Has The Panasonic AG-AF(100) Series been Discontinued?

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Perry Morris Jr

Member
Its strange I can't remember where I heard this but, I thought I casually read somewhere that the Panasonic AG-AF series is being discontinued for lack of sells. Does anyone know of any official information about this, or can enlighten? In my opinion, this camera was first hurt by the (Hacked) GH2, then the Sony FS100, despite this being a great Panny "Mojo" camera!
 
No it is not. It was a rumor that 2 rumor sites have posted and Jan came here and stated it has not been discontinued. Of course Sales have slowed down drastically. There are many S35/large sensor cameras on the market and the newer cams all have better specs but come at a price. I still use mine and will still use it till next year when I'm ready to upgrade.
 
Either way, the AF100 did great things for the market. It made the others get off their butt and produce a large sensor camcorder. Although even the competition has yet to add as many features for the price range. I think is what hurt the af100 was the way it handles highlights. It's hit or miss, and sometimes seems impossible to get it where it needs to be unless spending lots of time with it, and tweaking lighinting. Others have stated they don't feel like it handles motion well, and has a video like feel to it. When it first came out, I admit, I wasn't to fond of it, and didn't like the images I saw from it. But now, it's been figured out how to get the best out it, it really does produce beautiful images.
 
Perry Morris Jr said:
Its strange I can't remember where I heard this but, I thought I casually read somewhere that the Panasonic AG-AF series is being discontinued for lack of sells. Does anyone know of any official information about this, or can enlighten? In my opinion, this camera was first hurt by the (Hacked) GH2, then the Sony FS100, despite this being a great Panny "Mojo" camera!
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The AF100 is not being discontinued and frankly while the GH2 is a nice little camera and can work well in concert with the AF100, there is no way that this camera hurt its sales. Some one that only has $1500 for a camera is not going to buy a $4000 camera. This is just Marketing 101. That aside, the AF100 is doing fine.

It seems where we are losing sales are to the more expensive cameras, like the F3 or the FS700 but sales do continue to be fairly good.

Best,

Jan
 
dvx100 was discontinued after 8 years. 2003-2011.
during those times a lot of cameras have eclipsed this camera and yet it was never discontinued.

based on this logic,AF100 wont be discontinued for a while. atleast until a replacement AF100a comes along.
 
I have followed the af100 since its introduction and wanted to go with it since I have L-glass. In the beginning, I was waiting for Birger; just a few more weeks........which never happened. The other adapters work, but all lack full function. Other cams came out, but all except the fs100 were a lot more expensive. Better cams maybe, but significantly more. So I have sat on the sidelines, yet the af100 still has my interest, just not the first generation. I am sure Panny will upgrade this cam at some point with some of the features that folks have wanted; Intra, internal recording of the improved codec (probably via p2), and some other lens mount options. Would I pay more for this cam? Yes, as long as it was within reason and still delivered value. I know that using the L-glass isn't the same functionally as a set of true cine lenses, but for an owner operator, it has great appeal. I'd love to have a c-300, but that is out of my price zone. Could Panny tweak the af100 into a C300 killer?

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
I'd love to have a c-300, but that is out of my price zone. Could Panny tweak the af100 into a C300 killer?
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Yes. Tone down the OLPF, improve the dynamic range of the m4/3 sensor, and support AVC-I via micro P2, and you'd definitely be competitive with the C300 in my opinion.
 
I'd have loved to have bought a AF100 (or AF101 as it is here is Europe) but the BBC's HD minimum requirement of 50MBs for material and Canon from the XF100 upwards offering 50MBs leaned me towards getting an XF300 in the end. Shame really as I love my GH2 and have some good glass both native 4/3 and via adapters so I would have preferred to have had access to it.

I came off DV tape as I was sick of the hassle of external recorders so there's not a chance in hell, I'll go to the additional cost and hassle of work arounds just to buy a Panasonic product.

Shame it could never be hacked as that would have sealed the deal for me, having said that you shouldn't really have to hack to get a minimum broadcast standard spec. on a semi-pro upwards camcorder.

If it hasn't been discontinued it needs to be, it needs replacing with a product with better encoding.
 
I should add that sometimes AVCHD is the right codec for the job...one where the limits of the codec won't be touched and smaller file sizes are appreciated. I'd love to see AVCHD as an option in more Panasonic cameras, in addition to AVC-I.
 
Gary Huff said:
Yes... and support AVC-I via micro P2, and you'd definitely be competitive with the C300 in my opinion.
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It doesn't even need to be AVC-I, AVC-Long G to SDXC cards would give it a wider appeal to folks averse to buying into P2, but give you the same result practically speaking.
 
Mike Harvey said:
It doesn't even need to be AVC-I, AVC-Long G to SDXC cards would give it a wider appeal to folks averse to buying into P2, but give you the same result practically speaking.
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Might be true, but there are lots of us who are already invested in P2 that would be happy with that option.
 
...and yet another thread devolves into a laundry list of things we wish were improved on this camera.

Oh well. It works fine for me for now.
 
I for one am counting on a successor. After ordering an FS700, I had second thoughts and decided to commit to my 100 - so I bought a Voigtlander 17.5 and the new Lumix 12-35 instead, as well as an additional EVF (a Cineroid - I have two Z-Finders , but like the Cineroid's red peaking).

The main reasons are the 100's very light weight and the look that I've (finally) locked down - after much experimentation I have mine set up exactly how I need it for the kind of work I do, documentaries, often handholding or, even when on a tripod, moving a lot. The 100 works well on a light tripod (Libec in my case) and with a lens like the Voigtlander or the Lumix it is a delight to handhold. I could never use a DSLR because of lack of audio inputs and NDs. Plus I don't like how most of what I've seen looks at all... Argue if you want, my opinion.

I'm hoping Panasonic sees the need for an updated AF - Even if it's only the sensor and everything else remains the same... I have five P2 cards (for my HPX250), and originally wished for that on the AF, but that would mean more weight - so I say keep it lean and mean and don't throw the baby out with the bathwater... just bring what's there up to state-of-the-art.
 
I think Panasonic has definitely recognized the need for an updated camera, since the product manager has asked people specifically what they would want to see on a successor. I don't expect it this year, obviously, but maybe sometime in 2013?
 
The AF100 has come really close to being everything I need I need in a camera. I bought it shortly after it's release. It has paid for itself 5x over since I bought it. I am 100 certain that any successor to ths camera will have a place in my arsenal. It's an amazing camera.
 
Barry -
Any idea if that product manager is still soliciting such info? And where to go to weigh in? I would like to contribute my 2 cents.
 
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