The Ugly Panny Camera

B&H's price is without the lens.

I don't think anyone is listing it with a "kit" lens.
We've decided to wait until the first quarter of next year to see if Canon announces anything or if Panasonic comes out with that Canon to 4/3 adaptor that is supposed to let you use auto functions from the lens.

I was wrong about the lens thing.
Able Cine contacted me yesterday with a few packages they have put together.
http://www.abelcine.com/store/Panasonic-AG-AF100-Essentials-Starter-Kit-DEPOSIT/#tabs

Not bad with 2 lenses and other accessories for $7244
I think they sell the camera alone for about $5400

Here are recording specs for the AG-AF100:
PH:
1920 x 1080 / 1280 x 720
21Mbps (average), 24Mbps (max)
LPCM/2ch or Dolby Digital/2ch
HA:
1920 x 1080
17Mbps (average)
Dolby Digital/2ch

HE:
1440 x 1080
6Mbps (average)
Dolby Digital/2ch

Video formats:

1080:
1080/60i, 1080/50i
Only in PH mode: 1080/30p (over 60i), 1080/25p (over 50i), 1080/24p (native)
720 (only in PH mode):
720/60p, 720/50p, 720/24p (native), 720/25p (over 50i), 720/30p (over 60i)

The price is too expensive not to be able to shoot 1920 x 1080/60p. Maybe a decent camera for those shooting film but it won't compete with Canon DSLRs.

I think the AF100 is a GH2 inside an HMC-150 body and therefore should be sold at $3000 because its manufacturing cost must be lower than the HMC150 or at least it should be at the same price.

BUT you get ALL those VIDEO CAMERA things... notice my sarcasm ;-)

"it won't compete with Canon DSLRs" ?

I would speculate, not having used either, that the beautiful new Panny will blow any current Canon out of the water (along with all it's ridiculous bolt-on-bits) , then kick it's arse all the way home, while whistling a jaunty tune.

Though I am looking forward to future Canon Pro video camera's, I'm sure the'll pull something great out of their hat.

Meanwhile I'm still waiting for Scarlet.
They should have given it a boy's name, it would have been ready ages ago.

Scarlet is dead. Don't bother.

This camera is in no way going to blow out the current Canons... this isn't much better than many cameras out there right now. Adds a few things. Canon Full frame is better than this anyday.

Maybe for people that don't know how to rack focus and need automated functions this might be the winner... but I don't see TV productions picking these things up like they did the Mark II's.

Just my opinion, as a Mark II user.

FYI the Red one has a 90 second startup time, and all the red cameras are designed to use the full frame only if you are shooting at the max res. Meaning if you shoot anything less than 4k (on the Red one) its like using a smaller sensor.

Dont confuse user friendliness with professionalism.

I mean I know a guy with a red one, well I havent talked to him in a long time. He makes a living as some kind of software guy or whatever, he makes NO profit from video. He has made 3 movies and no distributor will buy his work, because frankly his movies suck. Not even those bulk horror movie pack distributors will buy his stuff. On the other hand I know another guy who got his movie distributed with cheapo handicams, granted he only made 6 grand, but still.

Buying a camera with extra features will not make anyone more professional. I use my 5d so much now that I would be uncomfortable with a normal camera. The sales of DSLR accessories are only going up in price and I count 30 different companies now... (Zacuto being the first one)
There are people like myself who prefer the small form of the DSLR, and the customability the DSLR offers, im not saying either camera is superior, im just saying don't be suprised when DSLRs still exist in the future because they will. if this panosonic camera was available for 1000 dollars I still wouldnt buy it, but thats just me.

Don't get me wrong, I think DSLR's are fantastic, I've just bought one and I'm loving it, even with it's pixel-binning line skipping jellyvision and workarounds, the image quality still blows me away, and when I eventually buy whatever comes next, I'll still use the DSLR for stealth, B-cam or Backup.

By "Pro" I mean a tool designed from the beginning for a specific task.
I find it hard to believe that the next generation of Pro video camera's aren't going to be much better than my DSLR multi-tool.

This doesn't mean our DSLR's will become obsolete, my M8 didn't suddenly start taking bad photo's when the M9 was released.

"it won't compete with ... DSLRs"
I sincerely hope Jason is right and I don't need to spend any more money ever again, but I also want him to be wrong, I want even better.

And Luxor, it's not ugly, it's a beautiful self-contained film making unit,
and it makes a full kit DSLR look like something made in a Borg kindergarden.

We could just agree to disagree?
After all we're just squabbling over subjective minutiae.

I'm going to sit back and enjoy the plethora of fantastic new toys being offered to us, as the image super-powers battle it out in the Eyes race.
(Terrible pun on "Arms race", sorry about that.)

One thing I think we can all agree on is - we've never had it so good, and it's going to get better.