Interview with Canon's Larry Thorpe on C300 - Explains a lot

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BobbyMurcerFan said:
Nuno,

I've heard complaints about the Alexa and F35. The F35 ones are about resolution, sensitivity and DR (esp. when compared to more modern cameras). Not that the camera doesn't take lovely pictures, b/c it certainly does. With the Alexa, I'm sorry but I'm not a liberty to say as it was a private conversation that I had with a friend. But these complaints are image related and not insignificant under certain circumstances.

I also heard some hushed criticisms of the C300 image by a few folks while at the Paramount event, but when you're invited to a wedding, you generally say that the bride looks lovely.
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I'm sorry but a private conversation with your buddy, means nothing, and if the folks at Paramount wanted to speak up, or if the issues they saw were that alarming, well, blogging should have been a nice way to let us know about it, but nothing sufficed. So, nothing to complain about, yet.
 
I just don't get why he cares..... Maybe it is my Englishness..... but seeing him ripping into a great company, just because they can't follow the business rules set out by a billionaire on mission... well, leaves a bitter taste in my mouth

If RED ever launch a sub $1000, $3000 or $6000 camera that can be used in productions.... then they have more room to talk.
 
If the C300 and the 1Dx wasn't a threat to his Scarlet and Epic, then he wouldn't have nothing to worry about, or to say about. Funny thing is, I don't see Canon or Arri, crossing the line and dish out on their competitors, solely to fuel hatred and antagonism. Deep inside, he's still selling sunglasses.

Its a sad world Jim must be living in.
 
I just saw this. Ron Howard has produced a short film "When You Find Me" which is directed by his daughter Bryce Dallas Howard. Sharing a link to fdtimes article http://www.fdtimes.com/news/canon/ron-howard-at-canon/

Clearly we see many Hollywood guys are sampling the C300 camera. In that article Jon Fauer writes "Studio heads are taking notice of the C300 because, as one mogul told me, “The dreaded words NIGHT-EXTERIOR no longer mean more expense than DAY-EXTERIOR.”

One question for you guys: Do you really want auto focus during filming? If the tiger is moving its head slightly to ward off flies, the auto focus will keep on working with slight shifts in focus. Will that look good? Especially in a shallow depth of field situation? However, I would have loved to get that initial focus acquisition like a still camera.

I am not in favour of pointless bashing of opponents. In my culture, they teach us to respect the opponent, even when going to war. One can do these stuff to motivate people who have bought it, reduce cognitive dissonance for people who had bought or ordered your products. However, culturally I am not tuned to this. Too much of this and I will get put-off as a customer.
 
yoclay said:
They did it fast? It's been bloody 3 years and we can't even expect a 5DMIII until sometime late next year. What have they been doing?
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That is extremely fast for Canon. Extremely. Look at their history (in camcorders) and you'll see what I mean.

That's the way Canon works. It's the way they've always worked (at least back to 1996 when I first started paying attention to them). They will never respond to any other product quickly, they will always take way too long and will come out with a reheated version of yesterday's technology and they will charge more (or way more) for it than anyone else does.

To expect anything else from them would be unrealistically optimistic.
 
hmm...reading through tis thread it seems I am one of few who LIKE the C300.

So what I wanted was a 7D without the bad and ugly (rigging for simple devices like a viewfinder, no audio, missing waveforms, peaking, codec...). Basically I want a big chip and I want to work so it is actually a pleasure again working. With the DSLR you sacrifice a lot of workflow for the good image (if with its flaws it is a great image 80% of the time).
C300: it does pretty much all of that. big chip, no moire and aliasing, audio included, EVF and LCD included and offering waveforms etc (although the verdict on them is still out I saw some making-of shots where they used the EVF, so it can´t be too shabby).
Additionally the C300 takes my EF-mount lenses and powers the stabilisation on them as well.
so the camera itself is a no-brainer to me. I really am not sure if the 8-bit is such a problem. This is Canon algorithm after all that bakes the look into the CanonLog. 422 50mbit is quite powerful codec. not AVCIntra, but definitely workable it seems when watching XXIT.
And it is funny when people who defended the Sony EX codec for years now say the F3 is superior, because it does 10-bit via external recorders.

IMO the EF - version should come down in price, while the PL-version is set quite accurate. It will be at F3-Slog prices, but it offers an onboard-422 MXF and Canonlog onboard as well. And it offers a EF mount, which you need to buy for the F3 as well (if you find one that powers the IS). So for people with Canon lenses it is actually not so steep and Canon probably thought the same when adjusting their pricelevel.

The F3 is definitely the leader of the pack right now, especially when combined with an external recorder. But I see no reason for people here to dismiss the C300 so easily after the images we saw (admittedly shot by some great DPs) and especially for people who are set from 11mm to 400mm on good Canon-mount glass like me.
 
Nuno Dias said:
I'm sorry but a private conversation with your buddy, means nothing, and if the folks at Paramount wanted to speak up, or if the issues they saw were that alarming, well, blogging should have been a nice way to let us know about it, but nothing sufficed. So, nothing to complain about, yet.
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I'm sorry that I even bothered to respond to you.
 
For the record, I also like the C300 and want to use one as soon as possible.

Overcranking is a permission inquiry and a drive away. If needed, it can be had.
 
dustylense said:
If you only understood just how hard that avatar image was to get! We all got busted for taking our Iphones out and taking pictures. My buddy snuck this one! Just to get a picture WITH Mr. Hall, we had to get me to stand in holding a pocket color chart in a stills set. I'm a huge Dexter fan. I got to exchange one sentence on a personnel level with him. The rest was business and his agents guarded him like Obama.

View attachment 43520Pretty impresive composite to me. Wonder how the C300 would handle this shot.... Just sayin
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Hehe, let me tell you as someone that shoots a lot of military gear as well. When people wear tactical vests, that have straps, you wouldn't believe the number of times those straps alias/moire on the 7D. That's what I try and tell people who want to shoot Canon DSLR. They'll see a result like this and think they've nothing to worry about. Then they shoot and get some nasty chroma moire and have to fix it because you can't see moire in camera. Then they want to fix it. It can be done, but wow is it a long and painful process.

I have no doubt the C300 will handle ANYTHING better than the 5D or 7D. No doubt at all.
 
I like the C300 as well, it's just the price I dislike. I could live with 8-bit, 4:2:2, no 1080p60, if it had been priced accordingly. In fact, the overall majority of people I've talked with like the camera. Only a few people, even regardless of price, dislike it, that I've heard. And by few I think that was one person. :)
 
dustylense said:
Well good for you. Mr. Hall was fine with it. It was the executives that weren't because it was a shoot for the Season Promos. Ya know, NDA's and such. My buddy snuck a quick point n shoot, then we put the camera away. No offense. Just which sets are you talking about?
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My background is stills too, & I've been working with celebrities for 20+ years. I was the lighting director for innumerous photographers, starting that career with Peggy Sirota and finishing with Helmut Newton, & Herb Ritts. As a DP I primarily work with a director named Jesse Dylan.

Anyone sneaking photos on any of my sets wouldn't be asked back again. It's simply not professional.

It's one thing to ask, but another to sneak. In your last post it sounds like you asked, so apologies if I misunderstood.

And "no offense", but what's your real name?
 
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I really liked the C300 as well, until the price was announced. Then the Scarlet was announced and to me it was a no brainer and I ordered it.

I'm kinda glad the C300 wasn't priced lower because then I would have had a decision to make. Canon really made my decision easy. I suppose I should be giving RED more credit too. They really over delivered withthe Scarlet IMO. For an indie feature there really is no comparison IMO.
 
And here its the awesome trailer for Bryce Dallas Howard 'When you Find Me'. Some shots just look outstanding. This could have easily been shot with the Alexa if I didn't know it was the C300.

 
Nuno Dias said:
And here its the awesome trailer for Bryce Dallas Howard 'When you Find Me'. Some shots just look outstanding. This could have easily been shot with the Alexa if I didn't know it was the C300.

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I saw it yesterday and was pretty impressed. Have to agree, to me the camera looks like it's outputting the closest to Alexa footage that you're gonna get without actually shooting Alexa.

Also, weird how no one's talking about the dramatically reduced Rolling Shutter or Jello effects on the C300. Vincent's short was bumpy, jumpy, all over the place. There was only one instance where I could spot the jello motion. The rest was pretty tame. It'll be interesting to see the versus tests when it comes out.

Right now, though, I want to use it. If I can get my hands on one I'll shoot it over shooting Epic to see how it runs.
 
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