C300: The C300 MII Rumors Thread (and whatever else Canon could have up their sleeves)

Spartacus

Veteran
Since I came across this http://www.canonrumors.com/2014/11/canon-cinema-eos-c300-mark-ii-will-be-4k-cr2/
and this http://www.canonrumors.com/2014/12/4k-fixed-lens-camcorder-coming-cr2/
I thought, why not have place to collect what's dripping out of the rumor mill.

Most interesting was the hint of an alexa over-the-shoulder style C-camera...

Hopefully the next rumors will be more substantial :)

Update (for the below C100 cam rumor):
http://www.canonrumors.com/2014/12/more-on-the-coming-4k-camcorder-cr2/
 
Last edited:
With all the recent cameras coming out on almost a monthly basis...none...NONE...of them has me more excited then the prospects of the C300 Mark II. I agree that it will come with a premium price tag. Totally worth it. I love the look I can get out of a C300. For me, its either that or go Dragon. A Dragon rig is about $34K with required hardware. I also don't need 6K at the moment. So if they price this camera for less than $15K and can actually get the right specs in there...I think this camera is going to be a great workhorse.
 
the hair dryer one... wsn't that pictured used a year ago... before the C300 was announced....

After the C300 was released, but before it took over the Western world.

I've no doubt the C300II will be great. I'm guessing HFR, at least 4K, CFast internal recording and a price of $12-15K.
 
Canon have never released at NAB. Im not saying they won't but they haven't in the past.
 
Canon have never released at NAB. Im not saying they won't but they haven't in the past.

But NAB still is a point where many make their final buying decisions.
If they didn't have to spent money before years end or can still rely on current setups for a while, many will wait for what´s happening at NAB.
So there should at least be sth on the horizon from Canon by then...
 
The current C300 (and C100/C500) sensor is a recent Canon development specifically for Cinema EOS. Expect the new C300 mkII to use the same sensor. Its lattice consists of 4206x2340 photo sites, even if only 3840x2160 are used for today's 1080p.

Even in today's C300, the sensor is being read out at 60fps regardless of shooting frame rate. With Canon willing, a 4k@60 spec should be doable. I wouldn't hope for higher frame rates than that at 4k.

There are specialised cameras that do HFR or offer raw workflows via cumbersome external solutions. I don't see a C300 mkII being that camera.

A C300 mkII, 4k60p (what codec and bitrate?) , dual pixel AF, internal 10bit 1080p, general improvements and lessons learned from the mkI. WiFi? GPS? That's a good enough camera to go a long way in the real world.

It's important to stay real world. Once you get to 4k and want quality footage, the data rates go up. 60p? Even worse. 10bit…?

Of course, you can start to suggest all kinds of external solutions, but that is where the C500 picks up the slack, right? The C300 mkII should be the "ultimate internal quality recording machine".
 
AndreeOnline you nailed it! The big question I have is what is the new codec going to be...They did release their variation of 8-bit Mpeg422 at NAB prior to the XF300 release.
 
My guess:

C300 mk II name.
Internal 4K 4:2:2 recording,
120fps at 1080p
Dual pixel AF
A few design tweaks and adjustments
Internal wifi/gps
New Processor with improved lowlight performance

optional:

The 4K&1080p is in a 10bit 4:2:2 codec instead of 8 bit 4:2:2
The 4K goes up to 60p.
There's raw output through the HDSDI

That's if they go steadily (Canon way) without going for a whole new concept lile shoulder design, 6K, etc I think these are going to be reserved for a C500 which will have an entirely new concept.
 
Last edited:
Personally I'm gonna guess that they would leave RAW off and hinder the high frame rates in some shape or fashion. Otherwise, no one would bother to buy the C500. I say they either do 4k/60fps or 1080/120fps, but probably not both at the same time. HOWEVER, I would absolutely love to be proven wrong on this!
 
Totally agree with ReelWorksMedia. Our C100 has been an utter champ over the last few years. Beautiful filmic image and great ergonomics (for what we do anyway) Helped us grow our business to the point where a C300 MK II would be a great next step. At this stage, especially with the FS7 on the scene, I'd just wish they acknowledge that something worthwhile is coming! Even a teasing picture like what Sony did when they launched the F5/55 a few years ago would help.

From our perspective, I'd happily pay the Canon premium to maintain the image quality, reliability and name recognition, but they just need to hurry up and release something.

From a specs perspective, like many of you I'm hoping for close to FS7 parity, i.e. 4K 60p 10 bit, 1080p 120 FPS to internal CFast and most importantly, a little more dynamic range/cleaner low light image etc. I don't think 4K is very sellable to our clients at present (but I'm not about the drop £10k + on a camera without it) but the HFR and extra dynamic range would be easy sales, and where the C100/300 are starting to show their age now.

Its clear if you read between the lines of one of the articles Canon did for the C100 MK II that the processor engine is more than capable of doing what we want now, it just comes down to whether they'll cripple it again (which judging by the C100 MK II isn't looking promising)

Speaking to some people at an event the other week, the primary concern seems to be codec. Canon don't have an equivalent to XAVC (unless that's what they've been taking their sweet time to develop) so unless they license it from Sony, what else could they use?
 
A C300 mkII, 4k60p (what codec and bitrate?) , dual pixel AF, internal 10bit 1080p, general improvements and lessons learned from the mkI. WiFi? GPS? That's a good enough camera to go a long way in the real world.

You've pretty much described an FS7.
 
You've pretty much described an FS7.

Seems reasonable, since that is the "target" according to most people. But I'm not into Sony. I like the Canon image/colors and the EF-mount.

I don't think Canon cares all that much what Sony does, honestly.

My actual expectation (above is what I think could be possible) for the C300 mkII is underspeced compared to FS7. I'm thinking 4k30 and 1080p60. I don't really expect any high frame rates.
 
Back
Top