Thinking about dumping my AF100

B

Brian@202020

Veteran
With NAB so close I'm debating on selling my AF100. I have a feeling it'll be worth less if I wait until after NAB to sell it. I've been looking at the current crop of cameras for a replacement and I'm leaning towards the Nikon D800 so far. The D800 is full frame 35mm that can crop to roughly Super 35mm if needed and has a clean HDMI out. I have no m4/3 lenses and most of my lenses are Nikon so the transition would be painless. Using the D800 with my Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 will give me a good balance between a great image and a great quality codec. I'll probably try to sell just before NAB and rely on my GH2 until I see what is at NAB to be sure. My question is, if you were looking for a new camera and the AF100 didn't exist, what current camera would you get in the sub $7000 range?
 
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I'm in exactly the same place, though I think I'm going to wait to see what happens at NAB. I think the best options (including rumours) are:
1 - 5Dmk3 - 91mbps intra frame means no offboard recorder, but you'll need an adaptor for Nikon glass and that full frame isn't easy to work with imo.
2 - D800 - saw it at BVE and kind of liked it, but didn't fall in love. The FX/DX modes are nice but not as well executed as you'd think. Plus it's still a DSLR so fiddly menus and no intuitive controls, which is why most of us bought the AF100 in the first place :)
3 - Panny S35 cam??? just a whisper of a rumour, but one imagines they have to announce something at NAB, especially as they weren't even showing the AF100 at BVE. I can't imagine it'll be available until the end of the year though.
4 - Canon Cinema EOS - rumoured to be announced on April 15th. Could be everything we hoped the 5Diii would be but wasn't?
5 - C300. Awesome camera, I've used it and love it.

Too much to choose from!
 
I guess it all depends on how you want to use it. I could see trading in an AF100 for an F3 or C300, certainly, but -- in the under-$7k price point, there's nothing out there that competes with it. Of course, I wouldn't use a DSLR to shoot video, so I don't consider DSLRs as proper competition, but if you do, then there are definitely some new offerings.

As for the AF100 though -- if you find yourself not using it, then definitely sell it; in this economy it's tough to justify keeping gear that just sits on a shelf. But if you use it, and it does what you need -- there's nothing out there anything like it for the price, and who cares if the resale value goes down, as long as it keeps making you money?
 
TomLenham said:
I'm in exactly the same place, though I think I'm going to wait to see what happens at NAB. I think the best options (including rumours) are:
1 - 5Dmk3 - 91mbps intra frame means no offboard recorder, but you'll need an adaptor for Nikon glass and that full frame isn't easy to work with imo.
2 - D800 - saw it at BVE and kind of liked it, but didn't fall in love. The FX/DX modes are nice but not as well executed as you'd think. Plus it's still a DSLR so fiddly menus and no intuitive controls, which is why most of us bought the AF100 in the first place :)
3 - Panny S35 cam??? just a whisper of a rumour, but one imagines they have to announce something at NAB, especially as they weren't even showing the AF100 at BVE. I can't imagine it'll be available until the end of the year though.
4 - Canon Cinema EOS - rumoured to be announced on April 15th. Could be everything we hoped the 5Diii would be but wasn't?
5 - C300. Awesome camera, I've used it and love it.

Too much to choose from!
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Thanks for the response.

1. 5Dmk3 - Not interested in another 420 codec with no external recording option even if it is 91mbps I-Frame.
2. D800 - Even with the limitations it seems to be the best current option for me.
3. Panny S35 camera - This is the big rumor I'm waiting for at NAB. I hope it's true and falls in my price range.
4. Canon Cinema EOS - I'm unfamiliar with this rumor, do you have links?
5. C300 - I've used it and was unimpressed. It's out of my price range, but if I was going to spend my money on a camera in that price range it better either record a good I-Frame codec or at least have a 10bit SDI signal, which the C300 does neither. Scarlet or F3 is a better option in that price range.
 
Barry_Green said:
I guess it all depends on how you want to use it. I could see trading in an AF100 for an F3 or C300, certainly, but -- in the under-$7k price point, there's nothing out there that competes with it. Of course, I wouldn't use a DSLR to shoot video, so I don't consider DSLRs as proper competition, but if you do, then there are definitely some new offerings.

As for the AF100 though -- if you find yourself not using it, then definitely sell it; in this economy it's tough to justify keeping gear that just sits on a shelf. But if you use it, and it does what you need -- there's nothing out there anything like it for the price, and who cares if the resale value goes down, as long as it keeps making you money?
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Thanks Barry for your response. Im still shooting some things with my AF100, but since December I've been renting more than using my AF100. For me it looks like within the next few months it'll be time for a change. I'm not a huge fan of DSLR's, but the look of full frame is undeniably cool and versatile. With a clean uncompressed full frame output for the first time in the Nikon D4 and the D800 we'll see a lot more of it, and it could become the new norm.
 
Fair point - the FS100 is a great camera, but I think it's too similar to the AF100 to justify changing it.
 
ghosteater said:
Why isn't the FS100 mentioned here??
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I've used both, and my opinion is the AF100 is better because of form factor, SDI, and a ND wheel. If I was going to sell the AF100 and give things up, it's going either be for a full frame and/or to have a better internal codec. The D800 is one of those.
 
The D800? can't be sure as I didn't ask the rep, but I think I remember reading somewhere that it's only limited to 29'59" in the EU. It spans files over 4 gig. no idea about overheating I'm afraid.
 
I've owned both the Af100 and Fs100 and I fell in love with the image right away, it just looks better to me, BUT! I REALLY missed the ND, waveform, and SDI.
You need to pick whats most important to you.
 
I couldn't shoot full time with a DSLR. Just can't see going backwards. Is the new breed really that good? or is it just "new". As Berry saaid I would trade up for an F3 or C300 but not for a DSLR.
 
Why dont you buy what you have been renting (or something similar)?

Obviously thats what your demand and requirement is so why taked a punt on the newcomers again.

Just wondering.

If it is about a new toy...well then I totally understand. (Go for it)
 
I have to be honest, when I first saw the footage from the af100, I didn't really care for it all that much. I did love the form factor, and exterior switches. Fast foreward a year or so, I'm now seeing beautiful stuff from that cam, some feature films, and shorts. Not to mention Erik Naso's news reels, which look damn good. People have figured out how to set it up to get the most out of it, and the most is really nice I might add.

Like barry said, It's a proper camera, I understand your wanting a better color space, but if you spend the time lighting properly, 4;2;0, can look like 4;2;2. It's up to you, to use it to it's strengths. A dslr is good if you need a tiny cam, but by the time you set it up to shoot, it's the same size or bigger than the af100. Either way, only you know what you will be happy with.
 
Shooter said:
Why dont you buy what you have been renting (or something similar)?

Obviously thats what your demand and requirement is so why taked a punt on the newcomers again.

Just wondering.

If it is about a new toy...well then I totally understand. (Go for it)
Click to expand...

What I've been renting is 5D's, F3's, the occasional HPX170, and the HPX250 a couple times. A D800 with my Hyperdeck Shuttle 2 would do the 5D and most of the F3 jobs.
 
Brian@202020 said:
...if I was going to spend my money on a camera in that price range it better either record a good I-Frame codec or at least have a 10bit SDI signal, which the C300 does neither. Scarlet or F3 is a better option in that price range.
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I haven't put the C300 through it's paces, but hope to make time soon. While I respect your opinion, especially as an Indie, I'm much more interested in the C300 then either the Scarlet, or F3.

Hollywood is interested too. I recently saw the camera dept from 'Luck' testing the C300 at Clairmont Camera, & understand they've already purchased an EOS-mount, but are more interested in the upcoming PL version.

As Jon Fauer, ASC, recently wrote, "This camera (C300) is lighter, smaller, faster and different. Around 3 pounds, the size of a medium format camera, the really big deal is the incredible beauty of scenes shot at Exposure Indexes from 320 to 20,000 ISO. This camera lets you focus on the night. While some blogerati are focusing on bits and Ks, the simple question is, “Do you want to shoot noiselessly and grain-free at 16,000 ISO?” Studio heads are taking notice of the C300 because, as one mogul told me, “The dreaded words NIGHT-EXTERIOR no longer mean more expense than DAY-EXTERIOR.”
 
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Erik Naso said:
I couldn't shoot full time with a DSLR. Just can't see going backwards. Is the new breed really that good? or is it just "new". As Berry saaid I would trade up for an F3 or C300 but not for a DSLR.
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I will trade to a camera that will give me work. I was never a huge fan of the DSLRs, but the new bread is good enough to make me reconsider. The Nikon D4 and D800 are both Full Frame with the ability to crop to roughly Super 35, have manual 48 16 audio, and have a clean uncompressed HDMI out. I already have a Hyperdeck Shuttle 2, so the only negative I can see trading to the D800 is the lack of an ND wheel. I will have DoF and FoV options that the AF100 doesn't have, it'll be smaller, cheaper, and more than likely have more latitude. The codec (Hypeddeck DNxHD) will be the same and the audio will comparable with a Juicelink box.
 
Yeah I hear you there. My world consists of 75% commercial and corporate and 25% narrative work. MN isn't LA unfortunately. I would like to see something that blows me away from the C300. I'm sure it'll happen once people figure it out.
 
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