The Canon C300 is getting a lot of buzz, and rightfully so. However, as is all too often the case, the buzz is rather devoid of basic facts and while the manual is readily available right here…come on, I know you’re not going to read it. So, I thought I’d run a short series of posts that shamelessly exploit SEO tactics in a blatant attempt to gain hits answer some of the more rudimentary questions.
“Isn’t the C300 just a big DSLR?”
No, although you’d be forgiven for thinking that the basic design is a DSLR on steroids. The Canon C300 is a video camera, first and foremost, not a still camera with video functions. It has a totally new sensor that is significantly less prone to the moiré and rolling shutter that plagues the DSLRs. It has professional inputs and outputs – XLRs for audio, BNC for video and timecode. It has a built in ND filter wheel, zebras, peaking, waveform, a headphone jack (pretty sad that we’re excited about this…) and all the features that professional camera operators expect. This is the logical progression for DSLR shooters and the video camera that we’ve been anticipating.
“Do we still have to deal with the limited record times?”
Nope, Canon took care of that with the C300, no more 11 minute record limit.
“So, what does the C300 record to and in which formats? How long a record time is available?”
The Canon C300 records to CF cards and can do so at a variety of data rates. Here’s a breakdown of the different options:
50Mbps 4:2:2
- 1920×1080: 59.94i, 50.00i, 29.97p, 25.00p, 24.00p, 23.98p
- 1280×720: 59.94p, 50.00p, 29.97p, 25.00p, 24.00p, 23.98p
- 1920×1080: 59.94i, 50.00i, 29.97p, 25.00p, 23.98p
- 1280×720: 59.94p, 50.00p, 29.97p, 25.00p, 23.98p
- 1440×1080: 59.94p, 50.00p, 29.97p, 25.00p, 23.98p
- 16GB CF Card: 50Mbps = 40 minutes; 35Mbps = 55 minutes; 25Mbps 80 minutes
- 64GB CF Card: 50Mbps = 160 minutes; 35 Mbps = 225 minutes; 25 Mbps = 310 minutes