C200: C200 Firmware Update Spring 2018

Regarding 10-bit and 422: cameras today are like computers, and the features are like software. 10-bit and 422 (and RGB 444) are all upsell items. If one wants those features (software), Canon charges extra for them. It's ultimately psychology and marketing. People are more willing to pay more for hardware vs. software in a camera system (except perhaps at the high end (Sony, ARRI etc.) where expensive software features are add-ons).

As a software / image-processing guy, I've done tons of work with codecs and comparing 420 (1/4 color), 422 (1/2 color), 444 YUV (all color in a slightly lossy color space), and 444 RGB (all color, lossless color). If not doing green screen, massive color post work, fast motion, or needing every last drop of DR (e.g outdoors, inside with untreated window in shot), 420 8-bit IPB capture is plenty good for online distribution of content (remember the C100). Because 420 8-bit IPB (H.264, someday H.265 and 10-bit (HDR)) is the online streaming standard. And thus one generation of recompression isn't a big deal in most cases. The C200 can do 10-bit 422 1080p externally, and of course compressed RAW internally. I think if Canon updated the stock/default picture styles to look better for skin tones, folks would be more satisfied with 8-bit 420 vs. needing to use 12-bit RAW (and the comparatively massive file sizes).

I've shot Red RAW and 14-bit Canon 5D ML RAW, both look amazing, and RAW would be useful when shooting a feature. For most of the shorter stuff many shoot (including me), compressed formats are fine. Shooting 12-bit RGB 444 1080p with Filmic Skin on the C300 II provides great skin tones, straight from the camera with little or no post work needed, and relatively small files: only 225Mbps (ALL-I)!

And if you put the 12-bit RGB 444 into a 4K sequence and sharpen it, you've got "4K" footage that most won't be able tell was shot in HD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sor8c7igbFQ
I've tested it and the 1080p => 4K (+sharpen) footage full screen looks vastly superior to 1080p uploads on YouTube, especially on > 1080p displays.

You could do the same with 10-bit 422 1080p recorded externally with the C200. Try comparing such footage to RAW 4K on the C200- you might be surprised.

Regarding C300 II 4K60: the only reason I could see for Canon not enabling 4K60 is thermal. Data rates can be kept similar if CFast 2 limitations (more compression), the fan could be force on for 4K60 (currently an option to turn off fan during recording), and recording could stop on overheat. While Canon might rightly figure this is not an ideal user experience, Sony users have dealt with it for years on the A7 series of cameras. So a paid upgrade with a disclaimer might satisfy folks wanting 4K60. However if Canon has a new 4K60 camera coming soon, marketing reasons will eliminate this option. I purchased a 1DX II to get 4K60 (and upgraded the 5DIII for stills).

So C300 II users could try the upscale to 4K post sharpen method for 4K60- most people won't be able to tell the difference. Perhaps have a demo ready to convince customers that you can deliver acceptable 4K60 footage. I was even able to upscale soft 1080p 1DX II footage to 4K and most people couldn't tell the difference vs. 4K native: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIw1CpYKk0c
 
I'm at a loss to understand why the issue is with Canon at this point and not Adobe.
I just don't agree that the size of the RAW format is problematic. The current issue, for mind, is the NLE's that refuse to update their software to cater for Cinema RAW Lite. Once, Premiere supports it natively I have no qualms regarding the file size or missing out on 4:2:2 10bit MP4.
 
I'm at a loss to understand why the issue is with Canon at this point and not Adobe.
I just don't agree that the size of the RAW format is problematic. The current issue, for mind, is the NLE's that refuse to update their software to cater for Cinema RAW Lite. Once, Premiere supports it natively I have no qualms regarding the file size or missing out on 4:2:2 10bit MP4.

Junk Premiere. Everything will be fine. No more complaints. :)
 
I wonder if Adobe is on a wave formation with Premiere? Back in the days of AVID dominance, Premiere was regarded as an unreliable toy, mostly used by hobbyists, kind of like FCP used to be regarded until about version 7. Now FCP X, to a point, has changed places with Premiere and even though a lot of pro, broadcast and feature work gets edited with FCP X, the market's perception seems to be that FCP X is nothing but iMovie Pro and now all "real" editors use Premiere with a few outliers in episodic and features still heavily invested in AVID and fewer outliers braving it with editing in Resolve.

But lately, like the past year, I am again sensing a LOT of discontent with Premiere, people generally despise the extortion-like subscription model, rendering tests show the latest Premiere version to be a dog as far as rendering speed in comparison to Resolve and FCP X. Looks like the pendulum is swinging back to Premiere being popular still but a lot of people jumping ship back to Resolve and FCP X. Thoughts? I use FCP X and overall am happy with it but a few of it's quirks are still highly annoying so I am still playing with editing in Resolve too.
 
I wonder if Adobe is on a wave formation with Premiere? Back in the days of AVID dominance, Premiere was regarded as an unreliable toy, mostly used by hobbyists, kind of like FCP used to be regarded until about version 7. Now FCP X, to a point, has changed places with Premiere and even though a lot of pro, broadcast and feature work gets edited with FCP X, the market's perception seems to be that FCP X is nothing but iMovie Pro and now all "real" editors use Premiere with a few outliers in episodic and features still heavily invested in AVID and fewer outliers braving it with editing in Resolve.

But lately, like the past year, I am again sensing a LOT of discontent with Premiere, people generally despise the extortion-like subscription model, rendering tests show the latest Premiere version to be a dog as far as rendering speed in comparison to Resolve and FCP X. Looks like the pendulum is swinging back to Premiere being popular still but a lot of people jumping ship back to Resolve and FCP X. Thoughts? I use FCP X and overall am happy with it but a few of it's quirks are still highly annoying so I am still playing with editing in Resolve too.

I'm looking into Resolve for editing as well. It's clearly not as mature as the others and it still feels like grading software with editing added in, but they're making a lot of big advances with every release. It also has the benefit of me owning it rather than paying a monthly fee, which I hate. I think Adobe has a lot of people feeling like if there was an equal alternative they would jump ship so can just buy the software and forget about it until they feel they need an upgrade...
 
Thoughts? I use FCP X and overall am happy with it but a few of it's quirks are still highly annoying so I am still playing with editing in Resolve too.

The NYC editors I know who are older than Millennials use Avid. Some use Mac Pros, some are on PCs. The corporate crowd tends to use Premiere, though that may be the official "company" platform. I don't know what the indie editors are using these days.
 
Seriously, all I WANT & NEED at this point is Adobe Premiere Pro native support for Cinema Raw Lite!

The best part about this update is that you won’t need native Premiere support - the proxies match so all you have to do is export your XML to Resolve, and populate the project with the full resolution media.
 
I know, no Cinema RAW Light on the C700 FF?!?!?! Missed opportunity Canon. Yes, you want people shooting studio features to buy Codex but Owner Ops aren't going to do that, but they would go with Cinema RAW Light. It'll be interesting to see if the C300 MKIII/C400 ends up with Cinema RAW Light or if they just keep it on the C200. Canon's logic escapes me sometimes.

See my post, where I speculate about hardware limits of the FF: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?359721-Canon-EOS-C700-FF-full-frame-5-9k-Raw&p=1986748035&viewfull=1#post1986748035
 
C200 Firmware still not posted....holding out for a surprise announcement at NAB...
I know, I know... call me crazy... but you gotta dream.
 
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