C300: C300: would you buy it now

The C300 is going to be around for a while and is still the #1 producer's pick here in town. Our 22 C300s in rentals are out all the time. Since the price drop 2 months ago, we've sold around 40 cameras and I think those kind of figures speak for themselves.

Jim Martin
EVSonline.com
 
How much heavier is the C300 than the Panasonic you are looking at? Have you shot with the C series cameras? Personally, I love them, but not everyone does.

-gl
 
The C300 is a nightmare from an operator's perspective. That said, half my jobs last year were C300 - chose it over my RED rig most times. Find a good deal on one and grab it. Canon still owns the producer's cache market and the thing still sings in interviews and TVCs.
 
Seems like there is a fair amount of love for the C300, so if you want to trash it great, I would value your opinion. Please elaborate.

William_Robinette said:
The C300 is a nightmare from an operator's perspective. That said, half my jobs last year were C300 - chose it over my RED rig most times. Find a good deal on one and grab it. Canon still owns the producer's cache market and the thing still sings in interviews and TVCs.
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ggrantly said:
Seems like there is a fair amount of love for the C300, so if you want to trash it great, I would value your opinion. Please elaborate.
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Im pretty sure he did there. From William's perspective it's not a great camera from an operational perspective. Then goes on to say over half his jobs were on C300 last year. Not sure I see a lot of trashing in this, just an opinion.
 
I'm not going to buy another one, but I'm not selling the one I have. Plan to keep it for a year or two. Love it.
 
Noel Evans said:
Im pretty sure he did there. From William's perspective it's not a great camera from an operational perspective. Then goes on to say over half his jobs were on C300 last year. Not sure I see a lot of trashing in this, just an opinion.
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Since I haven't used a C300, I'd like to know the details about what makes it an operational nightmare. Seems like a fair question.

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
Since I haven't used a C300, I'd like to know the details about what makes it an operational nightmare. Seems like a fair question.

Grant
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I see many operators complain about a camera not sitting perfectly on their shoulder and the need to do rigging to get it right for a shoulder mount shooting. I don't have that problem.

A lot of people, including myself would have been very happy with slow motion at 1080p in a C300. Except that I can't visualise any other issue. So I would also like to hear from William about the issues that he faces, since 50% of his shooting is with C300.
 
lovecameras said:
mcgeedigital said:
Lightly used one on ebay for $4950. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-EOS-C3...item3aac88e441 WITH the dual pixel AF upgrade.
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too cheap probably something wrong with it
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"Items NOT Included: - Monitor Unit- Grip Unit- Canon CA-940N Compact Power Adapter" - That Ebay Listing

That is why it is below market price. I doubt Canon is going to sell the grip and monitor unit cheaply, so it was probably overpriced for what it was.

Ebay says the C300 is trending at $5,899.00.
 
Dave Yoder said:
Blue is the Warmest Color, also shot exclusively on a C300. I think perhaps even a better example of what the camera can do, though the movie is decidedly NSFW. Or probably first dates, almost certainly not family viewing...
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It depends on the family (according to the Supreme Court!).

Oh, the point being was that it won Palm d'Or (Grand Prize) at Cannes Film Festival.
 
spinkscapes said:
Why would you preference a C300 over the Ursa Mini?
(apart from the fact that the UM isn't out yet)
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Advantages of C300 Mark I...

Long battery life on small batteries (AB/V-mount are rather large and heavy)
Name recognition; while the 5D is outdated spec-wise and in image quality, years later it is still a commonly requested camera, as the C300 likely will be too. A lot of producers don't stay on top of technology that much and don't want to be convinced of newer better cameras they've never heard of.
Probably significantly better low light
Cheap media that the client can afford to avoid spending a lot of time transferring data at the end of a shoot
Smaller and lighter overall
Better ergonomics for slider, monopod, Steadicam, small jib
Intuitive menu system and button interface
Reliability (no surprises such as the sun being a black hole or fixed pattern noise such as on other Blackmagic cameras)
Built-in ND filters (this is important)
Cheaper overall (used C300 + media + batteries = $6500, Ursa 4.6k + viewfinder + AB batteries + AB battery chargers + CFast Media + Ursa Mini shoulder mount & handle + ND filters + possible matte box for ND filters = approx $11,000)
 
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