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Canon C300 Mark II Review


Sabyasachi Patra

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By the way, for the kind of content I'm trying to create, I'm trying to approximate the look of the Arri Alexa XT Plus. Not exactly because it's not possible on my budget.

The stuff I like is shot on the Arri Alexa XT Plus, with Zeiss Ultra Prime and Angenieux Optimo Lenses, in ProRes 4444.

 

I think the Canon Raw Light can get close to that look.

Edited by Samuel Berger
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Tough choice. If it were me, C300 MKII but that's just because I know it so well and I rely on DPAF so much. If I wasn't in the LA market and wanted to just get hired a lot, freelance, FS7, you can't fight the perception that the FS7 is the camera in the lower mid-level price range, regardless of what you think of it, the FS7 is the most popular, worldwide, of these three. If I was starting from scratch and didn't need to "sell" clients on the camera I was using, possibly the EVA 1, there's a lot to like about it. But I agree, in most markets, Sony or Canon will be a lot easier sell, Panasonic has been out of this popular price segment for a lot of years. Varicam has a good rep and GH5 is a name too, to a point, but probably most of your clients will not have heard of the EVA 1. My biggest corporate client lately, I am shooting on their in-house C300 MKIs, they are happy.

 

Tip for you too from someone who has been in your shoes. DO NOT buy a shiny new 4K camera until a decent multi-day project is booked that will pay you to shoot 4K! I had a C300 MKI and a C100 MKI, loved both. I had a few clients mention 4K, just like you and casually ask if I was shooting 4K. There is a difference between nosing around and coming straight out to you and saying, "We need you to shoot in 4K and we are willing to pay for it". If they're not, don't be a sucker. I sold both the C100 and the C300, bought the C200 last year and since then, exactly ONE client in 10 months has specifically requested 4K and most request me NOT to shoot 4k, they can't afford the room it takes on drives and their editing RAIDs, they don't have a 4K monitor and their clients (the studios and networks) are mostly not set up to work with 4K in their pipeline (marketing, publicity, home entertainment), they all want 1080. So take it from someone who spent the money for a new C200, a pile of CFast 2.0 cards, expensive Canon batteries, etc. and don't pull the trigger until a project either partly or totally pays for it. If it's just little one day gigs, rent, borrow, don't buy. I can say that from a business perspective, I regret selling my C100 and C300 MKI, they were both long paid for and making me profit with every shoot. I like my C200 but it's kind of dumb to have a 4K camera and always just be shooting 1080 on it. Don't jump the gun, be a smart business person, unlike me and many other DVXers with Gear Acquisition Syndrome. When it comes down to it, we all know that 4K and greater resolution is just a scam to get you to part with more money for more resolution that realistically few need.

Last edited by puredrifting; Today at 03:21 PM.

 

 

Except that I need 4K for VFX shots. I pull much better mattes from 4K than otherwise.

 

So you might say, "Why don't you use your Ursa Mini 4K PL for that?" Well, one reason is that I only own one PL lens, the Angenieux 25-250. That thing is very soft and often doesn't retain focus all around when zooming.

I only want two lenses: Sigma ART 18-35mm, which I have in EF on the BMPCC, and Sigma ART 50-100mm in EF, which I plan on buying. There is really no point in me buying any other lenses.

Edited by Samuel Berger
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Err...uhm...

HA, yea Long GOP MPEG compression sucks with green screen work. Remember the C300 normal doesn't shoot XAVC iFrame or 10 bit for that matter. The MKII has little problems with green screen work, it's fine.

 

With that said, I haven't tested the URSA's keying potential, I despise chroma key and avoid it like the plague.

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Ohh and if you wait long enough, Alexa's are dropping in price SUPER fast now that every rental house is picking up the new 4k versions.

 

I've seen 2.8k Alexa's go for $9k on ebay with viewfinders. I bet next year, you can get an older Alexa for peanuts.

 

Heck, someone just posted a beautiful complete Dragon package for $14k on a private facebook group. Next year, they'll be in 10k ish.

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HA, yea Long GOP MPEG compression sucks with green screen work. Remember the C300 normal doesn't shoot XAVC iFrame or 10 bit for that matter. The MKII has little problems with green screen work, it's fine.

 

With that said, I haven't tested the URSA's keying potential, I despise chroma key and avoid it like the plague.

 

I did this for my daughter and my niece. Green screen with the Ursa Mini 4K. The last shot has some keying issues but I wasn't doing it for a customer. ;-) I made everything in it, including the backdrop animations.

 

 

Edit: wow it looked a LOT better before MP4 compression and Youtube....so I guess that's no longer a good example.

Edited by Samuel Berger
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HA, yea Long GOP MPEG compression sucks with green screen work. Remember the C300 normal doesn't shoot XAVC iFrame or 10 bit for that matter. The MKII has little problems with green screen work, it's fine.

 

With that said, I haven't tested the URSA's keying potential, I despise chroma key and avoid it like the plague.

 

Hehe If I wait for the perfect camera at the perfect price I will be waiting forever.

 

If the Sigma zooms work with the DPAF, there's no reason for me to buy anything other than Canon.

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Sam.. just buy an fs7.. its the most requested camera on the planet for your market .. you can mount any lens on it.. isnt the shape of a kettle.. with nutty audio inputs on top of the camera.. you can shoot audio in centre crop.. there you go.. question answered for free..purchase.. shoot.. make money..

 

But muh skintoneeeeeessszzzz...

 

 

Ultimately I have to use my EF lenses, so Sony wouldn't work out.

 

https://www.newsshooter.com/2014/11/16/sony-fs7-lens-solutions-part-2-the-metabones-ef-adapter-problem-and-best-solutions/

Edited by Samuel Berger
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Hehe If I wait for the perfect camera at the perfect price I will be waiting forever.

Well yea lol! I waited what, 10 years to buy an HD cinema camera. I'll be 5 years on top of that before I'll own a 4k camera thanks to the Pocket 4k.

 

I for sure wouldn't own any equipment if the price wasn't perfect for me. Heck, I got my XTR for peanuts.

 

If the Sigma zooms work with the DPAF, there's no reason for me to buy anything other than Canon.

What's DPAF?

 

Canon still glass doesn't have repeatable focus or focus marks/focus range sensitivity necessary for cinema.

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What's DPAF?

 

Canon still glass doesn't have repeatable focus or focus marks/focus range sensitivity necessary for cinema.

 

DPAF is Dual Pixel Auto Focus and the source of all the buzz surrounding the C200. It's like nothing seen before. And number one reason why only this camera is the right one for my needs.

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DPAF is Dual Pixel Auto Focus and the source of all the buzz surrounding the C200. It's like nothing seen before. And number one reason why only this camera is the right one for my needs.

Why do you need auto focus? You do know that only a hand-full of lenses focus fast enough to warrant things like double pixel autofocus. If you have a slower focusing lens, the benefits aren't there. Also when it doesn't work, you can't manually adjust because there won't be any focus range to do so.

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Why do you need auto focus? You do know that only a hand-full of lenses focus fast enough to warrant things like double pixel autofocus. If you have a slower focusing lens, the benefits aren't there. Also when it doesn't work, you can't manually adjust because there won't be any focus range to do so.

 

I need auto-focus because I don't have a 1st AC. ;-) You should check out the reviews on the C200's DPAF! It's fast and incredibly reliable! Philip Bloom & Shane Hurlbut had never given autofocus a second thought until they saw the C200. Apparently the Sigma zooms work well with it, with just a few lenses being a bit noisy.

Edited by Samuel Berger
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