Like most I got started shooting video on Canon DSLRs. It really is a love/hate relationship with them. You'll get nice vibrate colors, shallow depth of field, easy to edit video but they are ridden with moire and aliasing. When Canon announced the new C line of cameras, I was hoping for a true cinema camera that has all the things we love from Canon, along with some much needed fixes. I mean, Canon still hasn't really fixed the 5d MarkII until recently with the 5d Mark III but with the trade off of really soft video.
We all know about Canon's line of C cameras and all their specs. Some love them, while others see overpriced cameras. All the C cameras share the same 8.3 mp cmos sensor but with each step down the line of C cameras, they get more and more crippled to keep the higher end models safe.
When the cheapest C camera, the C100, was announced I was really hoping it would come in around $3500 or so to compete with the Sony fs100 or even the 2.5k raw BlackMagic Cinema Camera. The BlackMagic Cinema Camera is priced at $3000 and comes with a free copy of Resolve 9, which usually goes for a grand by itself. The C100 is priced at $6500 but they missed the mark big time. At this price Canon is going up against the Sony fs700 and its high frame rates and upgradeable to 4k later. The C100 will only do 24mps at a 4,2,0- 8 bit color space and no 60p or higher frame rates. To get a 4,2,2 8 bit color space you'll have to shell out even more for a recorder and ssd drives. At $6500 it seems like Canon would of given us 4,2,2 and at least 60p.
Now, on to the rumors of a new budget C camera floating around I would like to say what I want for such a camera. First off, I would like the same sensor used in all the other C cameras. The body could be like the other C cameras or even a DSLR. Next would be a "true" 1080p image with a option of the all I-frame codec found in the 5d MarkIII.. Since this will be a budget camera, it should have clean hdmi out to use a recorder. I'm not expecting 422 in camera since the c100 doesn't even do this. Next would be to have the Canon log and wide dr modes as color profiles. Wishful thinking would have a 4:3 mode for anamorphic shooting but its very unlikely that would happen.
There are a few things I could live without to keep cost down, like the built in ND filters. Most DPs already have bags full of filters including NDs whether screw on or mattebox 4x4's. Also XLR inputs, coming from DSLR shooting like countless others we own Juicelinks or Beachtek adapters with XRL inputs.Would it be nice to have a few less things in the camera bag? Yes and I'm not even sure leaving these things out would really save that much, but to me they are not that big of a deal. To me a true budget C camera needs to come stripped down with only the image being the most important thing. The price tag should come in around $3000 to maybe $3500 to get my hard earned money.
At this point in the camera market, companies are coming out with higher resolution and higher frame rates for less money than Canon is asking for. Take the little GoPro Hero 3. It shoots at 2.7k at 24fps and even 4k at 12fps all for $400. The BMCC gives a really nice strong image at 2.5k raw. Did I mention in 12bit raw?!!!! For half the cost of the C100. Also the Panasonic GH3, costing just $1200, gives a few different recording options including an all i-frame 72mbps, 50mbps ipb and 1080p at 60p. The GH3 also gives the option of slomotion in camera without the need to convert in post.
I haven't shot on any of the C Cameras but I have graded some C100
footage and I must say the footage can pushed a lot while color correcting in post. From the
footage I've played around with it, seems like it is really good in low
light.
I do like the C100 but do I really think its worth the price Canon is asking for? Kinda..... For the price you get a nice compact body that is great in low light but with the image only a little better then the DSLRs. I really hope Canon is listening to its customers, to the DPs with huge budgets and to the indie DPs looking for the most bang for their buck. I hope we do see a stripped down budget C camera.
The first Canon Digic DV4 processor cams are just around the CES corner. My guess is this will allow for a new version of the c300/c500 with 10 or even 12 bit. Canon mentioned once the limitation of 8bit comes from the Digic DV3 unit. If such a new version arises then maybe the c100 price will come down slightly. But never forget, you are getting a full ready to run and easy to handle cam, while with a Black Magic you just get a "sensor" and have to build and buy everything around it to work properly. So if you count that all up the c100 or c300 might still be a wise decision because it is a compact version that just works and is still thight. I shoot a c300 my self and never looked back. Sure there is some stuff on the whishlist. But even a Epic or Alexa can't fullfill all my dreams in a single camera. In the past features like current cams offer were not available to most of us. So as prices drop we get hungry and want everything the big boys got. But this isn't how it works. Also comparing a GoPro image with a real cam is kind of off. Sure it shoots 4k at 12fps... and 2.7 at 24 but look at what comes out of the cam. Good enough for some quick action stuff where you can't add a big cam or don't want to risk to kill it. But battery runtime, audio functions, screen and lots more just don't compare. The FS700 is nice but has a awkward formfactor and other things i don't like which just don't make shooting with it as easy and effective. After all time is expensive. So it makes a huge difference on how fast i get a decent shoot as time just might kill the budget or time schedule. Zacuto showed it pretty well in their shootout. You can get decent pics with a wide range of cheap to expensive products but always on the cost of time, additional light sources etc. Cheap stuff also falls appart if you have to handle low light without a option to light properly. I still hope for a firmware upgrade which brings some slight changes to the c300 but if not then i still got a great cam which i choosed because of what i liked on it. 4K is now around the corner, if we like it or not. So this will bring up a whole new discussion on what a cam should be able for and on how to hanlde post production withn it ;o)
ReplyDeleteIm still thinking about getting a c100 but will wait till after nab to make my finally decision. I should of mentiones in the blog about the gopro not being an "a" or main camera. Was jist pointing out that other companies are upping the resolution in and featurea in other cameras at a lower cost.
ReplyDeleteIm still thinking about getting a c100 but will wait till after nab to make my finally decision. I should of mentiones in the blog about the gopro not being an "a" or main camera. Was jist pointing out that other companies are upping the resolution in and featurea in other cameras at a lower cost.
ReplyDeleteBut most other companies are still pretty behind low light sensitivety, ergonomics, battery life time (Most I used was 3 small ones for a whole day and still had some power left!) etc. I recently shoot a short with my c300 withing 2 nights after work. Nothing great, as it was only used for a corporate, internal invitation to a biz event and actors were managers board members etc. But I was not using any additional lights in inhouse shoots and only using a few cheap build lights for some roof shoots made this shoot fast enough to happen at all. As i said, its far from perfect but i could'nt produce such a clip in the available time with most other cameras. https://vimeo.com/56003358
ReplyDeleteBut sure, a c300 or c100 with 12bit and 2.5K at 120fps would be awesome ^^
huh? I got started shooting a Nikon F2 and a Bolex 16mm. We aren't all 19 year-olds on the interwebs
ReplyDeleteThe nikon f2 is a 35mm still camera. This post is about digital video. Ive been shooting stills for 15 years.
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog. Love reading about my favourite subject
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