Canon C300 Available For Pre-Order. Buyer Beware!

Cameras
Posted by Admin on 18, January 2012 with 6 Comments
Twitt

Now that the new Canon C300 is available for pre-order I wanted to caution anyone on the fence about this camera. It will not guarantee you any more work than you already have. If you are thinking about upgrading to larger sensor video cameras from your DSLR’s then please take a moment and really think about your own work situation. The 15K Canon C300 is just a little too steep to be an owner operator camera. Think of it in car terms. It looses value the day you press record. It will need additional insurance. It will need specific accessories to it’s body type. Most importantly, it will be outmoded by it’s manufacture within one or two years with a better and cheaper model. This is the paradox of any first generation product. If I had an extra 15K I would not use it on a camera body. I would invest in a nice set of lenses. I also know that adding anything to my core camera kit does not always equal a better day rate. It simply makes my job a little easier.

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Jared Abrams is a cinematographer based in Hollywood, California. After many years as a professional camera assistant he switched over to still photography. About two years ago a new Canon camera changed the way the world sees both motion and still photography. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
  • frank

    good one!

  • http://twitter.com/plockerman Patrick Lockerman

    Rule of thumb – any time you are going to purchase a camera, especially an expensive one, lease first at least once. It could save you a lot of heart ache and money. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=737793383 Dave Wowchuk

    Thanks for the upfront, honest opinion … many people are mesmerized by the newest, latest, bigger, better, stronger, faster gear – without considering the impact to their business. I’m with you – I’d rather spend the $$$ on glass.

  • Goforjared

    Thanks!

  • Anonymous

    Early adoption of tech has always been a weird paradox to me. It’s almost never smart (you pay more, you experience more “first gen” issues, etc.) but without early adopters the product line wouldn’t go any further for lack of initial interest.

    So buy away, early adopters! I appreciate your paving the way for me to buy a cheaper and more reliable version of what’s new right now.

  • http://opus-terra.net/ Don Platon

    Is it possible we all – including Canon miss the point here? Forget the specs it’s all about the image. Canon stressed image quality before specs at the announcement and every DP I know of focuses on image quality and form factor first.

    There doesn’t seem to be any substantial difference in the clips posted to the Internet related to bit depth or color sampling C300 vs F3 (8 bit vs 10 bit) for the extra $10K the F3 costs with Log, an external recorder, and media. That said the C300 does not show a profound improvement in sensitivity vs the F3 either. It’s just another tool. The caveat I have is will this camera be obsolete not in a couple of years but by NAB in April? Canon allowed for a couple of compromises to eek through but then all of the lower cost large sensor cameras are greatly compromised already in terms of form factor, viewfinder, etc. (Except Alexa)

    I completely agree w/ Jared up to a point. Shoot with any camera you can for a couple of thousand hours so you know how to tell a story and perhaps even develop a style. Then upgrade to any one of the current crop of camera packages that the clients you WANT to work for are using and you will be in the running for work.