C200: External Recorders

N

Nickelsvision

Member
I see a lot of reviews and individuals on here complaining about how expensive storage is and I’m considering selling my Atomos Ninja Assassin for the Atomos Shogun Inferno. Is there anyone using an external recorder so they can at least have Pro Res 422 if they’re not shooting raw? I’m fully aware of how beautiful RAW can be when graded but I only plan on using RAW if the client request it because the hard drive storage will start to become a car payment lol.

Lastly, I see a few people on the forum that own a C300 Mark II use external recorders for RAW but do we C200 users have that option because I don’t see RAW output on the specs?
 
Unfortunately, the C200 is not a camera that's going to benefit much from an external recorder. The ProRes would only be for a more pleasant experience during post.

But fortunately, it has internal RAW recording.

Still, it would be great if Canon one day would release various firmware updates like Sony has with the FS5, and you could capture CinemaDNGs to the Atomos' or 7Q...maybe 4K/120p...but probably not going to happen.
 
C300 MKIII should have a semi-compressed Raw at ~ 1 GB/h and it's probably not that far away from coming out.

Or may be it'll be called C400.

But likely to be in the $15,000-$17,000 range in either case. The external recorder won't be necessary but the Cfexpress cards might be pricey (Delkin is the only one who has come out with the Cfexpress 1.0 card so far ... the first reader should be out in about a month).
 
Nickelsvision said:
Is there anyone using an external recorder so they can at least have Pro Res 422 if they’re not shooting raw?
Click to expand...

Hello everyone, My name is Ron Marvin and this is my first post to the forum, I've learned a lot here and felt it was time to get involved.

A little background: regarding videography my work entails mostly corporate event coverage and interviews, and I work as a colorist. I purchased my C200 back in August and prior to that used a Sony FS7 that belongs to a company that I work with. Before my C200 my cameras were DSLR's.

I've been satisfied with the quality of the MP4 files for most of my work and as NorBro mentioned an external recorder will not offer that much benefit. However, I prefer to edit and work with ProRes and I find that I can cut faster doing so. If you are still looking for a new external recorder I own and can recommend the VideoDevices PIX-E5 which records all flavors of ProRes up to 4K DCI resolution:

• Apple ProRes 4444XQ, 12 bit* (1080p30)
• Apple ProRes 4444, 12 bit (1080p30)
* SDI Log-encoded inputs only

Note that although the recorder can support 4444 recording, the PIX will only allow you to set the recording codec to the color space that the camera outputs i.e. 422. So all of these are supported from the c200:

• Apple ProRes 422HQ, 10 bit (4kp30 / 1080p120)
• Apple ProRes 422, 10 bit (4kp30 / 1080p120)
• Apple ProRes 422LT, 10 bit (4kp30 / 1080p120)
• Apple ProRes 422Proxy, 10 bit (4kp30 / 1080p120)
• H.264 (Variable bit rate - typical 5-10 Mbps)

I originally purchased it to use with my DSLR's and it has worked well for me. Since the C200 will output HD 4:2:2 10-bit and UHD 4:2:2 8-bit there will be more color information vs. the internal UHD internal 4:2:0 8-bit. If anyone is interested here are the frequencies and frame rates I've tested from the C200 that will work with the PIX-E5:

UHD
System frequency 59.94 Hz
59.94P - No
29.97P - Yes
23.98P - Yes
System frequency 50.00 Hz
50P - No
25P - Yes
System frequency 24.00 Hz
24P - Yes

HD
System frequency 59.94 Hz
59.94P - Yes
29.97P - Yes
23.98P - Yes
120P - Yes
System frequency 50.00 Hz
50P - Yes
25P - Yes
100P - Yes
System frequency 24.00 Hz
24P - Yes
120P - Yes
 
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Hello Ron, does the C200 automatically trigger record on the pix or do you have to press record manually?
 
Hi Sebben, output from the SDI port will automatically trigger record on the PIX, however output from the HDMI port does not and requires pressing record manually on the PIX.
 
If I'm reading the output configuration chart correctly, seems like you'd be able to record 4k 8-bit internal while recording 1080p 10-bit 422 externally via the SDI port. That might be worth it, right?

This guy's video seems to show a decent quality bump going from 8-bit to 10 bit via the SDI: https://youtu.be/jxnWBFne7IE
 
R_Marvin said:
Hi Sebben, output from the SDI port will automatically trigger record on the PIX, however output from the HDMI port does not and requires pressing record manually on the PIX.
Click to expand...

Is that the Pix or the Canon C200 that doesn't have the HDMI trigger?
 
I think it is an issue with the PIX because in the C200 instruction manual on pages 142-143 it states that from both SDI and HDMI you can set the camera's REC button to control an external recorder. When I tested it only the SDI terminal will work. On Video Devices website it lists cameras supported by the PIX and with Canon cameras only shows Rec Triggers working via SDI:

https://www.videodevices.com/products/portable-video-recorders/pix-e5/supported-cameras
 
So wanting to test out more the capabilities of the C200, tonight I did further testing and here is what I've discovered:

If the HDMI port is set to output UHD it will not automatically trigger the PIX or send out timecode.

However, if HDMI is set to output HD it will automatically trigger the PIX and also output timecode.

So I can record UHD 4:2:0 8-bit internally and externally simultaneously record HD 4:2:2 10-bit to the PIX. And at the same time the PIX can record a h.264 proxy file.
 
That must be a Canon limitation. I use my PIX-E5 with Sony camera's (Fs7 & a6300 ) and the record triggers / TC work no matter if UHD / HD.
Love my Pix! It's pretty much worth the price for just the monitoring capabilities.... adding the recording (proxies & proRes) is a huge bonus imo.
 
puredrifting said:
The C200 record trigger works perfectly with my Atomos Ninja Blade via HDMI.
Click to expand...

Have you been tempted to get a 4K external just so you could record ProRes directly and save yourself a bunch of time on the transcoding? (granted, it's ProRes vs. MP4 but nonetheless).

PS. To R. Marvin - since color grading is your specialty, have you tried to simulate an ARRI LUT a la C300 MKII off Raw Light?
 
DLD said:
Have you been tempted to get a 4K external just so you could record ProRes directly and save yourself a bunch of time on the transcoding? (granted, it's ProRes vs. MP4 but nonetheless).

PS. To R. Marvin - since color grading is your specialty, have you tried to simulate an ARRI LUT a la C300 MKII off Raw Light?
Click to expand...

No, I haven't shot raw yet as I'm waiting for CFast cards to drop further in price before I buy them.
 
R_Marvin said:
No, I haven't shot raw yet as I'm waiting for CFast cards to drop further in price before I buy them.
Click to expand...

Probably not going to get much cheaper than $279.00-$299.00 in the near future. Go for the EgoDisk 256GB, I have four of them and they have been flawless with the C200 and Cinema RAW Light. https://www.amazon.com/EgoDisk-PRO-...ns&keywords=egodisk+pro+256gb+cfast+2.0&psc=1

The Freetail Evoke is $20.00 cheaper and is rated at VPG-130 so it should work too but I have not yet bought one to test. https://www.amazon.com/FreeTail-EVO...ns&keywords=egodisk+pro+256gb+cfast+2.0&psc=1

The C200 will shoot 34 minutes of CRL on a 256GB CFast 2.0 card. Not bad.
 
puredrifting said:
Probably not going to get much cheaper than $279.00-$299.00 in the near future. Go for the EgoDisk 256GB, I have four of them and they have been flawless with the C200 and Cinema RAW Light. https://www.amazon.com/EgoDisk-PRO-...ns&keywords=egodisk+pro+256gb+cfast+2.0&psc=1

The Freetail Evoke is $20.00 cheaper and is rated at VPG-130 so it should work too but I have not yet bought one to test. https://www.amazon.com/FreeTail-EVO...ns&keywords=egodisk+pro+256gb+cfast+2.0&psc=1

The C200 will shoot 34 minutes of CRL on a 256GB CFast 2.0 card. Not bad.
Click to expand...
I went with this recommendation and so far I haven't had any issues with the CFast cards.
 
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