both worlds.
 
It is true that the zoom is enabled on the AF100, for power zoom lenses. It was never discussed in the early days, and if you notice on the back of the AF100, the zoom remote port doesn't say "zoom" on it(!) It just says record start/stop, but that port is the one that also provides zoom control.

Possibly it wasn't mentioned because at the time of manufacture, maybe there was no plan for making power-zoom lenses. So maybe they just implemented the same circuitry from the HVX/HPX/HMC etc., but didn't bother to label it as "zoom" because there were no lenses that could be used? But now there are; both the Lumix X pancake 14-42(?) and 45-175 have power zoom and can be used in a situation where remote zoom is mandatory.

Yes, if the 12-35 had power zoom capability, that would certainly make it an amazing option, but as I understand it, it doesn't have that.
 
I find it holds focus when going wide but can inconsistently lose an edge the other way. Sometimes it holds but not always.
 
Thanks, it's tempting, I'm currently using a B4 adapter with a Fujinon lens set on 2x. Seems to work pretty good, even though some have said it's not the greatest. And of course I always have to use rails to hold the lens.
 
Tim Langston said:
Thanks, it's tempting, I'm currently using a B4 adapter with a Fujinon lens set on 2x. Seems to work pretty good, even though some have said it's not the greatest. And of course I always have to use rails to hold the lens.
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I have four Lumix zoom lenses including the 14 - 140mm (newly acquired), a 25mm Voigtlander and a 14 - 200mm Nikon G lens. The 45 - 175mm x lens is top of my zooms - internal zoom, fast auto focus, next to no hunting and no discernible breathing (which makes the Nikon all but unusable). I so like the power zoom I'm about to sell the 14 - 140mm and replace it with the 14 - 42mm Lumix x, though it is not internal zoom.
 
Alright, alright, I placed my order for the 45 - 175mm X lens. I figure if I like it I'll sell my 14 - 140mm and re cop some cash. Can't wait to try this on the Cobra Crane.

We better keep this quiet until we sell our 14 - 140's. HA!!!

Tim
 
Tim Langston said:
Alright, alright, I placed my order for the 45 - 175mm X lens. I figure if I like it I'll sell my 14 - 140mm and re cop some cash. Can't wait to try this on the Cobra Crane.

We better keep this quiet until we sell our 14 - 140's. HA!!!

Tim
Click to expand...

I'll be interested to hear your opinion of the lens.
 
Just got the 45 - 175mm power zoom lens. Hooked it up to my VariZoom controller and it works. However, the focus on the VariZoom will only allow up to 10 meters, I unplug the VariZoom and I can focus to infinity on the camera. Hmmmm, I wonder if I've wacked the controller when it was attached to my tripod, the focus knob will rotate completely around. Other than that, it works pretty good. But, I'm spoiled by the feathering off of the zooms on my Fujinon. I'll have to play around a bit more, I wish we had a little more zoom, like a 14 - 175.
 
It sounds like your Varizoom is damaged. The focus knob on mine has about 230 degrees of rotation with stops at both ends of travel. It can also focus from 2.95 feet to just past infinity.
 
Tim Langston said:
I wish we had a little more zoom, like a 14 - 175.
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4X zoom range is hardly stellar but the lens operates pretty well otherwise.

The logic behind the Lumix range of lenses is hard to understand. Why two 14 - 42mm and a 14 - 45mm? Why a 45 - 175mm and a 45 - 200mm? I appreciate they are designing across a broad range of M43 cameras of varying costs but the current line up seems strangely uncoordinated.
 
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Has anyone else had any issues the the EVF DTL function suddenly shutting off?

I've noticed that on my last 2-3 shoots, I'd notice that it the LCD looked soft and, low and behold, the EVF DTL function was off.

Anyone?
 
I never use it. I just use focus in red alone NOT in conjunction with the EVF DTL on.

Before my last shoot I picked up a TV Logic 5.6" monitor and it has cut my focus worries and time to get critical focus in more than half. Highly recommend going that (kind of) route to ensure focus.
 
Barry_Green said:
1. Wondering why some certain function isn't working? Some features disable other features, and one of the most notable of those is having the HD-SDI 24PsF output set to ON. I strongly recommend to everyone to leave 24PsF set to "off" unless they know exactly what they're doing. It can disable the HDMI output, it disables variable frame rates, and it disables autofocus, so lots of people are going to be scratching their heads as to why all these functions quit working on their cameras, when in reality all they have to do is turn 24PsF to "off" and all that stuff comes back.
Click to expand...

Barry_Green said:
When outputting 1080 over SDI, the broadcast standard is 1080/60i. When you're shooting 24p, that means that the camera inserts 3:2 pulldown to convert the 24p signal into 60i for output.

The AF100 has the ability to instead output the special 24PsF mode, which is really basically 48i -- no pulldown at all. It's interlaced, but a monitor or recorder that understands 24PsF will also know that it's meant to be progressive, and the monitor will know to reassemble it into its true progressive nature before displaying it. And a recorder like the NanoFlash can read 24PsF and knows to convert it into true 24P. So, in effect, 24PsF means "output true pure native 24P instead of interlaced 60i with 3:2 pulldown."

So for certain uses it can be nice and handy. But it also causes lots of conflicts, so only use it when you really need it.
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So this means that when using the camera with an external recorder you can't monitor using a HDMI monitor?

Also you can't record to an external recorder if you need auto focus?
 
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