NAB update: Exclusive interview with Blackmagic Cine shooter John Brawley / Panasonic AF100 successor 'deleted'...?

[Leang]

hmmm.  Would be nice if the update for the AF100 was free.  true 60p and some twixtor! 

[Tony Anastasi]

[quote author=JanLivingston link=topic=600.msg4254#msg4254 date=1334769831]
[quote author=Andrew Reid - EOSHD link=topic=600.msg4243#msg4243 date=1334760423]
"The AGAF100 is not selling well and they decided to delete the new AG AF camera release. The main reason is that they now will prefer to focus on Super35mm."[/quote]

I would have to say that your source obviously has no clue as to the reality then.  As the AF100 is selling as well as its competitor and there are no plans to take it off the market.

...

Best,

Jan
[/quote]

Jan, sorry but it's not selling at all in the company stores that I just finished up working for in Australia. - everything else is moving off the shelves apart from the lonely AF100s.. This is the case in our Australian stores anyhow..

Did you read http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2012/04/panasonic-not-so-in-to-large-sensor-cameras/

Look I really like the Panasonic gear, I was personally hoping for some news though.. As it is I'm about to head over to china to start filming for the next 3-6 months on a feature length doco on the 8-day cancer treatment, I was just about to personally buy 3 rigs.. Guessing my choices right now is nothing.. So it's 3x gh2 only because of the hacks and I'll pre-order three black magic cameras later on today for that project. I was hoping for 3x af'X'00 but nothing from panasonic - no road maps, nothing.

This is self funded because I need to get the knowledge of the new cancer treatment out to the world, but self funded means no funds for real P2 cameras...

[mike_tee_vee]

So the reason for not introducing anything new is because the existing product is "only" 15 months old (regardless of where the market is heading)? 

Gee, how old is the C300? 

I guess the Panasonic imaging division has different mandates with the G3, GF3, GX1, and GF5 coming out like clockwork.

[christianhubbard]

[quote author=evil_thought2 link=topic=600.msg4285#msg4285 date=1334795051]
[quote author=markm link=topic=600.msg4271#msg4271 date=1334782807]
Oh yes its all wrapped up in its gold plated £11000 F3 with £2500 for slog and another dip for an outboard recorder that has to be 4,4,4 meaning another £5000 to get 13 stops.
[/quote]

F3, including the S-Log, is $13,000 to 14,000, street prices -- cheaper than Canon 1D-c
[/quote]

yeah but the 1Dc image blows the f3 out of the water, in my opinion.

[Simco123]

[quote author=popalock link=topic=600.msg4274#msg4274 date=1334785000]
@markm - the BM is priced at £2310 including VAT in the UK

Question I've got to all those who bought a 5D3; who's gonna sell up now, and if not, why not? Seriously am interested in the reasons for sticking with Canon (from a video perspective)
[/quote]

If you are a still shooter too actually BM gives good reason to stick with Canon because both system takes EF lenses.

[markm]

[quote author=FilmMan link=topic=600.msg4279#msg4279 date=1334788705]
Markm,

With regards to Sony:
Canon's C300 is priced almost double to the Sony FS700.  Sony is giving some items which are useful.  4k downsampled to 1080p - so similar to Canon C300.  Also slow motion.  Yea, they could have given other goodies, but it is a start.  When I'm talking about Sony, it is in the context of the next camera level up.  I'm not talking about  the $3K camera market range .  I can see where the confusion can arise.

I'll stand by my statement, Sony has shown their cards and [i][b]seems to be listening[/b][/i]
[/quote]
If you put it in the context of the C300 V the FS700 Its wrong

The truth is both cameras are [b][u]NOT[/u][/b] the next level up.

The next camera up by a long margin is the new black magic camera which is at least in specs is at the alexa level. FOR £2310 Maybe it even beats the Alexa for some as it records too.

Defining the next level UP by Canon and Sony standards is wrong and has been wrong for a while now and its what has been annoying many indie or consumer film makers AND why the sony canon and other manufacturers forced standards are becoming ever more absurd.

[Andrew Reid]

[quote author=rexyinc link=topic=600.msg4289#msg4289 date=1334805450]
[quote author=JanLivingston link=topic=600.msg4254#msg4254 date=1334769831]
[quote author=Andrew Reid - EOSHD link=topic=600.msg4243#msg4243 date=1334760423]
"The AGAF100 is not selling well and they decided to delete the new AG AF camera release. The main reason is that they now will prefer to focus on Super35mm."[/quote]

I would have to say that your source obviously has no clue as to the reality then.  As the AF100 is selling as well as its competitor and there are no plans to take it off the market.

...

Best,

Jan
[/quote]

This is self funded because I need to get the knowledge of the new cancer treatment out to the world, but self funded means no funds for real P2 cameras...
[/quote]

If there is anything I can do to help publicise what you're shooting about the cancer treatment, get in touch for an interview.

P2 media or investing in getting the word out about a worthy cause? Nothing crystallises why high quality $3000 and $6000 cameras are needed better than this. Jan and Panasonic take note...

[chinageeks]

[quote author=Andrew Reid - EOSHD link=topic=600.msg4302#msg4302 date=1334824380]
[quote author=rexyinc link=topic=600.msg4289#msg4289 date=1334805450]
[quote author=JanLivingston link=topic=600.msg4254#msg4254 date=1334769831]
[quote author=Andrew Reid - EOSHD link=topic=600.msg4243#msg4243 date=1334760423]
"The AGAF100 is not selling well and they decided to delete the new AG AF camera release. The main reason is that they now will prefer to focus on Super35mm."[/quote]

I would have to say that your source obviously has no clue as to the reality then.  As the AF100 is selling as well as its competitor and there are no plans to take it off the market.

...

Best,

Jan
[/quote]

This is self funded because I need to get the knowledge of the new cancer treatment out to the world, but self funded means no funds for real P2 cameras...
[/quote]

If there is anything I can do to help publicise what you're shooting about the cancer treatment, get in touch for an interview.

P2 media or investing in getting the word out about a worthy cause? Nothing crystallises why high quality $3000 and $6000 cameras are needed better than this. Jan and Panasonic take note...
[/quote]

THIS^. I'm making a documentary about child trafficking in China, and I avoided P2 for the same reason. I'm sure it's great -- yay, it won an emmy -- but I can't justify spending that kind of money on storage media, and it doesn't seem necessary; SD cards are working fine for me. P2's emmy isn't going to make my film any better.

I do support abandoning the micro 4/3, or at least starting a new line with a bigger sensor in addition to the m4/3 line. If Panasonic really wants to own this market, make a video focused DSLR with a bigger sensor and some more video features, like ND filters built in (digital or not) and maybe an optional battery-grip add-on with an XLR input. Make something like that, keep it open so the community can improve it, and price it at less than $5k (or maybe even higher depending on the IQ), and you will make giant buckets of money. I'm sure you'll have existing users who will be upset about needing to move on from m4/3 lenses, but I think there's a bit gap in the market right now for APS-C and full frame video DSLR cameras. A lot of people bought Canon glass to shoot with the 7d or 5d2. Now that Canon has shown it's uninterested in continuing to push the envelope with video at consumer prices, all those people are on the prowl for something to upgrade to, something that offers a similarly great image but takes the needs of video more seriously. I am one of those people, so I know they exist. (And some of us like the DSLR form factor, helps us stay undercover and out of prison!)

I must say I'm pretty concerned with the "camera hasn't been on the market long enough" attitude, though. I appreciate Panny spent lots of money on R&D, and I'm not saying the AF100 should be tossed into the trash...but running a business based on how long you think the shelf life of a device should be doesn't seem like a good idea. Ask Sony how that worked for them with the PS3...they took total market domination with the PS2 and turned it into a situation where they were behind the curve with the PS3 by letting the competition release their device first. I believe Steve Jobs once said something like: "If you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will."  That's what Canon is experiencing firsthand with this Blackmagic camera....but it lacks replacable batteries and the sensor is tooo small...for god's sake, Panasonic, have the guts to jump in there and be a hero like you were in the days of the DVX100!

[Tzedekh]

Once again, in her response to my post, Jan didn't address whether Panasonic is abandoning the m4/3 format. Sure, producing new units of the AF100 and servicing current ones are great (although dinging people $250 for a firmware update does seem a little greedy). But it looks like what she did say was that even a 10-bit AVC-Intra AF100-style camera with an improved m4/3 sensor wouldn't be adequate. Well, short of a 4K m4/3 model, I'm not sure how you would improve the format, so she does have a point. But short of a 4K [i]anything[/i], what's going to be viable for the two or more years of a camera's life cycle? But what's one practical implication of m4/3's possible abandonment? Lens obsolescence. If you're investing in lenses specifically for the format, you probably won't be able to use them on Panny's next offering.

[FilmMan]

markm,
[color=pink][i]If you put it in the context of the C300 V the FS700 Its wrong[/i][/color]Nope.  C300 is around $17000 and the FS700 is around $9000.  Sony knocks the price down. 

[color=pink][i]The truth is both cameras are NOT the next level up. [/i] [/color]
Sony is priced above the other camera in the $4k level.  Its the next level up in price.

[color=pink][i]The next camera up by a long margin is the new black magic camera which is at least in specs is at the alexa level. FOR £2310 Maybe it even beats the Alexa for some as it records too. [/i] [/color]

I was referring to price.  So I can see where your confusion lies.

[color=pink][i]Defining the next level UP by Canon and Sony standards is wrong and has been wrong for a while now and its what has been annoying many indie or consumer film makers AND why the sony canon and other manufacturers forced standards are becoming ever more absurd.[/i][/color]

Referring to the price.  Sony is offering a camera, FS700, for a price of $8000 to $10000 (ex., next level up from the 5D3 price level). Sony could have charged more. 

[tamoio]

[quote author=JanLivingston link=topic=600.msg4239#msg4239 date=1334756810]
[quote author=mike_tee_vee link=topic=600.msg4182#msg4182 date=1334689675]
It's a bloody shame that the AG-AF line is dead.  Panasonic have no clue on how to develop an eco-system, and their divisions clearly do not communicate with each other. 
[/quote]

Let me say right here and now that the AF100 is not dead and will continue to thrive.  Where this sort of information that it is dead comes from is beyond my imagination, especially if you are at NAB. We very clearly have an AF100 area there. We also are showing a mock up of a 4K camera and we have a very strong story on the next generation of codecs with AVC Ultra which can provide for onboard recording of that 4:4:4 signal.  As far as developing an eco-system within the Panasonic line, I will point you to the fact that that is indeed what we do do.  May I point you to the P2 lineup, in DVCPRO up to HD and how about AVC-Intra, and in the less expensive arena, our AVCCAM.  All of these work with virtually every non-linear edit system out there.  The AVC-Ultra will be the next ubiquitous codec to work across all platforms. 

I would appreciate a little more professionalism from the reporting staff here and ask that you check your rumors with the product manager in the division of Panasonic that delivers the product.  I am the product manager for the AF100 and I can assure everyone that it is definitely here to stay. 
Best regards,

Jan Crittenden Livingston
Panasonic
[/quote]

I'm a little late to the party here, I don't really pay that much attention to this site because of what I (and others) perceive as some fairly erratic "content".

I'm glad that Jan got down in the gutter a little to respond to this "story" which has supposedly originated from perhaps one of the most laughingly inaccurate sources known on the planet (it is very easy to measure 43rumors track record).  The real icing on the cake is that the individual behind EOSHD then responds that he is only "reporting" what he "heard" from someone he "trusts". I for one, feel that this is inexcusable behaviour. I don't know when people began thinking it was ok to just publish any unsubstantiated rubbish under the guise of doing readers a service, but spreading disinformation, particularly about commercial products, and then gaining monetarily from the traffic that posts like this generate is . . .well . . . reptilian?