Sensors & Spike Sensitivity: 5D3 vs. C100

Carl King · November 27, 2014

Hello,

This question is for the sensor tech geeks out there.

I have both a 5D3 and a C100.

When shooting in documentary situations with pre-existing lights of varying / unpredictable quality (the kind you find overhead in a recording studio, live venue etc.), my C100 sensor has a lot of difficulty maintaining a "normal color" look. Meaning, it is very sensitive to the green spikes in fluorescent lights, etc. With it, I need to be very careful of "contamination" from any of those sources. It seems to NEED a balanced spectrum source such as a professional tungsten bulb.

However, the 5D3 seems to not be "fragile" with those weird light sources. It maintains skin tones and acceptable colors without "freaking out." No tint adjustments needed to compensate for fluorescent spikes. I can typically set it to Tungsten / 3200 and it will be totally fine! Even if I change rooms, go into a hallway with lighting that is weird, it can handle it and maintain its color.

I now actually prefer the 5D3 when I am shooting for documentary because of this -- which is kind of silly considering how many great tools the C100 has on it, such as peaking and waveform monitor, ND, XLR, etc.

Can a serious sensor geek explain to me why the C100 sensor seems so fragile and the 5D3 can seem to handle any situation? Has anyone else experienced this?

-Carl.