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Canon Cinema EOS C100 camera topic
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  • As 2013 comes to an end, many of us are starting to think about fresh starts and goals for the New Year. For most, 2014 will mean expanding and upgrading gear or even taking a leap of faith. Personally, I’ve taken a very counter-intuitive leap of faith. I sold the most expensive video asset that I’ve ever had: My RED Scarlet.

    http://fstoppers.com/why-i-sold-my-red-and-downgraded-to-a-c100

  • I still believe that for the vast majority of shooters 4K is unnecessary. All the major networks in the US have only recently upgraded their systems to high definition. I don't see them going to 4k in a while. Certainly the added resolution has it's advantages and I can think of countless applications for it in the motion picture industry, but otherwise, it's not going to be something on my plate for a while. Additionally, 4k takes up a lot of storage space, it's a slower process to edit with, and the higher quality it produces is nominal in my eyes.

    Cameras evolve at lightning speed and there are so many choices today. I spent a while wondering if I should hold off until I see what happens at NAB or some other industry trade show, but I realized that what I needed was a new camera now. And I wanted to purchase one that made my life easier - not more difficult.

    http://mikonhaaksman.blogspot.ru/2014/01/a-review-of-canon-c100.html

  • the canon c100 + atomos ninja 2 is the end of all researches about cameras.

  • @apefos Did you get to use the combo? I'm still troubled, haven't had my hands on it for a real project.

  • @3kids I did not use it myself, but reading reviews and tests and downloading videos I perceived this is the perfect solution. The price is higher than dslr or mirrorless cameras but not impossible to pay if you work with it making money. You can compete with Arri Alexa with the C100. WideDR profile is amazing 12 fstops DR and the 3840x2160 sensor downscaled to 1920x1080 is unbeatable resolution, moire/aliasing free. Built in nd, 1.532 crop factor, can use vintage lenses, small and lightweight with top handle, xlr audio, great low light performance with fine grain that does not need denoise, viewfinder+lcd, and the dual pixel af upgrade plus. I can get my eyes 5 inches from screen and still amazed. Combed with ninja it is better than raw and no need post production pain. You can download two original AVCHD footage in this video description:

    and if you need better codec, similar to hacked gh2 bitrate, this video shows how to setup the ninja recorder:
    this video shows great profile4s tests also:
    the only downside is no slow motion, but you can record 60i and convert to 60p with interpolation, see this: http://avisynth.nl/index.php/QTGMC (best deinterlace)

  • @apefos Thank you but I didn't ask to present your googling results, I asked if you used it, a simple no would suffice :-)

  • @3kids no problem, maybe if you rent/hire the C100 + Ninja for a day you can clarify your needs.

  • I've already done that @apefos, just ended up not using it because I didn't like it. I was just wondering if I missed something. So you decided to exaggerate today about a camera that you haven't used, ok, now I understand :-) Edit: I'm sorry If I come across too harsh, I was genuinely interested in other operator opinions, and @apefos, I really enjoy your inquiring spirit, that's why I was interested in your hands-on experience.

  • @3Kids first of all, I'm not a professionel. My setup is a C100 with Ninja2 as my A-cam and a GH3 as my B-cam. With my Ninja is more or less always connected to the C100, setup to record Avid DNxHD-220x (10 bit, 220Mbps). The latitude and the quality is beyond words - I bought a Canon 50mm 1.2 L prime lense, but my 12-55mm is the one attached to the camera at - almost - all time. I do a lot of lowlight stuff, but with this camera I dont really need the L lense.

    With that said, my GH3 is my "go to camera" for anything that was not planned. It IS annoying to have a ninja attached at any given time. I need to have spare batteries for both the C100 and the ninja, and the rig gets much less agile (and heavy) with the handle, z-finder and a ninja attached.

    My latest project was a 60th birthday where I ended up with 400 GB of footage - which requires quite a lot of time in post-production (honestly, Im happy that I dont have to work with 4K footage ;-)). The footage itself is PERFECT, good quality, almost no grain (even with the bad lighting present).

    Another thing, a C100 with all the accessories, tripod and what not - can be quite intimidating for the quests. Next time, I'll only bring GH3 cameras for the same reason. Again, the C100 is much better - but mostly for shoots with professionals, interviews and projects where the talent is not intimidated by the gear ;-)

    well, that is my 10 cents :-)

  • @3kids sorry to say this, but if you can't perceive the camera quality/workflow with your google research and even after rent/hire it there is a problem with you...

  • @apefos I think you fail to understand, I'm not going to bother insulting you back ;)

    I have used the camera, even just for a 1 day testing. I have actually seen the camera compared in a big cinema with 14 other -mainly better- cameras. First of all I'll say that overall I like this camera, but I don't love it, that's why I was wondering and asked you why it is "the end of all camera researches". The difference between you and me is that I express my thoughts after I've used something.

    Anyway, my quick observations were that the evf is bad, the lcd misplaced, and it's noisy over 3000iso, but it has a nice sharp canon-esque image. On the big screen test it looked really mediocre, even with the atomos ninja, which just gave a bit better grading headroom. Dynamic range wise it was comparable to the 5D3, and on the big screen the 5D3 looked better overall-just a personal opinion of course-, the blackmagic was in another league. The C300 was also much better (I've used it a handful of times), which I din't expect considering the fact they share the same sensor, and the price difference reflects that. Workflow wise, most cameras can do what the c100 can, some of them even record directly to prores as you know (+raw). Personally I always have a dedicated sound guy, so the sound features are great, but not necessary to me. Lastly, 90% of the times I shoot, I bring lights, but the ND filters is a great feature, mainly for news/documentary people who need to move super fast.

    Thanks @jimmydk for your input, a very different perspective :)

  • Why is this $500 - do they actually update hardware? Plus P&P? Canon making sure our buy-in is maxed out ?! Damn all that XLR input...

  • @imaitland

    For dual pixel AF - yep they are updating hardware.

  • On practice it is very fast and accurate and I was actually very impressed ), after playing with it for 15-20min (the focusing area is limited but not that small). Now add this option to the 5D III :)