Going to Africa... AF-100 or HDSLR?

S

stevemebs

New member
Hi, in 8 weeks I'll be going on a humanitarian mission to a village in Africa for two weeks. I'm going to document the efforts of the organization that has partnered with the village to communicate to people back home the needs of the people there and how they can be involved.

At home I use an HPX-170 with a Letus Extreme and Nikon lenses... but that will be too heavy and bulky to carry with me there. I'm trying to decide what gear to bring, and so far I'm trying to decide between buying/renting the AF-100 or an HDSLR (I will be shooting photos along with the video). They both appeal because of the shall depth of field and small body size.

I'm looking for something that will produce top quality imagery, but be lightweight. I'm also looking for a sturdy setup, and will need to capture audio in interviews as well. Looking for lens recommendations as well, as I don't fully understand the different size sensors and how a 50mm lens can actually look like a 100mm lens. Will probably want two lenses. I have a 50mm 1.4 and an 85mm 1.8, both fully manual primes, so I can definitely bring those if they would work.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
 
Maybe bring both. An AF-100 and a GH2. Audio is a pain with DSLR cams. I love my GH2/AF-100 combo. The size is perfect for long hikes. Its so handy and does a great job with video as well as stills. You could shoot a time lapse with the GH2 while shooting video with the AF-100 at the same time. Since they use the same lenses that's a plus.
Most DSLR shooters that have crossed over to the AF-100 mention how great it is to have control of the audio again. That is the one factor that limited my use of DSLR cams.

Micro 4/3 has a field of view of about half of 35mm. Its cropped. Not magnified. So you lose about 50% of the top/bottom/sides of the lens. Cropped.
The good part is lenses made for m4/3 are smaller and lighter since the sensor is smaller than 35mm sensor cams.
Take a look at the 20mm and 14mm Lumix pancake lenses. Its tiny. Super sharp and fast. Oh and lite. Very lite. Simply awesome hiking lenses.
Your 50mm and 85 will be good. Remember your 50mm will have a field of view like a 100mm. You will need a adapter to use them.
Sounds like a great trip. Can I go?
Cheers!
 
I agree that the AF, & GH2, are a GREAT combination for documentary.

If possible add a Olympus 14-35/2, plus adapter, & possibly a Voigtlander 25/0.95.

Maybe a Lumix 100-300mm for wildlife footage. And a decent set of legs, &/or SteadyBag.

Best,
Bern
 
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Totally Af100/gh2 with the lenses you have and the 14-140 so you get a tad of auto focus. You would have a nice light camera bag with this set up.
 
1) Bring your HPX170 because you're used to it, and its good for running and gunning. Leave your Letus behind.

2) Buy a DSLR, with a Nikon adapter and bring all of your existing Nikon lenses.

3) Now you will be able to do documentary style work with a camera you understand, and be able to get B roll DOF shots where needed (for interviews and artsy stuff) and be able to take nice pictures.

4) Test all of this before you go because once you get to Africa there will be no support (I live in Africa) - you want to rely on equipment you know and understand. Figure the best settings on each camera and in post to match the 2 cameras when editing.
 
The AF-100 and the GH2 would probably work well. Take fast lenses. Doing that kind of humanitarian work, you'll be going into dark huts and buildings probably. Use a small led cam light. Not all your
visual documentation will be artsy. Outdoors you can get some great stuff with both cams. You'll have to take a lot of cards or have some way to download at the hotel/tent at night.

With humanitarian work, it's run & gun most of the time. I know. I've shot in Africa numerous times for NGO's. Audio is very important and if you don't have a soundman recording double system, forget doing this soley on a DSLR. You will regret it! Everything will happen very fast.

The idea of getting great stills with a camera that uses the same lenses as the AF 100 is cool.

Also, look into a compact shoulder mount. Olaf here has a setup you might find interesting.

Good luck, need an AF-100 b-unit to go with you? :) I miss Africa.
 
Steve,

Kudos on the Africa gig! What part of the continent are you going to? I did something similar with Sir Richard Branson a few years ago, and it was an incredible adventure. At the time I brought two HVX200 cameras (no 35mm adapter) and that was still a chore. Plus, I had to have backups and backups to the backups for some of this gear, because there's no B&H Photo in the East African bush should some component fail. It was a very small crew and I was pretty much responsible for all the visuals and audio. No easy task, my friend.

As I try to grasp your situation without fully knowing all of your particular variables, my advice to you is to bring the most compact but best quality gear you can get your hands on. I think an AF100 with some primes and an electronic zoom lens would be great. An HDSLR would be a solid addition for stills and B-Roll/backup shots. The other guys commenting also bring up some excellent points and ideas. Spend the coming weeks familiarizing yourself with the gear and then go have a GREAT SHOOT! :thumbsup:
 
Since you've been using a video camera with a letus, an AF100 will probably be the easiest transition for you. But you can probably do what you want with any of the above suggestions, or even just a Canon 5D or 7D with magic lantern might work, since stills are part of the task. Audio is a pain with DSLRs but doable. No matter which route you take, get your gear asap and work out a system that suits you. The problem with the DSLR route is that you won't know if it will work for you until you try, which is pricey and time consuming.
 
Test out all your gear before you go through to the edit phase. Frantic posts from the bush about "Do I offload just the private folder" are so 2006 and probably should be ignored by the list.

Know what works work flow wise before you go and WHY it works. Once you understand that , you;ll be fine with whatever you decide to take with you.
 
I speak from experience, be careful what specific countries u are attempting to bring equipment in and out in Africa. If it an Islamic state then u may also get equipment confiscated, if it's in a country like South Africa then you're A-OK. If in doubt just bring the smaller, cheaper DSLR at least if u lose your equipment u can usually get your footage out by hiding the SD cards. Either way, it shouldn't be as bad as Turkey or Jordan.
 
Don't want to come off as an alarmist, just be sure to check what media policies the nations have that you are visiting. Some consulates will tell you “personal cameras” are A-OK but if you show up with something like an AF-100 (with mattebox etc…) you might get some resistance. Generally getting equipment through airports is easier than border crossings and many people that I know that travel for filming generally use DSLRs because they’re far more inconspicuous. Again, not sure what counties in Africa you plan on visiting so none of this may apply to you.

 
In my recent trip to gaza, I decided to take some risks: GH13, kit lens, several nikon AI lenses, a Sound Devices 702T for timecode, and a 13" MBP with a couple portable USB drives. I was blown away by the results: the audio, using my same mics completely blows away my HVX 200 footage, likewise with almost all the video. Compact, discrete, and beautiful footage. There's no B&H in Gaza...
 
Thank you!

Thank you!

WOW, thanks so much for the replies everyone!

I hadn't thought of taking the AF-100/HPX-170 and a DSLR, that's an awesome idea. Having a familiar camera for regular shooting and audio work will put my mind at ease for sure. I really want to keep it simple.

I don't know anything about the Panasonic DSLRs... how do they compare to the Canon and Nikons? I like the idea of sharing lenses between the two cameras for sure.

For putting my existing Nikon lenses on a new HDSLR... they are all fully manual primes, manual aperture and focus, will they work on a HDSLR? Not sure if this is the right forum for that.

@DC: I'm going to Burundi, and am just starting to learn more about it. Wikipedia tells me it's the poorest country in Africa, so I'm ready for my eyes to be opened by how life is there.
 
Kindredmachine said:
I speak from experience, be careful what specific countries u are attempting to bring equipment in and out in Africa. If it an Islamic state then u may also get equipment confiscated, if it's in a country like South Africa then you're A-OK. If in doubt just bring the smaller, cheaper DSLR at least if u lose your equipment u can usually get your footage out by hiding the SD cards. Either way, it shouldn't be as bad as Turkey or Jordan.
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That's a really good point that I hadn't thought of. I'll try to check into that. I get that feeling that even if I do check into it I could still be surprised by suddenly changed rules ; )
 
stevemebs said:
I don't know anything about the Panasonic DSLRs... how do they compare to the Canon and Nikons?
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Image wise, the GH2 beats the dSLRs for video, but lacks the DR in stills. It also has a smaller buffer that takes longer clear.

Personally I'd choose the AF over the HPX, but then I hate the DOF of 1/3" sensors.

Regards,
Bern
 
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Erik Naso said:
Maybe bring both. An AF-100 and a GH2. Audio is a pain with DSLR cams. I love my GH2/AF-100 combo. The size is perfect for long hikes. Its so handy and does a great job with video as well as stills. You could shoot a time lapse with the GH2 while shooting video with the AF-100 at the same time. Since they use the same lenses that's a plus.
Most DSLR shooters that have crossed over to the AF-100 mention how great it is to have control of the audio again. That is the one factor that limited my use of DSLR cams.

Micro 4/3 has a field of view of about half of 35mm. Its cropped. Not magnified. So you lose about 50% of the top/bottom/sides of the lens. Cropped.
The good part is lenses made for m4/3 are smaller and lighter since the sensor is smaller than 35mm sensor cams.
Take a look at the 20mm and 14mm Lumix pancake lenses. Its tiny. Super sharp and fast. Oh and lite. Very lite. Simply awesome hiking lenses.
Your 50mm and 85 will be good. Remember your 50mm will have a field of view like a 100mm. You will need a adapter to use them.
Sounds like a great trip. Can I go?
Cheers!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Erik, I really appreciate it. Great ideas.
With the Lumix 20mm and 14mm pancake lenses: are they micro 4/3 lenses, or would they actually end up being 40 and 28mm field of view? I usually find when I'm shooting people that I use my 50mm lots... is there one that you would recommend around that length? I'm also used to the f1.8 or f2 lenses, I'm looking at some lenses on B&H and they are f4.5-5, how would that compare? For example does the aperture get halved or doubled?
 
Definitely bring both, with the DSLR as the camera to use when you need to be more subtle. Plus, those overheat, and you're in a hot place. They will be a great team.
 
I shot this video with an HVX and 550D: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITLuBw6TuDA
I used the HVX for the interviews, water housing shots and timelapses, and everything else with the DSLR. I was really happy with how it turned out. But if I do something like this again, I'd probably just use the AF102 (I get my clean audio and the shallow depth of field). Plus it's just 1 camera to take around... but I wasn't taking stills.
 
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