Am avut ocazia sa pun mana pe un C300 si l-am asistat pe Alex in facerea filmului de mai sus.
In continuare impresiile personale ale lui Alex despre Canon C300
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Am primit c300 de la Canon Romania (multumesc Florin) pentru o zi si jumatate si bineinteles ca am vrut sa il vad la lucru. Am descarcat manualul, am vazut toate review-urile de pe net, am luat agenda telefonica, am dat telefoane si in final am ajuns la Horezu. Ceea ce a iesit in ograda domnului Bascu puteti vedea in filmuletul alaturat, iar impresiile mele, un om care de 3 ani a filmat aproape numai pe 5 d mk 2/3, sunt:
- camera nu e mare, dar nici mica; cu modulul de monitor, cu microfon si cu un obiectiv serios pe ea capata o forma care numai discreta nu e; pare genul de camera de folosit pe rig sau pe o montura zdravana care se opereaza optim cu asistent; adica te poti misca cu ea si o poti folosi in locuri inguste, mici dar nu este la fel de versatila ca un DSLR;
- poate fi adusa la un minim renuntand la accesorii, dar se pierde functionalitate: fara mufe xlr, fara control de sunet rapid, vizare doar prin ocular este tot relativ mare;
- manerele sunt ajustabile si/sau demontabile - camera se poate adapta pentru o multitudine de situatii;
- are 4 butoane de rec /stop si, cum a fost in cazul meu, raspunde si la telecomanda Lanc de pe trepied; exista inclusiv un buton de rec pozitionat sub obiectiv, care se poate apasa cu inelarul atunci cand manevrezi obiectivul;
- camera este doar full manual, prin urmare este gandita pentru a avea maximul de control, dar bineinteles ca asta presupune sa iti rezervi timp pentru reglaje; are push white balance si auto gain la sunet, dar in rest totul trebuie reglat
- de mentionat ca acest aparat nu are exponometru inclus, insa are zebra (probabil ca asistentul ar trebui sa aiba si un exponometru :) )
- din fericire monitorul este extraordinar, deci in conditii normale te poti baza pe el sa faci expunerea la ochi;
- de asemenea are si un sistem de focus peak foarte bine implementat (ce bun ar fi si pe 5d )
- start-up 5 secunde - destul de mult pentru unele situatii;
- baterie foarte buna - circa 2 ore de filmare (mark 3 circa jumatate de ora)
- nu are slow motion; trage la maxim 60 fps in 720p si 30 in 1080p - la fel ca orice dslr; este una din chestiile pe care le-as fi dorit in plus;
- iso maxim este 20 000! si arata super bine ! inclusiv la iso foarte mare are o granulatie placuta si, chiar cand este vizibila, nu este deranjanta; dintre toate camerele existente pe piata, este dupa parerea mea in top 3 in low light;
- tot legat de calitate, imaginile au un feeling foarte organic, are o plaja dinamica foarte buna (si are chiar si c-log, un fel de raw), iar rezolutia si fidelitatea camerei sunt excelente (ce inseamna sa ai un senzor dedicat); la ochi eu am folosit modul cine 1, dar setarile de profile de culoare si ajustari sunt super de finete (poti regla toate valorile dintr-un meniu dedicat: gamut, nivel de negru, rgb, etc.);
- Iso minim este 320 - in soare, daca vrei sa filmezi la 1/50, trebuie sa inchizi diafragma sau sa folosesti filtre nd (din fericire are buton dedicat pentru a activa nd-urile incorporate cu 2, 4 si 6 trepte). Tot legat de schimbarea brusca de lumina, de exemplu interior-exterior, este de mentionat ca dureaza ceva timp pana o poti regla, pentru ca nu are butoane dedicate pentru fiecare parametru. Trebuie sa apesi pe tasta function pentru a comuta intre iso, shutter si balans de alb, iar apoi sa te folosesti de un joystick. Din fericire, ND-urile au butoane, diafragma este pe rotita la indemana, iar pentru utilizatorii avansati, toate butoanele de pe suprafata aparatului se pot reconfigura, deci se pot face comenzi adaptate pentru stilul fiecaruia;
- are toate conectica necesara pentru orice tip de productie: sdi, hdmi, timecode, audio in/out etc;
- are 3 intrari de sunet (1 jack si 2 xlr), iesire de casti, butoane mecanice pentru toate setarile audio, mixer de canale si monitorizare pe ecran; aceleasi microfoane cu care lucram pe 5d au dat rezultate mult mai bune pe mufele si preamp-ul din c300;
- tot legat de sunet: camera este galagioasa; are un sistem de racire foarte zgomotos care se poate auzi pe un microfon omnidirectional.
- de asemenea, e de mentionat ca c300 nu are microfon inclus, deci, daca nu i se conecteaza unul, nu trage audio; asadar, chiar si pentru sunet de referinta, trebuie conectat un microfon;
- C300 inregistreaza fisiere format mpeg mxf cu o calitate maxima de 50mbps pe 2 carduri (slot A si B inseriate sau in redundanta);
- nu in ultimul rand, un mare avantaj pentru mine este ca am putut folosi totul de la DSLR; practic doar am schimbat body-ul de 5d cu C300;
Una peste alta, desi am facut o paralela si l-am comparat cu 5 d deoarece asta folosesc eu, c300 este intr-o clasa aparte, este o camera de nivel cinema, deghizata intr-o forma compacta, care ofera o calitate extraordinara, la un pret rezonabil raportat la concurenta. Pentru productii unde ai minim de control asupra actiunii (filme documentare, reportaje, videoclipuri, filme cu scenariu, filme corporate, scurt metraje, mini-serii ) si, de ce nu, si pentru cei care vor sa faca pasul urmator de la dslr, c300 este o camera aproape fara cusur.
Camera Canon C300 ef mount
Obiective: Canon 16-35 f2.8 L, Canon 100 2.8 macro IS, Sigma 50 1.4
Stabilizare: trepied Miller, Konova linear slider
Audio: Azden, lavaliera Audiotechnica, Zoom H2n,
Lumina: doar ambientala; iso 320-850
Camera, montaj, concept: AlexSerban.ro
Asistent si editor secund: Cosmin Serban
Asistent secund: Andreea Nedelea
Locatie: familia Bascu, sat Olari, Horezu, Romania
Copyright Http://alexserban.ro 2012
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I received the new C300 from Canon Romania (thank you, Florin) for a day and a half and of course I wanted to see it at work. I downloaded the manual, browsed through all the web reviews, made some calls and headed to Horezu. See the movie to discover what I’ve found in Mr. Bascu’s yard, and read below for my impressions about the C300 (given that for the past 3 years I have shot almost exclusively with 5D MK 2/3).
- the camera body is not large, but it’s not small either. Add the monitor unit, a microphone and a lens on and you get a far from discreet ensemble. C300 seems suited for use on a rig or sturdy device, which requires an assistant for optimum manoeuvrability. You can move while using the camera and you can put it to work in narrow, confined spaces, but it’s not as versatile as a DSLR;
- it can be stripped down to a minimum size by removing accessories, but this comes with a price: loss in functionality (no XLR jacks, no quick sound control, composing only through the viewfinder); even in this stripped down version, the camera will still feel pretty big;
- the handles are adjustable and/or detachable so the camera can be adapted for a variety of scenarios;
- it has 4 rec/stop buttons and it works (in my case) with the Lanc remote mounted on the tripod; there’s a rec button even under the lens that can be triggered with the ring finger when using the lens;
- C300 has only full manual controls, which of course means time to make adjustments; it has preset white balance and sound auto gain, but apart from that everything should be adjusted manually;
- no exposure meter is incorporated into this device, but it has a zebra patterns feature (probably the assistant should also have an exposure meter :))
- fortunately, the monitor is great, and in normal conditions you can rely on it to set exposure by eye;
- it also has a very good peak focusing system (which would be useful in a 5d as well)
- 5 second start-up – quite long in some cases;
- great battery – lasts for around 2 hours of footage (about half hour in a mark 3)
- no slow motion, it shoots at up to 60 fps in 720p and at 30fps in 1080p, just like any DSLR; this is one extra feature that I would have liked to find;
- maximum ISO of 20,000! And it looks great! Even at very high ISO, the image has a nice grain (not annoying even when visible); out of all cameras on the market, C300 is in the top 3 in terms of low light performance;
- also related to quality, the images have a very organic feeling; C300 has a high dynamic range (it even has c-log, a kind of raw) and excellent resolution and fidelity (this is what a dedicated sensor means); I used cine-1 custom picture setting and I must say that the color profile and color adjustment controls allow very fine changes (you can adjust all values in a dedicated menu: gamut, black level, RGB, etc.);
- minimum ISO is 320 – to shoot at 1/50 in sunny conditions you must close the diaphragm or apply ND filters (thankfully there’s a dedicated button to activate incorporated ND filters with 2, 4 and 6-stops). Also it takes some time to adjust the camera when a sudden change of light occurs (i.e. inside to outside) because C300 doesn’t have dedicated buttons for each parameter. You must use the Function key to switch between ISO, shutter and white balance and then use the joystick up and down. Fortunately, ND filters have dedicated buttons, the aperture is at reach on the wheel, and advanced users can reconfigure all buttons on the device’s surface and assign controls that are adapted to their particular style of work;
- C300 has all the necessary connectors for any type of production: SDI, HDMI, time code, audio in/out, etc.
- it has 3 audio inputs (1 jack and 2 XLRs), headphone output, mechanical buttons for all audio settings, channel mixer and sound monitor; the same microphones that work on the 5d gave better results on C300’s jacks and preamp;
- also related to sound: the camera is noisy; it has a very noisy cooling system which can be heard on an omnidirectional microphone;
- C300 doesn’t come with a microphone; if no mic is connected, the camera won’t record sound, so even if it’s just for reference sound, a microphone must be connected;
- C300 records MPEG MXF files with a maximum quality of 50Mbps on two cards (slots A and B in series or in redundancy);
- last but not least, a big advantage for me is that I have used everything I use on my DSLR (lens, mic, etc.) basically I just changed the 5d body with the C300 body;
All in all, though I tried to compare C300 with 5d (because I use a 5d), C300 is in a class of its own; it’s a cinema level camera disguised into a compact device, providing great quality at a reasonable price compared to competition. For productions where there’s a minimum amount of control over the action (documentaries, reports, videos, movies with a script, corporate films, short films, mini-series) and also for those who want to take the next step after DSLRs, C300 is an almost flawless camera.
Camera: C300 Canon EF mount
Lens: Canon 16-35 f2.8 L, Canon 100 2.8 macro IS, Sigma 50 1.4
Stabilization: Miller Tripod, Konova linear slider
Audio: Azden, Audiotechnica Lavalier, Zoom H2n,
Light: ambiental only, ISO 320-850
Camera, editing, concept: AlexSerban.ro
Assistant and second editor: Serban Cosmin
Second assistant: Andreea Nedelea
Location: Bascu family, Olari (Potters) village, Horezu, Romania
Copyright http ://alexserban.ro 2012
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