Canon C300 has landed in Canada

[Andrew S]

Many thanks Nigel, have a Scarlet on order no deposit paid as yet, really wowed by the images coming from the C300. My main issues with the scarlet are, battery life, no real onboard sound or manual sound control and needing to spend £ 21,000 for an up and running package with red rocket.

The C300 will still come in at £ 16,000 with a few new lenses but a much easier work flow at broadcast specs. My main work is never larger than 1080p so 4k was a pipe dream, sort of got sucked into the Red dream but in the cold light of day doesn't reflect my work load, my clients won't notice the difference in image quality.

Therefore switching to Canon C300 and not getting a scarlet! a bid decision.

Thanks for your posts.

 

[dustylense]

Many thanks Nigel, have a Scarlet on order no deposit paid as yet, really wowed by the images coming from the C300. My main issues with the scarlet are, battery life, no real onboard sound or manual sound control and needing to spend £ 21,000 for an up and running package with red rocket.

The C300 will still come in at £ 16,000 with a few new lenses but a much easier work flow at broadcast specs. My main work is never larger than 1080p so 4k was a pipe dream, sort of got sucked into the Red dream but in the cold light of day doesn't reflect my work load, my clients won't notice the difference in image quality.

Therefore switching to Canon C300 and not getting a scarlet! a bid decision.

Thanks for your posts.

I think you're making the right decision. From what you have seen of the C300, does it look like the camera to you? And, just imagine getting back to studio and dropping your footage into the NLE and start editing right away. Come on Canon, drop the price a bit more. You'll make up for it in units sold....

 

[Nigel A]

Nigel: Thank you very much for posting these images. I am truly impressed. I'm trying to decide between F3 and C300 -- problem is that the Sony $800 rebate ends this month, before I'll be able to try out the C300. So, I'm hoping you can help me out on a question I've been wondering about:
With the handle and LCD attached, the C300 is a touch heavier than the F3 alone and seems, from the picture, to be top-heavy. How did it feel to you in action? Have you ever used the F3 handheld?

I have shot handheld with the F3 and that has always been a work in progress from day 1 getting the right rig. I've had a couple of different systems, but am using a more EFP typeset up with a modified Tilta baseplate shoulder set up, with their handgrips. Along with a Cineroid. It gets big and heavy. Ive used it recently on a doc im working on. Lots of bits to break down and travel with You can't shoot using the F3 viewfinder, just holding it

I shot a bit with the LCD on the C300 and it was a little heavier than my5d witha z finder but work able. I put it on my Zacuto striker I think it's called and it was good. Don't know how that would feel after a full day of shooting, but had a bit of the feel like I was used too with my 5d. All the aftermarket suppliers have hand held systems as well for both cameras. You can also take the whole thing off and be lighter. Just the xlrs are the issue for audio. Hopefully someone will have an after market solution for xlrs that will plug into the canon connectors. You have access to USO, iris, start stop from the grip so that's nice. Zacuto has a solution with the c 300's hand grip on their Handles. It attaches by what looks like a mini connector, like a lanc connection.

I like the idea of stripping down the C300 for doc work, being stealthy and quick. If its controllable situations then the rig is a good solution for me.

 

[skimmel]

Thanks Nigel. Wish I could get my hands on a C300 just to get a feel for it before the end of the month!

 

[LiamR]

Come on Canon, drop the price a bit more. You'll make up for it in units sold....

They're not going to have any trouble moving them at the price they are. They played scare tactics with the 20k label to start off with, so this price drop now is impressing a lot of people and will sell like crazy.

 

[pietro jona]

Nigel,

does the C300 have some sort of expanded focus? If yes, where is the button located? I find myself using it all the time on my EX1.

 

[mjmcneese]

Nigel, does the C300 have some sort of expanded focus? If yes, where is the button located? I find myself using it all the time on my EX1.

In Philip Bloom's interview with a Canon Rep, he mentions that it does have a magnify function borrowed from the XF line of Canon video cameras.

 

[Rick Burnett]

In Philip Bloom's interview with a Canon Rep, he mentions that it does have a magnify function borrowed from the XF line of Canon video cameras.

I wish I could find it, but I thought I read that someone mentioned they were happy it had expanded focus like the DSLRs had. I've not used the XF line so I don't know what that was like, but I do have a 7D and I LOVE the zoom for focus assist.

Which reminds me to ask, does it have a peaking function? I find the peaking function that the FS/AF100 both have is GREAT for focus pulls.

 

[Nigel A]

I thought I saw the expanded focus, but don't quote me.. Has peaking etc. the 4" LCD is very sharp, and the viewfinder is useable. Built in waveform is very nice

 

[dustylense]

I wish I could find it, but I thought I read that someone mentioned they were happy it had expanded focus like the DSLRs had. I've not used the XF line so I don't know what that was like, but I do have a 7D and I LOVE the zoom for focus assist.

Which reminds me to ask, does it have a peaking function? I find the peaking function that the FS/AF100 both have is GREAT for focus pulls.

Rick,
If the C300 is anything like my XF105, you will LOVE the waveform, peaking and zebras on this Canon. First, the waveform does not block the entire screen. After shooting a few days with the XF, I went to my AF100 and was bitter how it's waveforms took up the entire screen. Also, when you dial custom profiles in on the XF, you can see what they are doing to the image, unlike the AF100. The peaking, if like the XF is better as well. I'm going to assume it's just like the XF line for those functions.

 

[Rick Burnett]

Rick,
If the C300 is anything like my XF105, you will LOVE the waveform, peaking and zebras on this Canon. First, the waveform does not block the entire screen. After shooting a few days with the XF, I went to my AF100 and was bitter how it's waveforms took up the entire screen. Also, when you dial custom profiles in on the XF, you can see what they are doing to the image, unlike the AF100. The peaking, if like the XF is better as well. I'm going to assume it's just like the XF line for those functions.

Well I can say this, I miss the waveform on the AF100 as the histogram on the FS100, while better than nothing, is DEFINITELY not the best tool. It's so small and so low rez that it's really hard to judge what's going on in your scene by it. With the AF100, which I agree it would be nice to have a smaller overlay mode as well, I just ran an external LCD and had the internal LCD have the waveform running all the time. To me, it's one of the nicest features on the AF100. Glad to know it has peaking.

 

[mjmcneese]

I wish I could find it, but I thought I read that someone mentioned they were happy it had expanded focus like the DSLRs had. I've not used the XF line so I don't know what that was like, but I do have a 7D and I LOVE the zoom for focus assist.

Here's the quote from Bloom's article:

The view finder wasn’t actually too bad! It’s the same as the one on the XF305 and with peaking and the magnify button (which works whilst recording too) making it easy to keep focus.

I agree, Rick. Those monitoring features on the AF100 are quite handy - critical exposure is nearly impossible without them. I also live by the focus-in-red feature. It's a must-have for run-n-gun style shooting. That's another feature I would really hope for on the C300, but I've not found anything about it, yet. It is encouraging that you can magnify while recording, though.

Read the entire article at http://philipbloom.net/2011/11/26/c300/

 

[Rick Burnett]

Here's the quote from Bloom's article:



I agree, Rick. Those monitoring features on the AF100 are quite handy - critical exposure is nearly impossible without them. I also live by the focus-in-red feature. It's a must-have for run-n-gun style shooting. That's another feature I would really hope for on the C300, but I've not found anything about it, yet. It is encouraging that you can magnify while recording, though.

Read the entire article at http://philipbloom.net/2011/11/26/c300/

I must have read it wrong, and it makes complete sense that there isn't the same 10x expanded focus like the DSLR, because, in truth, the DSLR can window in at the higher resolution of the actual resolution of the sensor, but, that's not a negative for the C300 in my opinion, as long as it can go 1:1 then that's what I'd expect. It was a nice feature the DSLR could actually provide. And, like you point out, you can do it while recording, which you cannot do with the DSLR implementations.

Good article here as well:

http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/2011/11/25/the-canon-c300-my-thoughts-from-the-euro-launch/

 

[Piolet]

The good news is the magnification has a dedicated button (and you can also assign it to a custom button, I believe) and it works while recording, but the bad news is the magnification isn't very much. It's only about 2X. At the Canon event I asked one of the reps if it could go higher and he said no, it's just like the the XF series cameras. The Edge Monitor is pretty cool, though. That should help with focusing, along with peaking.

 

[Menno Mennes]

Now, this is why I don't get mad at this footage even costing $20K. That image quality its 'priceless'.

I don't want to divert this great thread, but I feel unfortunate at what Red has done to some people's minds, that its all about specs and not image quality. The specs is what comes out into public, but the secret chemistry, the codes and the algorithms that make or break an image are never considered. And this is where its obvious that a camera with seemingly 'weak' specs, proves that it isn't so. The image its stellar.

+1 I agree, this is whats all about!!!

 

[Nigel A]

Here's the final version of the commercial for Scotia iTrade that I shot with the Sony F3 and the pre production model of the Canon C 300 at the end of November. All the interviews except the ones in the restaurant were F3. The b-roll type shots and the 2 interviews in the restaurant were C 300

Its airing nationally in Canada. I did not sit in on the final grade, but gave my suggestions to the production company. We shot in s log with the F3 to the Nanoflash (What I had available) and Canon log to the internal CF cards.

Used Canon 24-70 2.8 L, 70-200 2.8L on the C 300 and Digioptical 18-50 T2.8, and Red 50-150 T2.8 on the F3.

 

[alpi69]

Thanks for posting Nigel. Considering the lenses (EF vs. PL) the C300 is blowing the F3 away. Also the F3 looks more industrial, while the C300 shots have a warmer-filmlike look to it. But there might also be the grade in play there. They both look like their predecessors: F3 looks like an EX on steroids and the C300 is like a 5D on steroids. Both look great when used properly.