My day with the AF100...

Ticheli

Ticheli

Well-known member
I spent a very pleasant day with Barry Green, the AF100, a very talented crew, and three beautiful women.

We shot daylight, tungsten, candlelight, and green screen with Panasonic, Nikon, and Zeiss cine lenses; the footage will be posted after we edit tomorrow.

Here are my observations:

My first shot was of my "pretty girl" chart, and I was stunned; right out of the box with all variables at default, the image was really, really good; as good as I've seen (except for our Red) in terms of fidelity and general image quality. We ran through the settings, making some small adjustments and proceeded with our tests. I have to say that the setup was easy and straightforward.

The resolution chart was sharp and clean with no visible moire.

Moving on to the models, we observed none of the dreadfully explosive transitions into clip that we saw with some previously released footage. Everything looked beautifully organic, definitely "filmic."

Camera operation was very intuitive, controls falling easily to hand, and battery life surprising; we shot all day on a single battery.

Where does this camera fit, how does it stack up?

It's not a Red; certainly not as clean, or sharp, or as suitable for effects work, but it's a remarkable camera in a small, lightweight package, fully-equipped, and at a very aggressive price.

My bottom line? I'm glad I bought this camera; my VariCam is for sale.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 

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How about just one shot preview, please, pretty please, we promise to be good, please just one nice short shot.
 
Thanks Leo!

Can't wait to see the footage!

Is this really a replacement for the Varicam for you? That good?
 
I'd love to, Yak, but the footage is loaded in the SAN and Joe Walker will edit tomorrow. I can give you a hint of what you can expect to see...

I think you'll like it.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 

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Steve Kahn said:
Thanks Leo!

Can't wait to see the footage!

Is this really a replacement for the Varicam for you? That good?
Click to expand...

Yes, for me, but remember I don't shoot the kinds of jobs where the 2/3" sensor and wider DOF is an advantage. I do shoot aerials, but will just rent a VariCam when I need it.

The VariCam makes really beautiful images, but the AF100 is better suited to my jobs.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
leo, we all know that red one will be better but the real question on everone's minds is HOW much better? Is Red on a whole new level and worth the 20k$ extra in cash or does the AF100 stand up reasonably well in some circumstances? Or is it just no comparison whatsoever...2 completely different classes of camera?
 
Ticheli said:
I'd love to, Yak, but the footage is loaded in the SAN and Joe Walker will edit tomorrow. I can give you a hint of what you can expect to see...

I think you'll like it.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
Click to expand...

Thanks I can not wait to see it. I am in the editing suit all day tomorrow so it will be nice to have some thing different to look at tomorrow night.
 
I was there, we shot some "sweet" stuff. I'll be editing it all tomorrow. I'm pretty sure you'll all enjoy the pictures ;)
 
Homunculus said:
leo, we all know that red one will be better but the real question on everone's minds is HOW much better? Is Red on a whole new level and worth the 20k$ extra in cash or does the AF100 stand up reasonably well in some circumstances? Or is it just no comparison whatsoever...2 completely different classes of camera?
Click to expand...

I'm afraid no one can answer that question for you; it depends entirely on the nature of the job and the client's budget. I can tell you this, it's not so easy to tell the difference simply by looking at the monitor; yes, it can be done, if you look closely. You can push in on a Red shot a considerable amount and it still looks good; not so with the AF100; the compression becomes immediately apparent.

Probably best to think of it as a continuum; as the budget and the need for absolute quality increase, the more one would select Red.

I will say this: This is camera is the real deal. Although it probably will not do so, it should kill the DSLR craze. Everything about it is vastly superior to the DSLR cameras. Frankly, I don't see how anyone can put up with the terrible limitations imposed by DSLRs.

I hope this helps.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
Ticheli said:
I spent a very pleasant day with Barry Green, the AF100, a very talented crew, and three beautiful women.
Click to expand...

You couldn't dump Barry and the crew? (Just kidding, Barry. You can stay, the crew has to leave...:happy:. Well, Joe, you can stay, too...).

I'm curious what the "pretty girl chart" is??? ("excuse me dear, but you're showing a bit of moire in your lace"?)

Sounds like a thorough test, can't wait to see the fruits of all you guys labor!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
I want to give a hand to my gang; Mitchell Sargent, Gaffer and master of light, Joe Walker, Editor & Special Effects, Darin Semchuk, Grip & Electric, Joe Renna, Chief Engineer, Teresa Foshee, Makeup, Mara, Julie, & Lisa, Models, my Producer, Paula Ross, and, of course, Barry Green for making it all possible.

Did I fail to mention Belly Dancing? I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy seeing the fabulous Julie Watters...

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 

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I am not expecting it to compete with the RED but I am curios to see how the AF100 compares to the F3.
 
groveChuck;2172398 I'm curious what the "pretty girl chart" is??? ("excuse me dear said:
It's an old BBC chart, faded, and certainly frowned upon by engineers because it's so out of date, but I happen to love it. There are modern versions, of course, and they're great for judging skin tones, contrast, and other picture attributes.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
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