One Year Later: C300 & Scarlet

[Menno Mennes]

I was just reflecting on this myself. I was at the November 3rd event last year, saw the C300 on the big screen at Paramount. After that I knew resolution wouldn't be an issue.

I picked up my C300 at the start of the summer and have shot an indie feature, footage for broadcast, doc footage, greenscreen, concerts and spec work. So many great things about the camera: size, workflow, image. I'm constantly surprised at the amount detail in the shadows.

I haven't "needed" it, but I do wish that the camera had a dual HD/SDI for 12bit out option like the C500. I would have more use for a 2k/12bit/444 than 4k, would certainly lengthen the life of the camera in the production world. That desire aside, I haven't seen a camera on the market that has the same image qaulity and ease of use that my C300 has. I've shot a handful of gigs with the C300 side by side with the Scarlet and had the producers ask the colorist to get the Scarlet to match the skin tones of the C300 (not sure if that was acheived).

My guess is the C300 will stay relevant to narrative jobs as long as productions are using the HD Alexa. After that it'll likely be "The Documentary Camera" to use for several years.


In short, I would buy the camera again, but I am jealous of the 12bit output of the C500, though for and extra 10k I'll live with the 8bit!

In Europe (Belgium) you can buy the C500 for € 17.795,-- dollars $ 22.699,-- http://www.creativeventures.be/video/professional-hd-camcorders/cine-style-cameras/page2.html