mainstreetprod
Veteran
Just unwrapped my new AF100, a demo from Texas Media, along with a 20mm F1.7 pancake lens. Started the battery charging and settled down in the recliner with Barry's book. I was pleased at how well written it is- rather than assuming the reader already has infinite camera knowledge, it starts with the importance of proper lighting and exposure and goes on from there.
I've been shooting with the HVX now for 5 years, and with 3 chip DV cameras for the previous 10. With those I was lazily doing a lot of autoexposure and autofocus, with the HVX I decided to start shooting all manual to force myself to get a better feel for the camera. That's what I was doing right, what I was doing wrong was using the LCD to judge exposure, relying on the zebras only in extreme situations, and other general lazy habits. The AF100 is again going to force me to up my game, learning to use the waveform monitors, red peaking for focus, no power zooming, etc.
I can already see that focusing with the pancake lens at low apertures wll be a challenge when moving the camera. I won't be doing a lot of handheld but will be using a slider a lot, so it should be interesting. I plan on getting at least two other lenses, maybe they will have deeper focus and be more usable in moving shots. Being able to have shallow DOF when I need it is the main reason for getting the camera, so the challenges of the pancake are welcome.
One of the future lenses will be a zoom, probably a 14-140- but if any one has a suggestion of a vintage or new lens with similar zoom range (or at least equally as wide) that is faster than 3.0 , sharp and not too ridiculous in price, I'd love to hear it. No AF or auto exposure needed.
I've been shooting with the HVX now for 5 years, and with 3 chip DV cameras for the previous 10. With those I was lazily doing a lot of autoexposure and autofocus, with the HVX I decided to start shooting all manual to force myself to get a better feel for the camera. That's what I was doing right, what I was doing wrong was using the LCD to judge exposure, relying on the zebras only in extreme situations, and other general lazy habits. The AF100 is again going to force me to up my game, learning to use the waveform monitors, red peaking for focus, no power zooming, etc.
I can already see that focusing with the pancake lens at low apertures wll be a challenge when moving the camera. I won't be doing a lot of handheld but will be using a slider a lot, so it should be interesting. I plan on getting at least two other lenses, maybe they will have deeper focus and be more usable in moving shots. Being able to have shallow DOF when I need it is the main reason for getting the camera, so the challenges of the pancake are welcome.
One of the future lenses will be a zoom, probably a 14-140- but if any one has a suggestion of a vintage or new lens with similar zoom range (or at least equally as wide) that is faster than 3.0 , sharp and not too ridiculous in price, I'd love to hear it. No AF or auto exposure needed.
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