The Canon C300 Just Came Into My Life
Canon C300 fresh out of the box
After two years of renting cameras at work the station decided to pull the trigger and buy a large sensor digital cinema camera.
For the most part I’ve used an AF-100 and F3, but mostly the AF-100, so now I have to decide which one to buy? The last two years we have seen almost a revolution in digital cinema cameras. Red and Arri are the kings and Sony and Canon want to play as well. Panasonic where are you? I decided that I need an HD camera. As much as I wanted a Red Scarlet I just couldn’t see the post workflow working well in a broadcast environment.
The choices where an F3, AF-100, C100 or C300. I picked the C300. This camera checks off pretty close to all the boxes for the type of work I do. Local news image promos and commercial production. I rented the C100 when it hit the rental market and was impressed with the image quality and ergonomics of the camera. This experience really made me want to try out the C300 even more. I couldn’t wait for the next project to come my way. Well I guees I don’t have to wait since I now have it and a very nice lens package as well. I’m still getting familiar with the C300. It’s a tad heavier and bigger than the C100. The viewfinder is killer! Wow is it sharp and so much better than the C100. The LCD screen is also very nice. I did a quick on-camera intro for a spot today & like what I see! The image is just great. The honeymoon has started.
Here is the basic package I put together. More bits are needed and Im working on a good way to go rig free. I like the ergonomics a lot and don’t want to go Frankenrig on the C300.
Lenses
- Canon 16-35 F2.8L
- Canon 24-105 F4L IS
- Canon 35 F1.4L
I bought four extra batteries and and six SanDisk Extreme 32gig cards. This should get me going. I need an extra charger.
I’m having some issues getting my Lectrosonic 411a attached, but have a couple leads on a cold shoe adapter. Again I want to keep it simple. I have a Tilta shoulder rig and rails with handles but I just feel this camera begs to be used stripped down. I might feel different later. More to come as I use this awesome new C300 digital cinema camera. One feature I still don’t understand is missing is auto focus. Really? The camera should have it period!
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Filed in: C100 • C300 • Camera News • Canon Cinema EOS • Featured Post • Uncategorized
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Great choice!
I’m in the verge of deciding or a new camera that must last me for years and years to come and I was looking to the C300 but I will wait to see the Sony developments on the FS700.
The 50Mb/s is great but the C300 does not do 4K so it’s not that future proof. The FS700 does not have that bitrate ability out of the box but will do 4K raw (!) and we can always buy an external recorder to achieve that bitrate when necessary.
So, I will wait to see what will be the actual price of getting the FS700 4K Raw pack and the quality of the image itself to evaluate which camera to buy (the Scarlet-X can enter the running depending on some factors).
The good thing about the FS700 is that, if the 4K raw pack and IQ is good, we can buy the camera and an external recorder for the first year or so and then get the 4K pack if needed or just to “ensure” the future of the camera. However, it all depends on the actual quality of the image and, of course, the total price tag of such solution. Cost/benefit always wins, unless the IQ suffers too much.
Oh my god! even just a side view of it, it looks perfectly amazing. Though, i just rent on cameras that i used for any specially events because i can’t afford to buy one. But, they’re not bad at all. They give me satisfaction from my pictures.
Hey, Erik. I’m wondering if you’ve found a shoulder rig solution yet for the C300 (or C100, which is what I’ve got). I’m trying to find something that puts the camera lower than my shoulder, like about 3″ lower, and just in front of it. This way if I just pick up my right hand at the elbow, if I turn the grip 90 degrees my hand goes up through it and I’m right there with the grip controls. I’m envisioning a shoulder mount with a rail attachment to drop the camera platform several inches. Anyway, curious to see what you come up with!
Hi Dean.
I havent tried to use a rig yet with the C100 or C300 cameras. They both work so well without one that I haven’t found a need to try yet. My current Tilta shoulder baseplate and rails is what I would use if I needed one. Have a look at the Zacuto striker. This might be what your looking for.
Hey there,
I currently use a Sony PMW-200, but expect at some time to get a Canon (maybe when they update the C300 properly, not just in firmware).. and I’ve developed a rig which works so damn well I just about cried with relief when I got it set up… It’s a Zacuto Scorpion, with the Zacuto DSLR front end, but I’ve offset the DSLR mount at the front as well as the counter weight at the back. That way I can use the EVF of the PMW, and avoid all the extra complexity of a separate EVF, with it’s need for separate power, cables, suppporting arms etc. With only a slight adjustment it would work perfectly with the C100/300 as well. Why not use the great EVF that comes with the Canon. Zacuto says that the Scorpion isn’t designed for offset, or with camcorders, but this rig (with a couple of extra tiny Redrock Micro brackets to support the offset rods) works beautifully, and packs away literally in seconds. Just a thought.
Nigel