AF-AG100

Murdock

Murdock

Has anyone used or seen footage from this camera? By footage I mean something that wasn't made by

Panasonic or someone boosting for panasonic. By used I mean.....used.:)
 
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wheatgrinder said:
David, do you mean that you would not advertise that you were a DP with a GH2?
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I think it would create some credibility problems with some producers. It's taken a fair bit of time for the whole idea of shooting with any kind of DSLR to become accepted. We have gotten to the point where you can be taken seriously with a 5DmkII, and to a degree with a 7D, but come at them with a camera like the GH2 most of them have never even heard of, and it's likely you'll encounter some scepticism.
 
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wheatgrinder said:
David, do you mean that you would not advertise that you were a DP with a GH2?
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The short answer to that is basically, "Yeah, that's the gist of what I meant."

The medium length answer is still a basic "Yes, that's what I mean," but with the caveat that my statement has more to do with me not "being" a DP (and as such not advertising myself as one) than it does the individual camera.

The long, rambling answer is below. :D

Gonzo_Entertainment said:
I think it would create some credibility problems with some producers. It's taken a fair bit of time for the whole idea of shooting with any kind of DSLR to become accepted. We have gotten to the point where you can be taken seriously with a 5DmkII, and to a degree with a 7D, but come at them with a camera like the GH2 most of them have never even heard of, and it's likely you'll encounter some scepticism.
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This is a totally valid concern, and I share it along with Gonzo. Perception is, unfortunately, a very large part of human interaction. There's a perception right now that the 5D and the 7D are the hot new items. Producers go out of their way to ask for them specifically. I rarely see calls for a generic "DSLR" rig, it's always specifically 5/7D. That may change over time a the market opens up and mirrorless cameras like the GH2 see use on sets and footage gets out there. I would have the same reservations about a Nikon camera, even if it blew the current offerings out of the water - the folks who are writing the checks are still likely to work from their perceptions as well as "name recognition" rather than objective technological comparison.

Let's assume that I'm a DP for a moment (not yet, working on it). I may not list the GH2 as an active part of my personal package, but I would definitely show footage from it, either on a general reel or as an option for a look for a specific project. At that point when the powers that be say "Wow, that's a great look, what did you use?" I can answer, "Oh, I shot that with my GH2 …" and then assess if I think it is the right tool for that particular job.

Now, for me personally, here's where it gets wacky.

I'm in a weird spot at the moment. The one where I am still an AC/DIT in terms of work that gets me paid. I started the freelancing adventure at the end of 2008 (although my non-pro experience goes back farther, but that's another topic), worked a key PA position on an indie feature and parlayed those contacts in order to shift into the camera department. All according to plan. From what I have experienced and heard from other crew is that people in this business will assume that you are whatever position/department where they met you. Ie: I am a tech/media manager for my current gig. Nobody here knows that I can operate, pull focus, light (sort of - I feel executing the lighting in my head is my weakest point), grip, dolly grip, and so on.

Similarly, I have met (only one or two) DPs who have echoed a sentiment I have seen online fairly extensively (1). That is: They won't hire ACs who advertise themselves as everything under the sun. If they need a Loader, they hire a Loader. If they need a First, they hire a first. When they see a card or website for a guy that is a DP/Operator/Steadicam/DIT/First/2nd/Loader/Grip/Electric it likely gets tossed.

The flip side of that is that in NorCal, this is less true on the job title level, but holds true for departments. I can only think of 1 gig off the top of my head where I got passed over possibly because I didn't have the specific title they sought (despite knowing the job and having experience doing it). It's more likely though that I didn't get that job because it wasn't in the budget to hire an actual AC to do media management. When the DP talked to me about it they were already shooting and a PA was doing the work, poorly. Of course I never heard from him either way, so who knows. The simple fact though is that the only crew up here who can afford to lock themselves into a single position are the ones who are firmly established and (most likely) in the 600. Lots of very experienced people up here, but not as much work floating around as NY or LA. More work than off market places, but WAY more experienced local crew to compete with. What this means is that more people up here diversify either within their department or cross departmentally. I can think of a Sacramento DP who makes more of his year (financially) editing than shooting - for example. I tend to keep myself ID'd as a camera person, although I hope this year to land some intern/volunteer work with folks that do CC and Grading so I can add that to my skill set as well.

At the same time, I recently DP'd my first short since college and plan to do as much of that as possible this year in order to start building a reel and (more importantly) relationships with directors in the area. I had an interesting conversation with a DP at a holiday party. We talked about being in that precarious zone where instead of being an assistant to all the DPs one knows, one becomes their competition. He told me when he first started marketing himself as a DP he went from having more work he could handle to 1 job a month for a decent stretch. Sounds daunting, doesn't it?

Now, I tend to obsess over things obsessively. :) But my obsessing is not the cause of my delaying the self-declaration of "I am a DoP, hear me roar!" The simple fact that I don't feel ready in the lighting aspect and that I want more practice operating before I start hunting paid DoP jobs. There's a veritable plethora of guys in NorCal (and in LA/NY I imagine) who simply have enough money (for whatever reason) to go out and buy a bunch of camera toys and declare "I'm a DP" without really knowing anything about basic photography, film making, lighting, or whatever. I refuse to be "that guy" that owns a lot of gear but doesn't know the craft.

This is where the GH2 comes in. It gives me a tool to work with on my own as well as something to offer for various PIE (2) projects: 24/48 competitions, freebies for choice folks, pop tent teams, maybe even the random CL posting fishing for students who need a DP, stuff like that. Having said that, I would still prefer to market myself with my reel and my reputation than my equipment. Both of those things take time to build though, and I'm hoping the GH2 will help me get there. There are options for me to lay hands on other cameras if needed, but I am saving those favors for the right time. Practice/tests/just for kicks stuff dictates having my own camera.

Besides, I need a good camera for digital stills anyway, and the 2x crop combined with 1:1 mode is very appealing for candids and wildlife, two things I want to shoot more.

My apologies for the TLDR derailment of this thread - but this is one of those topics where I think I have a plan, although I am most interested to hear the experiences and opinions of others as well.

(1) -- Shoot me a PM if you want to know where I read this; posting the source is "verboten!" :)

(2) -- PIE stands for "Paid In Exposure" There's an excellent treatment of this concept and tips on evaluating when the PIE is worth the time in this book:

http://www.amazon.com/My-So-Called-Freelance-Life-Professional/dp/1580052592
 
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.............aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand another thread brought to a screeching halt by one of my walls of text. :lol:

Sorry if that came off as a rant, just something I've been wresting with mentally - typing it out almost helped, but not quite. Heh.

Work in progress.
 
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David.rhsc said:
.............aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand another thread brought to a screeching halt by one of my walls of text. :lol:

Sorry if that came off as a rant, just something I've been wresting with mentally - typing it out almost helped, but not quite. Heh.

Work in progress.
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Not at all, I like your long ranty posts!

Just read something about backlit shots and interviews on the AF100 - interesting comparisons with the 5D MKII and rendering of skintones, thought you guys might find it interesting.
 
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...been shooting so I haven't been around.

There have been a lot of questions on the slider in the picture. You can find info. on it in the "Promotions" section. I'm so affraid to post information on this forum because I can't seem to understand all the rules...and keep getting my hand slapped!

...now, back to shooting with my 2x crop factor, AVCHD cam...which, by the way ROCKS!
Cheers to all,
-Zaza (damn... I hope I can put my name at the end of a post without getting banned!)
 
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Uranium City said:
Sorry you feel the rules are too confusing. If I can clear anything up, let me know.
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Sorry to derail/butt-in, but I tried that once; with little success - save Knightly's explanation of the history.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=25409

I do find it difficult sometimes to share information that I have found, so I err on the side of never linking anything that has a forum. This leads to me poorly parsing information instead of folks reading the much more concise and useful source material.

Sorry, not a big deal by any stretch, but since it came up again I thought I'd mention it. :D
 
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