Talk me out of buying the C300

I am Spartacus.

Ha ha ha - this thread has gotten pretty darn ridiculous. I understand people have different ideas for what tool suits them the best, but empirical declarations about an of them is just inflamatory bullsh%t. The only thing that really seperates the current crop of digital cinema cameras is the person behind the wheel. Either your skills are up to it, or they aren't. The playing field is even, time to put up or shut up.
 
Seeing as I'm the one who started this thread I should say that the C300 is blowing me away. I was considering waiting for the 1DC. But I'm so glad I went with the C300. It really is the best 1080 camera on the market with the new sensor technology. Just reading how canon uses a standard bayer pattern but doesnt actually de-bayer is so genious, and the results speak for themself. Having all the professional audio and video connections I can walk on any set and have what's needed all in one box.
 
Im going to carry Bryan's mantle a little here. Each of the cameras perform, they all have their strengths. Empirically declaring from the mountain top that A is king and bow down before it... really doesnt have a place in a free discussion.
 
It has shallower depth of field. That's all. The C300 is a heck of a lot sharper than the Canon SLRs.

Sure. When I used it with the FS700 there were two things the FS700 did better. More dynamic range (especially in shadows) and better sharpness. But the 5d still looked absolutely great when I intercut them together. Didn't have to blur or use any magic tricks. It just worked. And a lot of closeups were just unbelievable thanks to the DOF. Also the highlight handling was surprising. First time using the FS700 and I immediately had some problems with highlights, especially with some high-intensity led's. The 5d mark III just soared through them without a hitch.

I was also surprised how bad the ergonomics were on the FS700 with the metabones adapter. It was really horrible to hold and operate with the zillions buttons and switches all over the place. Surprisingly the 5d had better ergonomics and it's just a box! For example, changing ISO or dB was just a breeze on the 5d and a horrible operation on the FS700 which I wanted to avoid at all costs.

I have not shot with the C300 yet though but it does look ergonomically a lot better.

That full-frame look is ... something else. Especially when shooting people.
 
I too own a C300 & 5D3 plus I shoot weddings but have stopped using the C300 for weddings because the video quality is just so much better than the 5D3. I am shooting with 3-4 cameras so it is not an option to buy more C300s & it is barely an option to buy a couple of C100s. The video from the 5D3 is lovely but the C300 blows it away. I need to be able to match up the footage from multiple cameras & the easiest route is to have all cameras the same or very similar e.g. 5D2 mixes OK with 5D3

Take a look at this highlights clip & tell me that you cannot see the difference

http://www.alicebarkerimages.com/vicky-and-neil-wedding-highlights/

I don't know how the OP is going to be using the C300 at weddings but for me it doesn't work with our style of multiple cameras & if I were to shoot with just a single camera it would not be a C300 but a more traditional camcorder like an XF305 if not a full shoulder mount camera.
 
I will sell you 305. It is only 6 months old. Will use Mark3 anyday. Canon 1d-c could be ny next camera if the price is right.
No 50/60p is big no for me. In 2013 it will be a joke not having that after spending $15,000. ( no decent EVF).
 
1D C doesn't have an EVF. So you need to buy one for that. I was calculating the storage requirement for a 2 month shoot with a 1D C. I got scared. It will chew up close to 1 TB for 4 hour shoot. So if at the minimum I only record two hours a day (you never know what you will get in a forest), then I will need 15 TB per month. So for 2 months minimum I have to lug 15 hard disks of 2 TB each to store. And if you back up then it is another story. :) So I am making provisions for atleast 30 hard disks. Someone from my team has to make special journey to carry these stuff.

Frankly speaking C300 looks very good with its broadcast approved codec. However the 1D C files are pretty good with lot of details. It also has the 1080 at 50/60p. I have pushed back my project so that I can make up my mind and buy either the C300 or the 1DC the moment it is launched.

Canon 1d-c could be ny next camera if the price is right.
No 50/60p is big no for me. In 2013 it will be a joke not having that after spending $15,000. ( no decent EVF).
 
For TV WORK you dont need 4k so it is cheap for recording storrage....and Zacuto $350 magnifier will give you better better option then C300 one. Picture with FULL FRAME lenses will look better. Another option is to get F5.
 
I will sell you 305. It is only 6 months old. Will use Mark3 anyday.
Funnily enough I just sold my XF305 yesterday:-) I meant that if I were to shoot a wedding with just one camera it would not be a DSLR. I can use multiple DSLRs & use cutaways for when I didn't hit focus, the white balance went wonky, the highlights just blew, the battery ran out, the card filled up etc if I have just one camera shooting an event I cannot afford to have any of those things happen so would use a traditional camcorder. For other shoots I would use my C300 without question as it has the best image that I have ever seen from a video camera.
 
Talk you out of buying a C300?

Ok I will try......don't buy one.
I want one but then read that horror story elsewhere of a fault in it and Canon charging something astronomical to fix it.

I hate horror stories and should stop reading them.
 
if I were to shoot with just a single camera it would not be a C300 but a more traditional camcorder like an XF305 if not a full shoulder mount camera

Well to each his own. I shoot every wedding solo with one cam and the C300 really is a dream come true. As far as weddings go, I don't know whet else I would ask for. Don't need more than 1080, don't need raw, don't need high fps. I would just ask for more dynamic range. It's the best DR I've ever shot but I look forward to shooting with at least 14 stops one day.
 
Well to each his own. I shoot every wedding solo with one cam and the C300 really is a dream come true. As far as weddings go, I don't know whet else I would ask for. Don't need more than 1080, don't need raw, don't need high fps. I would just ask for more dynamic range. It's the best DR I've ever shot but I look forward to shooting with at least 14 stops one day.
You must have a very different style to me. I love shooting with DSLRs & see the C300 as a grown up DSLR but to be honest I cannot imagine shooting an event like a wedding with a single camera except with a nice big power zoom. Do you shoot with just one lens? If not what do you do about missing the action while changing lenses?
 
You must have a very different style to me. I love shooting with DSLRs & see the C300 as a grown up DSLR but to be honest I cannot imagine shooting an event like a wedding with a single camera except with a nice big power zoom. Do you shoot with just one lens? If not what do you do about missing the action while changing lenses?

I take 5 lenses to weddings. 17-55, 70-200, 24-105, 50 1.2, 24 1.4. The trick is that I don't switch while something is happening. This would be especially difficult since I have to turn the dumb thing off. Anyway, I choose the one lens best suited for that specific part of the day. Prep: 17-55. Ceremony & speeches: 70-200. Dancing: 24 1.4. It varies every time of course.
 
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