New $2000 rebate on C300/C300PL

Jim Martin

Jim Martin

DVXuser Sponsor
Hey everyone, starting Monday the 18th, Canon will be giving a $2000 instant rebate on the C300s! That means you'll pay just $13,999 for the camera. This rebate is available from all the selected Cinema EOS dealers including Texas Media and ourselves. The cameras continue to do well and I think this is really about Canon getting more aggressive in the marketplace.....this deal goes until April 30th.

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
 
maybe, but honestly I wouldn't put c300 in same league as F5/F55. I will be upgrading from my F3 and it will be to new F or RED Epic, c300 isn't even a contender.
 
vanvideo said:
I wonder if Canon is feeling the pressure from the Sony F5/55 cameras. We can see how RED reacted.
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I doubt it, for broadcast the C300 seems far more popular than either of the other two at the moment. A lot of indepent films here in Australia are shooting on it too.
 
yes and I also didn't mean what I said as an insult. In fact more often than not I am recommending Canon for a lot of the type of work people seem to be doing. For hardcore cinema / raw stuff the choice has already been pretty clear since 2007. Sony's late entry in that arena by no means is a "game changer". The only things the F5/F55 have up on RED for digital cinema are:

• F5/F55 is 16-bit linear raw, RED is only 12-bit linear raw.
• F5/F55 offers 4 recording formats (HD, XAVC, SR Codec and RAW), RED is raw only.
• F5/F55 can shoot clean 6400 ISO, RED at 1600 is pushing it.
• Lastly all these points make F5/F55 much more versatile.
 
starcentral said:
maybe, but honestly I wouldn't put c300 in same league as F5/F55. I will be upgrading from my F3 and it will be to new F or RED Epic, c300 isn't even a contender.
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With the F5 as a stand alone, it is in the same league (w/o the recorder).....and Canon's low light is the cleanest out there.

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
 
Jim Martin said:
With the F5 as a stand alone, it is in the same league (w/o the recorder).....and Canon's low light is the cleanest out there.

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
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The F5, as "stand alone", is hitting 14 stops of dynamic-range, 1080P @ 60FPS, 2K @ 120FPS (via a free firmware upgrade) and will record to 8-bit MPEG-2 HD422 at 50 Mbps, 10-bit XAVC 2K/HD at 100 Mbps, and SR Codec 10-bit 4:4:4 MPEG4 SStP at 220/440/880 Mbps - all internally, all stand-alone, all via free firmware upgrades.

The C300 is nowhere near in the same league, and given the FS100's low-light performance, which is extremely close to the C300's (just not reported and raved upon as much), and taking into consideration that the F5 is using an 8.9MP sensor, I bet the F5 will have low-light just as good, if not better, than the C300.

This rebate is a cool find, but the C300 is still overpriced, and nowhere in the same league as the F5.
 
Jim Martin said:
With the F5 as a stand alone, it is in the same league (w/o the recorder).....and Canon's low light is the cleanest out there.

Jim Martin
Filmtools.com
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yes true in that sense but the C300 will never record 4k, so I'd put the F3 more in the same league as the c300 than the F5/F55.

On a side note, Jim I love filmtools website so much - it is dangerous for me anytime I visit it so I try and stay away!!!!
 
GaryinCalifornia said:
If I'm not wrong.. you need the recorder to do the higher frame rates and 4k... that is what Jim is talking about...
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Scroll down: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/898427-REG/Sony_PMW_F5_CineAlta_Digital_Cinema.html

The external recorder is only if you want to shoot 2K and 4K 16bit RAW:

Internal 2K and HD Recording
The F5 CineAlta camera incorporates high-speed SxS PRO+ memory card recording that allows the choice of 8-bit MPEG-2 HD422 at 50 Mbps, 10-bit XAVC 2K/HD at 100 Mbps, and SR Codec 10-bit 4:4:4 MPEG4 SStP at 220/440/880 Mbps. Some recording settings will require a free firmware upgrade.

Optional AXS-R5 "Bolt-on" Recorder
The optional AXS-R5 recorder is designed to dock on the rear of the PMW-F5 and enables 4K and 2K resolution video recording in 16-bit RAW. The AXS-R5 also facilitates high speed frame rates of up to 120 fps in 2K RAW and simultaneous RAW + on-board SxS recording. The recorder uses Sony's newly developed AXSM memory cards, which are compatible with an optional USB 3.0 reader (AXS-CR1). RAW files can be screened using Sony's free RAW Viewer software. (AXS-R5 is sold separately.)
 
Camerapilot said:
RED One is 12 bit. Epic and Scarlet are 16 bit.
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A few of us were discussing it over in the Sony thread and that is what I thought, but it is not the case.

RED has never answered the question directly of what bit-depth the actual RAW format itself is. In fact Jarred's answer on REDUSER when asked point blank was "It's rather complicated, but all that is important is that in camera it is indeed 16 bit".

So while "in camera" the sensor data is being processed in 16-bit precision, how it is being stored can ultimately be different, ie 12-bit container.

Here is some evidence from what I've pieced together:

- Epic/Scarlet data rate in 8:1 compression @ 24 fps in 4k full mode is 37MB/s. It means without compression at all it would be 8 times larger, so 296MB/s.

- Looking at 16-bit the theoretical data value would be:
4096x2160 X 16 X 24 / 8 / 1024 / 1024 = 384MB/s

- Looking at 12-bit the theoretical data value:
4096x2160 X 12 X 24 / 8 / 1024 / 1024 = 303MB/s

If REDCODE Raw was indeed 16-bit the datarate would be closer to the theoretical value of a 16-bit format, but in fact it is closer to the theoretical value of the 12-bit format.

REDCODE Raw on Red One, Red One MX, Epic and Scarlet are 12-bit. It does not change because the internal processing bit-depth might be higher, or if a higher bit-depth CMOS sensor is being used.
 
Whereas the C300 is not the most brilliant camera according to its specifications, it just works. It is - as somebody put it - a Toyota of video cameras. I love that comparison.
My two cents below:

"The Cinema EOS range for pros seems to be a blazing success. It isn’t that the C300 has the best image or the best technology, it is one of those products where the yin and yang is so perfect it ‘just works’."
EosHD website, 13.2.2013

Also, the C300 was UK's most popular rental camera in 2012 (source: Televisual's annual survey of the camera hire market).
The list is as follows:

1 (new)* Canon C300
2 (1) Arri Alexa
3 (4)Sony PDW-F800
4 (3) Canon XF305
5 (10) Red Epic
6 (8) Sony PMW-500
7 (9) Canon EOS-5D MkII/MkIII
8 (2) Sony PMW-EX3
9 (5) Sony PDW-700
10 (new) Sony F65

*the figures in brackets represent a camera’s position in last year’s poll
 
It's difficult to see it as coincidental that this rebate comes just when the F5 is released. Something must be driving Canon to reduce the price. If not the release of the F5, then what?
 
Noel Evans said:
In your opinion.

Anyone is free to state there opinions, where I have trouble is when people state an opinion as fact.

Also as we are in the C300 forum, lets keep the C300 in the discussion.
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Of course in my opinion - I am simply just stating my opinion - why on Earth are you stating the obvious, or even pointing that out??

That last line I wrote corresponds to the rest of what I wrote - and that was comparing the F5 specs to the C300's specs...

And I was keeping the "C300 in the discussion" because I was comparing the F5 to the C300...

What on Earth was the point of your reply??

And this isn't in the "C300 forum", it's in the "Industry News & Information" forum.
 
Samir Patel said:
now if only they would sell the 1DC for $8000...then I would sell a D800 and 5D3 and happily upgrade
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You know, I would not be surprised if they lower the price on the 1DC. I personally like the camera and think it's worth the price, but I have noticed that it never seems to be out of stock at B&H or Adorama and it is at the beginning of life. So, I think, either they are ramped up and meeting demand incredibly well or there is lower demand than anticipated. At 8k, their would likely be HUGE demand, but I don't think that would be the price drop or the rebate.

Anyhow, the C300 rebate is making it incredibly tempting ;-)

Chris McGuinness
www.pulsecinema.com
 
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