What I learned from the AF100

EndCredits

EndCredits

Well-known member
I started a wee film making blog, focusing on the positive can do attitudes and the like.
I made a post about the wee AF100 and what I had learned while using it.
Anyway thought it might be of interest to some of you. I don't profess to be an expert, just my experience.

Ive used examples from some DVXuser regulars like Eric Naso and Joe Ensley as they have been quite inspiring with their attitudes and skill.

If you have any feed back, I'm keen to hear it.
Anyway take a look, let me know what you think : http://www.anycamerawilldo.com/best-camera-for-you/

And if you get a chance take a look around the rest of the site: http://www.anycamerawilldo.com/
It'll be growing it as I go along adding bits and pieces to it :)
 
I think your blog looks/reads great. AF100 is a great little camera when used with common sense and a knowledge of its limitations.
 
Thanks Spotts. Yeah the AF100 is still a great little camera. I recently picked up a BMC which is very nice but the main thing it has made me aware of is how good the little AF100 is. The BMC has a nicer image but the AF100 is a nicer camera in every other way.
 
EndCredits said:
Thanks Spotts. Yeah the AF100 is still a great little camera. I recently picked up a BMC which is very nice but the main thing it has made me aware of is how good the little AF100 is. The BMC has a nicer image but the AF100 is a nicer camera in every other way.
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Amen, I just started shooting with the BMCC as well. As much as I have come to love working with 2.5k raw files in post, nothing makes me miss having a proper video camera faster than the Blackmagic cameras. Panasonic has really spoiled me with features over the years! :-)

Shawn
 
Fantastic blog post. I agree with everything you posted there. I especially agree with your solutions to highlight handling. The key thing you point out is controlling the light. You have a contrast ratio that is greater than what is going to give you a good shot with good exposure, there are so many tools to use. As you say, bounce light and use a butterfly scrim. I did a short where I ND'd the windows and balanced with daylight inside, likewise CTO'd the windows on another with tungsten inside. Like you, I have found that it has made me a much better shooter. I'm not one to shoot with available light anyway. I think a lot of people who complained about the highlight handling come from that group, event guys and such.

But if you're doing narrative you can make the AF100 rock. I really liked your introdution. That said it all for me... great post.

I haven't gotten another camera other than the AF100 yet. Same thing, I don't would not want to change cameras every time a new one comes out, even if I could afford it ;)
I've been thinking about the BMCC. Have you noticed any problem with artifacts since it does not have an OLPF? That's one of the things that makes the AF100 softer but I try to shoot with my GH2 and I can't handle the aliasing.

Also, sounds like you're liking the metabones adapter. I'm thinking of getting one.
 
Very nice read!

It reminded me of someone.

I know some hate him and some love him, but Ken Rockwell takes the similar "the camera doesn't matter" approach and in most ways I agree. A better camera can make achieving the task "easier" in some cases but who is behind the camera is vastly more important.
 
New post on my wee site :)

I spoke to my friend Johan Earl yesterday about his feature film Forbidden Ground that he has recently sold around the world. Shot the interview on the venerable little AF100.

The film was shot on a pair of sony F3's going out to out bound recorders most of the time. They completed the trailer and off the back of that the sold the distribution. Lionsgate are distributing it in North America in November.

Take a look:
http://www.anycamerawilldo.com/forbidden-ground/
 
EndCredits said:
New post on my wee site :)

I spoke to my friend Johan Earl yesterday about his feature film Forbidden Ground that he has recently sold around the world. Shot the interview on the venerable little AF100.

The film was shot on a pair of sony F3's going out to out bound recorders most of the time. They completed the trailer and off the back of that the sold the distribution. Lionsgate are distributing it in North America in November.

Take a look:
http://www.anycamerawilldo.com/forbidden-ground/
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It's a very "wee" website: I get Server Error 500 when I try to visit.

I really do want to see the article, but as I have only the title from which to extrapolate, plus the comments above, I'm going to guess that it says something like this: if you want to shoot compelling creative content, get a camera like the SONY F3 that provides sharp and pleasing images. If you want to choose a camera that's best for talking about how much better other cameras are, the AF100 is the ticket. It won't steal the show.

I really, really wish I loved the two that I have more. But again and again they let me down. I also have the BMCC m43, and its imaging quality is so much better than the AF100 I want to cry. But everything else about the BMCC is so horrible that that makes me want to cry, too. So there you have it: great ergonomics that let you down everything you look at the image, vs. unbelievably great images from a camera platform that doesn't work with most of my best lenses. Argh!
 
hscully said:
Fantastic blog post. I agree with everything you posted there. I especially agree with your solutions to highlight handling. The key thing you point out is controlling the light. You have a contrast ratio that is greater than what is going to give you a good shot with good exposure, there are so many tools to use. As you say, bounce light and use a butterfly scrim. I did a short where I ND'd the windows and balanced with daylight inside, likewise CTO'd the windows on another with tungsten inside. Like you, I have found that it has made me a much better shooter. I'm not one to shoot with available light anyway. I think a lot of people who complained about the highlight handling come from that group, event guys and such.

But if you're doing narrative you can make the AF100 rock. I really liked your introdution. That said it all for me... great post.

I haven't gotten another camera other than the AF100 yet. Same thing, I don't would not want to change cameras every time a new one comes out, even if I could afford it ;)
I've been thinking about the BMCC. Have you noticed any problem with artifacts since it does not have an OLPF? That's one of the things that makes the AF100 softer but I try to shoot with my GH2 and I can't handle the aliasing.

Also, sounds like you're liking the metabones adapter. I'm thinking of getting one.
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Thanks man :)

I havent had any trouble with the BMC yet re artifacts. Ive found the image to be really nice and smooth with good detail. I have had issues with my GH1 & 2 but so far the BMC had been fine. Mostly I have been shooting in prores.

The Metabones Speed booster lives on what ever camera I am using. I thought the AF100 might get sidelined once I got the BMC but I use it so often, and once I got the speedbooster I have been so much happier with the af100. I totally recommend it. The increase in sharps is slight but worthwhile and probably the best thing about it. Im thinking of getting a second one so it can live on both cameras.
 
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MichaelTiemann said:
It's a very "wee" website: I get Server Error 500 when I try to visit.

I really do want to see the article, but as I have only the title from which to extrapolate, plus the comments above, I'm going to guess that it says something like this: if you want to shoot compelling creative content, get a camera like the SONY F3 that provides sharp and pleasing images. If you want to choose a camera that's best for talking about how much better other cameras are, the AF100 is the ticket. It won't steal the show.

I really, really wish I loved the two that I have more. But again and again they let me down. I also have the BMCC m43, and its imaging quality is so much better than the AF100 I want to cry. But everything else about the BMCC is so horrible that that makes me want to cry, too. So there you have it: great ergonomics that let you down everything you look at the image, vs. unbelievably great images from a camera platform that doesn't work with most of my best lenses. Argh!
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Are you still having trouble seeing the site? My host has recently changed servers over so there was some connection issues but should be fine now. Let me know if it's not.

I have gotten fantastic images out of the AF100, though it has been more difficult and less predictable than I'd have hoped. The addition of the speedbooster has been a big benefit and made the AF100 more the camera I originally wanted. There are some amazing works that have been made with the AF100 but its not the easiest camera to get the best out of.
 
EndCredits said:
Are you still having trouble seeing the site? My host has recently changed servers over so there was some connection issues but should be fine now. Let me know if it's not.

I have gotten fantastic images out of the AF100, though it has been more difficult and less predictable than I'd have hoped. The addition of the speedbooster has been a big benefit and made the AF100 more the camera I originally wanted. There are some amazing works that have been made with the AF100 but its not the easiest camera to get the best out of.
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Yessir! Now it's working. Will read and digest...thanks!
 
Nathaniel, I appreciated your blog post. Though I was a bit snarky in my first response, I wasn't that far off in terms of conclusions. Namely, the AF100 is THE BEST camera for teaching every hard lesson one has to learn about shooting a scene, especially lighting. It is the most merciless camera I've ever used, and by merciless I don't mean like a beautiful dominatrix who will "punish" you for some transgression, but like a ruthless street punk who will--at the first opportunity--knock you out, steal everything you have, and then kick you in the head just to make sure you remember how much it hurt. When you are good enough to shoot with the AF100, you are good enough to shoot with ANY camera.

I read with interest your preferred settings:

Detail : -4
V Detail : -4
Coring : -2
Chroma Level : -4
DRS : 1 (this can introduce a wee bit of noise so you may not want this)
Gamma : Cine V
Matrix : Norm 2
Skin DTL : Off
Anything not mentioned is set to 0 or off.
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I would only caution that setting Detail and V Detail each to -4 does limit noise, but it also dramatically reduces the ability to grab focus via EVF Detail or Red Peaking (or the DP6 for that matter--which I also have). The focus-peaking algorithms are tuned to look for images that have lots more "detail", and when I turn down to -4 (or, as I mistakenly did a few days ago, -6), the image is just too soft to find a good focus. What gets reported instead are the REALLY BIG contrast changes that might happen well out of focus. With higher Detail settings, one gets enough indication of what's *really* in focus to be able to ignore the false positives in the background. With detail set too low, we get the false negatives (no EVF Detail or red focus marks) in the subject area and lots of false positives in a contrasty background, meaning that the focus assist tools actually encourage wrong focus.

If the AF100 had a proper Focus Expand button, we could avoid the trap laid for us when we turn detail down. But the DP6 1:1 pixel mapping is just not quite enough zoom to find sharp focus, and the AF100 itself is of course completely hopeless on this count. The BMCC has a nice Focus Expand feature--one of the few ways in which its handling is superior to the AF100. (And perhaps the biggest indictment of how bad it was that Panasonic left this crucial feature out of the original AF100.)
 
MichaelTiemann said:
the AF100 is THE BEST camera for teaching every hard lesson one has to learn about shooting a scene, especially lighting. It is the most merciless camera I've ever used, and by merciless I don't mean like a beautiful dominatrix who will "punish" you for some transgression, but like a ruthless street punk who will--at the first opportunity--knock you out, steal everything you have, and then kick you in the head just to make sure you remember how much it hurt.
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Lol! So emotive, so true :)

If Panasonic put a new sensor in the AF100, it would be the best camera on the market in my opinion. The right size, the right layout, so many good aspects, just needs a new sensor. No idea why Panasonic are asleep at the wheel at the moment. You think the 10 billion in the red that they are would make them hungry to make an impact.
 
Also, panasonic's choice to leave an expanded focus button off the af100 was the dumbest mistake. I think it really affected peoples experiences of the af100
 
What about this ?


Does it worth the (physical) upgrade vs. the firmware (to pay for) upgrade ?

Thanks to answer
 
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