C300: why the C300/C500 uses two cables for its monitor unit

Do_oM

New member
silly question...just really wanted to know why the unit uses two cables is all. not important. it just keeps me up at night and I can't find the answer...
 
I wish Canon would have put plugs on both end of those cables so they could be field replaceable. I don't want to be the guy in a far flung location who is going to have a bad cable and no incoming audio, Canon really overlooked that aspect in the design. The cables are very exposed, I always disconnect mine when moving between location or carrying the camera around.
 
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I wish Canon would have put plugs on both end of those cables so they could be field replaceable. I don't want to be the guy in a far flung location who is going to have a bad cable and no incoming audio, Canon really overlooked that aspect in the design. The cables are very exposed, I always disconnect mine when moving between location or carrying the camera around.

Of course then you run the risk of wearing out the connectors with all that activiy... Time will tell. Yeah - I agree - I'm the "unofficial" first U.S reciepient of the C300 back in January 2012 Daytona USA. So far no issues.
 
According to Canon, 1 is for video and 2 for audio.

I had a problem with the Cable 1. The problem was my creation, because I was carrying the camera and lcd connected in ready to shoot manner in a backpack and because of the pressure on the cable 1 it became loose and the LCD stopped working. Even when there was no display in the LCD, the sound recording worked as the cable 2 was working fine during that time.

When I am filming in the wild, the camera undergoes real torture. It is able to withstand wind, rain, cold, 50 deg centigrade plus temperatures. So it is pretty robust. My corporate and other film shoots doesn't stress the camera so much. So one shouldn't be unduly worried about failure.
 
Just as an aside. I dropped a tripod on the monitor which smashed the cold shoe and that bottom section. With insurance excess I thought well there goes $600 (thinking the repair would be higher). Canon Aus, repaired in 4 days and cost $220.
 
Well my cable 1 just went bad. :(

As far as I can tell Cable 1 is required for cable 2 to work. As soon as it cuts out I lose audio. It might depend on which wire is losing connection. My strategy for the next week is to use the 1/8" mic input and viewfinder. Fortunately I have a TRS 1/8" splitter to two TS 1/8", so I can connect my wireless to one channel and the Rode VideoMic Pro to the other. It won't be terrible, but I'll miss having the monitor available. I would say, if you're going to a place where you can't ship anything in a day, take an 1/8" Y cable and a cable to get an 1/8" out of your wireless. Maybe a cheap powered shotgun too.
 
Ouch why did it break? What happened to the cable?

Did you contact Canon or have any idea how much it could cost to replace such a hardwired cable? I bet it's not cheap.
 
Ouch why did it break? What happened to the cable?

Did you contact Canon or have any idea how much it could cost to replace such a hardwired cable? I bet it's not cheap.

I'm not sure exactly what happened. There was no defining incident it just stopped working. There were some indications it was getting weaker - occasionally I'd have to reinsert. But it really died all at once. Maybe it got stuck on something as I was pulling it out of the camera bag. Who knows. I'm not even 100% certain it's the cable, it's possible it could be the connector on the camera body. But I tried to test it by moving the cable around and it seems like it's the cable. I can get the monitor to show by bending it hard one direction, the display has weird tearing when I do it.

Cable itself is $200, no idea on the labor. But no choice, really but just to fix it. I'm guessing it's not hard-soldered in but has some sort of removeable connector on the inside, so I'm hoping it's not terribly expensive on the labor side of things.
 
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