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Rank: PB Member
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Dear all cinematographers
Has any of you managed to see the new Panasonic AG-AF101 camera yet.
I would really like to know your thoughts and feelings about this piece of kit.
Is it set to replace the DSLR movement or is it an underdeveloped knee jerk response?
Is it set to go into direct competition with the ex3 or is it more aimed at the RED ONE, where do you see it in the market?
How will Canon and Sony respond?
Any thoughts greatly received.
col
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Rank: PB Member
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I'm a big fan of the HVX200 and the rest of the P2 line, so its great to see what is basically a GH1 in a HVX body. The GH1 has a great sensor, and to have that in a video camera is brilliant. The only downside is the codec. I don't understand why they've skipped P2 and gone with a consumer codec like AVCHD on SD cards, when they could have done AVCIntra like the rest of the newer P2 line.
But definitely a great first step in adapting DSLR sensors for real video production, and I think you could place it somewhere in between an EX3 and RED, though probably closer to the EX3 to be fair but with a much better sensor.
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Rank: PB Member
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Its worth checking out "Creative Video"
they are usually on the case with new cameras
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Rank: PB Member
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The max Bit-rate is only 24Mbps so it doesn't even compare to the EX range let alone Red.
They sacrificed bitrate in favour of larger sensors (nice shallow DoF!) but it'll never pass BBC HD acquisition standards.
My 2 cents
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Rank: PB Member
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Name Hidden wrote:The max Bit-rate is only 24Mbps so it doesn't even compare to the EX range let alone Red.
They sacrificed bitrate in favour of larger sensors (nice shallow DoF!) but it'll never pass BBC HD acquisition standards.
My 2 cents Well considering the BBC are now allowing the DSLRs to be used on a case by case basis, despite the H264 encoding, I'm fairly sure their standards are going to be a lot more flexible from now on. But I agree that 24mbps sucks. As I said, no idea why they didn't use AVCIntra for this.
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Rank: PB Member
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Here is an interesting film about the Panasonic. http://vimeo.com/15035188Certainly is turning heads... I love the fact that you can adjust the iso setting. I'm certainly looking forward to getting my hands on this camera and seeing what it cando. col
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Rank: PB Member
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I had a close look at the new Panasonic AG-AF101 at Wildscreen, last month and it looks and feels great.
A far as the comment about bit rates, at highest res it shoots at 24 mbits per sec but this is in AVCCAM AVCHD which, the Panasonic techies assured us, was the equivalent of 50mbits per sec on MPEG2
What is wonderful about it is its ability to take many different types of lenses, including 35mm stills lenses and with the nearly 35mm sized sensor, it is very easy to open up and get really shallow depth of field, even with fairly dark interior shots. It is really a video camera that can take stills unlike the Canons which are stills cameras that can shoot video
Can't wait to shoot with one.
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Rank: PB Member
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Ah but it isn't anywhere near the size of a 35mm stills sensor, its micro 4/3 which means full frame lenses will lose a hell of a lot in the wides, so for super shallow depth of field the 5D still has the advantage. Micro 4/3 is still great of course, on par with the sensor size of the Red One.
As for the codec, AVCHD isn't that much of an improvement over the H264 of the DSLRs as far as I'm concerned. Of course it is a bit better, but not enough to warrant the price difference between this camera and the 7D for example. For the increased price I want a codec like AVCIntra or DVCPRO HD. But Panasonic won't do that as it would completely canibalise their P2 cams.
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Rank: PB Member
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I'm still really considering buying one of these cameras the benefits for me over a DSLR (as I understood them are) - 25fps (so none of the down-converting from NTSC) with none of the aliasing problems, inbuilt sound with XLR that you can monitor, a decent HD viewfinder and screen and the afore-mentioned lens changeability. The price difference, for me anyway, I think isn't really that great once you consider the extra DSLR accessories you're going to have to buy (Zacuto viewfinder, some means of recording XLR audio - beach box or external recorder) but what swings it for me is that it (should) behave like a normal video camera and you won't have the work-arounds/flaws you have with DSLR's. There's a review on DV user DV User review
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Rank: PB Member
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