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Image on top: The current [shoplink 16841 ebay]AG-AF100 camcorder[/shoplink].
UPDATE: Made a big typo. The camera should arrive after tomorrow April 11th and not tomorrow the 10th.
A source told me that Panasonic should unveil new stuff tomorrow April 11th (Japan time). Very likely a new Micro Four Thirds AG-AF camcorder will be announced. The rumor hasn’t been confirmed by other sources yet that’s why it has the FT3 value only for now (See FT ranking at the bottom of this post if you don’t know what it is). I don’t expect the G5 yet (will be announced in May) or the new X zoom lenses (late June) or the GH3 (late August/early September).
The one interesting thing about the new m43 camcorder could be the rumored new Super 35mm sized sensor. But also this is juts an unconfirmed rumor for now. let’s see what happens tomorrow!
Rumors classification explained (FT= FourThirds):
FT1=1-20% chance the rumor is correct
FT2=21-40% chance the rumor is correct
FT3=41-60% chance the rumor is correct
FT4=61-80% chance the rumor is correct
FT5=81-99% chance the rumor is correct
58 Responses
i hope GH3
Agree. NAB is coming in the next week…
Likely I’m too stupid but still cannot find out what are these professional cammcorders for – unless they also have ultra bright ultrazoom AF lenses as professional camcorders usually have.
You could buy an Olympus F2.0 lens Four Thirds mount and an adapter to micro 4/3 http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/products/dslr/lenses/35-100_20/ those lenses would help you.
agree
Many motion picture productions uses MF lenses.
Manual focus is used also in lot other professional/serious video shooting.
There’s former Olympics silver medal javelin thrower living nearby who got back into his youth’s hobby when DSLRs appeared and lately has done few nature documentaries for TV along one other photographer and they always use manual focus because misfocus and especially focus pumping done by autofocus could make whole clip useless.
Professionals must have excellent eyesight and/or use giant field monitors. I question the accuracy of the EVF, especially using a non-Lumix lens with adapter. Both the EVF and LCD are fairly small (on the GH2) to be precise, and they are both electronic representations of what’s being focused on. And MF assist doesn’t work while shooting video. Damn!
This is where the Canon 5DMII/III shines. Look through the viewfinder and you look at the real deal via the mirror. Ironically, pro stills shooters use AF a lot, that’s a big deal to get the shot or not, whereas mirrorless AF is slow in comparison.
How can you be using the mirror when shooting video- video uses live view with no mirror? It makes no difference what brand of lens you are using for manual focus accuracy precisely because you are using live view. The situation is more tricky with a 5d or other slr.
I can hit focus 99% of the time on the LCD on the back of my GF1 even with fast lenses. It’s not that much of a problem really..
Also, when in video mode, you can not look through the optical viewfinder on a DSLR as the mirror is flipped up.
In proper professional productions distance to subject is actually measured and focus controlled by these measurements, the VF is largely used for framing only. But for smaller operators yes using a large field monitor is usually the go. OVF is impossible for video, so not worth discussing the relative merits vs EVF.
In a professional narrative production yes. In docu/ENG work that is impossible though and you have to rely on either the monitor/screen and your eyes or focus peaking if your lucky.
well, iv’e seen a AG-AF100 a couple of moths ago in a theme-park, They were taking interviews of guests in the park, it was on a little rig with the standard 14-140mm zoom lens.
(oops. i responded to wrong comment. i wanted the one above).
So they would be better off with a G3?
Whilst most of the world continues to coo over that “full-frame look” I’m thinking that 4/3s is the dark horse regards video.
A 2x crop offers good focal range flexibility and the expanded DOF also makes faster lenses functional, even on tele-photo! The inherent DOF with 4/3s makes tracking focus 10x easier (I don’t find it “arty” to miss focus or to search for it, something we’re seeing a lot of today for some reason).
Obviously FF has its advantages, sensors are undeniably better (rendering of highlight roll-off is more film like), you can get beautiful DOF/bokeh at wide-angle etc etc etc
But all Panasonic needs to do is produce a Full Aperture 4k sensor (4096 × 3112) with a 2x anamorphic adaptor and Canon won’t be shifting many C300s!
Semi-professional camcorders do usually have bright lenses, which are very large considering the sensor sizes of the camera (check out the lenses on an old XL1 for example) – this is primarily to compensate for poor low light performance of the smaller sensors. Larger sensors are usually more capable in low light conditions, meaning they can often get away with slower lenses, they do have fast zoom lenses for larger sensors however they are very very large and very expensive. Professional use does not normally require a zoom lens though, having interchangeable lenses for most users is the same as having a ‘zoom’ lens. Especially for drama production. However zoom lenses are very useful for run and gun, Doco style shooting.
They are mainly for creative work, music video, short film, indie, film school, etc.. A new highly praised feature; The Raid: Redemption was shot on it..
@admin
Can we have more than two posts per page again? Thanks
+100
+1
+1
I’m think this is where Panasonic will be putting all their new features as well as the GH3.
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to the new features coming???
1080 60p….
720 120p….
4k?
What more could anyone want and what more could they put on? … all we need is more res and more fps!
@jim
built in intervalmeter
loads of slow mo options
auto focus tracking
21:9 aspect ratio
wireless remote
oled screen
Option to use EVF and LCD at same time
1/16000 shutter speed
focus peaking 🙁
improved codec
– maybe 5 axis stablisation! (unlikely)
– maybe accessories announced too, various micro phones types, LED flash,underwater/tough housing etc, new lenses from third parties
Less skew!
Battery grip! So I can shoot portraits and models won’t think I’m shooting with a toy
Hopefully more dynamic range, more frame and bit rate options, IBIS and intervalometer, larger/higher resolution LCD
http://www.43rumors.com/first-ownuser-gh2-battery-grip-hands-on-video/
GH2 battery grip
What is the point? The GH2 is the best camcorder, if Panasonic would let it be.
For dedicated video usage, AG-AF bodies are in a whole different stratosphere, no matter how hacked the GH2 may be. Ergonomics is just not the same.
Ergonomics of an AG-AF may be much worse than that of a GH2… depending on your use case.
I for one have to travel to other continents for business reasons very frequently (inspecting machinery installations for my employer), and beyond the photo and videographing that I do for documentary purposes during my job, I like to use the opportunity getting around the world to do a lot of fun videographing.
I don’t mind spending $$$$$ on video equipment (heck, 2 long range business class flights are just as expensive), but a Sony FS700, a Canon C300 or a Panasonic AG-AF would be way to bulky/heavy for me to carry inside my cabine luggage (and you certainly don’t want to put $$$$$ hardware in your suitcase… which get’s “lost”/damaged way too often).
Thus no matter how great the features of ergonomics of a dedicated video camera are for others, to me being small & lightweight are the top priorities.
And I’m kind of sad that, besides a hacked GH2, there is practically no offering on the market addressing my needs.
I hear you. Ergonomics and convenience are not always the same…
I suggest that you take a look at the comparison of the GH2 vs the Olympus E-M5 (using the DP Review “image comparator”), to see if you really mean that the GH2 “can be let be” (to paraphrase you). The GH2’s image quality is laughably obsolete in comparison…
Tomorrow gh3 announcement stay tuned
One way or another I think thisis true. We can expect the camcorder to give us an idea of what the GH3 will offer. Eg if the camcorder does not have global shutter, I doubt the GH3 will.
“The one interesting thing about the new m43 camcorder could be the rumored new Super 35mm sized sensor”
This is a contradiction! If it’s m4/3, then it can’t have Super 35mm sensor. That sensor is bigger than m4/3. Either it’s m4/3 or it’s Super 35mm. It can’t be both.
Being a rumor site gives the license to embellish. It is a super 35 organic sensor. Hahaha.
I don’t get that either! How does it use the same mount? I can understand if it has a multi aspect ratio sensor but surely the image circle of m43 lenses are pretty much the same.
So the GH2 doesn’t have a m4/3 sensor because it’s too big? If it’s a sensor in an m4/3 body which uses m4/3 lenses, it’s an m4/3 sensor. I’m not saying that I necessarily believe that standard m4/3 lenses would cover a sensor that big, but there is some leeway.
GH-series multi-aspect sensor still always uses (m)4/3 image circle so that’s different from sensor which would use different size image circle.
Bought my Af101 a year ago and have so far been filming three documentaries and one full length fiction film. The camera is fantastic when it comes to usability. I need to have fast access to my camera and I never use a rig. Filming with a dslr and all the extra gear one needs is not an option – though I’m thinking of a GH2 (or 3) as a second unit.
The manual focus of the AF100 though is horrible, and I never use auto-anything (don’t know any professional that does).
Hopping the new one will have improved LCD and EVF and a proper focus assist mode with peaking and zoom-in functions. And of course a better sensor with higher resolution and dynamic range. And a few more fast zooms would be nice 🙂
The image circle of a u4/3rd lens would be bigger if the sensor was placed further back, but that would totally F*** up the lens focus attributes. Yeah it cannot be Super 35mm and u4/3rd, one or the other, or this was written over a week ago but then again this is a rumour site.
using u4/3rd lenses you will be able to use a crop-mode and with legacy lenses you are able to use the full size
( similar to using DX crop mode with FX Nikons )
eoshd.com is expecting a supercharged GH2 optimised purely for video to be announced, GH3 still not until September…
The images posted on EOSHD, showing a meeting room where “AVC Ultra” is the big headline on the projectors display, could have been taken in April 2009, when Panasonic announced (for the NAB 2009) the (back then) new AVC Ultra specification.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if the same buzz word was advertised as the new big thing 3 years later..?
(BTW: “AVC Intra” was introduced even earlier, in 2007.)
hacked gh2 is already supercharged. they need to fix banding and rolling shutter
Is the AG/AF sensor 1920 by 1080 but u4/3 size? Because, if so, shouldn’t it have huge pixels and great low light capability? And potentially dynamic range?
I highly doubt that EOSHD is right on this one. Seems unlikely to me that Panasonic would bring a new GH2 just for video… that’s kinda the point of the GH2… especially with the hack.
And everyone forgets or doesn’t realize that the hacked GH2 does not look better than the AF100. Straight out of the camera yes, but the AF100 does not need a hack. The only thing the hack does is give you higher bit rates. The AF100 has HD-SDI out and your only bit rate limitation is your external recorder. You could record uncompressed direct to the Blackmagic-Design HyperDeck Shuttle and destroy the GH2 in image quality.
Professionals needs professional things. The GH2 does and the GH3 will satisfy consumer/prosumers and some lower budget professionals, but for most, there need to be real audio inputs and control, real focus assists, frame rate and shutter controls, proper EVF, ND filters, dual slot recording to stable and reliable media, and flexibility in recording options such as SDI out to external recorders containing at least 4:2:2 color for broadcast, 4444 for cinema.
Panasonic has invested a lot in m4/3 so I could see simply an improved 4/3 sensor and leave it there but I think that Panasonic has been listening to what people want and a Super35 with 4/3 mount and crop mode would not DRASTICALLY surprise me. For starters, it’s not a gamble at all. They know it will sell and if priced competitively against the F3 and the FS700, it will sell well. Especially if it keeps/improves the killer feature set that the AF100 is graced with. The Sony FS series of cameras particularly are lacking in many areas, ergonomics being a huge killer for starters. In many ways, the FS100 was just a rushed camera. Just look at their excuse for not putting ND filters on it, and low and behold, they are here on the FS700. I may eat my words soon, but I trust Panasonic more to take their time on it and put out a product when it’s ready. Not to just compete quickly.
I was actually in contact with a representative from Panasonic Broadcast last summer after filling out a professional survey of feature requests that we would want to see on a new camera. A Super35 sensor was there A LOT so I know they have been investigating this for quite some time. I told them that I wanted an AF style camera with Super35 chip and at least AVC-Intra100. They contacted me after I submitted my survey and wanted to know more information about why I wanted what I did. So they seemed very receptive and eager to work with their customers.
Again, I could be wrong and completely eat my words here, but I’m expecting something strong.
My guess (hope):
Super35 sibling to the AF100.
up to 1080p/60
4:2:2
AVC Intra 50 / 100
p2 workflow
GLOBAL SHUTTER
I doubt tomorrow we’ll see a GH3. I wish we would, but it doesn’t seem likely. Maybe we’ll get more hints at NAB.
I expect tomorrow we’ll see Panny’s response to the FS700. Essentially it would be a big brother to the AF-100, with higher bit rate, faster frame rates for slow motion, improved sensor to handle rolling shutter and better low-light. Who knows, maybe it will be 4k ready as well, at least 2k.
Ideally though, I wish they’d announce a new camcorder that would sit between the GH2 and the AF100. It would have a price point of about $2000. Essentially it would have the ergonomics of a camcorder, albeit be smaller than the AF100, more physical buttons than the GH2, improved sensor, and XLR inputs. I would be willing to pay the the extra $1000 over a GH2 for the XLRs, more buttons, better lowlight/noise to light, and form factor.
What do you guys think?
Thats what I want, badly, as well. Been hoping for it for awhile and the bolex will not cut it.
This won’t happen for NAB. Expect announcements like what you’re looking for to happen at Photokina and CES.
@Sid… Yup, I’d like to see an M43 camcorder as described in your 3rd paragraph. Ironically, I’ve gotten accustomed to the DSLR-in-cage shooting and can run-n-gun with it and all the attachments. The real camcorder shooters I often share space with when shooting ENG are more mobile because of ergonomics, but by assessing their gear they’re not getting the depth-of-field I am, but they might not care about that.
I also like the mixer in my cage, and I’ll miss that if the M43 camcorder is up to specs with XLR and audio control. Ultimately, however, a smaller-than-AF100 with depth-of-field and sound is certainly ideal. We’ll see.
My Wishes on GH3:
-> Resolution 16-24 MP.
-> ISO 200-25’600 in better Quality.
-> All Combinations: 720p/i, 1080p/i, with 24, 25, 29,97, 30, 50, 60p and so on.
-> Interval for Photos: Example: Make all 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, 180, etc Seconds one Photo and save it as Photo or as Video.
-> Move Detection Mode, starts Recording automaticly when something moves.
@ Admin<, there's a box office movie made with the AG-AF100 (and GH2 too), The Raid : Redemption. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1899353/
I think it deserve a post, at least when the m43 camcorder launched.
“-> Move Detection Mode, starts Recording [automatically]automaticly when something moves.”
BINGO!! some one else gets it.
actually, I feel at the very least, ALL point and shoot cameras ought to have this feature.
guess not today