C300: C300 Mk III Coming Soon

[Matt Turner]

c100 was out in summer 2012
c100 mkII late 2014

The C100 MKII added some great new upgrades, and some features that should have been in the MKI at release (IMHO).

Definitely an improvement, but I wouldn't consider it a true MKII in the sense of the complete upgrade from C300 MKI --> II.

 

[coutard]

The C100 MKII added some great new upgrades, and some features that should have been in the MKI at release (IMHO).

Definitely an improvement, but I wouldn't consider it a true MKII in the sense of the complete upgrade from C300 MKI --> II.

I agree, but considering what sony presented in between the MKII has been out, I'm guessing there will have to be much major improvements in the next one.

 

[EIREHotspur]

Their strategy of leaving out 4K on the C100 II to protect the C300 II just like they did on the Mark I versions were a classic case of being backward thinking and thinking that the status Quo of positioning their camera features would work on next generation.

The were blind sided by the Sony FS7 and FS5....and before anyone says Canon do not look at what Sony does and they do their own thing....Canon & Sony are Coca Cola and Pepsi as far as video go and if one starts beating the other in sales then unless your no longer interested in competing....why bother trying to stay in the game?

The Canon C100 III will have 4K and it will have it at the same price point of the Mark II now...

 

[Bassman2003]

Canon & Sony are Coca Cola and Pepsi as far as video go and if one starts beating the other in sales then unless your no longer interested in competing....why bother trying to stay in the game?/QUOTE]

I feel this way about all of the big video camera makers. If you are just putting models out there without trying to win the space, how can you expect them to be a success? The old days are gone where you could put anything out there in proximity and folks would buy it as there were not a lot of options. But Canon has never chased early adopters. They are happy to get the more seasoned buyers but their long product cycles are being squeezed and the cameras are looking long in the tooth well before the next compared to their price.

 

[EIREHotspur]

... But Canon has never chased early adopters. They are happy to get the more seasoned buyers but their long product cycles are being squeezed and the cameras are looking long in the tooth well before the next compared to their price.....

I agree but the big feature here is 4K...and it isn't a case of not keeping up with the early adopters.....it is a case of them being pig headed.
Like you said....it is their policy....and in the field of Technology if you do not adapt to market realities you will get left behind very quickly.....Betamax V VHS, Macs vs PCs...

 

[Bassman2003]

I agree. I used to love Canon and now have disdain for their stubborn nature. Not a fan of weak codecs and poor viewfinders on professional products. Or intentionally soft video (5DMKIII) even out the "uncompressed" HDMI output. They have tempered my enthusiasm over the years. But I could make the argument that 4k is still in the early adopter stage. Codecs and image quality are still pretty new.

 

[DLD]

There are rumors of 5DIV being announced as early as the NAB (mid-April). 4K, CFast 2.0, C-log. It could mean that Canon is trying to cover up the lost ground (last November/December, Sony full frame cameras had about the same share as Canon and Nikon in Germany, Europe's biggest single market ... full frame was where Canikon used to dominate) without worrying as much about protecting sales of their other models. IMO, if they disappoint with the 5D update, a lot of video shooters will be abandoning brand.

 

[Gene Sung]

Hey Gene, can you use the Premiere CC ARRI LUTs with the ArriLook LUTs? The C300 II using CLog2 and Producition Camera matrix looks fantastic with the PP CC ARRI LUTs. The big plus the C300 II has over the FS7 and even Alexa is the AF and assisted MF via DPAF. The FS7 and Alexa are better for slomo (kept the FS700 for slomo).

You can use the ArriLook (aka BertLUT) either in camera for monitoring or baked in; and also in post as well on Log image. Custom LUTs on the FS7 is a really powerful feature. BertLUTs look amazing.

 

[Gene Sung]

There are rumors of 5DIV being announced as early as the NAB (mid-April). 4K, CFast 2.0, C-log. It could mean that Canon is trying to cover up the lost ground (last November/December, Sony full frame cameras had about the same share as Canon and Nikon in Germany, Europe's biggest single market ... full frame was where Canikon used to dominate) without worrying as much about protecting sales of their other models. IMO, if they disappoint with the 5D update, a lot of video shooters will be abandoning brand.

5D Mark IV, if it's good, would have me really interested in Canon again - full frame, tiny size and nice colors. I think they lost me on the video camera war as I have an FS7 and my Scarlet-W(eapon) is set to deliver any day as I pre-ordered the first day. FS7 for the jobs that over laps the C300 II - corporate, event, doc, etc... And the Scarlet-W for music videos, indy films and more mid-level projects.

The 5D IV would totally compliment this setup - small, stealth, light wacking - certainly add another dimension. But yeah... that also depends on how much cash I have left which won't be much after this week. I hope they put behind this silly crippling / protection and start to win back people who left (like myself).

 

[puredrifting]

For some reason, I think that everyone except still photographers will be disappointed by the 5D MKIV when it hits. Just intuition based upon past performance by Canon. Not saying it will be bad, it will be a great stills camera and an okay video tool but I predict that most of the people who are on here will be sorely disappointed. What if it only has 1080 60P? People are going to have kittens if it doesn't have real 4k.

 

[hammerhorror]

For some reason, I think that everyone except still photographers will be disappointed by the 5D MKIV when it hits. Just intuition based upon past performance by Canon. Not saying it will be bad, it will be a great stills camera and an okay video tool but I predict that most of the people who are on here will be sorely disappointed. What if it only has 1080 60P? People are going to have kittens if it doesn't have real 4k.

Yes, I agree. Canon releases their still cameras with photographers in mind, not videographers. However, I do believe the 5D Mark IV will have some form of 4K video, just nothing mind blowing. I also don't think it will have C-Log or any other "Cinema Line" features unless they make a seperate Cinema version of the 5D Mark IV in addition to a model aimed at stills shooters. I also don't see the 5D Mark IV being announced at NAB (unless they make a "Cinema" version like the 1DC).

 

[ReelWorksMedia]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iRhCMJk43U

Just saw this for the first time. Looks pretty good.

Honestly though, I just realized Canon did not implement 4K via the HDMI port. Come on!!! Cameras at 1/6 of the cost can do this. Its literally the "MINIMUM REQUIREMENT" to make your video customers happy.

Needless to say, Canon is more of a stills company and they don't seem to have the interest in catering to the video market. Bummer, they make nice colors.

 

[DLD]

... Needless to say, Canon is more of a stills company and they don't seem to have the interest in catering to the video market. Bummer, they make nice colors.

Their bigwigs proclaim that they want to make "more specialized" cameras. The real question that comes from there is if this means crappy video in their DSLR's with "pro" 4K features only available for their camcorders and cinema lines. If that's the case, people will be abandoning the brand in droves because other manufacturers do make it available in models that compete with 5D.

As to this "Цирк" clip, it shows well what 1DXII can do - low light and low but sufficient for many uses dynamic range. If Canon doesn't produce 1D CII with C-log and 10-bit output, however, its video uses will be limited ... to Цирк and night time.

 

[telecam]

Great piece, very creative and artsy.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

Their bigwigs proclaim that they want to make "more specialized" cameras. The real question that comes from there is if this means crappy video in their DSLR's with "pro" 4K features only available for their camcorders and cinema lines. If that's the case, people will be abandoning the brand in droves because other manufacturers do make it available in models that compete with 5D.

People aren't going to abandon Canon simply because Canon doesn't make (affordable) video-centric DSLRs and instead focuses on making video cameras that don't do photography. That's like saying people are going to abandon Arri and Red because Arri and Red don't offer video-centric DSLRs.

 

[DLD]

People aren't going to abandon Canon simply because Canon doesn't make (affordable) video-centric DSLRs and instead focuses on making video cameras that don't do photography. That's like saying people are going to abandon Arri and Red because Arri and Red don't offer video-centric DSLRs.

A stills/DSLR hybrid market is entirely bypassed by ARRI and Red, so these two entities are like two ships passing each other at night thirty miles apart. But the $500-$10,000 is very much hybrid capable and that's even before all the talk of the photo-video conversion, which is a given at 8K and ~ 35-70 MPX sensors. (which doesn't mean many will take stills with their Alexa65 but it definitely can be done)

The other part is that Sony at the medium part of the market (A7SII/RII) and Panasonic at the low end (GH4, GX8, G7) are offering these features. And, to use a car analogy, that's even better than getting a sunroof and an infotainment system for the base price vehicle.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

There's always going to be a market for people who want $2,500 to $16,000 video cameras. That a company does not offer (quality) hybrid video/photo DSLRs is not much of a reason for those in the market for a video camera in that price range to ignore the company which offers video cameras that are suitable for what they need.

 

[ReelWorksMedia]

Either way Eric. By putting Canons video centric cameras in the ring with RED and Arri, with features offered, I'm not sure that really bodes well for Canon.

just speaking from the circle I work within...I love the Canon look....but dollar for dollar, I'd pick RED and Arri every time. In respect to Canon, unless we needed their wizard like autofocus.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

I'm not saying Canon is in the same market as Arri and Red. All I'm saying is that if a company produces video cameras and does not produce (quality) hybrid video/photo cameras, that doesn't mean their video camera sales will fail.

Aside from Red and Arri, Blackmagic, AJA, and JVC are some other companies that produce video cameras but don't produce photo/video cameras. Blackmagic is in the same price bracket as some of the C-series cameras, but I don't hear people saying Blackmagic will fail because they don't offer hybrids.

 

[DLD]

... All I'm saying is that if a company produces video cameras and does not produce (quality) hybrid video/photo cameras, that doesn't mean their video camera sales will fail.

That's correct. If - in principle - there's enough demand for their "video only" cameras, then Canon can live long and prosper. In this particular juncture, however, Canon is losing on several fronts by not having either a DSLR with pro video features or an affordable 4K camcorder. C300 MKII seems to be doing well enough but it's only one model. The new Panasonic Varicam LT is priced roughly in the same price range ($16,500 and up) and a lot of pro shooters will select that over MKII. Then there's new Red cameras vying for the same niche. And one can expect Sony to update F5 any second now. To defend its territory, Canon better be nimble, Canon better be quick.

BTW, I will assert that, within a year or two, pretty much every pro camera will be between $5,000 and $16,000. Sure, there'll be your $300,000 Alexa65's and so on but a Varicam LT is already more than sufficient for a big budget TV series or a feature film.

Aside from Red and Arri, Blackmagic, AJA, and JVC are some other companies that produce video cameras but don't produce photo/video cameras. Blackmagic is in the same price bracket as some of the C-series cameras, but I don't hear people saying Blackmagic will fail because they don't offer hybrids...

The total digital camera sales topped out at over 120,000,000 units shipped in 2010 but are expected to slump to 35,000,000 in 2016. Smartphones, with their ever improving built-in cameras, are having the P&S market for lunch (~100M shipped in 2010 down to ~ 20M in 2016 for an 80% reduction). The larger ILC's are holding steady in volume but their margins are eroding quickly as well. Sony A6300 at $1,000 is probably more than the bulk of enthusiast/low end pro users will ever need. If the NAB'16 delivers a "giant leap" type of a model, such as promised by Sony (or BMD back in 2015 with their 4.6 Mini), then the $15,000+ priced pro market will be crushed. The photo companies are diversifying into other areas but future consolidation is definitely in the offing.