Panasonic AF101

Features:

• 4/3 type sensor with digital still camera technology
• Interchangeable Lens Micro Four Thirds mount
• Variable frame rate recording
• Recording media
  SD Card 2x slot
• Recording format
  AVCHD - PH (21 Mbps *Max.24Mbps), HA (17Mbps), HE (6Mbps), HA, HE only for 1080i/59, 94 and 1080i/50
• Support video formats
  1080i/50, 25p, 1080/59, 94i/29, 97p/23, 98p
  720/50p, 25p, 720/59, 94p/29, 97p/23, 98p 
• Cine-like Gamma
• HD-SDI Output
• XLR audio 2 channel input
• USB 2.0

1. Ergonomics - Unless you bolt on many accessories and extra equipment it is very difficult to use a DSLR camera for shooting video just to get over very basic handling issues. The AF-101 has been totally designed with Video in mind.
2. Connectivity – A DSLR has not got XLR inputs for professional sound recording or full screen HDMI for monitoring, let alone the professional HDSDI output that the AF-101 has.
3. Picture Quality - Fundamentally DSLRs are compromised by having to do both high resolution stills and comparatively ‘low’ resolution video. To get 1920 x 1080 video out of a sensor designed to produce 5184 x 3186 pixels is not easy, so the DSLRs simply ignore most of the information they are exposed too for video purposes. This is a very crude way of producing HD Video that creates false detail called ‘aliases’, which cause problems for video compression and create weird patterns on video. You won’t see this on pictures of nice soft faces but you will on shirts, walls, roofs and any detailed picture, especially during movement. The AF-101 uses a special filter to reduce the resolution from the large sensor optically so it avoids aliases and produces beautiful video.
4. Editing - DSLR video has no time code or metadata. For professional video Time code is a vital tool for keeping track of shots in a complex project, and metadata about locations, crew and if a shot is good or bad can be added easily to AF-101 footage.
5. Compression - The AVCHD footage produced by the AF-101 uses a more sophisticated version of MPEG4 than DSLRs, so it can produce better quality video with less data rate. It also has the option of recording uncompressed audio.
6. Variable Frame Rate, for action sequences you can subtlety reduce frame rates to speed up the action, or reduce frame rate for creating grandeur, implying scale, or simply doing super smooth slow-motion. A terrifically powerful feature not even included on most video cameras!

Q: Does the AF-101 come with a lens? A: No – but it can use any Micro 4/3 mount lenses, and a huge range of other lenses via adaptors.

Q: What sort of lenses can the AG-AF101 use? A: There are a large amount of Micro 4/3s Panasonic Lumix lenses which the AF-101 can use without modification, and other manufacturers are also adopting the Micro 4/3 mounting for lenses. In addition to these, adaptors are available so Nikon, Canon and specialist Cinema style lenses called Prime lenses can be used on the 101. The field of view that the AF-101 will give through any of these lenses is the equivalent of ½ that of a full frame 35mm stills camera. It is very close to the characteristics you would expect from a 35mm movie camera. This means if you used a 50mm lens on the 101 it would give a similar field of view to a 100mm lens on a full frame 35mm SLR camera like the Canon 5D, but it would not compress perspective like a 100mm lens would.

Q: Will Autofocus work with my stills lenses? A: Initially only the Panasonic Lumix 14 -140 lens will provide a ‘Video Style’ autofocus, don’t forget still camera lenses are not designed to do continuous ‘video style’ autofocus, and therefore might give poor results with moving subjects.

Q: What is the shallow depth of field? A: The combination of the large sensor in the AG-101 and a ‘fast’ lens with a wide aperture like F2 or F1.8 creates a shallow depth of field so that only the elements of the picture you choose to focus on are sharp, and backgrounds or foregrounds are soft. This ‘filmic’ effect is much sought after and is widely used in feature film and drama production to lead the audience’s attention. This effect is very difficult to achieve on normal video cameras.

Q: What does variable frame rate mean? A: The Panasonic AF-101 is capable of a large variety of frame rates when used in ‘Film Mode’. This enables the action to be sped up or slowed down very smoothly, and also can be used to create subtle – ethereal effects.

Q: Is there any training available for AG-AF101 users? A: In time there are sure to be courses offering lessons on how to get the most out of the AG-AF101, but initially your best bet is to buy the excellent Barry Green AF-100 Book. This is packed with insights and tips to help you get the best out of this innovative new camera.