Red Scarlet-X & The AF100

[Andrew J. Allsbury]

So we received our Red Scarlet-X awhile back and have been shooting (with both cameras) like crazy ever since. I must say after extensive testing...I still REALLY love my AF100. No, its not really in the same league as the Scarlet, but it also isn't priced like the Scarlet (or anywhere even close). The AF100 is a solid B cam in most situations and an awesome A cam in others (long recording, small crew, etc.). No doubt the AF100 will remain in our tool box indefinitely.

PS, the AF100 does NOT need to be hacked...you want a higher bitrate, buy a Hyperdeck.

 

[Oliver Rush]

I am actually on a shoot right now where we are using my AF100/Samurai as a B-Camera to the Scarlet... Yes, the scarlet has a much better image, but the AF100 holds its own and still makes a very pretty picture, and everyone has been loving having the AF100 on set, especially due to its speed to set up vs. the scarlet. The Scarlet is kinda still at the pain in the ass stage, connectors are a pain to get to when it is mounted, getting through the menues with out the touch screen is a pain, and using the RED bricks kinda kills the advantage of the small size (and we are still constantly changing batteries). When time runs tight, more and more shots get done with the AF100, and everything is less of a headache. I love the image out of the scarlet, but I still choose the AF100 for most of my work as it makes things easier and faster for everyone involved. Sure, for the really high end stuff, I still go RED, but most of my work does not require it, and all my clients are happy with the AF100/samurai.

 

[tobyheslop]

Where can I get a set of Nikon lenses like that?

 

[Shooter]

Agree with both of you and your opinions.

I have mixed AF102 footage with Alexa, Red and 35/16mm footage seamlessly.

I have a concern that those wishing to hack an AF100 are looking for a "magic bullet" to compensate some other aspect of their cinematographic technique and skills.

(Its not the tool...its the man behind the tool)

 

[jmarkham]

No offense, but sounds to me like a Scarlet operator that hasn't come up to speed on the camera.
They absolutely burn through batteries like eggs for breakfast. If you can plug-in with an AC adapter,
do it .. you'll blow through a brick in 20 minutes.

That said, I do agree that the AF100 makes an excellent B-cam for a Scarlet or Epic .. depending
on the final target you're shooting for .. given an external SDI recorder.

If Panasonic upgraded the ADC to get 1500 or more LOR, the AF100 (or its successor) would
be even more desirable as a "B" cam.

jeff

 

[Oliver Rush]

Where can I get a set of Nikon lenses like that?

By spending a couple months on craigslist and snatching them up when the good cheap ones come around... :beer:

I have a concern that those wishing to hack an AF100 are looking for a "magic bullet" to compensate some other aspect of their cinematographic technique and skills.

(Its not the tool...its the man behind the tool)

Exactly. My AF100+SDI recorder is perfectly fine for 99% of work that I need to use my own camera for. The only thing I have ever shot on RED that actually required a RED camera for the shot was the exploding bulb in my sig (needed 120fps and RAW for that). If people arn't able to get good images out of the AF100, grabbing a RED camera is not going to solve anything, and any of the supposed shortcomings of the AF100 that people ***** about can be easily worked around.


On a side note; On the next AF100 that people keep talking about, I am perfectly fine with it staying as AVCHD (or whatever) on a SD card + HD-SDI out. After shooting on SSDs on my samurai, I never want to go back to P2 cards or propriety media of any kind, and while I like having a backup recording in the camera, I am fine with it being on SD cards. For the small bit of footage I may need to overcrank for, the SD cards are fine, and I would rather save the money on the camera body by them not having to add that capability, especially now that alot of people own SDI recorders.
All I want is less noise, more dynamic range, and 10-bit HD-SDI. That is pretty much it.

 

[Erik Naso]

Agree with both of you and your opinions.

I have mixed AF102 footage with Alexa, Red and 35/16mm footage seamlessly.

I have a concern that those wishing to hack an AF100 are looking for a "magic bullet" to compensate some other aspect of their cinematographic technique and skills.

(Its not the tool...its the man behind the tool)

+1.

Cameras are just tools. We are the artists.

 

[Ed Ng]

I love my AF100 with Nano and Red MX but I have not been able to really mix footage yet because I still have not made the change to PL mount for the AF. The AF100 for set up is the best and shooting with my Canon lenses are very nice but the MX does have an edge in my opinion. I am not a fanatic of either camera, they both serve different purposes for me but it would be interesting to see footage of the AF100 vs the MX with the same glass.

If I have time, I will test my MX with the Birger mount to Canon and the AF100/Nanoflash to Canon.

 

[negativespace]

Funny, I was just thinking about this today...I got my Scarlet early January and spent the last two months shooting on it. I love the image it captures. But when it came time to sell the AF100, I couldn't let it go. For half of the gigs I get, the AF100 is a better tool. I'm out of town on a job now, with the AF100, and we were watching dailies last night, really loving the AF images. We have 2 EX3s here as well, but I brought the AF100 for some more cinematic looks (without the Scarlet setup and post) and everybody loves what it's doing. The setup is so fast and easy, and you can shoot for days on the cards.

And the post prod on the Scarlet is a pain in my ass. I shoot to a Ki Pro, but I can't get the prores footage to line up with the corresponding RAW files in DaVinci and I don't have time to dive into another program...and I don't have the time to dive into new software. I feel like the Scarlet is a tool that I am growing into and growing with. The AF is a tool that I own.