Panasonic has begun deliveries of the AG-AF100. Targeted at the film and video production communities the AF100 delivers shallow depth of field and the wider field of view of a large imager. It is available now at a suggested list price of $4 995. “The design of the AF100’s advanced custom-designed 4/3-inch sensor affords depth of field and field of view similar to that of 35mm movie cameras in a more affordable camera ” says Jan Crittenden Livingston product line business manager Panasonic Solutions Company. “What’s more Panasonic engineering ingenuity has resolved the aliasing and moiré that has haunted the DSLR shooter. In fact the AF100 was based on what we heard from and saw customers doing: purchasing DSLR cameras because they liked the look of the image but then agonizing over all of the workarounds required to achieve an acceptable high definition recording.” The AF100 incorporates a large 4/3-inch 16:9 MOS imager (with an imaging area just slightly smaller than 35mm cinema film) that minimizes skew with fast imager scanning and incorporates an optical low pass filter for elimination of aliasing and moiré. The camcorder records 1080 at 60i 50i 30P 25P (Native) and 24P (Native) and 720 at 60p 50p 30p 25p and 24p native in AVCHD’s highest-quality PH mode (maximum 24Mbps). The AF100 also records in AVCCam’s HA (17Mbps) and HE (6Mbps) modes 1080i only. Ready for global production standards the camcorder is 60Hz and 50Hz switchable. Equipped with an interchangeable micro 4/3-inch lens mount the AF100 can utilize an array of low-cost widely available still camera lenses as well as film-style lenses with fixed focal lengths and primes. Variable frame rates (VFR) are available in 1080p selectable in 20 steps from 12p to 60p at 60Hz and 20 steps from 12p to 50p at 50Hz. The camcorder has a built-in stereo microphone and features two mic/lines switchable XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power capability. It can record 48-kHz/16-bit two-channel digital audio (in PH mode only) and supports LPCM/Dolby-AC3 in any of the modes. This newest Panasonic camcorder is the first to enjoy the benefits of advanced SDXC media card compatibility in addition to existing SDHC card support. SDXC is the newest SD memory card specification that supports memory capacities above 32GB and up to 2TB. With two SD slots for continuous recording the AF100 can record up to 12 hours on two 64GB SDXC cards in PH mode with automatic clip spanning across the two cards. The AF100 offers still image capture as two megapixel (1920 x 1080) still images. Weighing only 3.5 pounds (without lens or battery) the AF100 other features include Dynamic Range Stretch in all modes and frame rates; six built-in customizable scene files that are exchangeable for quick and easy matching between multiple cameras; seven built-in gamma curves with four selectable color matrices; a built-in optical ND filter; adjustable shutter speed and Syncro-scan function; and a high-resolution variable angle color LCD monitor and tiltable viewfinder. Panasonic will support the AG-AF100 with a three-year limited warranty (one year plus two extra years upon registration) upon registration of the camera with the PASS customer support program. Panasonic www.panasonic.com/broadcast
