C200: My C200 is DOWN!

I’ve been worried about the fan going out on all the cinema cameras I have worked with. I’ve noticed that the fan on my C200 wobbles a bit before it comes to a complete stop when I power down the camera. I’ve been worried that the fan is out of alignment but it seems to spin pretty much straight when it’s at full speed. It’s worth checking to see if the fan wobbles a bit before it comes to a stop. If it is slightly imbalanced, it could cause premature wear.
 
shorty15 said:
I’ve been worried about the fan going out on all the cinema cameras I have worked with. I’ve noticed that the fan on my C200 wobbles a bit before it comes to a complete stop when I power down the camera. I’ve been worried that the fan is out of alignment but it seems to spin pretty much straight when it’s at full speed. It’s worth checking to see if the fan wobbles a bit before it comes to a stop. If it is slightly imbalanced, it could cause premature wear.
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Mine doesn't seem to do this, it's pretty much silent and the only way I can tell its on is to hold my hand near the exhaust unless I am in a quiet room and can hear it. Going to do another round of testing today as it heats up here. So far, so good, no shut downs, no fan errors. I'm supposed to hop on a plane for a shoot in NYC next week, gotta make sure the C200 is working reliably or I'll be hosed.
 
puredrifting said:
Mine doesn't seem to do this, it's pretty much silent and the only way I can tell its on is to hold my hand near the exhaust unless I am in a quiet room and can hear it. Going to do another round of testing today as it heats up here. So far, so good, no shut downs, no fan errors. I'm supposed to hop on a plane for a shoot in NYC next week, gotta make sure the C200 is working reliably or I'll be hosed.
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Oh no. I'm actually a little worried about my C200 fan now. I thought the fan was quite loud straight out of the box. Much too loud to record sound in a semi quiet room with the fan set to run constantly. The wobble I'm talking about is vusual, not audible. When I shine a flashlight into the exhaust vent, you can see the fan spinning straight but once you power down the camera, the fan slowly comes to a stop. It is during the slowdown that you can see the wobble on the fan blades. Can anyone else check their fan blades to look for the wobble I'm describing? So far no Fan Error warning like the OP but my C200 is way louder than my C100 MK2.
 
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Update:

In an 85 degree room, I recorded ten 256GB cards worth of data today, no problems, warnings or issues so I am going to say I guess whatever they did at Canon Burbank in clearing the fan out fixed whatever issue was causing the fan error.
 
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puredrifting said:
Shooting for paying clients at Warner Bros. tomorrow. Fingers crossed, I'll report back how it behaves.
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Honestly I'd rent another C200/C300 body (or borrow one from a friend if you have access) just to be on the safe side. Maybe a wasted $200 or may save your ass in a bind. Hell I'd lend you mine if we weren't 3,000 miles apart. It'd probably just sit in the case for the whole shoot anyways.
 
Fahnon said:
Honestly I'd rent another C200/C300 body (or borrow one from a friend if you have access) just to be on the safe side. Maybe a wasted $200 or may save your ass in a bind. Hell I'd lend you mine if we weren't 3,000 miles apart. It'd probably just sit in the case for the whole shoot anyways.
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I live dangerously, I only brought my 80D and a Tascam DL-10 as backup. This is a 1080 client so I thought if worse came to worse, I could get away with it. Didn't have to worry, C200 worked fine.
 
Will this be rattling in your head every time you shoot or is this behind you? I.e., do you have a notion that something was mechanically wrong and got fixed or are you wondering if it will pop up again?
 
Paul F said:
Will this be rattling in your head every time you shoot or is this behind you? I.e., do you have a notion that something was mechanically wrong and got fixed or are you wondering if it will pop up again?
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As of today, 50/50. Fortunately shooting a corporate thing tomorrow and Friday and then back to the documentary I have been shooting Saturday. If we make it through all three of these shoots this week without incident, I am confident it is "fixed". If not...
 
I'm scratching my head.
Flying all over the place.
Tons of shoots.
Shooting at the beach with sand and saltspray.
No backup camera?
Even lowly wedding photographers have backup systems.
jonnybutters has half a dozen cameras.
And a 2nd C200 is tiny space wise.
Where is all that money going?
What am I missing here?
Is there a backup camera I haven't heard about?
 
Stills2HDConvert said:
I'm scratching my head.
Flying all over the place.
Tons of shoots.
Shooting at the beach with sand and saltspray.
No backup camera?
Even lowly wedding photographers have backup systems.
jonnybutters has half a dozen cameras.
And a 2nd C200 is tiny space wise.
Where is all that money going?
What am I missing here?
Is there a backup camera I haven't heard about?
Click to expand...

Where is all of that money going? Ha, ha, you're funny. At least in LA, it's a stretch for a working DP to even live here, my money goes for three mortgages (my home and two rental houses), two kids college tuition, 401k, payin' the bills. Unlike many DVXUsers, I am ridding myself of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, I am hoping to not have to buy another camera for the rest of my career, hopefully I will be producing for a long term multi-year project I just became involved with as their PR Team leader. I learned many years ago, it's possible to make much more money producing than DPing so I am driving toward producing and directing more, I would rather hire a great DP and Sound Mixer than do it myself, I've gotten over that "I must express my creative vision through photography" phase of my career. I love lighting and shooting but the business is making doing so a losing proposition (you cannot compete with rich kids whose parents bought them a lot of expensive gear and they undervalue the gear and their services and it's everywhere in LA) and I only have about 10-15 more years of viable working in this business before I age out. I don't see many 70 year old DPs getting hired ;-) I drive a Toyota Corolla I paid cash for and have zero consumer debt besides my mortgages, which really, I have been a slacker on paying off, if I hadn't wasted so much on video gear, they probably would all be paid off. Consumer debt is evil and it makes me sad that the average American carries tens of thousands of dollars of it, what a waste of billions of dollars. Besides cameras, lenses, grip, lighting and audio, I live pretty frugally, I'm cheap. Turns out my grandparents who lived through the Depression were smarter than most people today, they paid cash, they lived within their means, which people refuse to do today. Sure, establish credit but don't carry balances, don't buy it unless you can pay cash, then charge it, pay it off as soon as the bill arrives.

I do have a backup camera, a Canon 80D. Not 4K obviously but most of our clients only require 1080 and for at least two of them, we shoot the 80D as a b-roll or gimbal camera. As long as you light it, it looks pretty decent, although soft compared to the C200. I don't know any C200, C300 MKII or FS7 shooters in LA who own two and bring both to every shoot with one as backup. Is that what you do? Must be nice to own two, I can't afford it.

When I travel, we are usually pushing the limits of baggage and carry on, it's usually a stretch for me to even bring the 80D with the C200. Have you been on an AirFrance flight, they are militant about 12kg total carry on limit and I don't check cameras. Fortunately my sole C200 failure so far was on my own shoot, not a client. If my camera would have malfunctioned today, this client would have been okay with the 80D footage, we rolled it as a backup, just in case.
 
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For two years I have worked in a busy cinema camera rental shop and I can count on one hand the number of clients that have rented a backup camera for their shoots.

It’s one thing if you’re talking an A7s but it’s just not feasible to have a backup for every body, lens, or piece of gear you own.
 
Not everyone is made out of money and not everyone is willing to spend on backups. I do know kids cost allot as I have 2 in their teens. lol, I'm lucky to have a job directing MGM resorts events in las vegas covering billboard awards to pro boxing at our 2 arena. I don't have to buy equipment but i do own a c200 and amira. Thanks PureD you don;t have to explain the reasons to me as I totally do get where you're coming from.
 
Tcap said:
Not everyone is made out of money and not everyone is willing to spend on backups. I do know kids cost allot as I have 2 in their teens. lol, I'm lucky to have a job directing MGM resorts events in las vegas covering billboard awards to pro boxing at our 2 arena. I don't have to buy equipment but i do own a c200 and amira. Thanks PureD you don;t have to explain the reasons to me as I totally do get where you're coming from.
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C200 and an Amira, that must be fun to decide which to use for what. Both great cameras.
 
Stills2HDConvert said:
I'm scratching my head.
Flying all over the place.
Tons of shoots.
Shooting at the beach with sand and saltspray.
No backup camera?
Even lowly wedding photographers have backup systems.
jonnybutters has half a dozen cameras.
And a 2nd C200 is tiny space wise.
Where is all that money going?
What am I missing here?
Is there a backup camera I haven't heard about?
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I can guarantee you that Puredrifting, a working DP and Camera Tech writer, has achieved way more in his career than you may be lucky enough to approach someday... Having a backup camera is a relatively new "millennial" concept, brought on by the newer gen of 'computer with lens mount' devices (Red). This is a risky business and risk must be managed. If a reliable camera goes down on a shoot you deal with it then, not have a spare 10,000 camera ready to go, wasting money that can be spent on other important things. Im sure on corporate shoots (this is a doc) he has a backup sorted, if an ever he needs it.
 
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FWIW, follow up, was back on our documentary on Saturday with our C200. Shot all day under hot, humid conditions at Oceanside Harbor and out on a boat. No problems or issues, camera was a rock. Yay!
 
Fully agree. I used to have the gear acquisition syndrome. However, I am now very strict in terms of buying equipment. If it is not earning me enough money then I dispose off. Now I am careful about buying and don't buy if it doesn't become absolutely necessary. My C300 v1.0 is good enough for paying corporate as well as broadcast clients. If someone asks for 4K, I ask them to show the money. If so, I can always get any cinema camera. And I do have a 1DX II all the time for my own projects. And a 80D of my partner. At times clients also ask us to do still photography. I am earning my living from filming. So will only spend whatever is necessary for my clients. I have a no debt policy. I am an MBA and come from a corporate background. I have seen how easy it is to fall into the bad habit of debt. I only buy equipment in cash.


puredrifting said:
Where is all of that money going? Ha, ha, you're funny. At least in LA, it's a stretch for a working DP to even live here, my money goes for three mortgages (my home and two rental houses), two kids college tuition, 401k, payin' the bills. Unlike many DVXUsers, I am ridding myself of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, I am hoping to not have to buy another camera for the rest of my career, hopefully I will be producing for a long term multi-year project I just became involved with as their PR Team leader. I learned many years ago, it's possible to make much more money producing than DPing so I am driving toward producing and directing more, I would rather hire a great DP and Sound Mixer than do it myself, I've gotten over that "I must express my creative vision through photography" phase of my career. I love lighting and shooting but the business is making doing so a losing proposition (you cannot compete with rich kids whose parents bought them a lot of expensive gear and they undervalue the gear and their services and it's everywhere in LA) and I only have about 10-15 more years of viable working in this business before I age out. I don't see many 70 year old DPs getting hired ;-) I drive a Toyota Corolla I paid cash for and have zero consumer debt besides my mortgages, which really, I have been a slacker on paying off, if I hadn't wasted so much on video gear, they probably would all be paid off. Consumer debt is evil and it makes me sad that the average American carries tens of thousands of dollars of it, what a waste of billions of dollars. Besides cameras, lenses, grip, lighting and audio, I live pretty frugally, I'm cheap. Turns out my grandparents who lived through the Depression were smarter than most people today, they paid cash, they lived within their means, which people refuse to do today. Sure, establish credit but don't carry balances, don't buy it unless you can pay cash, then charge it, pay it off as soon as the bill arrives.

I do have a backup camera, a Canon 80D. Not 4K obviously but most of our clients only require 1080 and for at least two of them, we shoot the 80D as a b-roll or gimbal camera. As long as you light it, it looks pretty decent, although soft compared to the C200. I don't know any C200, C300 MKII or FS7 shooters in LA who own two and bring both to every shoot with one as backup. Is that what you do? Must be nice to own two, I can't afford it.

When I travel, we are usually pushing the limits of baggage and carry on, it's usually a stretch for me to even bring the 80D with the C200. Have you been on an AirFrance flight, they are militant about 12kg total carry on limit and I don't check cameras. Fortunately my sole C200 failure so far was on my own shoot, not a client. If my camera would have malfunctioned today, this client would have been okay with the 80D footage, we rolled it as a backup, just in case.
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