C300: C300 mkII rumours are getting serious

For about two more weeks, I reckon. Maybe April, 1st.

As to the camera estimated time of arrival, mid-late summer would probably be a safe bet. Do your calculations accordingly.

This is generalisation however - and as it seems almost certain the C300 MKII will be announced at NAB - via any source on the net, this becomes harder to gauge as Canon generally havent played the NAB game - BUT, generally Canon are ready to, or almost ready to go from the date of the announcement. How long did the C100 MKII take to get into user hands?
 
How long did the C100 MKII take to get into user hands?
C100 Mark II was announced on October 21st, 2014 with an expected shipping date as the end of December. It started shipping about a month late at the end of January, I got mine (which I pre-ordered at the end of December) around February 12th, and the camera is currently on back-order with most retailers.

So, first batch was shipping 3 1/2 months after announcement, and 4 2/3 months later is on back-order.
 
This is generalisation however - and as it seems almost certain the C300 MKII will be announced at NAB - via any source on the net, this becomes harder to gauge as Canon generally havent played the NAB game - BUT, generally Canon are ready to, or almost ready to go from the date of the announcement. How long did the C100 MKII take to get into user hands?
The TV production season - presuming the camera is good enough and won't require too much tinkering for those familiar with MK I - starts by mid-late summer in the US. I would anticipate those folks to receive the first production batch right in that time frame. If the pricing/quality combination hits the right spot with the crowd, then it'll be in short supply for several more months. If they overprice it - or choose to make fatter margins off the earliest of adopters - then it could be available on demand.

Canon's pricing structure will, to some extent, depend on the competition also and the full roster of models announced at the NAB.

PS. Ah, yes, I am a general of generalizations. But there are too many variables currently unaccounted for. What if AF-200 is a huge hit? What if 5D M IV C is a 4K and low light monster? What if A9/99 is sort of like an FS-7 in a DSLR body for under $4,000? The NAB will wean some of these speculations out of us ... while conceivably creating others.

PPS. Naturally, as the 4K market gets compressed further and further, the differences between models will be almost negligible and the wait for something new almost worthless.

Which means that 8K is right around the corner.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/839220-REG/Canon_5779B002_C300_Cinema_EOS_Camcorder.html

This is interesting. They are still shipping the original C100. Could an announcement be coming sooner than NAB?
I suspect that this is inventory related.

In any case, the major manufacturers have announced their online conferences. Chances are the info will slip out a week to ten days earlier.
 
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I really thought Canon would have made a C300 Mark II announcement by now. Everyday they wait, they lose more sales to the FS7. Even if announced, it will be four months before deliveries, as it was with the C300, but why not announce something now? They could wait until NAB to announce street price.
 
It looks like the original C300 is discontinued, but the C300 EF mount with Dual Pixel CMOS AF and the C300 PL mount are still available. Maybe Canon just decided to stop making the EF mount version without the AF upgrade.
 
It looks like the original C300 is discontinued, but the C300 EF mount with Dual Pixel CMOS AF and the C300 PL mount are still available. Maybe Canon just decided to stop making the EF mount version without the AF upgrade.
My hunch is that they stopped making them looooong ago, primarily because the mark-up on MK II was far ahead of the cost of the Dual AF implementations/activations and the customer base favored the one with the Dual AF anyway.

After that, it becomes a matter of monthly sales numbers - try to get it off the shelves prior the introduction of new models, so neither the manufacturer nor the retailer has to take a financial hit and anger the buyer (as in, "your salesperson just told me this was the latest and the greatest and two weeks later it's discounted and I want my money back!").

Of course, you can't always time it to a perfection and please everyone and C300 w/ Dual AF will be sold and then discounted between now and the arrival of MK II (and likely considerably further in other markets, depending on the MK II price, as well as other factors such as the local demand for 4K vs.1080p, etc.). And this is where some retailers will cross-ship across the globe, which is where the "gray market" merchandise often comes from.
 
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