C500: C700 Production package

[Jim Martin]

Hey everyone-
Canon is offering the C700 Production package(EF & PL) as a real savings deal....$35,000.00 and you get:
- C700 body
- OLED VF (EVF-V70)
- Remote (OU-700 + UN-10 cable)
- Grip relocator (SG-1)
- Shoulder Support (SU-15)
PLUS
- IDX plate
- IDX cheese plate
- IDX battery
- IDX charger/AC adapter
- Dtap to Dtap cable
- XLR cable
- Noga arm

Now that's about a $6K savings on the package....sweet deal!
I believe these will start shipping in January after a few initial basic units ship at the end of this month.
Give us a ring if you'd like to get in on this.

Jim Martin
EVSonline.com

 

[puredrifting]

Wow, that is a great deal. Thanks for letting us know Jim. I was speaking with a group of DPs last night on a shoot we all were on in Hollywood and talk came up about the C700 and everyone seems pretty positive about it, but the biggest point of contention was, "It's overpriced for what it is". This deal goes a long way to minimizing that.

 

[Jim Martin]

Good to hear people are talking.....if someone wants one, have them give me a ring.
Also, if Canon offers 0% on the camera (my guess they will), that would work out to a little over $1450 a month + tax......

Jim Martin
EVSonline.com

 

[lennywood]

Just had a chance to play with the C700 at the Band Pro open house last night. I wasn’t interested before, but now I am, a little.

I already own two F55 cameras, but had been considering the C300II also. I have also craved the Amira for a while, but have been afraid to make that jump because any moment we expect to hear the Amira MK2 with 4k announced. Years back I owned the Alexa, when it first came out, and fell in love with the image from day one. But I shoot for broadcast t.v., and I need cameras with usable high ISO options and ENG ergonomics. The Amira has great ergonomics (if a little heavy, but balances well with these new ENG style Cinema zooms). The F55, even with the build up kit, is still front heavy with these heavy lenses.

So, last night, I put on my shoulder the C700, no Codex recorder, with the front heavy 17-120 attached, and I had a small orgasm.

I’m not going to jump on it. I want to wait and hear what actual users say about the look once it’s out on the field, and I think I prefer to wait for the global shutter option anyway. (plus you know Canon will drop the price sooner than later, they always do.) But while before I was just making fun at how ugly the camera is (and it has a face only a mother would love-whose idea was it to put the C300 curves on the front?!?), now I’m definitively interested.

(good to see you last night Jim)

 

[Jim Martin]

View attachment 119056View attachment 119056

Just had a chance to play with the C700 at the Band Pro open house last night. I wasn’t interested before, but now I am, a little.

I already own two F55 cameras, but had been considering the C300II also. I have also craved the Amira for a while, but have been afraid to make that jump because any moment we expect to hear the Amira MK2 with 4k announced. Years back I owned the Alexa, when it first came out, and fell in love with the image from day one. But I shoot for broadcast t.v., and I need cameras with usable high ISO options and ENG ergonomics. The Amira has great ergonomics (if a little heavy, but balances well with these new ENG style Cinema zooms). The F55, even with the build up kit, is still front heavy with these heavy lenses.

So, last night, I put on my shoulder the C700, no Codex recorder, with the front heavy 17-120 attached, and I had a small orgasm.

I’m not going to jump on it. I want to wait and hear what actual users say about the look once it’s out on the field, and I think I prefer to wait for the global shutter option anyway. (plus you know Canon will drop the price sooner than later, they always do.) But while before I was just making fun at how ugly the camera is (and it has a face only a mother would love-whose idea was it to put the C300 curves on the front?!?), now I’m definitively interested.

(good to see you last night Jim)

Yes, good to see you too....and glad you got to try both units that were there.....

Jim Martin
EVSonline.com

 

[anatusa]

so where is it?

 

[Jim Martin]

so where is it?

Some are shipping before the end of the month with a larger amount shipping in February.....from what I understand. The C700 we had just left the building for Sundance...

 

[anatusa]

So were any of the units shipped yet? i wonder if anyone had more time to play with it yet?

i just found a few new clips:

https://vimeo.com/202421759
https://vimeo.com/202420150

Regards

 

[NorBro]

The video is only in HD and I don't want to judge without using it myself, believe me, but it's so difficult not to when they are asking $28K-$30K, and all of the samples out there look like a C300 Mark II.

I just feel like it's going to be another Canon camera where you're paying 90% of the cost for the reliability and 10% for the image quality.

 

[bill totolo]

The video is only in HD and I don't want to judge without using it myself, believe me, but it's so difficult not to when they are asking $28K-$30K, and all of the samples out there look like a C300 Mark II.

I just feel like it's going to be another Canon camera where you're paying 90% of the cost for the reliability and 10% for the image quality.

I believe this is Canon's third Cinema sensor, and the speed at which they iterate and improve is quite impressive. I wouldn't write it off, I'm pretty sure it will be very competitive. High frame rates and 4:3 for anamorphic in a Canon with lowlight sensitivity and a big bucket of dynamic range? Sounds pretty good to me.

Whether it can grab a slice of the market is another question.

 

[anatusa]

I believe this is Canon's third Cinema sensor, and the speed at which they iterate and improve is quite impressive. I wouldn't write it off, I'm pretty sure it will be very competitive. High frame rates and 4:3 for anamorphic in a Canon with lowlight sensitivity and a big bucket of dynamic range? Sounds pretty good to me.

the DR and low light of c300 II was always kind if a downside for me, and i decided not to upgrade, so i dont own c300II and judge only on what i saw online, but came to the conclusion its overtalked.... especially all that "low light" talk ... i dont think its even relative our days , as most of the sensors are low light sensitive enough... same was with c300 ... all that how great it in low light, better then anything else ... well i own one, and would not say that, especially after once i had to film on 2 cams and used BM 4k production cam (HD prores 4:2:2, not raw) as a 2nd cam... i was surprised how good bm did , it shocked me in post... it was not worse, but i would say even better.
and there was some issues with c300II online tests ... cant say i think its bad.... just not good enough to me to upgrade from c300 yet....

c700 on other hand.... finally high frames, anamorphic, codec choice, usefull quick menu, but what bothers me about c700 is that its sensor is based on same architecture.... what ever it means... as c300II . and highlights on c300II are not that great.... i dont think i ever saw anything more pleasant then what arri does in high lights .... and even alexa mini was always a different price point, but now with c700 price its in alexa mini price range, so i just cant wait to see if c700 in terms of image is any kind of different animal ... if its any better then C300II. I dont want to say it has to be as good as arri does it, but i would like to see an image improvement in C700

 

[puredrifting]

Anatusa, I was able to handle and shoot with both one of the protoype C700s that Russell Carpenter and Tyler Stableford used to shoot "The Calling" as well as a new production unit and this was one of the first questions I asked the Canon reps, "Is this camera just a dressed up C300 MKII?" as far as the imager and DSP. The response from Canon as well as Carpenter and Stableford was an emphatic no, the DSP and various bits of electronic engineering are different than the C300 MKII which makes total sense. The C700 is capable of many things the C300 MKII is not capable of and can achieve looks the C300 MKII would be hard pressed to generate. As to whether or not it would be worth it for your money, I would never buy a camera this expensive without extensive side by side testing with the competition. If Arri debuts their 4K native capable Amira at NAB or before, that would cloud the issue even more for me frankly. I love the Arri cameras, almost every TV show I work on shoots some combination of Alexa, Alexa Mini and or Amira, the Arris to me are by far the most beautiful natrual image out of any camera made today. The engineering and ease of use of all of the Arri line is exquisite. But I came away very impressed with the Canon C700 in my brief time with it. I was able to shoot footage on both the prototype and the new production camera, but just a few minutes, under controlled circumstances, not a on a "real shoot". and I was not able to take my footage with me. But I was able to look at it on a Canon 4K monitor and through the Codex on site CC suite and the camera is capable of amazing images. You can read my interview with Russell Carpenter, ASC, the DP of Titanic about what his impressions of the camera were here http://www.hdvideopro.com/film-and-tv/shorts-stocks-and-web-video/cinematographer-russell-carpenter/

When I interviewed Russell, he made it clear that he was not a Canon shill, that he owns an Arri Alexa XT package and that his impressions of the Canon were 100% his own and that Canon did not censor, suggest or pressure him to say anything positive or negative about the C700 and I believe him. He has a reputation as a very talented, Oscar winning DP not to mention as a true gentleman so I very much believed him about what he said about his experience with the C700. In short, he was blown away by it. Tyler Stableford echoed his enthusiasm for the camera and the images speak for themselves. I think some of the images in The Calling approach Arri territory and in a way, as a small crew, perhaps camera op with an AC, to me, it feels as if the Canon would be great on an episodic. Carpenter said he is eagerly looking forward to shooting a feature with it. Hard to say if the image from the C700 is equal to or better than the Arris, I am not a skilled enough DP to probably make a very good assesment but I would say the C700 is in the game for sure. I can't wait until somebody really talented is able to do a side by side test shoot out with the C700 and the Amira. That will be interesting. For what it's worth, my opinion is that Canon has initially priced the camera little too expensive, it would generate a lot more excitement at $20k for the body alone instead of $28k but time will tell when Canon decides to do their famous price drop. If the C700 isn't selling in numbers great enough to met their expectations, they will have to drop the price to sell them. But who knows, perhaps some episodic will pick up six of them and make beautiful images with them and they will gain a foothold?

 

[bill totolo]

the DR and low light of c300 II was always kind if a downside for me, and i decided not to upgrade, so i dont own c300II and judge only on what i saw online, but came to the conclusion its overtalked.... especially all that "low light" talk ... i dont think its even relative our days , as most of the sensors are low light sensitive enough... same was with c300 ... all that how great it in low light, better then anything else ... well i own one, and would not say that, especially after once i had to film on 2 cams and used BM 4k production cam (HD prores 4:2:2, not raw) as a 2nd cam... i was surprised how good bm did , it shocked me in post... it was not worse, but i would say even better.
and there was some issues with c300II online tests ... cant say i think its bad.... just not good enough to me to upgrade from c300 yet....

c700 on other hand.... finally high frames, anamorphic, codec choice, usefull quick menu, but what bothers me about c700 is that its sensor is based on same architecture.... what ever it means... as c300II . and highlights on c300II are not that great.... i dont think i ever saw anything more pleasant then what arri does in high lights .... and even alexa mini was always a different price point, but now with c700 price its in alexa mini price range, so i just cant wait to see if c700 in terms of image is any kind of different animal ... if its any better then C300II. I dont want to say it has to be as good as arri does it, but i would like to see an image improvement in C700

anatusa, have you used a C300 MKII with the latest firmware? That camera is by far the best bang for the buck as far as I'm concerned.

Here's an image demonstrating skin tone, shot in CLog 3:



And here's some crazy low light performance, the only illumination is a coming from three movie screens about 20-40 feet away from the subject.
This one is shot in REC.709 somewhere between ISO 2000-3000, 4000K:

 

[jw2700]

anatusa, have you used a C300 MKII with the latest firmware? That camera is by far the best bang for the buck as far as I'm concerned.

Here's an image demonstrating skin tone, shot in CLog 3:

View attachment 121012

And here's some crazy low light performance, the only illumination is a coming from three movie screens about 20-40 feet away from the subject.
This one is shot in REC.709 somewhere between ISO 2000-3000, 4000K:

View attachment 121013

Hey Bill, thanks for the stills... I just upgraded to a C300 Mk II yesterday from my MK I purchased January 2012... I'm waaaay out of the country and won't have my new camera for a while, but these kind of creamy, cinematic images make me feel great.

 

[anatusa]

Anatusa, I was able to handle and shoot with both one of the protoype C700s that Russell Carpenter and Tyler Stableford used to shoot "The Calling" as well as a new production unit and this was one of the first questions I asked the Canon reps, "Is this camera just a dressed up C300 MKII?" as far as the imager and DSP. The response from Canon as well as Carpenter and Stableford was an emphatic no, the DSP and various bits of electronic engineering are different than the C300 MKII which makes total sense. The C700 is capable of many things the C300 MKII is not capable of and can achieve looks the C300 MKII would be hard pressed to generate. As to whether or not it would be worth it for your money, I would never buy a camera this expensive without extensive side by side testing with the competition. If Arri debuts their 4K native capable Amira at NAB or before, that would cloud the issue even more for me frankly. I love the Arri cameras, almost every TV show I work on shoots some combination of Alexa, Alexa Mini and or Amira, the Arris to me are by far the most beautiful natrual image out of any camera made today. The engineering and ease of use of all of the Arri line is exquisite. But I came away very impressed with the Canon C700 in my brief time with it. I was able to shoot footage on both the prototype and the new production camera, but just a few minutes, under controlled circumstances, not a on a "real shoot". and I was not able to take my footage with me. But I was able to look at it on a Canon 4K monitor and through the Codex on site CC suite and the camera is capable of amazing images. You can read my interview with Russell Carpenter, ASC, the DP of Titanic about what his impressions of the camera were here http://www.hdvideopro.com/film-and-tv/shorts-stocks-and-web-video/cinematographer-russell-carpenter/

When I interviewed Russell, he made it clear that he was not a Canon shill, that he owns an Arri Alexa XT package and that his impressions of the Canon were 100% his own and that Canon did not censor, suggest or pressure him to say anything positive or negative about the C700 and I believe him. He has a reputation as a very talented, Oscar winning DP not to mention as a true gentleman so I very much believed him about what he said about his experience with the C700. In short, he was blown away by it. Tyler Stableford echoed his enthusiasm for the camera and the images speak for themselves. I think some of the images in The Calling approach Arri territory and in a way, as a small crew, perhaps camera op with an AC, to me, it feels as if the Canon would be great on an episodic. Carpenter said he is eagerly looking forward to shooting a feature with it. Hard to say if the image from the C700 is equal to or better than the Arris, I am not a skilled enough DP to probably make a very good assesment but I would say the C700 is in the game for sure. I can't wait until somebody really talented is able to do a side by side test shoot out with the C700 and the Amira. That will be interesting. For what it's worth, my opinion is that Canon has initially priced the camera little too expensive, it would generate a lot more excitement at $20k for the body alone instead of $28k but time will tell when Canon decides to do their famous price drop. If the C700 isn't selling in numbers great enough to met their expectations, they will have to drop the price to sell them. But who knows, perhaps some episodic will pick up six of them and make beautiful images with them and they will gain a foothold?

thank u for the info, interesting article! btw have u noticed that its selling now? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1278096-REG/canon_1454c002_eos_c700_cinema_camera.html

cant wait to see a real life samples!

 

[jcs]

anatusa, have you used a C300 MKII with the latest firmware? That camera is by far the best bang for the buck as far as I'm concerned.

Agreed especially for skintones. While ARRI has a color and DR/highlight advantage, they don't have autofocus, which is extremely useful for single-operators (not to mention ARRI's power requirements). Red Weapon has resolution and HFR advantages, also no autofocus. What makes ARRI and Canon very useful is the ease in getting skintones looking great. I've seen very good Weapon skintones- not clear how much work to achieve them. Red camera systems are extremely complicated compared to Canon and especially ARRI. Having less options and producing great looking footage is, to me, the sign of a great camera system- it just works!

 

[anatusa]

While ARRI has a color and DR/highlight advantage, they don't have autofocus, which is extremely useful for single-operators (not to mention ARRI's power requirements). Red Weapon has resolution and HFR advantages, also no autofocus. What makes ARRI and Canon very useful is the ease in getting skintones looking great. I've seen very good Weapon skintones- not clear how much work to achieve them. Red camera systems are extremely complicated compared to Canon and especially ARRI. Having less options and producing great looking footage is, to me, the sign of a great camera system- it just works!

i am not into comparing anything and especially C300II to Arri... its just something completely different, and my major concern was if c700 has a true improvement in the sensor/image from C300 II, - Why i mentioned Arri mini at all is that C700 in my opinion is coming into the same league with big guys...

C700 , arri - are not that much 1 man cam, C700 has also power requirements... easy of use ... i think swapping mounts easy and your self is useful . pl would be my first chose! 35k for cam and cheap photo glass seems strange.... so AF is not that important. but still EF for some occasions/budgets i would use... also Arri mini for example is much smaller...
So there are some more advantages in Arri mini, but also few minuses, like no 4k... and its one of the reasons why i look at C700.... but only if DR is really improved,.... thats why i desperately waiting for the samples and tests...

 

[indiawilds]

Anatusa, I was able to handle and shoot with both one of the protoype C700s that Russell Carpenter and Tyler Stableford used to shoot "The Calling" as well as a new production unit and this was one of the first questions I asked the Canon reps, "Is this camera just a dressed up C300 MKII?" as far as the imager and DSP. The response from Canon as well as Carpenter and Stableford was an emphatic no, the DSP and various bits of electronic engineering are different than the C300 MKII which makes total sense. The C700 is capable of many things the C300 MKII is not capable of and can achieve looks the C300 MKII would be hard pressed to generate. As to whether or not it would be worth it for your money, I would never buy a camera this expensive without extensive side by side testing with the competition. If Arri debuts their 4K native capable Amira at NAB or before, that would cloud the issue even more for me frankly. I love the Arri cameras, almost every TV show I work on shoots some combination of Alexa, Alexa Mini and or Amira, the Arris to me are by far the most beautiful natrual image out of any camera made today. The engineering and ease of use of all of the Arri line is exquisite. But I came away very impressed with the Canon C700 in my brief time with it. I was able to shoot footage on both the prototype and the new production camera, but just a few minutes, under controlled circumstances, not a on a "real shoot". and I was not able to take my footage with me. But I was able to look at it on a Canon 4K monitor and through the Codex on site CC suite and the camera is capable of amazing images. You can read my interview with Russell Carpenter, ASC, the DP of Titanic about what his impressions of the camera were here http://www.hdvideopro.com/film-and-tv/shorts-stocks-and-web-video/cinematographer-russell-carpenter/

When I interviewed Russell, he made it clear that he was not a Canon shill, that he owns an Arri Alexa XT package and that his impressions of the Canon were 100% his own and that Canon did not censor, suggest or pressure him to say anything positive or negative about the C700 and I believe him. He has a reputation as a very talented, Oscar winning DP not to mention as a true gentleman so I very much believed him about what he said about his experience with the C700. In short, he was blown away by it. Tyler Stableford echoed his enthusiasm for the camera and the images speak for themselves. I think some of the images in The Calling approach Arri territory and in a way, as a small crew, perhaps camera op with an AC, to me, it feels as if the Canon would be great on an episodic. Carpenter said he is eagerly looking forward to shooting a feature with it. Hard to say if the image from the C700 is equal to or better than the Arris, I am not a skilled enough DP to probably make a very good assesment but I would say the C700 is in the game for sure. I can't wait until somebody really talented is able to do a side by side test shoot out with the C700 and the Amira. That will be interesting. For what it's worth, my opinion is that Canon has initially priced the camera little too expensive, it would generate a lot more excitement at $20k for the body alone instead of $28k but time will tell when Canon decides to do their famous price drop. If the C700 isn't selling in numbers great enough to met their expectations, they will have to drop the price to sell them. But who knows, perhaps some episodic will pick up six of them and make beautiful images with them and they will gain a foothold?

Thanks Dan for that article and your views. I would love to see some ProRes from C700 and know how good it is vis-a-vis the RAW.

 

[puredrifting]

Thanks Dan for that article and your views. I would love to see some ProRes from C700 and know how good it is vis-a-vis the RAW.

Me too! I only shot with the Codex recorder, which obviously looks good. Russell Carpenter said the same thing, he wanted to see Prores.

 

[bill totolo]

i am not into comparing anything and especially C300II to Arri... its just something completely different, and my major concern was if c700 has a true improvement in the sensor/image from C300 II, - Why i mentioned Arri mini at all is that C700 in my opinion is coming into the same league with big guys...

C700 , arri - are not that much 1 man cam, C700 has also power requirements... easy of use ... i think swapping mounts easy and your self is useful . pl would be my first chose! 35k for cam and cheap photo glass seems strange.... so AF is not that important. but still EF for some occasions/budgets i would use... also Arri mini for example is much smaller...
So there are some more advantages in Arri mini, but also few minuses, like no 4k... and its one of the reasons why i look at C700.... but only if DR is really improved,.... thats why i desperately waiting for the samples and tests...

I'd actually like to see a C700 to C300 MKII comparison since, I believe, the share the same imager.