This is my “Lenses” page of 101CREW which is now live…so make sure you visit www.101crew.co.uk and have a wee browse at your leisure. This will take a lot of pressure off HD Warrior as it was turning into a one man Panasonic advert !

We had the opportunity to make a test shoot with Panasonics new AG-AF101 in order to see what this baby can do. We shot on a cold and snowy hamburg day in an old, dark factory with a small crew. We had about six hours of shooting and a hell of a time!
Thanks to the whole crew!! Thanks to the BMX guys: Sas Kaykha, Sören & Nils!!
Studio Hamburg for the support and Panasonic for providing us with this new camera.

Enjoy and please let us know what you think!

So how does this work… I order an adapter from HONG KONG to test the Canon L Glass on my G2 six days ago and it arrives today by FedEX…then I order a camera from down south 4 days ago and INTERLINK tell me they have too much of a backlog to process my order which I payed for an overnight delivery.

The EOS to mFT adapter has arrived and I can now confirm that your Canon glass on an AF101 will be as follows 24-70mm f2.8 = 48-140mm f2.8 fortunately it remains a 2x conversion, the good thing is to be able to use L glass and have the extra speed at f2.8mm.

The adapter is made by KIPON, Hong Kong and is better than I was expecting, though the results on the AF101 may be a different kettle of fish.

It had been mooted that it’s not clever to have the iris at the back of the lens but having done sone preliminary tests it does not seem to do any harm, I shot some white card at various iris settings and fully shut down you get vignetting at the corners.

My test baby had one 20W halogen light on her face, the camera a Lumix G2 HD had the EOS adapter and a Canon 50mm f2.5 macro lens, shooting at a 60th of a second @ 200 iso hand held and it looks very good indeed.

As you can see the Kipon adapter is well made with a 14 leaf iris built into the adapter itself and has a locking pin (at 3pm on a clock face) which is a slight mystery to release at first if like me you attach the adapter then the Canon lens without thinking.

So far this adapter has performed admirably with the short amount of testing I have been able to perform but this is a stop gap for me as the USA adapter promises to be better built, electronic and wireless comms to a remote pull focus control. At least I am able to tell you all that your Canon Glass needs to be multiplied by 2 times when using an adapter on the AF101. This brings it’s own problems sourcing a decent wide angle Canon lens.

So here we are…finally some good Hi Rez pictures of the Panasonic AF101, the PL mount in this case is the MTF PL to Micro Four Thirds Adaptor. This is proving so popular with customers that Mike from MTF ran out last week but he is expecting to have more from today.

We have not really had a chance to view the business side of the camera in such detail, I am glad to see a small joystick being used on the “FUNCTION” mode, I do hope this is an alternative navigation to the thumb wheel seen at the front of the camera. A nice touch is the removable panel covering the audio level controls. Note the mode button far right just above CH2 and the letters CAM & PB which can only mean “Camera” or “Playback”. Interestingly the OIS button will only work if you have Panasonic Micro Four Third lenses with the OIS switch. The 14-140mm lens has the OIS switch and this in my opinion will be “standard lens” for the AF101. Great to see a decent ND filter ring from 0 to 1/64 ND.

The two SDHC slots are at the top and a nice indication in yellow as to which slot is in use. There is HDMI, SDI and composite out and note where the headphone socket is.

This side is a bit like the dark side of the moon, a side we haven’t seen that often, note we have line and mic switches, the phantom power is switchable on the opposite side of the camera. This camera has grown on me since the early prototype… as one DP called it “an ugly duckling with a swan like picture” thats a perfect description of this camera. As they say it’s not all down to looks, it may be a tad boxy but from all accounts the camera performs and performs well and that’s the bottom line.

The world has gone AF101 mad, just over a week till we get the first production models from Panasonic and the phones are red hot with orders…the AF101 is going to be an all time best seller for Panasonic and they will need to up production in order to keep up with demand.

DPs from all over the UK are pledging their support with pre orders, some people are paying up front to beat the 20% vat rise due in January. The last time we had such a rush on a camera was about three years ago with the introduction of the Sony EX-1 but we have not seen such enthusiasm for a long time.

The camera has sparked off so many other facets like Micro Four Third lenses, Prime Lenses, 4/3 lenses, Canon & Nikon lens sales, Lens adaptors, Matte boxes, camera bags, spare batteries and even SDHC card sales.

As we draw closer to “AF101 day” people are craving as much information as possible, bloggers like Philip Bloom and Barry Green have been one of the lucky few to actually shoot with almost production models which is why Panasonic are now struggling to make the December due date as they made final tweaks after taking on ideas and comments given to them from Philip, Barry and a small band of lucky shooters.

Everyone has commented on how fantastic the picture is from the AF101, my chap in the USA, Erik, has a model sitting on his desk as I blog and he is very impressed with the camera. Erik is putting the final touches to his Canon adaptor which will have full control over aperture and focus…electronically, pricing and pictures next week.

I am really exited by this “predicted” phenomenon, the Panasonic AF101 is taking the world by storm and is bringing a lot of third party sales with it, in these hard times it’s good to see such enthusiasm and commitment to a variety of products…all for that coveted shallow depth of field in a camera that’s finally fit for purpose.

About a couple of days ago Panasonic announced a new firmware for their 14-140mm micro Four Thirds lens, firmware version 1.4 promises improved autofocus and image stabilization performance in movie mode.

So the dilemma is as follows…Panasonic “Please note that a camera body is required in order to update any Four Thirds lenses (including Micro Four Thirds lenses), while camera body can be updated without lens”.

The body it refers to is the following DSLR’s DMC-G1, G2, GF1, GH1, L1, L10…In order to update the lens firmware you need a Panasonic micro Four Thirds DSLR camera body which may or may not be easy to obtain.

I have a G2 in the office so this update can be done using the G2s body but what happens to the majority of you who do not have a Panasonic DSLR but you have micro Four Third lenses for your AF101.

Thats a question I will be posing to Panasonic this coming week and I hope to give you all an answer soon.

With just 10 days till first deliveries, cross fingers, Panasonic have stepped up a gear to deliver a new 16 page PDF of their new AF101 or as they call it the AF100 series.

You can see the PDF by clicking here  SP-AGAF100-1

When you purchase your Panasonic AF101 it will not come with a lens, therefore it’s important to purchase one before or at the time but beware to save disappointment pre order your lens in advance to make sure it’s in stock for your camera.

I have been looking at the range of micro Four Third lenses from Panasonic, Olympus and Voigtlander. The Voigtlander NOKTON f0.95 is my favourite standard lens as it’s micro Four Thirds and has a wonderful shallow depth of field (bokeh) at just over £800 it’s quite expensive but in my opinion worth every penny.

Panasonic have a wide range of micro Four Third lenses but the only down side is they mainly start at f3.5 which is not as fast as we would like them to be. That said they are very good lenses and in most cases won’t disappoint. Looking down the field and can I add thats not the full range, we start with the wide angle, standard and lastly various zoom lenses.

I think out of all the wide lenses I would plum for the 7-14mm f4, not as fast as I would prefer but by all accounts a very useful sharp lens, the purists amongst you would probably go for the 8mm f3.5 as it is a prime lens and technically should be slightly sharper than the 7-14mm lens.

A good al-rounder would be the 14-140mm f4.5-5.8, this lens gives you semi wide angle, standard and telephoto. As an alternative the 45mm f2.8 would be a cracking interview lens and at f2.8 is quite a bit faster that the competition.

So there you have it a large selection of Panasonic micro Four Third lenses to choose from but remember you also have Olympus mFT lenses and with a Lumix adaptor you can use Four Third lenses of which there is a far bigger choice and a lot faster.

People are still confused as to what type of lenses fit the Panasonic AF101 and I have also gone through this self same process…if you read some of Panasonic’s information on this camera you are led to believe you are dealing with a Four Thirds when in fact we have a Four Third type MOS sensor.

What’s happening is that people are seeing the Four Thirds from the sensor itself and assuming the camcorder takes Four Third lenses. Panasonic have their own way of describing the lens mount…

In order to offer the ability to change lenses, the Micro Four-thirds mount, jointly developed by Panasonic and Olympus has been adopted in the AG-AF101. The mounts designed to cover a 4/3 type sensor are Four-thirds (FTS) and Micro Four-thirds (mFTS). In order to achieve a compact camera body and be able to accept the greatest range of lenses, the AG-AF101 uses the Micro Four-thirds mount. The electronic signals are identical between the two mounts, so with the suitable Panasonic adaptor, the auto focus and auto iris functions on Four-thirds lenses can be used with the AG-AF101.

The Flange back distance of mFTS is extremely short at approximately 20mm, meaning that nearly every lens, including those designed for 35mm still cameras can be used with an adaptor.

So there you have it if you want a lens that will fit straight onto your AF101 then it needs to be a micro Four Third lens. Tomorrow we will look at the choice of micro Four Thirds lenses.

This is a very interesting photograph taken at the H Preston Open Day at Hampton on Tuesday the 7th of December 2010, it shows a simple shot of various customers watching a demonstration of the Panasonic AF101 but it also reveals in stunning detail the quality of the picture coming off the LCD television via the AF101.

The camera has a prime lens fitted which will certainly produce sharp shots but it’s also a testimony that this camera produces a very sharp, punchy picture with one 500W LED light reflected off a back wall, the general consensus on the open day was the AF101 produced a great picture.

I have some more information from Panasonic about the AF101 it reads as follows…

Through 24p recording on the AG-DVX100, variable frame rate recording with the Varicams and AG- HVX201, Panasonic has continually been the first to provide new technologies for professional video creation.

A 4/3 type image sensor, originally developed for use in digital still cameras is used in the AG-AF101 to record video. This camera represents the next generation of video cameras, and through the use of a large image sensor and interchangeable lenses, will greatly expand the creative options available to each user.

A newly developed 4/3 type MOS Image sensor is used in this camera. Normally, the aspect ratio for still images is 4:3 or 3:2 (some cameras are 1:1), while the aspect ratio for HD video is 16:9. In the case of the AG-AF101, the 16:9 aspect effective video area is positioned on the image sensor surface, and the total effective number of pixels on the image sensor is 12.4 million.

The size of a 4/3 type sensor is defined as 17.3mm x 13mm, similar to the size of 35mm film (22mm x 16mm). The 2/3 type sensors commonly used in high-end video cameras measure 8.8mm x 6.6mm, making 4/3 type sensors about four times larger than 2/3 type sensors. A large sensor allows for achievement of shallow depth of field, increasing creative choices for the shooter, as well as the possibility to use brighter lenses.

There are even larger sensors, such as those used on 35mm still cameras (full frame), but these however cause numerous problems when shooting video: 1. Since the sensors are developed primarily for still photo use, they have a very high

pixel count (ex. 20 million), and when in video mode, must process sixty images per second. This leads to an increase in the operating frequency, and makes it necessary to either reduce the recorded frames per second or record for short periods only to avoid internal overheating.

2. For shooters used to working with 35mm film, the depth of field when shooting with 35mm still (full frame) cameras is too shallow, resulting in the blur being too strong.

3. Prime and Master Prime lenses designed for 35mm or Super35 film do not cover the full image area of a 35mm still image (full frame).

4/3 type image sensors do not carry any of the above problems, and because the flange back (the distance between the lens mount and sensor) is short, allowing for the use of nearly any available lens (details later in this document.).

On the AG-AF101, a 17.8mm x 10mm 16:9 section is used from the 4/3 type sensor to create an HD signal. The actual sensor is slightly larger than the four thirds standard of 17.3mm x 13mm, which is used to its full extent for the most possible effective pixels. There are many applications and websites available that will reproduce the angle of view and depth of field when the effective sensor size and lens characteristics are entered.

Tomorrow we are going to look at the Panasonic micro 4/3″ mount itself as there is still some confusion about what fits straight onto the camcorder.