ALL: Curious about AC130/160 sales relative to AF100

kwkeirstead

kwkeirstead

Well-known member
Has anyone else noticed that there usually are five times the number of people logged into AF100 compared to AC130/160?

I suspect members of this group bought our AC130/160's for one set of reasons and others opted for AF100 for other reasons. I might be able to get excited about having multiple lenses but it seems to me the single lens in the AC130/160 gives you lots of opportunities to make good videos.

I also wonder about follow focus. Seems to me if you are setting up, the first thing to worry about after camera and tripod is sound, then lighting, then other things.

I just read a very nice review by Adam Wilt that details how to get good focus but then he goes on to talk about Varizoom, Bebob focus/iris pullers but when I go to look for one they all seem to be for DSLRs. Anyone here using focus/iris pullers and if so, are the mechanical or electronic?

Just curious..
 
When I have looked at the difference between the two forums it has been more like a 3:1 ratio. And the AF100 has been on market almost 3 times longer than the AC130/160 So I doubt that the difference is anywhere near as great as you think.

No one from Panasonic, or any other vendor, is going to give you their sales figures.
 
Agree. And your explanation probably accounts for the difference. I did notice just now a lower ratio. Thank you for responding. I really like the AC160.
 
I have both an AF100 and an AC160. Two very different cameras for two different approaches to visual story telling and/or recording. I also happen to own both a Varizoom VZRock-PZFI Rocket Controller and a Manfrotto 521 PFI focus control and use both on my AC160. The Varizoom is used for zooming only, the focus wheel is not very accurate. The Manfrotto 521 is a must have . . . for me at least. Very precise focus and iris control. I heartily recommend the Manfrotto.

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Thank you dmjfoxtrot. .

OK, this is great to find someone who can comment on more than one option in this area. I noticed someone else tried but could not find out anything about the 521.

I looked at the 521, it looks very solid and if it's anything like the Manfrotto workhorse tripod I just bought, I have no worries about quality.

Now, what I am looking for here is exploring weak links in what I do (recording music events with 40 chorus singers from the back balcony of churches with occasional zoom in on solo singers, documentaries for little towns, one-on-one interviews for training videos for customers of software products).

I figure the 521 might help me with the first of these.

But, in the absence of a better lighting system, or perhaps direct sound recording capability, what would you recommend as a priority?

Will I, my friends and relatives and their friends notice any "difference' with a 521, when the alternative is to buy a proper lighting system that would get rid of yellow casts caused by "bounce sheets" slowly baking on the grills of construction lights? (ever hear of anything so silly?).

Until two weeks ago I had been using a 40-year old small camera tripod (pre-Manfrotto 028B), where, for any angle other that horizontal, I had to dedicate one hand to keeping the camera from flopping over.

I seem to be happy with my Rode VideoPro for sound.

Hope I am not being a pest . . .
 
Hey, I wrote a review of the Manfrotto focus iris unit a while back… it should still be around here somewhere!

Anyway, for the choirs you discuss, I'm not sure any of the focus controls will make a huge difference. If you focus on the soloist, then when you pull back to a wider shot its likely to all be in focus… and all the focus controls tend to get pretty twitchy and sensitive on the long end. So, I'm not saying its not useful, but won't give you as much bang for the buck as other things. Also, the ability to set minimum and max focal distances is also a little constrained… see my article which I'll find and link below in a minute!
 
Thanks Ullanta. . .

I did see that one and I found it using Google. Very informative and after reading it, its beyond me why anyone would go for a mechanical device unless of course they cannot find a electronic focus puller that works with their camera.

These reviews are really helpful so here's hoping they stay in the forums and do not get cleared out every once in a while.

I think I will go for better lighting first, then sound, just so I don't get overtaken by gadgets.
 
Unfortunately, I could not stand it anymore. I bought a 521. In the manual it says "...connect only to DVX 100B or HVX-200" - I presume 160 is a member of the same family as one of these?
 
kwkeirstead said:
Unfortunately, I could not stand it anymore. I bought a 521. In the manual it says "...connect only to DVX 100B or HVX-200" - I presume 160 is a member of the same family as one of these?
Click to expand...
Yes, any remote that works with the DVX100B or HVX200 will also work with an AC160 (and an AC130, HPX250, HPX170, HMC40 or HMC80, while we're at it...)
 
kwkeirstead said:
I suspect members of this group bought our AC130/160's for one set of reasons and others opted for AF100 for other reasons.
Click to expand...

Well, it says right at the top of the page, "The Online Community for Filmmaking," and it seems to me that the AF100 is the more "cinematic" camera. Not to say that the AC130/160 can't be "cinematic," but if you look at the history of this forum, and the great lengths people have gone to to get the DVX100 and its successors to use "cinema" lenses, it makes sense to me that the membership as a whole is perhaps more interested in the AF100.

And I say this as somebody who would be far more likely to use an AC130/160 than an AF100. :D

And it's also not to say that DVX User is all about filmmaking, because I've gotten (and maybe even given :) ) some good advice about other aspects of camera use, audio, and the like. But it is the main reason why the place exists in the first place...
 
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