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.