No AF200 under glass

hscully

hscully

Veteran
I was really hoping that Panasonic made some noise, some announcement about a successor. Anybody hear anything? There's nothing right? My business can't afford a Varicam and the GH4, for all it's innovation, is not the camera for me. It's been over 3 years - about that right? I guess it's a tough business right now for Panasonic. It really has been the AF100 that got me going in this business. Even if it were a year off, I probably would have waited to upgrade because I like the AF100 so much. Oh well...
 
The way I see it Panasonic has ditched the AF-series in favour of the GH-line and Varicam 35. I think everyone expects a S35 sensor for pro work and the GH/Varicam difference looks logical. But they could make a more affordable Varicam in the future.
 
mcbob said:
GH4 head and PX270 tail... that's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted.
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Ditto. I'm going to have to end up getting a GH4 not long after release for some travel projects, but I want a proper m4/3 video camera. The fact the GH4 brick is going to require external power kills me.

I honestly don't understand why after years of us asking for it, and now having all the pieces (better sensors, micro-P2, AVC-LongG), they can't make it happen.
 
mcbob said:
GH4 head and PX270 tail... that's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted.
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Odd that companies are making cameras in every shape but the right one.

Blackmagic making either an SLR or huge goofy cameras but not the one thing in between.

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The AF100 was the right shape but three times the right size.

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The FS700, what is that?

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At long last JVC showed a mock-up of just the right size and shape --- but its sensor is just 10.5 stops, even with rolling shutter.

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One step forward, two steps back, it seems.
 
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The BlackMagic Ursa is 17 pounds. Without a lens.I asked them again yesterday -- why not chop off the px270's lens and shove the gh4's sensor and lens mou t on the front????? They still don't seem to get why customers would want that. Very frustrating.
 
Barry_Green said:
I asked them again yesterday -- why not chop off the px270's lens and shove the gh4's sensor and lens mou t on the front????? They still don't seem to get why customers would want that. Very frustrating.
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That'd do it. I figured we would hear something. I am glad you're advocating for it, Barry. I guess it ain't something that's going to happen this year. I'm shooting every week with the AF100 and finding useful features like this week in high sunlight try B.Press with the Knee on Low. Amazing, best highlight handling yet for me. Interval Rec... it's just has the best set of tools. It's like finding the car you like the best, or running shoe that fits you perfectly and they just stop making them. Weird. Just the vagaries of the marketplace, I reckon.
 
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Barry_Green said:
The BlackMagic Ursa is 17 pounds. Without a lens.I asked them again yesterday -- why not chop off the px270's lens and shove the gh4's sensor and lens mou t on the front????? They still don't seem to get why customers would want that. Very frustrating.
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You said it there...
I said 2 weeks ago that if Panasonic didn't do something along those lines, it's either a C100 or AF100a for me.
Guess that's what it is then. The image from my D5200 is good, but it's just not fun to work with for a lot of situations. This NAB has been very disappointing on a personal level for that 1 go to camera. (although there are some cool announcements)

Sony A7s - I already have a stills body that shoots video, not going there again. Nice image, but no dice.
GH4 - Same as above.
Black Magic Ursa - No thanks, it's the 4K production camera's internals with 14 extra pounds and a few thousand more dollars! lol
No new Canon large sensor video centered bodies
No new Panasonic large sensor video centered bodies except for the one that is about $50,000 over my budget
No new Sony large sensor video centered bodies

C100 or AF100a + Ninja Star here I come.
 
Barry_Green said:
The BlackMagic Ursa is 17 pounds. Without a lens.I asked them again yesterday -- why not chop off the px270's lens and shove the gh4's sensor and lens mou t on the front????? They still don't seem to get why customers would want that. Very frustrating.
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And that camera wouldn't compete with anything else in their product line. Wouldn't come close to undercutting the Varicams, and too many advantages (proper inputs, more bells and whistles, 10bit 4:2:2) for the GH4 to be much competition to it the way the GH2 was to the AF100, it would outperform the C100/FS100/FS700 by most standards (except for the folks of the S35 or nothing mentality), and it would be another avenue to sell P2, microP2, and potentially expressP2 cards.

Frustrating indeed. Has anyone asked the Panny reps at NAB about an AF200 type camera? I remember last year their reps were reportedly getting frustrated by all the questions about it. Maybe badgering them again would help them get the hint.
 
I don't think Panasonic pro division wants to go any further than what they did with the AF100/A due to the micro4/3 sensor when everyone else is doing S35. That is not to say that a GH4 put inside a HPX-style body wouldn't be a huge seller, it would.

The thing with Panasonic and Sony is they both have the technology and know how to built exactly what most of us would want but their plans goes in another direction and we keep seeing odd cameras with this and that missing.
 
Mike Harvey said:
And that camera wouldn't compete with anything else in their product line. and it would be another avenue to sell P2, microP2, and potentially expressP2 cards.
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Two best reasons for an AF200 right there. There's a chasm between the GH4 and Varicam that they could put 3 models in. Canon does. I'm especially surprised because of the microP2 possibilities.
 
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