C300 or C100 best for me?

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I love the C300. I agree with you that at times push AF to momentarily acquire the autofocus would have been great. Same is the case with white balance.

The C300 is small, so is the C100. With the addition of a ninja with mounting plates, rigs etc will take away the barebones shooting ability in tight spaces like cockpits. So despite the higher price of C300, I would prefer it over the C100. However, you have to look at the amount of convenience you want to sacrifice vis-a-vis the cost savings.

At times the C300 without its LCD is not noticeable and can help in stealth shooting. In one situation for about two days one guy was kind of treating me with contempt as he was thinking that I am also one of the numerous photographers with a long tele lens. Only when I attached the LCD and microphone did he realise that this is a serious camera. The EVF of the C300 is good. I extensively use the waveform and if that would have been available in the EVF of the C300 then I would not have used the LCD in a number of situations. The C300 EVF is better than that of the C100.

All the best for your decision.

[Matt Davis]

Originally Posted by Andy Solaini

Can anyone give me any guidance on how best to use my money on getting the right equipment?

Oh, the exquisite agony... But OTOH it's a bit like getting glasses - 'here, try mine, they work perfectly for me!'

I shoot large corporate events and all the marketing activity that surrounds them. I needed the large sensor look, need handheld abilities, R&G, and also I don't want to 'frighten the horses' with big imposing cameras.

I can wander round public spaces with a C100 round my neck wearing its 24-105 without attracting too much attention (other than fascinated members of the public interested in the camera). Couldn't quite do that with the C300.

However, when I first got the C100, I got into a huge tizzy - I wanted to sell off my EX1Rs and FS100 to part fund a C300. The C100 is very much a 'gateway drug' to C300 ownership for many.

If you need a broadcast codec all the time (I don't - AVCHD is fine most of the time, it's pretty much XDCAM anyway), if you need 720p50/60 for great SD, if you need on-board intervalometer timelapse or slomo, then okay - get the C300.

But if I were in cramped surroundings in low light (I frequently am when shooting backstage), if I needed to be diving in and out of cars to get to random locations where we know not what happens next, if I were to be shooting delegates who've paid $$$ to be at this event, I'd stick to the C100 - which I have done.

The C100 is by no means perfect, and there are some particularly sucky things about it (speaking as a Sony fanboy), but I'll trade the extra bells and whistles of the C300 for its sheer portability and hand-held ergonomics.


BTW - C300 owners: don't get too excited about the one-button AF. It's fun, but not totally reliable. When we have continuous AF, then we'll start boasting about it. Auto iris? Haven't used it. Will map its button to something more useful.

[Steve Slattery]

Originally Posted by Gary Huff

I wasn't aware the C300 doesn't have expanded focus. The C100 does, though it's not like the Canon DSLRs where you get multiple levels of expanded focus (nor can you move the area it expands either). I typical use it in conjunction with peaking, and haven't had any issues.

Hey Gary, just a quick Q. Are you able to use the expanded focus during recording?

Steve

[Andy Wilkinson]

Steve, just to answer your question "Are you able to use the expanded focus during recording?"

The answer is most definitely yes!

It's very, very useful as a quick check whilst recording, epsecially when run-n-gunning. Peaking can be shown during the punch in too (if desired).

[Steve Slattery]

Thanks Andy, was hoping that was the case. I had always been used to this on the EX1's and found it very useful but when I started shooting on the Pani AF101 it frustrated me that you couldnt check critical focus like this.

Steve

[Andy Solaini]

I'm still deliberating over a C300 or C100. I had a few minutes go with a C100 at Focus on Imaging show last week and I liked it much more than I thought I would. It felt bigger than I was expecting but not too big. I want something that is no really small and fiddly but not too large (I got the XF300 for that!).

A couple of negative points I wanted to run past current C100 owners to see what they think.
1 - The LCD screen is not as high res as on the C300. I didn't realise it until I read the Canon brochure but the C100 screen is the same as the XF100 and the C300 is the same as the XF300. Now I do like the XF300 screen over that on my XF100. In reality how big a deal is it? I mean I notice the difference when I have the XF100 and XF300 sat next to each other but might not notice if I was working with only one at a time, if you see what I mean.

2 - LCD placement. I found that I had to hold the C100 out in front of me quite a bit because of the rear mounted screen. Also a bit of the work I plan on doing in aircraft would involve me sitting with the camera kind of between my legs and I wonder in the screen at the rear would be an issue.


But then there is the price. I've been costing it up and including a few other items I need for other parts of my business and the balance VERY much swings to the C100. For the price of a C300 I could potnetially get;

C100
Ninja 2
5DmkIII DSLR body
85mm lens
35mm lens

That's a lot of equipment compared to just a C300. I kind of need all the extra things anyway so it would be more money to spend down the line if I got the C300 rather than all the equipment + C100.

It's so hard to decided and I really don't want to make the wrong decision as it could potentially lead to a lot of wasted cash one way or the other.

[Nate Haustein]

I just got back from the theaters at Mall of America where a short film I shot with the C100 played tonight. It looked DAMN good. External recorder, but wow. It held up in 2K in front of 400 people very well. Of course I was scrutinizing the picture the entire time rather then enjoying the movie!

Andy, I'm not crazy about the LCD either, but throw a small monitor on the hot shoe like a DP4 or even your ninja and you've got your larger monitor and perhaps even a recording device. Seems like problem solved as I like to shoot with the camera against my body or in my lap. Another must have item for the C100 is an Apple branded HDMI cable. Nice short and sturdy connectors and a flexible cable.

[Mestizo Devon]

Nice,

Any links or trailers??

[Nate Haustein]

I didn't direct or edit, so I don't have the final movie in my hands. It was for a local festival that just premiered, so nothing is public facing quite yet. I'll make sure to post when it is. It's a 6 minute comedy short, so nothing too fancy, but nice clean images I was pretty happy with.