C300: Buying a used C300 MK II

You can at least mount a wireless follow focus on the top so then a short lens isn't an issue. Probably can mount a non-wireless that way as well. After using some wireless follow focuses lately on a few shoots, I'm starting to wonder, why do people (particularly on bigger sets) bother with non-wireless follow focuses?

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jm.gardiner said:
A lot of the older SLR glass from Canon (FD), leica and zeiss are just too small. The CX00 series has a lip under the lens mount to keep the camera balanced without a baseplate. That lip on the bottom can make it impossible to get a follow focus onto some of those shorter lenses. I have the genus superior follow focus and I can flip the gear on to the rear side, but then I have no room to bring a mattebox anywhere close to the lens. Breathing is usually terrible on those old lens, which is sad since I, like many, have a drawer full of old FD lenses.

If Zeiss completes that set of Otus lenses with a nice wide angle, that'll be my next set of affordable primes. Knowing full well they won't match with my Canon cine-zooms.
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That's good to know. Thanks for the tip!

What do you think about using a matte box with the Canon L lenses? I'm assuming you'll have to change the matte box's position every time you zoom in/out? *matte box has a filter on

After days of thinking, I've basically settled on getting the 14 2.8 II, 24 1.4 II, 50 1.2, 24-70 II, and 70-200 II once I have the camera. I'll probably get the 17-55 once I start getting more run and gun doc work.

I've learned a lot from this thread, thanks everybody who contributed!
 
jm.gardiner said:
A lot of the older SLR glass from Canon (FD), leica and zeiss are just too small. The CX00 series has a lip under the lens mount to keep the camera balanced without a baseplate. That lip on the bottom can make it impossible to get a follow focus onto some of those shorter lenses. I have the genus superior follow focus and I can flip the gear on to the rear side, but then I have no room to bring a mattebox anywhere close to the lens. Breathing is usually terrible on those old lens, which is sad since I, like many, have a drawer full of old FD lenses.

If Zeiss completes that set of Otus lenses with a nice wide angle, that'll be my next set of affordable primes. Knowing full well they won't match with my Canon cine-zooms.
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Ahhhh...yes...Makes sense there'd be problems getting the geometry of a the c300, a super short lens like the 28mm Elmarit, and matte box to play nicely together. So it goes. Perhaps it's time to let those lenses go. A friend let me test his Otus 55mm a little while ago. What an incredible lens.

Appreciate your response. Very useful.

Eric Coughlin said:
You can at least mount a wireless follow focus on the top so then a short lens isn't an issue. Probably can mount a non-wireless that way as well. After using some wireless follow focuses lately on a few shoots, I'm starting to wonder, why do people (particularly on bigger sets) bother with non-wireless follow focuses?
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Thank you for the suggestion. Looks like a skillful way to be able to still put the shorter lenses to work. I'm more likely to move on to cine lenses. But this is useful information.
 
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I used to run my EF glass with a mattebox and follow focus all the time and still do when I need to control flair or keep someone who's moving back and forth in focus. But I did it at least on a number of shoots just to make the camera look more important.

Lately though I've started to stop down a little more and perhaps regressed a bit to just pulling off the barrel, I guess I've come to embrace the lean-ness of the C300 system. Even on my cine zooms I find my self going without a follow focus. I'll be upgrading to the bright tangerine dual sided one whenever it comes out, I'm a fan of their speed crank style, and whenever I have a 1st AC we go wireless.
 
Great to have, not extremely important to me. I'm shooting on Canon/Arri and Red and they're fine with various electronic iris controls.
 
edmelvins said:
Hi fellas!

I'm considering buying a C300 MK II package but I can't seem to find a used one for sale anywhere. I'm also thinking of getting 4 Canon L primes along with two zooms.
I shoot primarily narrative and commercial but would like to get into more docs, which is why I'm skipping the RED.
How is autofocus with the L primes? I wonder if I should just get manual Zeiss lenses along with the zooms.

How do you deal with your EVF situation? Is the hood from Zacuto for the monitor good enough for operating?

Thanks folks!
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I have owned the C300mk2 since October 2015.

LENSES:
- Autofocus & Manual Focus Aid is very important for Doc style work, imho. The Dual Pixel AF is very good, way above anything else available today. Hence why I chose to buy L Series Lenses and rent the Cinema lenses. I would not buy the Zeiss lenses for that type of work after having worked with the AF. I have shot interviews with 50/1.2L at 1.2 with a moving subject and it holds better than any focus puller I know would be able to do. There are many situations where the AF isn't all that effective, but overall it's a really big deal, imho.
- One note: 17-55/2.8 does not cover the sensor when in DCI aspect mode. Only in HD and UHD mode and even then it's pretty dicey around 20mm or so. So I recommend buying 17-55/2.8 locally and test it out before you hand over cash as copies varies in quality quite a lot.
- Camera has internal compensation for vignetting and chromatic aberrations. I find this particularly useful when I shoot Green screen or White Cyc as I can get decent results with DSLR glass (f.ex. L Series lenses) that would otherwise require high end Cinema glass. Not all lenses are supported, so check before buying.
- The AF on the 85/1.2L II is a bit slow, but AF is slow on all cameras with that lens. Other lenses like 70-200/2.8L IS II has great fast AF.
- Be careful about third party lenses. Not all of them work. So test before buying! Sigma just upgraded their Art series to work with C300mk2. So far there's several Zeiss that don't work.

EVF/MONITOR UNIT:
- Zacuto Gratical Eye for EVF.
- You can always flip down the OLED monitor and add a Loupe, like f.ex. the Deity. I did that with my C300mk1. HOWEVER, after calculating repair costs to the LCD unit from abusing it that way I came to the conclusion that a Zacuto Gratical was similar price, and much better, particularly in terms of reduced delay.
- I see a lot of people using just a Hoodman on the Monitor, but I don't see them getting as many shots in focus as the operators with external EVF or a Loupe on the Monitor.

COLOR SCIENCE:
- Nice Color Science. So far it's been very easy to grade.
- There appears to be quite a bit of image quality improvements in the firmware upgrade that just came out.
- Fits in well with the Arri crowd. I have mixed and matched C300mk2 with Alexas, with good results.

PRICE:
- In my world there's very often a mandatory need for TC in/out. So a price comparison with the FS7 would always include the extra SDI back. Hence, price difference isn't all that.

CODEC/MEDIA:
- Codec is fat enough. About 60% size of ProRes (comparable flavor), but same quality imho. I think Canon hit the sweetspots.
- CFast memory cards are now more reasonably priced, although it's very annoying for somebody like me who shoots Canon & Arri that there are no 256GB CFast cards that work with both Canon & Arri. Sandisk has told me they hope to have their 256GB CFast out before the end of the year. We shall see...
- I often use my Odyssey7Q to record ProRes as some of my clients prefer that codec. (Edit 4K on existing/smaller/cheaper hardware...) It also helps that the Odyssey media is 1/10th the cost per GB.

POWER:
- Power consumption is very low compared to Arri. So you can fly (airplane) solo with the camera, some lenses and enough bricks in your carry-on to last a full 12hour day. Which is not possible with an Amira, of course.
- I typically do fine with 4 bricks 98Whr for a 12 hour day incl the Odyssey7Q. Or 2x 150Whr bricks with no Odyssey. I could probably make do with less batteries.
- I wish somebody made a BP-A60 equivalent w/D-tap output on the back for a more compact setup!!!

MOUNT:
- For quick Doc work the EF Twist On is fine, imho. But as soon as you get into f.ex. the 17-120 the EF Lock mount would be preferable, imho. Even with some Cinema Primes and remote focus I prefer EF Lock over EF Twist On. I also bought a PL mount, but the shop visit requirement for switching back and forth makes it a tricky purchase to make money on. It's too bad they don't offer EF Lock as an option when you buy the camera! I don't have the EF Lock, but I have used it many times on the C500. PL mount is still 'dumb', so the entire Focus Aid/Autofocus section is blocked out, but there is a hole there for some "i" contacts in the future... One day we might get Focus Aid with a Cooke S4i prime..???.:)


That's it for now. Hope that helps a little!
 
Parrot said:
MOUNT:
- For quick Doc work the EF Twist On is fine, imho. But as soon as you get into f.ex. the 17-120 the EF Lock mount would be preferable, imho. Even with some Cinema Primes and remote focus I prefer EF Lock over EF Twist On. I also bought a PL mount, but the shop visit requirement for switching back and forth makes it a tricky purchase to make money on. It's too bad they don't offer EF Lock as an option when you buy the camera! I don't have the EF Lock, but I have used it many times on the C500. PL mount is still 'dumb', so the entire Focus Aid/Autofocus section is blocked out, but there is a hole there for some "i" contacts in the future... One day we might get Focus Aid with a Cooke S4i prime..???.:)
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What is the advantage of EF Lock or PL Mount over regular EF Mount if you need to still use rod support for a cinema zoom lens even with PL or EF Lock?
 
Eric Coughlin said:
What is the advantage of EF Lock or PL Mount over regular EF Mount if you need to still use rod support for a cinema zoom lens even with PL or EF Lock?
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For PL & EF Lock: Lens goes straight in. Just like a B4 mount. So no need to disassemble the whole rod assembly like you have to do when twisting on a 17-120 with a servo on it. And it's much more sturdy, EF Twist On has a lot of play.
 
Parrot said:
For PL & EF Lock: Lens goes straight in. Just like a B4 mount. So no need to disassemble the whole rod assembly like you have to do when twisting on a 17-120 with a servo on it. And it's much more sturdy, EF Twist On has a lot of play.
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Well, I use the Zacuto Canon Lens Support with my EF Twist Mount, which slides directly in and out of the support, so no need to disassemble the rod support to change lenses. Feels pretty rock solid to me.



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Parrot said:
- Be careful about third party lenses. Not all of them work. So test before buying! Sigma just upgraded their Art series to work with C300mk2. So far there's several Zeiss that don't work.
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That is great to hear! Just to confirm. Do you know if all lenses in the Sigma Art series work with DPAF/Face Detection?

Parrot said:
EVF/MONITOR UNIT:
- Zacuto Gratical Eye for EVF.
- You can always flip down the OLED monitor and add a Loupe, like f.ex. the Deity. I did that with my C300mk1. HOWEVER, after calculating repair costs to the LCD unit from abusing it that way I came to the conclusion that a Zacuto Gratical was similar price, and much better, particularly in terms of reduced delay.
- I see a lot of people using just a Hoodman on the Monitor, but I don't see them getting as many shots in focus as the operators with external EVF or a Loupe on the Monitor.

That's it for now. Hope that helps a little!
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Was thinking of selling off my Gratical HD to save a couple bucks and use a loupe, but have been holding off because it's such a versatile tool. Your reasoning makes a lot of sense. I also just really like the Gratical.

Thank you for sharing all of your experience. Much obliged.
 
That lens support is brilliant! Ordering one today!

The EF locking mount is pretty great, it just clamps down on that lens so much better. Perhaps this is the best stop gap product.
 
Parrot said:
CODEC/MEDIA:
- Codec is fat enough. About 60% size of ProRes (comparable flavor), but same quality imho. I think Canon hit the sweetspots.
- CFast memory cards are now more reasonably priced, although it's very annoying for somebody like me who shoots Canon & Arri that there are no 256GB CFast cards that work with both Canon & Arri. Sandisk has told me they hope to have their 256GB CFast out before the end of the year. We shall see...
- I often use my Odyssey7Q to record ProRes as some of my clients prefer that codec. (Edit 4K on existing/smaller/cheaper hardware...) It also helps that the Odyssey media is 1/10th the cost per GB...
Click to expand...

FWIW, there is a recently released CFast-to-SSD adapter that is often used with BMD URSA series. I believe the gizmo - which looks like CFast cards with thick wires running into an external SSD - runs about $600 and is a bit unwieldy but it works with the prescribed SSD's well. Your media costs shrink dramatically with "I hope not to run out of space" prayers no longer needed.*

*It's designed for the internal Raw and ProRes 444 on URSA, which really eat up GB's. With more compressed codecs, one may not need them but, if you weren't aware of these adapters, they might be worth investigating.
 
Kohl said:
Do you know if all lenses in the Sigma Art series work with DPAF/Face Detection?
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http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/new/new_topic.php?id=590

BEFORE the latest firmware updates from Canon & Sigma I tested 24/1.4, 35/1.4, 50/1.4, 18-35/1.8, 50-100/1.8 Art & 50-150/2.8 OS to be working ok including DPAF Face Detection.
24-35/2.0 and 20/1.4 Art did not work then, but have been fixed in firmware update linked above.
If you pick up some of these you should definitely pick up the Sigma USB dock too, so you can upgrade.

I hope to test some of these lenses again soon with all new firmware from Sigma & Canon and see if there are any issues. I think it's fair to assume at this point that Sigma is now committed to making their Art lenses work on the Canon Cinema cameras and I don't expect any problems. But better to test!
 
Parrot said:
http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/new/new_topic.php?id=590

BEFORE the latest firmware updates from Canon & Sigma I tested 24/1.4, 35/1.4, 50/1.4, 18-35/1.8, 50-100/1.8 Art & 50-150/2.8 OS to be working ok including DPAF Face Detection.
24-35/2.0 and 20/1.4 Art did not work then, but have been fixed in firmware update linked above.
If you pick up some of these you should definitely pick up the Sigma USB dock too, so you can upgrade.

I hope to test some of these lenses again soon with all new firmware from Sigma & Canon and see if there are any issues. I think it's fair to assume at this point that Sigma is now committed to making their Art lenses work on the Canon Cinema cameras and I don't expect any problems. But better to test!
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I consider myself a modestly effective 'google-ist' but this most obvious place to look for the info escaped me. Jeez. So...thank you for the link!

Have the Sigma USB dock, super useful for calibration. Look forward to testing more of the Art series as circumstance allows. Thanks again.
 
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