The Panasonic AG-AF100 will start shipping on December 27th. Reminder: [shoplink 16841]BHphoto is the only shop accepting preorders (Click here)[/shoplink].

PANASONIC PRESS RELEASE:

“SECAUCUS, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Panasonic Solutions Company today announced that the AG-AF100, the industry’s first professional micro 4/3-inch video camcorder optimized for high-definition video recording, will start shipping on December 27th at a suggested list price of $4,995. Highly anticipated since its introduction at NAB earlier this year, the AF100 is poised to set new benchmarks in digital cinematography.

“The design of the AF100’s best-in-class 4/3-inch sensor affords depth of field and field of view similar to that of 35mm movie cameras in a more affordable camera body”

Targeted at the video and film production communities, the AF100 delivers the shallow depth of field and wider field of view of a large imager, with the flexibility and cost advantages of a growing line of professional quality, industry-standard micro 4/3-inch lenses, filters, and adapters. The full HD 1080 and 720 production camera offers superior video handling, native 1080/24p recording, variable frame rates, professional audio capabilities, and compatibility with SDHC and SDXC media.

“The design of the AF100’s best-in-class 4/3-inch sensor affords depth of field and field of view similar to that of 35mm movie cameras in a more affordable camera body,” said 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. Indeed, the proof of concept of 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 agonized over all of the workarounds required to come out with an acceptable high definition recording.”

The AF100 incorporates a large 4/3-inch,16:9 MOS imager that minimizes skew with fast imager scanning, and incorporates low pass filters for elimination of aliasing and moiré. Additionally, it has a built-in optical ND filter. 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 (17 Mbps) 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 are available in 1080p, selectable in 20 steps from 12p to 60p at 60Hz and 20 steps from 12p to 50p at 50Hz. Standard professional interfaces include uncompressed 4:2:2, 8 Bit HD-SDI out; HDMI out; and USB 2.0. It records SMPTE timecode and is able to perform timecode synchronizing via the video output seeing timecode in. It has a built-in stereo microphone and features two mic/line, switchable XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power capability. The camera can record 48-kHz/16-bit two-channel digital audio recording (in PH mode only) and supports LPCM/Dolby-AC3 in any of the modes.

This newest Panasonic AVCCAM 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.

Weighing only 3.5 pounds (without lens or battery), the AF100 is packed with high-end features including 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; Syncro-scan shutter; and a high-resolution LCD and viewfinder.

It also offers a focus assist that can be used while recording, which is color-on peaking and a focus bar; two sets of adjustable zebras; two manual black and white balance choices, and preset White Balance at 3200K, 5600K or variable; a waveform monitor and vectorscope for more accurate monitoring of broadcast safe levels. Other essential features include pre-record; an intervalometer function that can be set for up to 24 hours, programmable User Buttons; a Smart Battery interface for recording up to four hours with a 5400mA battery; metadata recording; and a wireless infrared remote controller.

Panasonic will support the AF100 with a three-year limited warranty (one year plus two extra years upon registration).”

Preorder the [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100 at BHphoto (Click here)[/shoplink].

The Panasonic AG-AF100 is the first professional Micro Four Thirds camcorder. According to [shoplink 16841]BHphoto[/shoplink] the camera will be in Stock within 6-10 weeks. The price without lens is $4,795.00 ([shoplink 16841]Click here to preorder the AG-AF100[/shoplink]).

We collected some of the recent comments made by Barry Green at DVXuser forum:

– In PH (24Mbit/s) mode the AF100 supports uncompressed LPCM audio in addition to the AC-3 audio supported by the HMC series.

– Three chips still deliver superior color to a single-chip system. The reason everyone’s going with a single chip is NOT increased color fidelity; a Bayer chip is inferior to three chips for color fidelity, and that’s why every broadcast camera on the market has three chips and a prism. But there are some things that just can’t be done with three chips — primarily, emulating the way a film camera works and the ability to use lenses that have been developed for film cameras. A single sensor directly emulates the way a film sensor works, and you don’t need to make accomodations in the lens design for a beam-splitting prism.

– I expect we’ll see many comparisons just like the 5D vs. Red comparisons, where people show a whole bunch of shallow-DOF headshots and say “see, the 5D is just as good as the Red One.” If people shoot AF100 vs. 5D/7D and they limit themselves to those kinds of shots, then they’ll probably look quite comparable and there won’t be any “blowing away” going on. Where the AF100 will be hugely superior is in wide-angle deep focus shots, in terms of actual resolved detail, and in features and usability.

– So, is AVCHD a “step down” from DVCPRO-HD? In some ways, yes, in some ways no. It’s 4:2:0 instead of 4:2:2. And it’s long-GoP instead of intraframe. However, it’s also 2001-era technology, vs. 2010-era technology. So would it be fair to say that AVCHD can deliver comparable images as compared to DVCPRO-HD? Possibly. An intriguing question.

– DVCPRO-HD is 4:2:2, but it also prefilters the recording resolution down from 1920×1080 to 1280×1080. AVCHD is 4:2:0, but it retains the full 1920×1080. So DVCPRO-HD will have twice the color resolution but only 2/3 the horizontal resolved detail.

– And DVCPRO-HD is bulletproof as far as motion artifacting, whereas AVCHD is a long-GoP codec. However, as a long-GoP codec, it’s really good; I compared it against XDCAM-EX and found AVCHD to be much more robust regarding motion artifacts from cases where the codec gets overloaded. So while it isn’t a true intraframe codec, it’s much less susceptible to the issues that caused long-GoP codecs to get the reputation they got in the early days of HDV.

Reminder: You can read his initial report at DVXuser (Click here)

And don’t forget. You can support this website by preordering the [shoplink 16841]Panasonic AG-AF100 at BHphoto clicking here![/shoplink] (Thanks!)

Samyang just announced the availability of the new 35mm f/1.4 lens since February 2011. Samyang lenses are manual focus only but very cheap with with good image quality! Read for example the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 Photozone review (Tested on the Canon 5d).

You can check current Samyang auctions on [shoplink 16768 ebay]eBay by clicking here[/shoplink].

Panasonic won three DIWA awards with the Panasonic G2, the Panasonic DMC-FX66 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10.

“The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 features the world’s first touch-screen shooting control in a system camera. This small mirror-less system camera, tailor-made for the super-compact Micro Four Thirds System standard, makes the G2 package exceptionally portable, yet delivering professional image quality. In addition to its compactness, the Panasonic DMC-G2 receives its DIWA Gold Awards for its intuitive operation, first class screen and LVF (Live View Finder), and last but not least – its ability to capture high quality 12.1 MP stills and HD movies.”

P.S.: The Panasonic G2 is currently in Stock for $649.95 at Amazon (Click here)

Also the Olympus E-PL1 won the DIWA Gold Award:

“When it comes to user-friendly operation without losing creativity, the Olympus PEN E-PL1 really responds on demand. Special creative filters, HD-movie support, built-in flash and comfortable Autofocus Live View give photographers a complete set of photographic tools in a remarkably small package. Add to this its easy operation, photo shooting fun and professional image quality; a combination that made the DIWA organization honor the Olympus PEN E-PL1 camera with a Gold Award.

Kai Thon, test manager of DIWA Labs comments: <With the PEN range, Olympus has proved that it is perfectly possible to combine system cameras flexibility and professional image quality with a super-compact camera body. The Olympus PEN E-PL1 also has a built-in flash and improved control functions for added versatility. All in all, a full featured camera for any photographer who wishes to scale down in size, without compromising on performance and image quality. >”

The Olympus E-Pl1 is currently in Stock for $509 at Amazon (Click here)

During Photokina I received tons of mails from you with links to news, rumors and deals. With over 600 mails and comments per day it was impossible to answer every single message. That’s why I am writing to thank you for your help on this website. Without you 43rumors would not be alive.

In general 43rumors has a big role in my life now. There are many reasons why it is so. First it takes me several hours per day to work on it. And to find the balance between 43rumors, my real work as documentarist/photographer and my private life has been not easy! I always travel with my iPhone in my pocket and when there is some important news I write the article during coffeabreaks! That explains some of the misspellings, because I am always in a hurry. And when I am at home I am often in front of my laptop trying to chat with my rumor sources (I have 20-25 sources), to answer emails, check for news and fix issues. There are times (like Photokina) were I really had no time for my private life. But all works fine now, I have taken some rest, I will make some nice trip with my girlfriend (We will be in Barcelona soon) and in a few days I will know if I can shoot a documentary in Africa (Malawi).

There are so many stories I could tell you about the work behind 43rumors. There is so many people I am in touch with that I never met (and I wish to meet one day). There are so many mistakes I made so many things I learned and so many new ideas I have. I really like it to work on 43rumors and without you I could not do that. So once gain, I thank all of you!

Everything is written in Japanese and the website is in flash (google translation doesn’t work here). Some japanese 43rumors friend can help us to translate the text? Thanks!

UPDATE_2: Akihabara has some real world pictures of the new Lumix-phone (and so Engadget)

UPDATE_1: There is a first hand-on at mobile.cz