ZazaCast
Major Contributor
Mine just arrived in KY2 States away now...
If you leave now, you can be there next year! :2vrolijk_08:
Mine's due on Tuesday. I'll have to take the rest of the week off.
The official "I got my AF100" thread
- Thread starter Barry_Green
- Start date
If you leave now, you can be there next year! :2vrolijk_08:
Mine's due on Tuesday. I'll have to take the rest of the week off.
Rick Burnett
Section Moderator
Haha....don't think it hasn't crossed my mind! I'll be working from home on Monday
I'll be working from home on Monday Paul Vicente
Well-known member
Given the high cost of the Hotrod adapter, you shouldn'td need to shim.... Are all PL adapters a little off like that? Shouldn't correct focus (due to an accurate FFL) be a guaranteed thing?
Shipsides
DVXUser Sponsor
Thanks to Abel LA! The only disappointment for me is that I don't yet have accurate focus marks as I need to purchase shims to calibrate my Hot Rod mount (my current flange distance is focusing 4.5' at 6'). Does anyone have any leads for PL shims?
Nice picture! Happy New Years!
Andy
Jan_Crittenden
Veteran
Thanks to Abel LA! The only disappointment for me is that I don't yet have accurate focus marks as I need to purchase shims to calibrate my Hot Rod mount (my current flange distance is focusing 4.5' at 6'). Does anyone have any leads for PL shims?
Why didn't you have Abel shim it before they shipped it?
I know it is a dumb question, but I had to ask.
Best,
Jan
dcarstens
Well-known member
I picked it up in person and checked it out with Abel's tech, but the Hot Rod kit does not come with any shims. This is not an issue with the lenses; I contacted Hot Rod camera to inquire about shims and was told that shims are to be purchased separately from the Tuner Kit. Hot Rod will sell a set of shims in the near future, but not yet. I'm personally unsure whether PL shims are all equal or if the Hot Rod mount takes a proprietary type.
Jay A. Kelley
Well-known member
Well I spent the week BEGGING the person I bought my AF100 from for shipping info.. He in turn was all over his Panasonic Rep. After a FULL DAY of requesting information, he get's an email from him wishing everyone a Happy New Year. No shipping info, no information of any kind. He just ignored my seller's requests and basically walked off.
I'm avoiding names for now. But not for long. I am not a happy customer. It would seem not everyone at Panasonic is as professional as Jan...
Jay
I'm avoiding names for now. But not for long. I am not a happy customer. It would seem not everyone at Panasonic is as professional as Jan...
Jay
As my first post I would like to say I picked up my AF100 earlier today at Abel Cine Tech NY. Christy at Abel was very informative over the week with the status of my order. I gotta say I really love Abel's customer service! I missed Christy's call informing me that it had arrived, yet she followed through with an email which I eventually caught. I gotta say thanks to both her, Andy and the rest of the Abel crew for staying open on New Years Eve so customers like myself can get their cameras in their hands!
Notice in the attached pic, the battery on the left is an additional battery I picked up, which is slight bigger than the one I came with the camera. I can't wait to get Barry's Book, his HVX book back in the day really helped wrap my head around the camera!
Notice in the attached pic, the battery on the left is an additional battery I picked up, which is slight bigger than the one I came with the camera. I can't wait to get Barry's Book, his HVX book back in the day really helped wrap my head around the camera!
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On the extra battery could you tell us the following:
Model of the larger battery you bought
mAh rating on the batter
Where you bought it from
We're trying to figure what the deal is with the batteries in this thread. Thanks.
Illya Friedman
Well-known member
Andy is exactly correct. The purpose of making our own shims is just to make the process easier and faster for technicians. There are hundred of these same PL mounts out working around the world on GH1/GH2 cameras and on a couple dozen AF100, they are shimmed to the correct distance and we have never offered a shim kit before as a kit is not necessary to shim the mount, I'll go through this here so no one should be confused by this.
Any PL mount should be shimmed by a qualified technician, better rental houses keep at least one person who can do this on staff. They may charge you a fee, but there is no trickery to it. What is required is access to proper test equipment so you know how much needs to be added or taken away, a good concept of proper torque to be applied to the flange bolts is also helpful.
Panasonic does a very good job with the sensor placement of the AF100 (better than most) but still we are talking about +/- 5 micron for accuracy, we shim and confirm on a test m4/3 camera in the shop that we found to be right in the middle of the range of sensor positions, so when you receive a Hot Rod PL you should already very close to perfect, but a mount must be shimmed to the camera you are using in order to be dead nuts on; just like on any Arri, Panavision, Aaton 35mm PL/PV mount cameras. You do not need special Hot Rod shims or even Arri shims, plastic shim material is sold in assorted thickness and are not terribly expensive.
Every place I know that rents film cameras (and many better digital only houses) keep a book of this inexpensive shim material near the optical bench because it's incredibly handy and lasts forever (the quantities used are generally quite small). Test equipment (a few kinds will work) shim stock, sharp scissors, hex driver, foam swab a little grease is all that's required for accurate shimming.
The shims that we are producing are proprietary to the Hot Rod PL mount, these kits are being produced purely as a convenience to the people who shim the mounts, since this is not usually the same person who is operating the camera I'm not sure how many of these we'll sell. We are going to price them essentially at cost, and expect delivery before the end of January, but this should not stop anyone from getting their mount shimmed immediately.
While I don't expect any qualified optical technician to be confused by this, if for some reason, you the Hot Rod customer, find someone who is not familiar with this process, they are welcome to contact me directly and I will explain it step by step. I can generally be reached at the phone number on the Hotrodcameras.com website during normal business hours (and a few abnormal hours as well).
Happy New Year!
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OK after 2 days of having the af100 here are the things that i dont like about it... pretty miinor stuff
-the power switch. i wish it was somewhere else familiar. Really not used to it on the left side
-I miss the scene dial. I wish there was a quick menu or something for this.
-delayed iris response when i turn the iris dial with the 20mm 1.7 e.g. ive stopped turning the dial its still going.
- i tend to press the user 3 button instead of the record button.
-the power switch. i wish it was somewhere else familiar. Really not used to it on the left side
-I miss the scene dial. I wish there was a quick menu or something for this.
-delayed iris response when i turn the iris dial with the 20mm 1.7 e.g. ive stopped turning the dial its still going.
- i tend to press the user 3 button instead of the record button.
Taylor Rudd
Veteran
Got mine from B&H today. I missed the delivery yesterday, but was lucky enough to grab it today before everything closed down.
Now I just need my spare batteries to arrive from Adorama and we're set!
Now I just need my spare batteries to arrive from Adorama and we're set!
Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
It's just generic ones found on ebay. I've used steprings to get a 77mm front thread for all of my lenses so the only hood I need is a 77mm one. But you can get them in any size on ebay if you like.
Put a strip of gaffer tape next to the record button, not on the side of the user 3 button. This way your finger will know what button you are at.