One of the big problems we face in the digital world, especially being placed in the field of video production, is trying to keep up with the latest gear. It’s important for us here at Media Northeast to keep up with the technology of today, in order to offer the best video production Maine has to offer. I usually don’t buy gear or equipment, unless I know it will help me turn out projects faster to my clients, or ramps up my production value. Nothing is more important to me than putting out a high quality project in a timely fashion. Whether these projects are high quality corporate videos, a beautiful wedding video, or a fast paced same day edit, our goal remains the same. Our latest big purchase has been revamping our camera lineup. Although we have been shooting in HD for many years now, I was quickly outgrowing the “look” I could achieve with my cameras of yesteryear. I loved the image control of the DSLR’s such as the 5D and 7D, but there were many drawbacks I just couldn’t get over. A few of them include, short record time intervals (12 min blocks), possible overheating issues which cause the camera to shut down, lack of proper onboard audio. Although many people are producing fantastic results with these camera’s, I just couldn’t see how it fit into my production workflow. Sure I could get second and third camera’s to get around the overheating issue, which could happen without notice, and I could get audio recorders to record audio and sync in post production. But how many hours would just having to sync audio add to each corporate video, or each wedding video I do? Then I heard about this new camera called the Panasonic AF100. It’s a big chip camera that gives me the depth of field control I’ve been looking for, in the form factor that I want, without sacrificing any of the pro video features I want and need. This camera has record times of up to 12 hrs (which I’ll never need), onboard XLR audio inputs, focus assist, waveform monitor, overcrank and undercrank, to name just a few. Once I got my hands on this camera, it was evident it was well worth the wait! This camera really adds a unique touch to any project, whether it’s a Maine wedding video or a corporate video production, it will be sure to meet or exceed your expectations in image quality.