Potential new af102 owner needs advice in New Zealand

R

Rod Pike

Well-known member
Hi all,
I am currently thinking about an upgrade to the af 102 (as it is known here in NZ). I have contacted Panasonic on the following but had no reply so I thought I would ask for some help here.


I have a series of budget lenses from my Olympus E410 43 still camera. These are all ED series and all zooms: 9-18mm f4-5.6: 14-42mm f3.5-5.6: 40-150mm f4-5.6 and lastly 70-300mm f4-5.6. These lenses all received good reviews and return pretty hot images. My questions are:

1. I assume they will fit with a micro 43 adaptor but are they suitable for video work?

2. What functions will/ won't work?

3. I am also a bit concerned about the few issues that revolve around colour balance with this camera (although I hope these issues are now resolved.)

I have seen here the Panasonic lens compatibility matrix which seems to contradict the Olympus compatibilty matrix, although they could be using different references for suitability I guess. My work is strictly commercial and I am shooting on Sony avchd currently, but coming from a long photographic background of medium format as well as 35mm I love the idea of DOF control, although I realise the f4 max aperture of 3 of my lenses will limit this opportunity. Ho hum, so much confusion I am going round in circles !(sorry about that, couldn't resist!) Any and all feedback on these specific issues based on your experiences will be warmly welcomed. Cheers- Rod
 
3. I am also a bit concerned about the few issues that revolve around colour balance with this camera (although I hope these issues are now resolved.)
Click to expand...

What would these be?
 
Hi Shooter,
Thanks for the instant reply, "My AF-101 needs already to be serviced
1.gif
" was the thread I was referring to, although I see that there was a mention of an update to fix the issue.
ANy thoughts or experience on whether my lenses would be OK? Cheers, Rod
 
I dont recall that as a color balance issue... but whatever..it was not one I experienced.

Those lenses...all sound like kit lenses, variable apertures and none have manual aperture settings..which I regard as essential in film work.

Seeing as you own them already...try them and see if they suit your work and the way you work. ( Which they may do)

At best they will be "vari-primes".
 
The thing about the AF100 is that it's a very versatile camera. You can adapt almost any lens to it. It has all the goodies like ND, waveform, XLr, SDI out. It gives a nice image. I happen to like the 4/3rd format at its to me a compromise of working between 2/3 and s35, meaning you can get shallow DOF and deep DOF very easily. ANd for what it has, you can't beat the price, bottom line. Is it the perfect cam. No. But what is and at what price? I'm a happy AF100 owner and if I need more I rent it.
 
Dustylense:Yes, a great price for sure and a lot of camera for the money.
Shooter, you are correct, they have no manual aperture settings on the lenses, apertures are controlled by manual control on the camera body through the electrical connections and a"manual"switch. I was wondering whether the aperture could be manually controlled this way by the af102 controls, as it can be on the E410 still SLR. But it is soundiing like at least one decent lens purchase might be needed if this is not the case. All knowledge welcome as this may determine my final decision. Cheers, Rod
 
I'm looking to sell my AF102 if anyones looking for one. With Canon FD lenses - 50mm f1.4, 35mm f2.8, 85mm f1.8 & 135mm f2.5. Also Lumix 7-14mm & 45-200mm. Great kit and has served me well on many music videos and corporate work.
 
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