Did Panasonic Inadvertently Admit AF100 Has 400 ISO Base Sensitivity?

pannyfreak

pannyfreak

Active member
On page 54 of Vol 2 of the user manual, when describing the low/mid/high gain settings, the ISOs and video gain equivalents are listed as:

0dB = ISO400
+6dB = ISO800
+12dB = ISO1600

Also, on page 41 of Vol 1 when describing the gain switch settings "The default value is ISO400/0 dB"

People wondered what the base ISO sensitivity was but we kept hearing "wait until the camera's in production"-- perhaps this sheds some light (pun unintended) on what Panasonic believes the sensor is rated at as I have not seen them directly disclose this in any other documentation or spec listings.

With the Arri Alexa being rated at just one stop more sensitive than the AF100, I find this very impressive.
 
What's really cool, when I was testing the AF100 next to the Arri Alexa, I put them both at ISO 800 and found the AF100 to be quite usable--not Alexa quiet, but +6db gain is something I avoid with our HPX170.
 
Yea, but its actually quite nice @ 800 ISO too. I would have no issues using it at that rating. Let me tell you, 800 ISO is a LOT of sensitivity. There has been a lot of buzz about the 5dmkII and 7D shooting at insane ISO's, but thats only of consequence if you are using ZERO lighting. the second you turn on a light, really any light, suddenly you're over exposing... So having a clean 800 essentially means that a meager lighting kit is enough to get great results. Remember, shooting on a 250 ISO RED one, vs a 800 ISO REDMX means that what will get the same exposure to the 250 ISO REDONE, a 2k Tungsten, is now a 500w Tungsten to a REDMX @ iso800 with the same lens. Suddenly you don't need a tie In, or a generator, and you can light a scene off standard house power.

So take that concept to the AF100, and suddenly its a lot easier to work with. This is what i was talking about when i said the AF100 just gets out of your way, while you're working. you don't have to think about what moire inducing patters may be in the frame, whether you have enough light, or whether you have the necessary support gear. Its light enough that most productions can afford the lighter dolley, the smaller Jib, the merlin stedicam vs the Archer.... The af100 is the true revolution. it lets you focus on the story and the light, not the camera...
 
It operates like a dream. The VFR/Shutter dial is great. The layout is intuitive- he's right about it not getting in the way.
 
When I hear about shooting at super high ISO's, I think about how hard it will be to control the available light. I think ISO 800 is a great place to shoot at, anything above that is not lighting, it's just capturing available light--which is hard to control.
 
When the Panasonic crew were in Australia (cant remember the date of the top of my head), but I surmised ISO400 was 0db etc as well.
 
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