A few weeks ago, I got my invitation to the unveiling of Canon’s new C300 cinema camera in Toronto – and I registered right away. This camera has already been getting great reviews from a lot of cinematographers, even though it’s not available yet, and I’m really excited to finally see it in person! Exactly one week from today, I’ll be attending the event at the TIFF Lightbox. Keynote speaker Vincent Laforet will be there, along with several others.
For those who haven’t heard of this camera yet – it’s Canon’s answer to the RED Scarlet (and was announced on the same day last November). It has also addressed a lot of the issues that 7D and 5D Mark 2 users complained about: no rolling shutter, XLR inputs, manual audio levels… and that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve been looking at test footage from the camera for the past few months since it was announced and have been really impressed at its capabilities. And, unlike the RED, it comes as a full complete package. One of the biggest advantages, though, is it’s ability to take Canon EF lenses – so if, like me, you’ve already invested a good chunk of change into some nice quality glass, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the EOS line of lenses. The C300 will be available with two possible lens mounts: the Canon EF mount or a standard PL mount. (I must say this is one downside to the camera – it would be nice to be able to switch between the two. I don’t have to make this decision yet but if/when I do it’ll be a tough one because of this!)
I just spoke to a Canon Rep today, and got word that the C300 is expected to retail at around $17,000. (Note this is a very rough estimate, and exact pricing still needs to be confirmed by Canon and individual dealers – more on this after the unveiling next week.) So, not cheap and definitely in the “pro” and not hobbyist range. I asked about whether there will be an option sold without the monitor and XLR inputs to bring the price to around $10,000 and said that would make it a LOT more tempting to many shooters. At this point this is more of a request from the filmmaker community that I hope Canon becomes aware of – so he couldn’t comment. But the camera in its full version is currently available for pre-order in Canada.
So, all in all some very exciting news… I’ll definitely be writing a blog post with some impressions of the camera and let you know how the event went!
See below for the great video review (which also makes fun of most camera test videos SO WELL) by Jonathan Yi:
