EOS C-300 { The Killer } by Canon
Hardware :
It has 4K sensor while the camera captures in 1080p only. At launch of Paramount C-300 material projected on a 40 foot screen. I have held it in my hands and felt the weight of it. With a few reservations, I think this camera is a winner, and I have already put down my deposit. With this C300 camera, Canon spent a lot of time developing a sensor configuration that gets the absolute maximum out of the data rate. The light sensitivity of this camera is really unsurpassed – and that would not be the case if it were recording 4K. Personally, I would rather have a sensor that records a very clean 2K than a noisier 4K. Auto leasing
Most people don’t realize that Arri film recorders are generally 2K – and that’s 2K resolution for the full size of 35mm motion picture film including the soundtrack area. So the actual pixel dimensions that an Arri Laser machine records onto 35mm film shot in 1:1.85 aspect ratio is less than HD size. Spider-man 2, for example — though some of the effects were rendered in 4K, the film was output at 2K for the theaters. And that film did what, like 500 million dollars of business? The Star Wars prequels were all 2K. Practically every Hollywood film that went through a digital intermediate in the last 10 years was mastered at 2K.
Large CMOS Sensor :
I’m not saying 4K doesn’t have it’s place, I’m just saying that if you pack 4 times as many pixels into the same size sensor you are not necessarily increasing effective image quality. What matters a lot more than megapixels is dynamic range. The Scarlet and the Canon have between 12 and 13 stops of latitude. The Alexa has around 14 stops, which is great. And what will matter even more than any of the tech specs is how well you shoot with the camera.
Someone commented that the C300 doesn’t have a full-size (35mm still camera size) sensor. There is a very simple reason for this: 35mm movie cameras have a Super-35mm sized gate, which means that if you make the sensor much bigger than Super 35mm size, you won’t be able to use standard PL cinema lenses with it. Trust me, Canon knows what they are doing here. It’s the same reason the RED cameras and the Arri Alexa have Super35mm sized sensors.
Modular Design :
The Scarlet may be an okay camera to use in a studio setting, but how will it match up to the Canon for working out in the real world, where it rains or gets very hot or very cold, where things get jostled around, and where you need to run the camera off batteries? There is no question at all that the Canon is a tougher camera than the Scarlet, if that makes a difference to you.
And then there are the little things — like the Canon C300 has built-in ND filters. For my work, that fact is enough reason to choose it over the Scarlet by itself. And then there’s the fan. The Canon C300 fan is quiet. Anyway – I couldn’t hear it at all when I looked the camera over. Compare that to the fan on the RED cameras, which is quite noisy and turns on when you stop recording. And then there’s weight — the Canon is lighter and easier to hold in your hands that the REDs. More resolution, more dynamic range, more color information. But I’ve also seen what the C300 can do in its present form, so I’m not really worried that I won’t be able to make gorgeous images with it.
Highly Compatible :
Canon made some compromises with this camera. But it seems to me they made the right compromises, at least for what I do. And that’s why I’m buying the Canon and not a Scarlet, though I’m sure that both cameras in the right hands will do amazing things. Actually , the camera samples internally from the sensor at 12bit red, 14 bit green and 12bit blue 4:4:4 color space and outputs at 8bit 4:2:2 through a 10bit signal, the reason why is because the processor can only output at that 8bit 4:2:2 color space and MPEG 2 codec as a maximum 8bit 4:2:2 color space.
For what you do this camera may be great where it counts. However, Canon has again fallen short of what anyone attending a Hollywood-focused event should be expecting. 4K is the resolution at which 35mm film can be scanned and is important if your intended viewing space is a movie screen. I am not familiar with the process by which Canon scales down the number of pixels, but it is, not a simple summation (i.e. 4K has 4 times the number of pixels of a 2K sensor — thereby a square of 4 pixels would be summed to 1 in a 2K output) because the output is 1080p. This can cause moire due to inefficient sampling. That however, isn’t an issue unique to the C300. Lease takeover
My biggest complaints with the C300 are the price and the 4:2:2 color sampling. The RED Scarlet is seeming more and more attractive with each new detail revealed about the C300. The Scarlet, to my knowledge, throws no color information away (see also: any RED staff’s inability not to mention that the camera shoots RAW at least once every 5 minutes). This isn’t a big deal if your output is digital or you are not planning to do much in the way of composting.
Fully Equipped :
However, seeing as this was an event supposedly geared towards Hollywood-level filmmakers and an attempt to compete with RED, I expected better from Canon (ESPECIALLY in regards to being able to select a different frame-rate). On the issue of price, the Scarlet seems much cheaper on paper, but when you outfit the body with the necessary accessories, the prices are comparable. With that said, you are still getting more with the Scarlet.
If your work isn’t being output for a theater, which is most of us, then the tradeoffs in the C300 make sense. However, the price of the C300 is the only thing really competing with RED. This is a vastly overpriced piece of equipment. The craze over DSLR firm-making was rooted in the exceptional image quality AND the comparatively low price(s). I bought a D7000 (I own Nikon lenses) for roughly $600 less than I paid for my Canon GL2 several years prior. There were tradeoffs, and yes, technology advances ever onward, but the C300 is not the revolution the 5DmkII was and still is, You are entirely within your rights to purchase a C300 and love it to death.
My point is that on the part of Canon, this is a misstep. One of the problems with Canon’s video and photo departments is/was the lack of communication. Simple things (like the ability to select frame-rates like 24p in the initial 5D firmware) were lost in translation — or a lack thereof — between the two departments. Perhaps with the next iteration Canon engineers will focus more on what the industry needs than what looks nice on a spec sheet.
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