C200: C200B as non-gimbal camera

R

rob norton

Veteran
Other than gimbal work, who uses the c200B as a traditional A or B camera?

I'm thinking of buying a second body and am leaning towards the c200B. Does anyone miss the EVF?

I like the idea of having a second camera that perfectly matches, while saving $ by not paying for the EVF.

Application will mostly be interior interviews and faster set ups for Dana Dolly, DG Glidecam, and eventually a gimbal when I have enough need and find one I like.
 
rob norton said:
Other than gimbal work, who uses the c200B as a traditional A or B camera?

I'm thinking of buying a second body and am leaning towards the c200B. Does anyone miss the EVF?

I like the idea of having a second camera that perfectly matches, while saving $ by not paying for the EVF.

Application will mostly be interior interviews and faster set ups for Dana Dolly, DG Glidecam, and eventually a gimbal when I have enough need and find one I like.
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There is a guy on youtube Crimson Engine who uses the C200B as his A cam.

He uses his phone as the LCD.

I personally don't use the LCD.

It's packed away.

Although I use the EFV, I use my phone where one would normally use the LCD.
 
NorBro said:
When I was thinking about buying the C200, I was 100% going to go for the C200B over the C200.

In the end, I still couldn't justify the price but saving the $1500 on the VF and screen that I would have barely used would have helped.

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On a side note, if you do go for the C200B, B&H has a decent savings on it plus a Ninja Flame & power:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1398217-REG/canon_eos_c200b_with_atomos.html
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Actually I was wrong, the c200/c200b "with accessory kit" is the same price. That seems a little steep to pay the same amount to not include the EVF?

I couldn't quite do away with the LCD, it's way too fast in selecting focus. Particularly with tracking (which is what I've used the most with interviews), the joystick is not ideal.

I'd realistically be looking at c200b, LCD, and probably hand grip, which is still cheaper than the full accessory options ($6867 vs. $7499).

Your link is a pretty good deal. It'd be great if you could add tap-focusing to any monitor, that'd be really useful.
 
The B has always appealed to me.. until I tried the camera out.

THe EVF is really good for RnG in the sun - I love the big rubber eye cup.

This leaves me split.. save some space for a great gimbal camera or have a really useful setup for solo shooting.
 
morgan_moore said:
The B has always appealed to me.. until I tried the camera out.

THe EVF is really good for RnG in the sun - I love the big rubber eye cup.

This leaves me split.. save some space for a great gimbal camera or have a really useful setup for solo shooting.
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Add a gimbal to the mix and things start to get interesting. You're not just paying for a second camera system, you're contributing to the total speed of shooting throughout the day. This depends on crew, but take a movi pro for example, if the c200b lives on the gimbal, you're eliminating or reducing the worst part about gimbals - the fine tuning. Extrapolate the time saved over the course of a shoot day and a significant period of time is saved, so much so that the movi pro could even be considered a useful tool on set!
 
A few here use a 1DX Mark II with their C200s...a great option too.

And so much easier to operate on the gimbal (with better AF).
 
Also, on the B, it is not even wired for the EVF so there is no way to add it down the line. I'd recommend that you buy the regular one and if you need to strip it down for a gimble or a drone, take off the handle and LCD.

Jim Martin
CinemaWorks
 
I'm not sure if I would buy the C200B just to save money. I have both the C200 & C200B and 90% of the time I pre-rig and pre-balance the C200B on my Ronin-M the night before a shoot and then on shoot day use my C200 as my A cam and then whenever I need a gimbal shot I do a quick swap with my camera assistant, get the shot and move on. This is also exceptionally handy whenever I'm covering an event or shooting a doc when I'm the only shooter or when there is two of us and one is getting all the mediums and tights with the C200 and I'm getting all the wides and shots with movement on the C200B. Combined with Canon's autofocus, this is a dream setup for a lot of the stuff I shoot - especially if you buy and extra side handle with record trigger and mount it to your gimbal - gives you "handsfree" control of your iris, autofocus, and record trigger while operating.

If you do end up wanting to use it not on a gimbal, I'd highly recommend getting at minimum the canon side handle and the SmallHD Focus (SDI model). It's not nearly as accurate as the Canon LCD, but it is 1000% more usable outdoors (because the Canon LCD is completely unusable outside during the day unless your face is jammed into a hood). I also got super nerdy and used a postage scale to confirm that the SmallHD Focus + small Sony battery + SDI cable is actually lighter weight than the Canon LCD + mounting bracket + cable.

Most recently we used my cameras on a short film I was directing and it was great on the few occasions that we needed to use the C200B for a shot to leave the A-Camera package fully built and just throw the B on the gimbal with a lens and get the shot and move on:

flourish_bts-62.jpg
IMG_2709.JPG
 
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NorBro said:
A few here use a 1DX Mark II with their C200s...a great option too.

And so much easier to operate on the gimbal (with better AF).
Click to expand...

Yeah I really like the 1dx ii. I just think as RAW becomes easier and easier, it'd be better to have identical cameras.
 
chris f said:
It's not nearly as accurate as the Canon LCD, but it is 1000% more usable outdoors (because the Canon LCD is completely unusable outside during the day unless your face is jammed into a hood).
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Are you adding the +2 of backlight adjustment to the monitor when shooting outside? I have the C200 LCD which I use with my C300 Mark IIs and with the backlight turned up it's rarely bright enough outside that I cannot see the screen. I own a sun-hood for it but pretty much never use it. I honestly don't understand people who say the C200 monitor is not bright, unless the C200 is incapable of providing as much brightness as a C300 Mark II does to the same monitor, which I doubt is the case. I suspect it's more so because people are unaware of how to turn up the brightness of the monitor. It's not under the brightness setting, it's backlight.
 
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Looks like you can't buy a Canon C200B body only (or with accessories) in Australia. The only way is to buy a regular C200 with accessories, then pay $300 AUD ($US 213) to have the EVF removed.

B&H doesn't ship any type of c200 to Australia either.

This is ridiculous.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Are you adding the +2 of backlight adjustment to the monitor when shooting outside? I have the C200 LCD which I use with my C300 Mark IIs and with the backlight turned up it's rarely bright enough outside that I cannot see the screen. I own a sun-hood for it but pretty much never use it. I honestly don't understand people who say the C200 monitor is not bright, unless the C200 is incapable of providing as much brightness as a C300 Mark II does to the same monitor, which I doubt is the case. I suspect it's more so because people are unaware of how to turn up the brightness of the monitor. It's not under the brightness setting, it's backlight.
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Good tip. +2 makes a big difference. With the c200, it's called "luminance", where as I think the c300 ii adjustment is actually under "backlight".
 
There are several YouTube videos that show the part to buy from Canon and how to safely remove the EVF from the C200. Then you get the best of both worlds, other than the cost savings. But at least you have the option of adding or subtracting the EVF as the project warrants. And yes, the videos are from Austrailians since they don't have the 200B available (wonder why?)
 
puredrifting said:
There are several YouTube videos that show the part to buy from Canon and how to safely remove the EVF from the C200. Then you get the best of both worlds, other than the cost savings. But at least you have the option of adding or subtracting the EVF as the project warrants. And yes, the videos are from Austrailians since they don't have the 200B available (wonder why?)
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Haha I just checked out some EVF removal videos. Jeweler screwdrivers and patience with electronics - it's not the life for me.
 
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