C300: C300 mkiii?

ahalpert said:
First of all, the C300III shoots 10-bit xfavc. The C200 has a sour reputation among some producers I know (even if it's just because they THINK it's a cheap camera). They hold the C300mk2 in higher regard.
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As someone who has owned both for a long time and shot many projects using both of them, the C200 shooting CRL simply looks better than the C300 MKII. More detail, handles gradients better and shoots 4K 60p 10-bit RAW. But yes, you're right,
but a lot of producers just had someone whisper in their ear years ago to use this camera because "it's the best". They write your check so you have to have the camera they want. I've almost bought the FS7 so many times even though I actively loathe it's
colors but producers love the FS7. But you can't own every camera.
 
The AF on the C300 MK3 is poor??

It definitely looks like an ideal camera. RAW is really clean (cleaner than the C500 MK2). Very respectable Dynamic range and 10 bit internal up to 4k 120p. I guess the 4k 120p is damn good too.

I am sure the C200 is great for most work but I'd defiantly love to own a C300 MK3.

I am just going to get a Pocket 6k tho...
 
I definitely don't think it's poor (even though the camera appeared to slightly lose focus in some of the shots in the video I linked on the last page).

But what needs to be confirmed - and this should be a deal breaking feature in terms of what your money is paying for - seriously - is if touchscreen face-tracking is possible in all modes at all times by touching the screen.

Because it's not possible on the C200 or the $16,000 C500 Mark II how it is on the stills cameras (if it loses or doesn't recognize a face in the frame).

___

As I said the other week in another thread...this is Canon's greatest creation.

If they do not offer this particular capability then you will have to hope it finds and tracks the correct face you'd like (more difficult with multiple people). Also, I wonder if object tracking can be enabled by touching the screen. The C200 required menu/button clicking to enable it.

[You're probably thinking...what??? How is that possible?]

As you can imagine, simply touching the screen is easiest for these kind of tasks and so far this has been exclusive to the stills cameras unless the C300 Mark III has it.

 
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That sounds like a bummer. I've never experimented with proper video AF and I'm not sure how I would use it (though obviously the more utility the better). I'm trying to imagine if I could get by with target box AF. Object tracking would be really good. Face tracking too. On a gimbal I can't often tap the screen anyway mid-shot. But an external touchscreen monitor that took the same inputs would be amazing
 
Once you use the touchscreen on the stills cameras it's impossible to go back.

You end up using it all of the time to focus.

Think about filming a panel and touching the faces on the screen to focus when they speak if by any chance they are sitting in a certain way or you're at an angle where there is enough shallowness in the plane.

(And I used to tap the screen when on a gimbal all of the time...so not sure how you're using yours?)
 
I dont currently have trouble with MF on a panel. I have trouble keeping focus on gimbal moves to advance from far to near and also when I'm tracking alongside someone with a shallow DOF.

I would love to support my gimbal with 2 hands for ease and stability. I typically have one hand on the focus motor as of now. I'd rather not touch the camera itself at all for stability. I often have it at high and low angles or off to the side. A lot of the time, I could potentially tap the screen. It would be annoying at best to have to keep the body LCD in view and a hand available to tap it. I'd rather start the shot in the right AF mode or with a tap on the subject I want to follow. Then hold just the gimbal. Then switch off the AF with a gimbal handle button mid-shot if I want to give control to the focus wheel.

But sure on a tripod, tapping no problem. I'm not dying for AF on a tripod though. Except shallow DOF interview where target box seems to work
 
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ahalpert said:
I was under the impression the AF had improved. But believe me, I would know more about it before actually making a purchase
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According to Undone, it works really well in everything up to 60p. In 120, it's no longer "near perfect" but still quite usable.
 
Ben_Ericson said:
Found a few more samples. The greens especially are way different than any other Canon footage I have seen. Does anyone on the forum own one yet? I would love to just see someone shoot in the EOS Standard Color Profile / 24p 4k.

https://vimeo.com/440982949

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1AdCobZcIw
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I think that’s just grading you’re seeing with the greens. Canon has more consistent colours across their various camera sensors than any other manufacturer. More than Arri, more than Sony, more than Red.
 
Grug said:
I think that’s just grading you’re seeing with the greens. Canon has more consistent colours across their various camera sensors than any other manufacturer. More than Arri, more than Sony, more than Red.
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That's what I am assuming, but I also noticed this R5 footage had that similar pastel color look. Surprisingly nasty highlights for a RAW file. You'd expect more from a Canon official page, or maybe not.

https://youtu.be/qfIq50JJBeI :37 - 1:00

I am really interested in the Mk3, just need to know the Skin Tone and overall image can play nicely with the Mk2. I've found really nice looking C500ii footage.
 
It was never stated that it's all RAW in that R5 video. Could have been 8K ALL-I or IPB later on. In the earlier RAW clip there was some more information, but it was lost after the grade. Regardless, I wouldn't expect the DR of that camera to handle that window/light. Only the best of the best could, and it would still be a little blown out.
 
Ben_Ericson said:
Found a few more samples. The greens especially are way different than any other Canon footage I have seen. Does anyone on the forum own one yet? I would love to just see someone shoot in the EOS Standard Color Profile / 24p 4k.

https://vimeo.com/440982949

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1AdCobZcIw
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P.S. I wanted to post this before...

When Cinema5D's C200 footage came out a few years back, I always thought the greens were a little yellowish (although I was blown away by the quality).

Here's that video if you'd like to take a look. At the end of it, there are some side-by-side grade/C-Log shots. I took one of the split screens and graded only the C-Log side (the right side). You can see that the greens react normally to a non-creative/graded transformation as they should.

Although it doesn't look exactly the same as your links, the point is to further support that it is a grading choice.

You can find random C300 Mark III RAW/C-Log footage to test it in post and see how your manipulation affects the images.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQeXBcZ07c8&t

C200 Clip.jpg
 
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Ben_Ericson said:
Found a few more samples. The greens especially are way different than any other Canon footage I have seen. Does anyone on the forum own one yet? I would love to just see someone shoot in the EOS Standard Color Profile / 24p 4k.

https://vimeo.com/440982949

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1AdCobZcIw
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it's the grading or taste.. I like the greens of the C300iii. I find them way better ooc than the FS7 and (hard to admit) also slightly more natural than the Panasonic S1 / EVA1

I posted these screen grabs already when I had the camera new. CLog2 with WideDR LUT, Sigma 24-70, two views out of my office. Pretty happy with the DR too.

f3.5 @35mm
Sigma35mm.jpg

f4 @70mm
Sigma70mm.jpg
 
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These things are always down to taste but for me the blacks were way too crushed, some highlights were blown and I found the slow mo gratuitous.
 
For me, this second one is far better. As I said, it's purely down to taste. Years ago, when I was mainly a stills photographer, I crushed my blacks out of existence and clients (and I) loved it.. Now I look back at them and cringe. Fashions come and go and IMO it's good to have a divergence of preferences.
 
So, I have a C300III on pre-order to finally replace my 8 year old FS700/Odyssey7Q setup (crazy to think that shoots 4k 120FPS and its that old!). The camera looks amazing but after yesterdays A7SIII announcement, I feel like the A7SIII is basically a C300III without ND and XLRs, image wise can anyone really tell the difference? The A7SIII actually has 0.2 more stops of DR according to Gerald Undone's test which is disappointing for C300III owners as that camera has DGO. Also the 16 bits Raw out is unheard of in a camera at that price point. Feels strange to be paying more than double for a C300III that has a similar look to the A7SIII. Anyone else in the same boat? The C300III is in stock and ready to ship so I have to make a decision. Built in NDs and XLR's are very useful for the corporate and doc jobs. I will no doubt pickup an A7SIII as a b-cam or to use as an a-cam when I need something smaller.
 
boosh said:
So, I have a C300III on pre-order to finally replace my 8 year old FS700/Odyssey7Q setup (crazy to think that shoots 4k 120FPS and its that old!). The camera looks amazing but after yesterdays A7SIII announcement, I feel like the A7SIII is basically a C300III without ND and XLRs, image wise can anyone really tell the difference? The A7SIII actually has 0.2 more stops of DR according to Gerald Undone's test which is disappointing for C300III owners as that camera has DGO. Also the 16 bits Raw out is unheard of in a camera at that price point. Feels strange to be paying more than double for a C300III that has a similar look to the A7SIII. Anyone else in the same boat? The C300III is in stock and ready to ship so I have to make a decision. Built in NDs and XLR's are very useful for the corporate and doc jobs. I will no doubt pickup an A7SIII as a b-cam or to use as an a-cam when I need something smaller.
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There is more to a camera than just image quality. When I purchase a camera it becomes the primary tool of my trade. A handsaw and a circular saw will both cut a straight piece of wood. And the handsaw is less than a 1/4 of the price. But when you have to use that saw repeatedly, over and over and over again, can you guess which one I would pick? The one that makes the job easier, faster and more efficient.

I’m a C300 III owner and I can tell you right now, that camera is the best camera I’ve ever owned. I absolutely love it and I wouldn’t get it over an A7S III. The only way I could see myself choosing an A7S III was if I simply didn’t have the money for a C300 III. And budget is a totally valid reason. But personally, I need a proper video camera with hard buttons and dials. I need internal ND’s and SDI ports. I don’t want to have to assemble a jigsaw puzzle just to shape the camera into a usable form factor. I like a camera that I can just pull out and shoot at anytime. I want it always ready to go. I don’t want to rely on cables, adapters, recorders, and a bunch of Frankenstein 3rd party crap. The only time I use mirrorless cameras are for gimbal work, guerrilla/undercover shooting, dashcams or b-cams. But that’s just me. I recognize that people are doing amazing things with those little cameras.

I wanted to see what I was missing, so I bought into the Fuji ecosystem, grabbed an XT3 and a Ninja V. I like the Fuji a lot, but mostly for stills. I never felt confident with it as a production video camera on big shoots. I had it on a huge shoot for HP. We had multiple clients, limited time at the location, 30 cast members, and I couldn’t get the damn Ninja to switch into 60fps mode. Turned out to be the HDMI cable and then 2 different internal settings on the XT3. Just so much fiddling and wasted time. It sucked. On my C300 III, I press one button. Boom. I’m over-cranking and shooting. That’s it. For me, I will always prefer a camera that can shoot all day, out of the box, with 0 accessories. Because that dependability is important to me. I also want a camera I can drop down a flight of stairs or take into a -25 degree blizzard and still have the damn thing work just fine. But again, that’s just me. Everyone is different.

And btw, the C300 III’s image is gorgeous. The crappy promo videos do it a disservice. The camera is very filmic. DGO does more than increase dynamic range. It helps with the highlight rolloff and gives the image some really gorgeous grain, VERY SIMILAR to the Alexa’s grain/texture in my opinion. No one is writing about that. I can see myself doing what Deakins does and occasionally shooting at higher ISOs just for that texture. It’s really beautiful. And I think Canon has really listened to their users with the C300 III. It’s an absolute joy to use.
 
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