Panasonic AF101 Footage

Heres hoping!

Im already saving. I got into this business as a second year student a year ago, I wont bore you with the details but I was lucky enough to inherit some money and spent £3000 on a hmc151. Within a year, my hard work has paid off and I have earnt back almost what I paid from finding clients needing video work.

4k for a camera that (appears!) to be perfect for what a mass majority of film makers are crying out for? Its practically nothing. If I can earn this kind of money, I cant even imagine what people with far more experience and skill than I are earning.

Btw - Does this camera come with a stock lens or is the 4500 body only?
 
acoelho1 said:
I think you should watch again because it seems pretty clear where they are targeting this camera. The only big chip cameras out there at this price point are HDDSLR's.

http://vimeo.com/15035188

http://www.youtube.com/v/0ZGtFZoSyhA
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collateral damage IMO. they're targeting the hvx200, ex3 and ex1 market, surely these cams will be far more affected in sales than the hdslrs. hdslrs are cheaper which makes them harder to beat. the only thing that could beat hdslrs would be an hmc40 with m4/3 (or xf100 with aps-c)sensor at $2500 - 3000
 
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dcloud said:
collateral damage IMO. they're targeting the hvx200, ex3 and ex1 market, surely these cams will be far more affected in sales than the hdslrs. hdslrs are cheaper which makes them harder to beat. the only thing that could beat hdslrs would be an hmc40 with m4/3 sensor at $2500 - 3000
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True to a point, but there are a lot of people shooting with HDSLR's while they wait for something better suited to motion shooting to come along. It's not all about budget limitations. The AF-100 is a logical and not too expensive step up.
 
Two points

1. If you add all the accesories needed to make a 5D like a video camera, you are approaching the AF-100 pricing.

2. While I agree with you that the AF-100 will take sales from the cameras you listed, that is not what Pana has been saying from a marketing perspective. Whether or no that is reality is not what I am arguing but we'll see how Canon will respond and I do not expect a quick one though because they are always slow to the party.

Give me a 5D with negligable alaising and moire and a few added video features and that is all I would need at least till Scarlet comes out.
 
stockfuel said:
The difference is you get a 21mpx FF still camera too... not sure too many are bothered by that, but some are.
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Yes but that 21 Megapixel Still sensor is not suited for video, hence all the line-skipping it has to do to get a 30 fps image. Plus you don't need 21 Megapixels for a video camera, imagine the light sensitivity & dynamic range you could get out of a 6 megapixel FF sensor!
 
Barry_Green said:
Not exactly. The Canon DSLRs shoot h.264, and AVCHD is also h.264, but they're not the same. The AVCHD badge is for a specific standard of implementation of h.264 as specified by Sony and Panasonic jointly; the Canons don't use that. They use a limited/stripped-down version of h.264, with a lot of bandwidth thrown at it to overcome the limitations of their encoder.

It gets confusing because the GH1 also bears the "AVCHD" label, but ... what the GH1 has is no better (and, in stock form, is quite a bit worse!) than what the Canons have. But neither of them is anything like what the AF100/HMC40/HMC80/HMC150 offer.
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Thanks for clearing that up, Barry. If you get a chance, could you explain the AVCCAM v. AVCHD thing, as well? I've always understood it that AVCCAM was the name of a line of cameras, not a codec, and that AVCHD was the name of a codec that is used in the AVCCAM line of cameras. So is it right to say "It shoots AVCCAM"? Or is that just kind of a shorter way of saying "It shoots on the codec used by the AVCCAM line, which is AVCHD."?
 
Michael Olsen said:
Thanks for clearing that up, Barry. If you get a chance, could you explain the AVCCAM v. AVCHD thing, as well? I've always understood it that AVCCAM was the name of a line of cameras, not a codec, and that AVCHD was the name of a codec that is used in the AVCCAM line of cameras. So is it right to say "It shoots AVCCAM"? Or is that just kind of a shorter way of saying "It shoots on the codec used by the AVCCAM line, which is AVCHD."?
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Your understanding is mostly correct...

AVCHD is the recording format. AVCCAM is Panasonic's brand name for professional camcorders that record to AVCHD. Like P2HD is their brand name for HD camcorders that record onto P2 cards (whether DVCPRO-HD or AVC-Intra), AVCCAM is the brand name for a line of camcorders that record "professional quality" AVCHD to SD/SDHC/SDXC cards. When a camera has the AVCCAM brand on it, that means it also has PH mode, which is the highest-quality recording mode Panasonic makes in AVCHD, and only cameras from the broadcast division carry the AVCCAM badge. And, AVCCAM cameras have a three-year warranty. AVCCAM cameras are only sold by authorized broadcast dealers; you won't see AVCCAM products for sale at Best Buy or places where the consumer lineup are offered. You can buy a Lumix at Wal-Mart, but if you want an AVCCAM you'll have to go to Spec-Comm or Abel or Birns & Sawyer or CineQuipt or Platts or ... well, you get the idea.

So it's like a brand, like Lexus vs. Toyota or Acura vs. Honda, but it's also a market differentiator that these are aimed at the professional/broadcast user, not at the regular consumer.

The question is - should you say "it shoots AVCCAM"? I don't really know how to answer that, because on the one hand the obvious answer is no, it shoots AVCHD... but on the other hand, the only mode most any of us will ever bother to use is the PH mode, and that's only available on the AVCCAM lineup, so ... whether it's proper terminology or not, it is pretty descriptive, so it might be acceptable. Kind of like we say something is NTSC HD or PAL HD... technically there's no such thing, but in reality we all know what they mean, so does it matter?
 
dcloud said:
collateral damage IMO. they're targeting the hvx200, ex3 and ex1 market, surely these cams will be far more affected in sales than the hdslrs. hdslrs are cheaper which makes them harder to beat. the only thing that could beat hdslrs would be an hmc40 with m4/3 (or xf100 with aps-c)sensor at $2500 - 3000
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Maybe, if they would actually release the AF 100 with an actual video lens, but it's not
a video camera like the ex3 and ex1. Event and ENG type people will probably stay with the
EX type cameras. I am one of these people. I was looking to buy an AF100. After further
research, I am now thinking, that for the majority of the work I do, an Sony EX would be
much better suited (still not 100% sure though, as there IS that 14-140 zoom lens that
could give some of the functionality of a video camera......) However, I wanted the shallow
depth of field for a couple types of shots I do on TV commercials. So I may just buy the
EX and get a Panny GH1 for the couple shots I want the shallow depth of field with, then I
get the best of both worlds. But we'll see......kinda want to wait and see.
 
acoelho1 said:
I think you should watch again because it seems pretty clear where they are targeting this camera. The only big chip cameras out there at this price point are HDDSLR's.

http://vimeo.com/15035188

http://www.youtube.com/v/0ZGtFZoSyhA
Click to expand...

Actually the interviewer kept asking questions that bought out statements that compare it to a DSLR, this camera is not marketed toward the DSLR market. It does feel very weird to be excited about an Audio input when we have had audio inputs for years, or uncompressed audio for that matter. So when you stand at a booth for 5 days talking about the camera and all of the questions you have answered are in relationship to how it differs from the DSLRs, it is natural that an interview held on the last day sounds this way.

However it is marketed toward people that have more money and greater expectations and needs. Someone that only has $2500 to spend on that DSLR is going to probably buy a $2500 DSLR. The person that buys the AF100 is more likely to have more money as they are coming to the camera from the HVX200, EX1, and other cameras at this level.

I trust that helps,

Jan
 
I for one stated almost a year ago here on dvxuser that a DSLR in a HVX200 like body would be great and somehow it seams Panasonic listen to just that and a bunch of other peoples comments. So the truth is this camera addresses alot of wishes and yes it will probably replace the tool for some DSLR shooters as well as 35mm adapter users as well as other users that feels this is a good tool for them.
 
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Panasonic has managed to cover all the bases for me because I have both the AF100 and a GH2 on pre-order. The AF100 will primarily get used in the studio and on location. The GH2 will serve as a B cam, get thrown in my backpack, and be used when stealth is needed. And I love the fact that these cams can share the same lenses. This, to me, is the best of both worlds. 2011 is promising to be a very, very good year.
 
After reading all the posts in this thread I hereby divide the world population into two groups:

1) those who aren't sure if they will buy the AF100, they want to see more samples first.

2) those who've seen enough to make the decision and already pre-ordered the AF100, causing the out-of-stock in the near future.

I belong to group 2 :-)

I have the same strategy as you Tflak. I had two GH2s on pre-order but will cancel one now so will end up with the AF100 and one GH2 to serve as B-cam.
 
I pre-ordered after Barry had a chance to use the prototype. While the concessions both he and I are willing to make are very different in terms of what we can live with missing in a camera, his analysis of the quality of results on cameras I have used personally is in line with my observations. I've followed a lot of his tests, and comparisons, and if he feels a lot of those things are improved, then I think it is worth the risk to me. I did wait till he got to use one, as before that, I had no idea. Of course, I can cancel my order any time up until they ship, and even then, I'd be out $250 so there isn't a huge percentage of risk at the moment.

Really, my only risk is in Berger. If they don't make a mount in time for the release that allows me to control the aperture of my EOS lenses, then I'll have to pick up a few lenses to hold me over. I do have a Nikon 50mm F1.8 and a Bower 85mm F1.4 EOS that both have all manual controls, I could use a passive EOS to m4/3. (I already have a Nikon to EOS adapter). At least I will have something to play with!
 
I'm sure it's been said before, but the AF100 looks to be what the Scarlet should have been. The average shooter doesn't need 3K+ RAW footage. We need HD with no aliasing, as little jello as possible, and lots of inputs and controls.

The biggest adjustment for me is wrapping my mind around the different lens structure. I know Nikon and Canon pretty well, but the micro 4/3 lenses are a new realm for me.
 
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