60 Minutes with the C300

As most of you probably already know, April 2009 was a very important time for us. At Re:Frame Austin we met a ton of really talented folks that we still consider dear friends today. Joe Simon is on the top of that list. You probably already know that since we’ve featured him on this site several times but it’s not just because we consider him a great friend but because he’s one of the only guys in the film industry who’s pushing forward the commercial and wedding industry with his constantly evolving approach to his films.

Another thing that I really love about Joe is his constant drive for education. He believes in continuing his own education and sharing his knowledge to others. Him and Kevin Shahinian will be doing a workshop on the C300 in Vegas. It’s going to be a hands-on workshop using the camera, leaning the menus and workflow. They will also be teaching about producing commercial work with small crews, directing, cinematography, budgeting etc. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s limited to 15 people so everyone will get a lot of hands on time with both Kevin and Joe and the camera. You can find out more here -http://www.eventcinemaworkshop.com

So, back to the topic at hand: We had the chance to spend some time with Joe this week at In:Focus Event in Charleston. When I heard that our friend Daniel Bérubé of Boston Creative Pro User Group would be there representing Canon with the c300, I immediately wanted to get my hands on it. Luckily we got permission play with the camera for about an one hour around Charleston. Now, let me just say that Joe Simon is a machine… This maniac was flying the c300 on the Glidecam with an 85mm lens. I tried using it a bit but, much to my chagrin, I have to admit that the rig was a bit too heavy for me. I’m sure Joe will laugh when he reads that because I constantly tell him that I am just as strong and would run circles around him if given the chance. I don’t really think that but it’s good to have goals in life. So anyways, we also got to use the brand new Kessler Crane Stealth and it was oh so nice. Since neither Joe or I were planning on shooting anything during the trip to Charleston, we barely had any gear. Joe brought a Manfrotto 755 carbon fiber tripod with the 701 head and we were actually just able to use that with the Stealth and the c300. We were also fortunate enough to have the good folks from Lens Pro To Go provide us with some extra primes, a lite panel, and the glidecam.

Alright so let’s get past what everyone is talking about, the specs. Unfortunately, I’m barely gonna touch on that. There are multiple comparisons, discussions, and technical tests on almost every single filmmaking blog and, honestly, I will not be buying any of the recent camera releases because it’s not right for ME (another post on that topic to come soon).

Here’s the low down ~ It’s $15,999 for the body only and it has a 35mm CMOS sensor capable of up to 4k resolution. It’s beautiful and I’m hoping that some wonderful person buys it for me but I don’t really need it. Regardless, I loved getting to play with the camera and was so impressed by the low light capabilities and how light and easy it was to use. Yes, I want it really, really badly but sadly, it’s not in the cards right now. Of course, I get to live vicariously through Joe Simon since he has made the investment in this bad ass camera so let’s find out why…

Q+A

- prior to our shoot, what has been your experience been with the c300?

Before this shoot I had touched a C300 in Austin at the Canon event, I looked through the menus and played with it for about 10 mins. Not much time but it was nice to have a little experience before this shoot.

- with all the new cameras being released, what made you chose to purchase the c300?

I’ve been wanting a new camera that will solve the current issues that I have with the 5D (alaising, Jello, moire), but that could still use Canon lenses and can be used for broadcast productions. As I’m moving into the commercial production market I want something I can use to create the content as efficiently as I have been doing with the 5D. A camera that I can use with my current support gear and can still fly on the Glidecam. I like to run my crew pretty small and this camera will allow me to do this. I need something that I can use with minimal lighting, by minimal I mean lower wattage battery powered LEDs to light scenes. The dynamic range and highlight rolloff is great with the C300 and it’s such a big difference from the 5D. The 5D has been a great camera but the C300 will allow me to push things to the next level. I thought about getting the scarlet, but what kept me from going that route was the weight, post workflow and poor low light capability. If I do need something better for a shoot I will be renting a Epic or Alexa.

- how does it compare to other’s that you’ve shot with or owned?

Having shot on the 5D/7D for the past few years it was a bit different finding what button did what on the C300. Once I did find my way around it was great. I do love the way the C300 feels in my hands, the grip is nice. It’s a bit heavier then the 5D but feels super solid. It’s amazing to have all those “Video” features back like peaking , XLR, headphone jack etc. Technically the image looks beautiful, the highlight rolloff is great and coming from the 5D where the highlights blowout, this is awesome. I know everyone keeps say the grain looks nice, but it really does. It looks more organic then the digital noise you get from the 5Ds. I’m looking forward to getting more time with the camera so I can push it and see what I can create. I’m really looking forward to grading in DaVinci and pushing the codec.

* There was a question on Vimeo about seeing no difference from the 5d and Joe Simon gave a great answer that I thought I’d share on here:

“Here are a few shots that the 5D would have failed –

- Wide shot of the road would have had Moire on the bricks in both he slider and glidecam shots
- Close up of girl world have had alaising on her eyelashes and hair
- Final shot would not have been possible as the C300 was at f5.6 and iso 12,400, you would not have been able to have stopped the 5D down enough to create this shot.

In reality this was not the best use of the camera, this is when the camera was available and I wanted to test it on the Glidecam. But what I love is that I did not have to worry about the above issues because this camera just works and gives you more options. ”

Here is the c300 piece I had the pleasure of working with Joe on.
* We used Canon L lenses – 14mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm on the Glidecam.
* Special thanks to Canon, Daniel Bérubé, Lens Pro To Go, Kessler Crane, The Music Bed, In:Focus, and our lovely model, Therese Farrow.