'See Impossible': Canon counts down to... something. *UPDATED*

I'm laughing at some of you that only think "video" with the Canon DSLR market. There are 6 billion people on this planet. You guys are talking about cameras that are designed as stills cameras. I mean, you can see this for yourself. Go to a festival, zoo, or county fair. Look at people with DSLRs hanging off them. Count them by brand and then come on back in here and lets discuss marketshare.
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But never mind the successful testing of a FF sensor with 19 microns in size which can shoot at light levels of 0.03 LUX.
http://www.canon.com/news/2013/mar04e.html

But I guess when people see the latest shinny camera like the A7s they think the camera world is at its end game. But never mind that Sony competes with themselves (Fs7 and F5).



A second angle shot taken with the 5dMk2. A camera going on 7 years old that still competes with cameras released yesterday.
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Keep in mind that Dslr's are still developed primarily for taking STILLS.
 
William_Robinette said:
Guys, Canon isn't depriving you of running water or access to sustenance. Nobody is "suffering" through anything, come on. That's practically insulting to say.
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Way to make it sound ridiculous while also missing the point. Yeah we are suffering through moire issues on Canon DSLRs. Especially when Nikon, Sony and Panasonic have all been minimizing this as much as possible and Canon hasn't really done anything. Yeah it does sucks not to have a headphone jack on a camera like the 60D or 70D or Rebels. At least they are starting to remedy that on the 5D3 and 7D2. But again, this is 5 years after the HDSLR wave first began and the expectation among Canon users who first invested in these cameras was that they would get better over time and add more video functionality and better quality. The only thing Canon has introduced is dual pixel AF, which is nice, but one thing.

So no this is not a dire starving children situation. But then I didn't imply it was. I simply stated that these are the reasons why people are upset at Canon when it comes to DSLR video and I think that is an appropriate response.
 
I only film with BM cameras right now because of the DR and ProRes codec that - to me - make a lot of difference for what we produce.

That said, I could grab the 5D out of the photography bag tomorrow and shoot great footage with it.
Side by side (which is why I switched to all BM because I'm cutting two and three cameras together in the same pieces) there is a noticeable hit in Canon DSLR .264 footage vs most new DSLR and hybrids.

But if you're not looking at footage side by side, the viewer will still love well shot 5D footage as much as ever - it's beautiful stuff.
The C line imagery is a different level, as Canon has ensured, but again - if it scrutinized side by side, viewers would often prefer the FF look of the 5D to even a C300.

Honestly, as into the BM look as I am and as well as it works for our projects and clients, if Canon came out with a new 5D tomorrow...FF with the C sensor, I'd buy one immediately.
 
Great shot DL.
On a promotional film recently I collaborated with an architectural photographer from the west for my pickups past the Rockies.
He shoots 5Ds and while not as experienced with motion work, his style is similar to yours.
Of course the technique that made me choose him involves multiple exposures for lighting which doesn't translate to filmmaking.

The 5D will always be a great photo camera.
 
It's interesting everyone is talking about their personal/customer pov .

What I find far more interesting and having spent "few" years in advertising, is Canon's reasons for doing this campaign . Is this corporate branding for the future? Is this to keep the Canon faithful feeling good about Canon? Is this foreplay for a product launch sometime in the near future? Or is this a flag waving on a hill saying we are still here in the midst of a 21st century revolution in camera development started by Canon & Red and now continued by Sony, Arri, Red, BM, Cion & Kinifinity.

No matter what an individual thinks......this campaign is Canon acknowledging they have a "perceived" image problem and they're not in a position to do anything about it ......not yet anyway.
 
Surf it Mike said:
It's interesting everyone is talking about their personal/customer pov .

What I find far more interesting and having spent "few" years in advertising, is Canon's reasons for doing this campaign . Is this corporate branding for the future? Is this to keep the Canon faithful feeling good about Canon? Is this foreplay for a product launch sometime in the near future? Or is this a flag waving on a hill saying we are still here in the midst of a 21st century revolution in camera development started by Canon & Red and now continued by Sony, Arri, Red, BM, Cion & Kinifinity.

No matter what an individual thinks......this campaign is Canon acknowledging they have a "perceived" image problem and they're not in a position to do anything about it ......not yet anyway.
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Good post. I often respond to new camera releases/strategies in terms of what it might mean for the particular company as a whole and sometimes people will perceive my thoughts as personal dissatisfaction. In terms of Canon and Nikon - I've owned models from both and any critical thoughts I may have simply come from the desire to see them succeed (which by default is good for me and other customers). I do think Canon are missing out on some golden opportunities with the video on their DSLRs. Will it kill their sales? No. They are world class photographic tools. Are they missing out on a growing segment of multi media customers. I believe so.
 
jimagine said:
I only film with BM cameras right now because of the DR and ProRes codec that - to me - make a lot of difference for what we produce.

That said, I could grab the 5D out of the photography bag tomorrow and shoot great footage with it.
Side by side (which is why I switched to all BM because I'm cutting two and three cameras together in the same pieces) there is a noticeable hit in Canon DSLR .264 footage vs most new DSLR and hybrids.

But if you're not looking at footage side by side, the viewer will still love well shot 5D footage as much as ever - it's beautiful stuff.
The C line imagery is a different level, as Canon has ensured, but again - if it scrutinized side by side, viewers would often prefer the FF look of the 5D to even a C300.

Honestly, as into the BM look as I am and as well as it works for our projects and clients, if Canon came out with a new 5D tomorrow...FF with the C sensor, I'd buy one immediately.
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Finally a breath of fresh air! Almost all the comparison footage floating around the internet comparing GH4, 5D3, and the C100....... I always like the 5D3 the best! It's a hard act to follow.
 
ReelWorksMedia said:
I think we can all agree on one thing...

We all love to hate loving all of the lovely images these crappy, revolutionizing, late launching, overpriced and extremely worth it to some, cameras can produce. I for one am in love with hating that I love Canon so bad that I hate hating the fact I love them...cause they suck....in a great way. Thats what she said.
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Not sure if I should +1 that or not. I think.
 
This just keeps getting funnier.

If you're not happy with the video aspects of a DSLR, get a VIDEO camera, not a STILLS camera.

Im not saying your opinions or complaints aren't altogether invalid or untrue from your perspective, you have the right to feel and think however you want about anything. BUT it's like complaining because you can't carry 2,000lbs of cargo in your Honda Civic like you can in a heavy duty truck. "Well, they both have four wheels and engines, they should be capable of doing exactly the same thing."

i have three Canon 5's. Two mark II's and a mark III. I didn't buy a single one for video.

Yes, I'm being somewhat of an @$$, but my point is... well, I think I made my point(see line 2:cool:).
 
Run&Gun said:
This just keeps getting funnier.

If you're not happy with the video aspects of a DSLR, get a VIDEO camera, not a STILLS camera.
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That's not the argument though. The argument is that other camera manufacturers are building better video into their DSLR-like cameras. Yet Canon is not. So those that invested in Canon back when the HDSLR revolution began, are disappointed in this lack of progress on the part of Canon.

I think it's a valid complaint, but passing it off by saying something like "just go buy a real video camera for five plus thousand dollars" is missing the point. Not everyone can do that. Not everyone is in a situation where they can pay off a camera in one or two jobs. Not everyone is a freelance video professional who is limited only by their motivation to get more work. Yet I think a lot of you here are approaching this discussion from that perspective. Where you see this as just whining and complaining rather than rolling up the sleeves and doing "jobs" to pay for expensive gear. As I've said before, some are shoestring budget indie filmmakers. I'm thinking of the 20 year old guys who are making narrative fiction and funding it with their paycheck driving pizzas or working at the gap. Then there are people like me who have been with the company I am with for 8 years because it's been stable through a down economy and I have child support payments and bills to pay. I'm working salary but my bosses haven't updated our video gear since 2007 (HDV cameras) and would laugh in my face if I suggested they spend $5k on a new camera (let alone two of them for interviews). So instead I'm using my personal 60D which is all I can afford with everything else I have to pay for out of my salary. Nor does it help that I'm locked into a noncompete contract which prevents me from doing side work or quiting and doing what I do for up to 2 years within 200 miles of their office. Nor can I use anything I've shot in the last 8 years (my entie working career in this field) on a personal reel should I leave and relocate outside the 200 mile radius. So I've stayed because beyond gear, I don't have a lot of complaints.

My point is, not everyone is in the same situation. Treating everyone like a freelance video pro who is either too cheap or too lazy to buy real equipment is not the right approach. Again, Canon is behind on video in their DSLRs and it's perfectly valid to make complaints about that when you are invested in their system and you see other manufacturers upping the game while Canon just avoids it.
 
There are many great video cameras with full controls out there for under $5K and well within the reach of low budget users. I think anyone who can buy a DSLR can afford the camcorders below. So if a DSLR doesn't meet you needs then checkout traditional camcorders.

- Canon XA10 HD $1500.
- Panasonic AG-AC90A $1900
- JVC GY-HM150U$2,000.
- Sony HDR-FX7 $2,000.
 
Mark Williams said:
There are many great video cameras with full controls out there for under $5K and well within the reach of low budget users.
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Not when you're also expected to do stills and/or want the creative capability of a interchangable lens system and the ability to go shallower in your DOF.

I really don't understand why people are defending Canon so much here and talking down to those who have complaints about their DSLRs. Do you people not see that while the rest of the industry is improving their DSLR-like cameras, Canon has been virtually sitting still. What is there to defend?
 
David W. Jones said:
Bottom line..... If a camera doesn't meet my needs, I don't buy it.
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True. But it's not just a camera you're buying into, you're buying into a system when it comes to DSLRs. So you'll want to be able to trust to some degree that said system gets regular improvements over a reasonable time in comparison to its competitors.

Yeah people switch systems and there have been many jumping ship to other systems. Personally I still love Canon color and I like their choice of lenses. Which is why I'm personally disgruntled they haven't been improving video functionality on their DSLRs. I don't think it's unreasonable to complain about it. It's not like we're asking for an Alexa in a Rebel body. We're simply asking them to reduce moire, improve resolution/bitrate/codec, add a headphone jack and some software video functionality like peaking. Nothing too crazy, but something after 5+ years. Magic lantern has proved that some of these thigns can be done and Panasonic has proved that 4K can be recorded in-camera on a $1700 body. So again it's not like these are outlandish unrealistic requests to the point that everyone should be jumping down our throats saying "just be happy with what you have" or "OMG, why are you expecting five plus thousand dollar features in sub $2K cameras?"
When it's already been proven it can be done by companies that are not the market leader with the kind of clout and bulk buying power Canon has. All it proves is that Canon refuses to do these things because they would rather sell us "C" cameras without understanding or caring that not everyone can afford "C" cameras.
 
roxics said:
Not when you're also expected to do stills and/or want the creative capability of a interchangable lens system and the ability to go shallower in your DOF.

I really don't understand why people are defending Canon so much here and talking down to those who have complaints about their DSLRs. Do you people not see that while the rest of the industry is improving their DSLR-like cameras, Canon has been virtually sitting still. What is there to defend?
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Because Canon has a Cinema-line of video cameras to protect.

They aren't going to undercut a $6k plus video camera with a $1799 DSLR.

That makes no sense.

And before I hear the GH4 aregument one more time, Panasonic CONSUMER does the DSLRs, Panasonic broadcast the higher end cameras.
 
Run&Gun said:
This just keeps getting funnier.

If you're not happy with the video aspects of a DSLR, get a VIDEO camera, not a STILLS camera.

Im not saying your opinions or complaints aren't altogether invalid or untrue from your perspective, you have the right to feel and think however you want about anything. BUT it's like complaining because you can't carry 2,000lbs of cargo in your Honda Civic like you can in a heavy duty truck. "Well, they both have four wheels and engines, they should be capable of doing exactly the same thing."

i have three Canon 5's. Two mark II's and a mark III. I didn't buy a single one for video.

Yes, I'm being somewhat of an @$$, but my point is... well, I think I made my point(see line 2:cool:).
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For a number of years and still today 50% of TV commercials, movies, and shows, not to mention countless shots of flowers going in and out of focus on Vimeo were shot with your stills only camera. I think the 5D3's are still very relevant today. In fact you could refer to the 5D3 as the venerable master. It's ironic to see "heavy duty trucks" still trying to compete with a "Honda Civic".

When Canon unveils the new 5D4, and C100's, there will be a lot of GH4's, and Sony A7s up for sale. You can't have 50% of the world market and be that stupid!

Quite frankly if yer into photography, shouldn't you be using a Nikon D-800?
 
mcgeedigital said:
And before I hear the GH4 aregument one more time, Panasonic CONSUMER does the DSLRs, Panasonic broadcast the higher end cameras.
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Same company so what difference does it really make? Most end users don't even know that distinction.

I get that they have a higher end cinema line now. So what, they're just never going to improve on their DSLR video anymore? How is reducing moire and adding heaphone jacks and improving bitrate really going to harm their cinema series? The cinema series is just as much about ergonomics as image qaulity. You buy into those cameras for the dials and buttons and overall layout of the physical working camera which should provide a faster workflow during production.
 
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