EOS or PL

I don't do a ton of handheld, but on a tripod or shoulder mount I use an Arri dovetail with extended slider so balance is a non-issue.
And I have many PL mount lenses on the light weight side as well as brutes.
 
I feel having separate mounts is a brilliant strategy. People who are moving up from the still side or who have good still glasses will be able to use the EF mount. With canon launching cine lenses, the adoption of cine lenses of canon will increase. It is a no brainer that if I have a C300 with EF mount, I will buy a Canon Cine lens, rather than a PL lens. It is assuming that the Cine lenses by Canon will be of very good quality (I haven't tested any of those yet. I will definitely when one is available with Canon India).

Having said that, a production company that is already owning and/or renting PL lenses, will find it convenient to go for the C300 with a PL mount. Having said that there are enough number of small production companies and/or individuals with a dream in their heart, who want to use the C300 with their existing canon L series lenses to reduce the cost for lower budget productions. This will push adoption of the EF mount C300. I can stick my neck out to predict that it is the C300 with EF mount which will sell more.

In my previous response, I was just pointing out the fallacy of using Shutter priority or Aperture priority in certain situations while filming. I do still photography using a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and I use aperture priority and shutter priority as well as manual as per the situation. However, for filming, it is better to use manual mode. Our perspectives vary, as most of us have pretty diverse backgrounds.


David W. Jones said:
I'm well aware of priority modes and auto focus issues and the like, as I've been shooting for nearly 40 years.
I was simply pointing out that the C300 lacks these features, and that the only advantage to using EF mount glass aside from one already owning a Boatload, is the ability to use the electronic features. Otherwise it makes more sense to go with a PL mount and cine glass.

All the Best!

Dave
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Tough call on the mount. If I was spending $16K I want the right mount for sure. I'm not buying but if I was I would wait for a definitive answer on the EOS to PL adapter. That would be my choice.
 
Erik Naso said:
Tough call on the mount. If I was spending $16K I want the right mount for sure. I'm not buying but if I was I would wait for a definitive answer on the EOS to PL adapter. That would be my choice.
Click to expand...

My answer on that IS definitive, backed by much experience in the matter. Do you mean wait for availability of a replacement mount?
 
I would get the EF mount only if I could use a PL adapter on it. My gut tells me I’m going in that direction for my next camera so I’m buying PL lenses. The only electronic feature I like in the EF lens is image stabilization. That would be really handy for smooth handheld walking shots. I have three EF lens and none of them are fast but all “L".

When its available for rent you bet I’m going to try one out.
 
Larry Thorpe in an interview has said that Canon feels that the EF mount version of C300 will sell more than the PL mount version. You can find details in this link:

[url]http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/news/2012/01/larry-thorpe-on-the-canon-c300/
[/URL]
indiawilds said:
I feel having separate mounts is a brilliant strategy. People who are moving up from the still side or who have good still glasses will be able to use the EF mount. With canon launching cine lenses, the adoption of cine lenses of canon will increase. It is a no brainer that if I have a C300 with EF mount, I will buy a Canon Cine lens, rather than a PL lens. It is assuming that the Cine lenses by Canon will be of very good quality (I haven't tested any of those yet. I will definitely when one is available with Canon India).

Having said that, a production company that is already owning and/or renting PL lenses, will find it convenient to go for the C300 with a PL mount. Having said that there are enough number of small production companies and/or individuals with a dream in their heart, who want to use the C300 with their existing canon L series lenses to reduce the cost for lower budget productions. This will push adoption of the EF mount C300. I can stick my neck out to predict that it is the C300 with EF mount which will sell more.
Click to expand...
 
Well, they may think it's a "brilliant strategy", but it's already cost them at least one sale. I'd get an EF version if it was able to use a PL adapter, but with the forced choice of one or the other, I think sixteen grand is too much to bet to potentially end up on the wrong side of the table.

With the AF100 I can use Canon, Nikon, m43, or PL lenses. With the FS100 you can use Canon, Nikon, Alpha, e-mount, or PL lenses. With the F3 you can use Nikon, Canon, PL, etc.

Even the Red Epic and Scarlet allow you to change the camera's mount to use Canon, Nikon, or PL.

But Canon doesn't. They make you buy an entirely different camera, at another $16,000 (or more, we don't even know what the PL version will be!) to get PL compatibility. And, of course, the EF version won't let you use any other type of lenses other than Canon lenses (and maybe Nikon, I guess that remains to be verified but I presume Nikon mount will work).

Making two separate cameras with mutually incompatible mounts is confusing the marketplace. And the most basic rule of marketing is: "A confused mind says no." So right now, as-is, I'm looking at the C300, I like a lot of what I see, but I just have to say no.
 
chatrapal said:
Which one will be better?
Considering
  • If one has good amount EF lenses
  • Lots of Arri Lenses can be rented cheaply in India
If PL to EOS adapter is considered for EOS mount, due to thing Flange depth can be issue for Arri Lenses on C300, which i think is mirrorless?
What other factors one should consider choosing between this two versions?
Click to expand...

If someone makes a good PL-to-C300-EF mount adapter the EF version might be the one to get.

This may well be possible - but for now we have to wait and see.

Personally I'd just email Illya at Hotrod Cameras (or the guys at Solid Camera or MBF or wherever else - there are many) if I were you.

If they can do it, they will! But yeah... make sure someone else tests it out first. It would suck if it didn't work with your favorite lenses, or messed up backfocus, etc.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
bruceallen said:
If someone makes a good PL-to-C300-EF mount adapter the EF version might be the one to get.
Click to expand...
That's the false hope red herring I chased after for a while too, but it appears it just isn't possible.

I looked into existing PL adapters for EF mounts, and what I saw shows a maximum bore of 46mm. That's too small to take many prime lenses. I have an entire set of Compact Primes, and not a single one of them would fit through a 46mm hole.

I imagine it might be possible for someone like AllStar to design a totally new front for the C300 that would have an interchangeable mount, but so far they haven't even been able to do that for the Red, the AllStar interchangeable mount can support just about any mount *except* Canon EF.

But in general, I no longer believe it will be possible for anyone to build an adapter that could adapt an EF-mount C300 to take PL lenses (other than some limited selection of zooms). And it is definitely impossible for anyone to build an adapter that could adapt a PL-mount C300 to take EF-mount lenses. About the only prospect is if someone re-engineered the front of the camera with an entirely new mount (such as the AllStar) and frankly I think it's lunacy to buy a product that doesn't do what you want, in the hopes that someday someone might come up with a way to make it do what you want, so ...

in the end ...

I'll pass.

Maybe the EOS C500 will rectify this silly situation (in 2014? 2015?) but until then, if you're undecided as to which way to go, well, good luck. If you're not undecided, if you have twenty thousand dollars of Canon lenses already and know for a fact that the EF version is the one you want, go right ahead. But if you want the ability to use both types of lenses... the only solution is to buy both versions of the camera. And that's kinda silly.
 
>I really think Canon missed the mark by not implementing all of the electronic controls into the C300 that their EF mount lenses are capable of.

Yes. And they don't have to reverse engineer :-)
 
ustein said:
>I really think Canon missed the mark by not implementing all of the electronic controls into the C300 that their EF mount lenses are capable of.

Yes. And they don't have to reverse engineer :-)
Click to expand...
With what? It has aperture control and IS enabled. Through the Wifi, you can set focus. It just doesn't AF during shooting. Not many people use AF anyway. So what mark did they miss? The only mark they missed is making it $16,000. If it were $13,500 I would consider it. But I'm waiting to see what this year brings instead.
 
Dang Barry that sucks. Canon should have made one model with two interchangeable mounts. RED got this right. For $16K the user shouldn’t have to choose one or the other.
 
This might be a dumb question, but is the quality that huge of a difference between a solid EOS lens or PL? I was looking at the RED 35mm 1.8 prime cine lens, would they work on the c300? Some ppl only have a budget for one or two main lenses and I was wondering about that. If someone can answer this it would be great help!
 
The biggest difference comes in build. PL lenses are geared with long focus throws and are meant to be used with a follow focus. They also have witness marks and typically no barrel extension when focusing or zooming. Straight up IQ, though, is another question. The average person would have a pretty hard time being able to tell what images came through PL lenses and, say, Canon L lenses, based on IQ alone.

Keep in mind, though, that Canon's cinema lenses will be offered in EF mount, and Zeiss's CP2's are offered with EF mounts as well. It seems as if EF mount is slowly becoming a more acceptable option in motion picture lenses.

In addition to this, when considering whether to purchase the PL version or EF version, the EF version will have a lot of benefits for creative filming flexibility options: remote focus and iris control of Canon EF lenses, optional peripheral illumination correction, powered IS for lenses that have it, and native support for dozens of specialty lenses that are impossible or prohibitively expensive to find in PL versions (fisheyes, super-telephotos, tilt-shift, etc). Also, lens metadata can be passed to the camera metadata and recorded within the XF codec.
 
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Thanks! But aren't the Canon cine lenses a lot more expensive? The red prime comes to around 6000 dollars. If you bought the c300 and say you had a budget for just one lens that you would use for a shoot, which one would you recommend? Also the budget would be 8-10k. Appreciate this a lot brother!
 
Yes, the Canon primes will cost about $6800 each - and there is no 35mm option yet. The first three are 24mm, 50mm & 85mm. The Red Prime 35mm is $4250, and makes a decent all-arounder. However, I would never put an entire shoot on just one single lens, especially one prime. For about the same cost as the Red Prime, you can get a set of 24mm f1.4, 50mm f1.2 & 85mm f1.2 Canon L Primes which would make an excellent kit for just about any shoot.

If you're hell-bent on a single cinema style lens for your shoot, at your budget I'd still go for the EF mount C300 and pick up a Zeiss CP2 35mm in EF mount for $3900. Then at least you have the option for more cost-effective EF glass for any specialty shots you want to do.

If your budget is $8-10k for lenses only, and you really want Cinema lenses, get the Zeiss CP2 in 28mm and 50mm at $3900 each in EF mount. That will cover most shooting scenerios and leave a little wiggle room in your budget for specialty EF lenses for creative shots if needed.

This is how I would personally attack the situation. Other's might have different opinions.
 
Barry_Green said:
With the AF100 I can use Canon, Nikon, m43, or PL lenses. With the FS100 you can use Canon, Nikon, Alpha, e-mount, or PL lenses. With the F3 you can use Nikon, Canon, PL, etc.

Even the Red Epic and Scarlet allow you to change the camera's mount to use Canon, Nikon, or PL.

But Canon doesn't.
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yes, but for people who have Canon glass (coming from 7D, 5D etc) this is not an issue. And I take C300 images with EF glass above the AF-100 any day.
 
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