significant advantages on the F3 over AF100 to justify the cost

[Uli Plank]

I wouldn’t say that the crop factor (check the wonderful online simulator at Abel Cine) is the most important difference.
Sony is using a sensor made for HDTV, while Panasonic is scaling down from a photographic sensor. While they are doing it much better than any DSLR, it’s still a bit weaker in resolution, aliasing and sensitivity. BTW, wouldn’t the FS100 rather be the contender? It’s much closer in price and has the same sensor.

Director of the Institute of Media Research (IMF) at Braunschweig University of Arts

[Guy Mcloughlin]

[Francisco Bech Gómez] “The F3 cost double price, besides more professional ports, is there a significant advantage in the image to pay this double price?”

The main advantages of the Sony F3 are:

1- Better low-light ( very noise free at high ISO ratings )
2- Better color ( 10-bit external output and $3,000 S-Log Upgrade Option )
3- Larger sensor ( but not that big a difference )

The main disadvantage is simply cost. You could almost buy three AF-100 cameras for the price of just one F3 camera.

If your total budget allows for the cost of the Sony F3 + Lenses + External Recorder, then the F3 might be a good fit for you.

Myself, I have to live with a much small equipment budget, so the F3 is just far too expensive. If I needed it for a job I would just rent it.

I’ve seen great results achieved with the AF-100 with the right lenses and lighting, and I doubt that the AF-100 would hold you back from shooting just about anything.

[Erik Naso]

I don’t see how the two cameras can be compared as a which is better. The F3 is so much more expensive and in a different class than the AF-100. To take full advantage of the F3 you would need to pony up for S-Log and that will cost about $20k, the AF100 is less than $5k.
The FS100 is the camera to compare to the AF-100 and if I had a choice I would take the AF-100. The neutral density wheel is a big one. The sensor is so close in size that I don’t think it matters.
As Guy stated I would rent one if I needed 10 bit.

Blog https://www.eriknaso.com
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[David Speace]

If you are considering buying the AF-100 like I am… you should read this review… it may help convince you that the AF-100 is the better choice over the F3. https://www.dvuser.co.uk/content.php?CID=246

Dave Speace
Producer/Director/DP
DZP Video

Windows 7, 64 Bit, i7 8 Core, 16Gb Ram, GeForce 4800

[John Fishback]

We love our AF-100. We’re using a Ki Pro Mini to record and the images are wonderful.

John

MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.3, Motion 4.0.3, Comp 3.5.3, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.3)

Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN