Canon C300 Camera Event in Austin TX January 11

FK14.5-60 (14.5-60 mm T2.6)
FK30-300 (T2.9 from 30-240; ramps to T3.7 from 240-300mm).


When it comes to performance, they will always say there is even illumination, minimal breathing, etc. etc. No way to know until you test. But as for other things, questions I would ask:

1) Estimated Price (have they announced yet?)

2) If they were to choose a PL zoom series they are directly competing with in quality, who would that be? Fujinon? Optimo Rouge DP's? Red Zooms? Alura's? Who do they believe is a competitor series comparable in quality. (If they dodge the question by saying nothing compares to these lenses slap them in the face and terminate asking questions 3-9)

3) Will the zooms be sold only in C300 bundles at first? Or will they immediately be available independently for sale to non-C300 owners.

4) Are these Canon Zooms made to be used ideally on any S35mm sensor sized PL mount camera? Or are these zooms made specifically to be used in tandem with the C300 sensor. (Strange question, but I heard some photography companies make lenses that the camera will auto-correct some optical issues. You know what I mean?)

5) How soon and where can I get on a reservation list if wanting to buy?

6) Do these lenses have i/technology? Do they communicate with the C300 in any way? Does the C300 PL mount have i/technology for lenses that do?

7) Who came up with the term 'cinematic blurring' and can I have their address? i promise that baseball bat I just ordered on ebay has nothing to do with this... ;)

8) Sony released a lackluster three-prime kit for the F3 promising more to come. None have. What does canon plan to do with only three primes? The zooms have a pretty nice range, what can we expect from the primes? Will there be more focal lengths in the future? If so, how many more and what lengths. As of now, Canon says more lenses are in development, but they don't specify zooms, primes or anything at all.

9) Why are the primes only in EF mount and will they ever be offered in PL? Not being in PL really seems to isolate their use in most cinema applications as of right now.


That's all I have for now. :)
 
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FK14.5-60 (14.5-60 mm T2.6)
FK30-300 (T2.9 from 30-240; ramps to T3.7 from 240-300mm).


When it comes to performance, they will always say there is even illumination, minimal breathing, etc. etc. No way to know until you test. But as for other things, questions I would ask:

1) Estimated Price (have they announced yet?)

2) If they were to choose a PL zoom series they are directly competing with in quality, who would that be? Fujinon? Optimo Rouge DP's? Red Zooms? Alura's? Who do they believe is a competitor series comparable in quality. (If they dodge the question by saying nothing compares to these lenses slap them in the face and terminate asking questions 3-9)

3) Will the zooms be sold only in C300 bundles at first? Or will they immediately be available independently for sale to non-C300 owners.

4) Are these Canon Zooms made to be used ideally on any S35mm sensor sized PL mount camera? Or are these zooms made specifically to be used in tandem with the C300 sensor. (Strange question, but I heard some photography companies make lenses that the camera will auto-correct some optical issues. You know what I mean?)

5) How soon and where can I get on a reservation list if wanting to buy?

6) Do these lenses have i/technology? Do they communicate with the C300 in any way? Does the C300 PL mount have i/technology for lenses that do?

7) Who came up with the term 'cinematic blurring' and can I have their address? i promise that baseball bat I just ordered on ebay has nothing to do with this... ;)

8) Sony released a lackluster three-prime kit for the F3 promising more to come. None have. What does canon plan to do with only three primes? The zooms have a pretty nice range, what can we expect from the primes? Will there be more focal lengths in the future? If so, how many more and what lengths. As of now, Canon says more lenses are in development, but they don't specify zooms, primes or anything at all.

9) Why are the primes only in EF mount and will they ever be offered in PL? Not being in PL really seems to isolate their use in most cinema applications as of right now.


That's all I have for now. :)

1) $45K+ each for the zooms, $7k each for the primes
2) didn't ask
3) No bundling with the C300 (unless dealers decide to make packages themselves).
4) they are made to be used on any S35 sensor
5) scheduled for release in Jan 2012
6) ha ha - a "genius" in marketing, I'm sure
7) don't know
8) there are two more prime lenses on the way - an ultra wide and a telephoto. no specs yet
9) primes will be offered in PL, but that mount has a later release (probably to coincide with PL C300 release, which is scheduled for April)
 
nice. Thanks. The i/tech or lens communication with body looks doubtful looking at their pictures of the mounts.


Looks like they are doing it right, imo.

The price range is standard/good for higher end cine. The speed of the lenses are good. They have 300* rotation and scales on both sides. Universal focus ring placement for lens changes and etc.

Not bad canon. Not bad.
 
nice. Thanks. The i/tech or lens communication with body looks doubtful looking at their pictures of the mounts.


Looks like they are doing it right, imo.

The price range is standard/good for higher end cine. The speed of the lenses are good. They have 300* rotation and scales on both sides. Universal focus ring placement for lens changes and etc.

Not bad canon. Not bad.

Ryan-
The EF cameras are supposed to arrive in about two weeks.....Canon is supposed to announce the pricing and which dealers have been selected on Tues. Jan 17th.....oh, and the 24mm & 50mm primes are supposed to arrive in March.....

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
 
First off, thanks to TMS and Canon for putting on such a great event yesterday. Although it was a bit strange to be at Alamo Drafthouse without a beer and some fried pickles.

Now, about the camera(s)…

There's no other way to put it than to say, to appreciate what this camera can do, you need to see it on a big screen. In 4K projection, it all looked like it belonged up there. Mobius was, to me, the best of the bunch in terms of showing off the capabilities of the camera, with Max Is Back second. In all honesty, I wasn't a fan of the other two films, and while XXIT looked fine, Sword should have been dropped. I mean, it's good to see what 20,000 ISO looks like, but it seemed like they used it in scenarios where just a strategically placed fixture or two would have allowed them to shoot at 6400.

What was perhaps more interesting was seeing the behind the scenes footage, and getting a sense for how the cameras were rigged and used by a lower-budgeted crew. From RC heli shots to motorcycle rigs, they stuck the C300 in all sorts of places, and it really seemed like the form factor was a huge home run. In the BTS, you can also see how some of the crews "leaned" on the new Cine Zooms, while others like LaForet's crew tended towards the EF glass it seemed. And that EF glass has to be one of the most compelling reasons to get the C300. There's just so many great lenses for it, including specialty stuff like tilt-shift, fisheye, etc.

One thing they did show in the BTS that was way cool was the Wireless Transmitter. It sits on the hot shoe and basically turns any iOS (or Android, I think) device a remote control for the camera. Any function you can control on the camera body you can operate with the remote. With the big screen on the iPad, it'll be interesting to see how cam ops and crews interact with the camera without even touching it.

The C300 itself is small, even smaller than I was prepared for after having seen the pictures. But it feels substantial, with plenty of metal to give it some heft. It certainly doesn't have a "plasticky" feel at all. Again, you really need to get one in your hands to appreciate just how solid it is for the size.

Oh, and one more thing… The BTS was all shot on the XF305 and XF100, and the footage from these looked amazingly good on the big screen. :D
 
Nice post, Stephen. Pretty much agreed on all points.

The damn thing is just really nice. $16K nice? Hmmmm

I can tell you this for sure…

I'll be renting the C300 for certain types of jobs. Paired with a few EF lenses, it'll make a killer docu-camera. There are just going to be jobs perfectly suited to this camera.
 
Nice post, Stephen. Pretty much agreed on all points.

The damn thing is just really nice. $16K nice? Hmmm...most here will say no, but it really is an interesting competitor to the F3, which, to be fair, is the camera I think it should be compared to.

Great image and less work in post to get the most out of it. (C-log vs. S-log)

Merely 8 bit output (extremely good 8 bit) but basically no need for external anything. There's a lot to be said for that.
 
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