C300: EOS C300 HUGE price drop, new low monthly payment & 0% options
- Thread starter mitch@provideo
- Start date
New SDXC cards can go 90 MB/s, which is more than enough for 4K from GH4, LX 100 and FZ1000 that don't record higher than 100 Mbps.
At the moment, Canon does have an $8,000 4K camera in 1D C but those stocks go ...
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
IMO Canon like to have clear delineations between their cameras.
If the C100mkii got 4k, then what pray tell would distinguish it from the forthcoming C300 mkii beside sdi ports?
If the C100mkii got 4k, then what pray tell would distinguish it from the forthcoming C300 mkii beside sdi ports?
A lot. Better slow motion options (4k yes) and dynamic range that exceeds the Alexa and Dragon by a significant margin. Or so I'm guessing.
I have no idea what the price is but Canon is planning to blow minds and wallets. This price drop is the hint at what magnitude of improvement you can expect. Arri announcing the Alexa mini with better specs than any sub 200K Alexa at 30k in a more flexible body WELL IN ADVANCE SO THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT ISN'T BURIED IN THE HYPE is the next hint.
Minds get ready to be blown. Pocket books ready to be emptied. I think the C300 has the best image below the Alexa (the skin tones are so good!) and even I was not ready when I learned what was up next. I had no plans to buy this product but now I'm planning a firesale. They say the camera doesn't matter. Only if you don't know how to use it. The C300 Mark II is a revolution and it's up to the creators now to catch up to the tech. DAMN.
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From the marketing perspective, the two differences that one easily set up would be the respective codecs and the recording bit rates. For $17,000 (presumably), C300 MK II better have the internal ProRes 4:2:2 HQ or something equal to it (or, it could be HEVC based, as Canon is one of the major HEVC players). C100 MK II would then be doing the GH4/NX1 type 80-100 Mbps in AVCHD/MP4 compared to ProRes's 4:2:2 HQ of 880 Mbps. Or maybe C300 MK II might even have 444.
But we'll see, when C 300 MK II is officially announced, how much wiggle room is left there.
AndreyBlanco
Active member
not true on NAB 2012 they announced C500
alpi69
Veteran
And even if they announce it will probably be for a release later in the year......
But first let´s see what specs they bring. The success of the FS7 has maybe more to do with this pricedrop than a new Canon camerabody.
I just hope they feel SONY also digging into their glas-market, because that is their real cash-cow and only when they get hurt there will they speed up the cameradepartment.
But first let´s see what specs they bring. The success of the FS7 has maybe more to do with this pricedrop than a new Canon camerabody.
I just hope they feel SONY also digging into their glas-market, because that is their real cash-cow and only when they get hurt there will they speed up the cameradepartment.
You could say the same thing about the original C100 and C300. The difference is going to be the codecs and bitrate.
I'd never bank on the C100 Mark II getting 4K recording and I'm happy at 1080p, but once the C300 Mark II is out I wouldn't be overly surprised if there's a 4K upgrade (probably 100Mbit, similar to the GH4) for the C100 Mark II.
Sony's glass lineup is so exceptionally poor at this point, I can't see them even coming close to Canon's glass lineup for at least a few years... even if they stopped the "new camera every six months" crap and concentrated only on lenses.
E-Mount is cool for its adaptability, but native E-Mount glass is largely a bunch of consumer-oriented glass with some decent stuff thrown in around the edges. They're WAY behind both Canon and Nikon (and m43 for that matter) in terms of having good glass that's usable in a professional environment. At least they finally have pro-level zooms in the 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200 range... too bad they're all f/4 though.
alaskacameradude
Veteran
Zeiss and others make some great Emount glass. Also Sony's A mount glass is
great.....probably largely because they bought it from Minolta. Between the
two of them, you can find most lenses that you can find for Canon or Nikon
(as far as focal lengths and Fstop goes anyways.)
Andrius Simutis
Veteran
I don't know why people keep throwing this idea out there. Based on everything we know about Canon, the capabilities of the C100, the target market for it, the need to differentiate models, etc... It's. just. not. going. to. happen. The end.
Canon is perfectly happy providing a 1080p camera at a reasonable price for people who are perfectly happy shooting at 1080p like doc producers, corporate video teams, wedding videographers, etc. The C300 II is going to be the camera for people who want or need to shoot 4k.
I'd put a probably of Canon having an $8,000 4K camera at 90%. It may be C100 MK II or C200 or some iteration of 1D C but it'd be too big a gap to leave between 5D MK IV in the $4,000 range and C300 MK II at $15,000-$17,000.
If, as everyone has noticed, Canon doesn't consider C300 MK II to be a FS-7 competitor, then they will release a model down the road that will be. Otherwise, it's too much money to just leave on the table.
I wouldn't hold my breath for a "C200"... Especially if it's just a C100 Mk2 with lower-end 4K.
Understand that Canon isn't really in the 'release a competitor for every spot' game. They seem to do what they want.
They've also proven that they're more than willing to release pretty major stuff (DPAF, seriously upgraded audio abilities in the 5D Mk2 and 7D, etc.) as free or paid upgrades. Like I said, I'd rate it a low probability, but I wouldn't completely discount a C100 Mk2 paid or free upgrade to record or even output the 4K stream. It'd also put some feature room between the C100 mk2 and the newly-cheap C300 mk2. Still nothing I'd rate at all a high probability, but it's not exactly crazy talk.
If C300 MK II is as specc'ed out as rumors would have it, I doubt its price will be lowered shortly after its introduction and this would leave a gap in Canon's lineup for a relatively affordable 4K model. Jim Martin says that C300 MK I will be around for a while but a lot depends on how its sales go. They tanked at $13,000 after FS7 came out.
Now, let's assume that other manufacturers aren't standing still and more competent 4K models under $5,000 get released before the end of the summer. What should Canon do? A 4K upgrade to a big body camera like C100 shouldn't be difficult. The other option is 1D X MK II that will also record a 4K (in other words, 1D C and 1D X in one body), as 1D X has been around since 2011 and could use an upgrade as well.
I just think something has to fill that void beside the original C300 and 1D C, both of which are getting pretty long in the tooth.