C300: Pre-Owned Low Hour C300 for $5500 or C100 MKII..........HELP???

As a rental house, I've never had anyone ask for a C100. Always C300. If I'm shooting green screen, I need 4:2:2. If you add an external recorder to a C100, you're closer to an FS7 price. Personally, I can't live without HD-SDI.
 
As a rental house, I've never had anyone ask for a C100. Always C300. If I'm shooting green screen, I need 4:2:2. If you add an external recorder to a C100, you're closer to an FS7 price. Personally, I can't live without HD-SDI.

Well, technically once you add an eyecup to the C100 you're 'closer' to the price of the FS7.

The thing about the FS7 isn't the $8k price, it's the additional $2-3k you have to spend on XQD cards to get a few hours worth of record time. Unless you previously owned a Nikon D4 or the Sony handycam that uses them, startup cost on the FS7 is closer to $10k than $8k. $5,500 to $10,000 is a pretty big jump...even when you add a $300 Ninja Star in there.
 
McBob... not sure that card will work with the FS7... at least not at the highest bitrates. Lexar doesn't seem to publish the write speed specs. The card can READ at 200MB/s, but write is often MUCH lower than that.

And realize that at 64GB, with a 240Mb/s bitrate that card is only going to get you about 30 minutes of 4k24p. So, to have a few hours (lets say three) you need six cards. That's still $900.

My point is the FS7 is quite a ways from the C100 Mark II, price-wise. Adding a $300 Ninja Star with $300 worth of CFast 1.0 to the C100, while it does move it up to $6,000... is still close to $3k less than the FS7 and its media.

The FS7 is a great camera for what it is... but since when is $3k "a little more money"? People talk about the C100 Mark II and FS7 like they're in the same price range... and I guess they are, if your "price range" is $5,000-10,000. I wouldn't tell a car buyer "when you add the nav system to that Toyota Camry, you're closer to the Lexus IS350."
 
Last edited:
Well, technically once you add an eyecup to the C100 you're 'closer' to the price of the FS7.

The thing about the FS7 isn't the $8k price, it's the additional $2-3k you have to spend on XQD cards to get a few hours worth of record time. Unless you previously owned a Nikon D4 or the Sony handycam that uses them, startup cost on the FS7 is closer to $10k than $8k. $5,500 to $10,000 is a pretty big jump...even when you add a $300 Ninja Star in there.

I agree that an FS7 is not an $8K camera. In addition to proprietary media, there's the $2k rear adapter, lens mount adapters, inevitable V-mount batteries. When I wrote external recorders, I was thinking PIX240 or Odyssey 7Q, so those would take a C100 Mark II into FS7 territory. No way would I rather have a C100 Mark II over a used $5500 C300, if in good shape. C300 is the most popular rental video camera on Earth. When out of town clients want a camera, that's what they ask for. AVCHD just doesn't do it, nor HDMI out only.
 
Last edited:
If a C300 II is announced at NAB it will probably take a couple months before it's available, so let's say 4 months from now. How much do you think that $5500 C300 will be worth in 4 months? The same? $4500 ? How much more can you earn in the next four months with a C300 than what you have now? If that number is greater than $1000 then it's a good idea to pick it up. Otherwise if you don't think you'll be earning anything more than you are now, then what's the point? If nobody in your market cares what camera you use, then stick with what's been paying the bills. If you're in a market where the C300 is the standard request and you're losing gigs for not having one, well then it might just make sense to look at it as a stopgap to keep you in the game.
 
This is great advice Andrius. Generally, in my work, nobody cares if I am using a C100, C100MKII or a C300. My main client likes me using the C100 better than when we have rented C300s because I also use the Ninja Blade with my C100 and they much prefer me handing them ProRes HQ files over the C300 MPEG files. We all are in different little niches and if I had clients who really cared if I had a C300, I would sell my C100 and buy a used C300 or spring for the new C300 MKII in a heartbeat. I sold my GH4 and I do miss the flexibility of 4k at times but luckily most of our clients care more about web delivery than broadcast so I can shoot 1080 and deliver 720 for the web. So re-framing and moves are still possible.
 
Last edited:
Now the question is new c300 or new c100 markII? Im in this boat now as well. Either way I'm going to wait until after NAB on the slim hope the c300 II is closer to 10k than 15k.. My hopes are not high for that :p
 
I smell a rat - $5500 for a C300 isn't happening anytime soon.

Now the question is new c300 or new c100 markII? Im in this boat now as well. Either way I'm going to wait until after NAB on the slim hope the c300 II is closer to 10k than 15k.. My hopes are not high for that :p
Uh yeah, don't get your hopes up high on a $10K C300 MKII or C400 (Maybe Canon Changes the name to C400). I"ll be the first to call the New Canon Cinema EOS the Canon C400 (by the way, at around $15K)..........
 
I have a source who has seen the C300 MKII already and he was told $17k list. That is third hand info so we'll see if it was right in just a week and half.
 
I have a source who has seen the C300 MKII already and he was told $17k list. That is third hand info so we'll see if it was right in just a week and half.

That would be really stupid From Sony, You source may had tried the camera but for sure know the list price is a bit adventurous.

I'm 99% sure the c300 MKii (it may be called c400) will be selling for $8999, 4K will come for sure so my only request is a evf with at least 720p. highspeed is not super necesary to sell the camera so 30P is more likely.
 
Matt, not sure but if it has changed, my source didn't mention it. He did mention that Canon told him there is some shoulder mount news but were not specific it that was an add-on, a new design mandate for the EOS C line or if it was only for the C500?

That would be really stupid From Sony, You source may had tried the camera but for sure know the list price is a bit adventurous.

I'm 99% sure the c300 MKii (it may be called c400) will be selling for $8999, 4K will come for sure so my only request is a evf with at least 720p. highspeed is not super necesary to sell the camera so 30P is more likely.

I don't understand your statement, "From Sony"? What do you mean from Sony? My source did not try the camera, he saw a prototype in person and let's just say he is in a position to be told the list price, he's not a DP or director, he is deeply involved in the business and $$ side of the equation. He didn't say anything about a C400, he called it the C300 MKII (applying logic, we now have the C100 MKII, wouldn't a C300 MKII make more sense than moving to another number?), he definitely mentioned 4k, 10 and 12 bit codec options, C-Fast cards, not sure of the new codec. I say this is third hand because he was told by Canon and he shared some loose specs with me, nothing more, so take that for what it is worth. I know for a fact that he works very closely with the manufacturers, he is in a position to know all of this information, it's not that he met a rep in a bar who was drunkenly shooting off his mouth, he is under NDA, he meets regularly with Canon. We'll know soon if what he shared with me was BS or on the money. If he was on the money, I am going to revisit this thread and say, "nyah, nyah, told you Andrey!" and if he was way off, you can do the same to me, if your guesses were closer ;-)
 
C300 MKII ... 4k ... 10 and 12 bit codec options ... C-Fast cards ... new codec
I'd say all this is a given by now, otherwise there's no point in a MK II!
My only concern at this stage is that with the recent AUD exchange rate drop it will come in at around AUD$20K... aargh!
 
I'd say all this is a given by now, otherwise there's no point in a MK II!
My only concern at this stage is that with the recent AUD exchange rate drop it will come in at around AUD$20K... aargh!

Agreed, Canon needs to make it appealing enough for people to dump their old C300s and step up but it doesn't have to be a game changer. I think they are ceding the sub-$10k market to the Sony FS7. I hate Sony's color science but they wipe the floor with the C100 MKII as far as specs. I feel sorry for my Aussie and European mates who are in this business, you guys always get ripped off on camera gear/production gear.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top