Where's the New Panasonic Large Sensor Camera?

EidolonFilms said:
+1 to what McGee said.

I think it depends on what position you are in as well. Are you a DP/shooter that is always being asked by producers "I want the RED, C300, etc.", or are you a content producer working directly with clients who care first about messaging, story and content, and don't really have any idea what the latest camera is? I've yet to have a client ask for a specific camera, or say that the AF100 wasn't cutting it. They're just happy that the end product has strong content and looks/sounds great (and most of what makes video look great is not the specific camera model.) That being said, I still drool over new cameras like the F5/55. But I do have to ask myself, "why spend another $15k+ when everything I have now is working perfectly and the clients are happy?" I'd rather keep the money and spend it on a sweet trip to Burma.
Click to expand...

This is me exactly. None of my clients care about the camera, they just want it to look good.
 
I wonder if folks on the Food Processor Board forums are clamoring for a new model blender or toaster like people here for a new model camera? Frozen drinks will be even tastier with the new super froth II function! I can hardly wait, my damn blender is almost a year and a half old, and I can't stand serving my friends drinks from it. Plus the new blue LED lights are the bomb!
 
David W. Jones said:
I wonder if folks on the Food Processor Board forums are clamoring for a new model blender or toaster like people here for a new model camera? Frozen drinks will be even tastier with the new super froth II function! I can hardly wait, my damn blender is almost a year and a half old, and I can't stand serving my friends drinks from it. Plus the new blue LED lights are the bomb!
Click to expand...
I understand your point totally but to be honest, a higher resolution sensor, and low noise sensor is a welcomed upgrade for the AF100. I've been able to pay it off numerous times and have had a joy shooting with it. I'm ready for the next step in image quality. If the AF100 still fit others needs awesome. Nothing wrong always wondering what's next especially as the other camera companies keep pumping out newer camcorders that definitely are better.
 
Here is a short list of the cameras I have purchased in the last 5ish years.... 5DmkII, Red One M, GH1, T2i, GH2, AF100. I have since sold the 5DmkII & Red One M. Here is a short list of the cameras I have rented in the last 5ish years.... Arri 535b, F3, FS100, Epic, Alexa. Things in my market have gotten really bassakwards. Most of the producers can't tell the difference between cameras. Case in point, we have shot a few different camera demos using various cameras with the different scenes cut together, and the producers watching could not pick out which camera was which. Bottom line, many have decided against the expense of renting what they consider a higher end camera like the Epic or Alexa in favor of saving the coin and shooting with one of our in-house cameras. As things sit right now, from a business standpoint there are currently no cameras on the market that I feel the need to purchase. At some point I'm sure that will change, but with any camera manufactured available for rental with overnight shipping, I'm in no hurry to purchase a new camera which my clients can't discern from my current camera.

All the Best!

Dave
 
Gotcha, we are looking at this differently. I'm on the event videography end so renting is not a viable option for me. I'm sorry I didn't see it completely from your view as you're in the indie realm/high corporate of the shooting world. Thanks Dave for your insight.
 
Yes If anything over the years, I have found out that there is no "one size fits all".

Truth be told, any modern camera today is capable of delivering great results in the hands of a talented user. The same way that even the highest end camera can deliver less than stellar results when used by someone lacking. But as always, use the right tool for the job at hand. :)
 
Whether or not you buy a new camera is up to your individual needs and wants. But if a company wants to be a leader in its field, it has to innovate.

Why does Apple release a new iPhone every year? If you already own an iPhone4S, can you really see a difference when you're using an iPhone5? Heck, if you own the original iPhone, you probably wouldn't notice a difference if you're just making a phone call. But yet Apple keeps releasing new phones, and people keep buying. And many of those people already have phones that work perfectly fine. That's an industry leader.

And I'm not just suggesting that Panny release a replacement for the AF100. Look at Canon. They came late to the party, yet they found a big niche with the C300. And just a few months later, they announced the C100 and C500, not to replace the C300, but to go after unserved markets.

With the introduction of the F5/55, the high end market just became a lot more crowded. But there's still plenty of room in the sub $5k market, which is where the volume is, and probably where Panasonic can make the biggest difference.
 
Panasonic needs to address gradient banding, highlight roll-off, & chroma clipping.

I love much about the AF, it's truly feature rich, but clients have complained about those issues, so sadly I'm looking at much more expensive solutions.
 
Sumfun said:
But there's still plenty of room in the sub $5k market, which is where the volume is, and probably where Panasonic can make the biggest difference.
Click to expand...
But ... right now, Panasonic's the ONLY player in the sub-$5k market! Nobody else is even competing with them for that market -- meaning, a professional video camera with a large sensor. I mean, yes technically there's the FS100, which is offered for one dollar below $5,000, but I don't really consider it a professional video camera as much as I think of it as an inflated DSLR, but even so, it's still about 40% more expensive than the AF100. AF100's $3350 brand new (after rebate) right now.

The BMC will be some measure of competition when it's actually released, but even then, only for a narrow subset of the market as it's strictly oriented towards cinema shooters and doesn't offer things like XLRs, variable frame rates, ND filters, pre-record, timecode sync, and other traditional pro video camera offerings. Note: I'm not saying one is "better" than another, I'm saying that one doesn't offer the features the other one does for specific purposes, such as shooting 720/60p or 1080i, which are things that pro video cameras typically offer, and therefore I don't consider them in direct competition with each other.

Does the AF100 need an update? Sure, it'd be nice to get one. But seriously, they really are the only camera catering to the low-budget pro right now. The other companies are all fighting it out over the $9,000 to $35,000 segment, and Panasonic's offering is pretty much unmatched at the $3400 price point. Should they expend their engineering and resources trying to grapple for the $15,000 price point against the Scarlet, F3, F5, and C300? There's already four capable cameras at that price point. I'd much rather see them expend their efforts improving the products aimed at the real indie price bracket, the $3500 price point, which is basically the DVX100 price point.
 
Barry_Green said:
But ... right now, Panasonic's the ONLY player in the sub-$5k market! Nobody else is even competing with them for that market -- meaning, a professional video camera with a large sensor. I mean, yes technically there's the FS100, which is offered for one dollar below $5,000, but I don't really consider it a professional video camera as much as I think of it as an inflated DSLR, but even so, it's still about 40% more expensive than the AF100. AF100's $3350 brand new (after rebate) right now.

The BMC will be some measure of competition when it's actually released, but even then, only for a narrow subset of the market as it's strictly oriented towards cinema shooters and doesn't offer things like XLRs, variable frame rates, ND filters, pre-record, timecode sync, and other traditional pro video camera offerings. Note: I'm not saying one is "better" than another, I'm saying that one doesn't offer the features the other one does for specific purposes, such as shooting 720/60p or 1080i, which are things that pro video cameras typically offer, and therefore I don't consider them in direct competition with each other.

Does the AF100 need an update? Sure, it'd be nice to get one. But seriously, they really are the only camera catering to the low-budget pro right now. The other companies are all fighting it out over the $9,000 to $35,000 segment, and Panasonic's offering is pretty much unmatched at the $3400 price point. Should they expend their engineering and resources trying to grapple for the $15,000 price point against the Scarlet, F3, F5, and C300? There's already four capable cameras at that price point. I'd much rather see them expend their efforts improving the products aimed at the real indie price bracket, the $3500 price point, which is basically the DVX100 price point.
Click to expand...

Word.
 
Technically the Sony VG series are large-sensor video cam price competitors to the AF100... not really anywhere near quality competitors from what I've seen, and nowhere near the feature set, but they may suit those in the sub-$4K range who might otherwise think the AF is the only way.

David's completely right in that, for many of us, actually owning the "best" camera available is often pointless - the chance of paying the darned thing off before it's viewed as "second tier" is dropping by the month.
 
Barry_Green said:
But ... right now, Panasonic's the ONLY player in the sub-$5k market! Nobody else is even competing with them for that market -- meaning, a professional video camera with a large sensor. I mean, yes technically there's the FS100, which is offered for one dollar below $5,000, but I don't really consider it a professional video camera as much as I think of it as an inflated DSLR, but even so, it's still about 40% more expensive than the AF100. AF100's $3350 brand new (after rebate) right now.

The BMC will be some measure of competition when it's actually released, but even then, only for a narrow subset of the market as it's strictly oriented towards cinema shooters and doesn't offer things like XLRs, variable frame rates, ND filters, pre-record, timecode sync, and other traditional pro video camera offerings. Note: I'm not saying one is "better" than another, I'm saying that one doesn't offer the features the other one does for specific purposes, such as shooting 720/60p or 1080i, which are things that pro video cameras typically offer, and therefore I don't consider them in direct competition with each other.

Does the AF100 need an update? Sure, it'd be nice to get one. But seriously, they really are the only camera catering to the low-budget pro right now. The other companies are all fighting it out over the $9,000 to $35,000 segment, and Panasonic's offering is pretty much unmatched at the $3400 price point. Should they expend their engineering and resources trying to grapple for the $15,000 price point against the Scarlet, F3, F5, and C300? There's already four capable cameras at that price point. I'd much rather see them expend their efforts improving the products aimed at the real indie price bracket, the $3500 price point, which is basically the DVX100 price point.
Click to expand...

I'm glad we can agree that the AF100 needs an update.
 
A lot of people seem to forget the whole HPX300/370 fiasco. The 300 was out a year, then it suddenly got an update and was replaced by the HPX370, and all the 300 owners screamed bloody murder, as a lot of them would have waited for the 370.

If Panasonic were to replace the AF100 with an AF200 tomorrow, I have $5 that says a large number of 100 owners would be all over these boards complaining that the camera has been out only *2* years... and a lot of owners (like me) haven't even had it near that long... and Panasonic has now made it obsolete. I'm sure this factors in part into Panasonic's average 3 year product cycle.
 
Which is why, again, I doubt we'd see anything like an AF200 any time soon. Maybe an updated AF100A or something, with comparable updates like the AC160A got over the AC160, but a completely new product? Not that probable.
 
If there's ever going to be an AF100A, it would be great if Panasonic would offer a hardware upgrade option for all us AF100-owners (like they did with the upgrade from AC160 to AC160A).
 
Panasonic has to decide if the want to go with the other boys and put a S35 sensor in their body or stick with the m4/3 sensor. There a lots of advantages to be able to use m4/3 lenses but it doesn't make the camera in the same league as the S35 family of cameras. Just as they showed a glimpse of what's to come with their 4K modular concept.

If they find a marketplace to continue with m4/3 videocameras or the broadcast division leaves that to the consumer division we'll see. I would like to see something like the C100 but from Panasonic. A basic videoshooter priced low.
 
I'll bite, what clamp?


The ones that surprised the newbies the most were the ones that let them hang lights in odd places, like suspended ceilings and tight corners. To see drawers full of this stuff in one convenient (and portable) location got them thinking more about how they could set up a shot than what they would shoot it with. It was a very fun morning.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top