Well, we were only supposed to provide photography for this evening, but I was the first to get my hands on the new Canon C100 so I had to test it out!
First off, it was pretty dark in there (except for the Fashion segment). When I was shooting at f4, I had to crank it to ISO3200! The footage wasn't that bad when I had to crank it up there, but still wasn't the best. I then used the 50mm for the rest of the non-Fashion show stuff.
So what do I think about the camera so far?
THE GOOD:
- Very light
- Ergonomics were great (easy to hold, easy to change settings)
- The battery that came with it surprisingly lasts a long time. A full BP-955 should give you like 325min of recording/standby time.
- Affordable Media. I already have a bazillion CF cards, but for those who are just getting into this, one 16GB SD card gives you 84min of footage!
- Video quality is noticeably better than a DSLR
- Easy magnification button right at the thumb to check focus
- Built in ND is great to have
THE BAD:
- The joystick control could've been made a bit bigger
- The internal mic is part of the handle, so you NEED to plug it in and screw it in, otherwise you'll get absolutely no audio
- The rotating LCD isn't as easy to move around as say a Sony EX1 or Canon 60D. There's only so many positions you can have it in...
CONCLUSION:
Even after using this just once, I can honestly say that this camera will replace my 5Diii and 1DX for all video work. Yes I can probably turn the camera on and change my settings around a bit faster on the DSLRs, but the ergonomics and features of a true video camera definitely trumps that. I will still use the 5Diii/1DX as B cameras!
What about comparing against the RED Scarlet? I would most likely pick the C100 up 9 times out of 10 because the RED is a pain in the ass to use. I'd only use the RED again if I knew I had a bit of a larger crew to work with, and that it was going to be well-lit! Does this mean that the C100 is better than the RED? NO! Different camera's have different purposes. The RED footage looks amazing, but for the type of work that we do (which is mainly weddings, events, corporate promos), the C100 takes the cake.
Love the C100 so far, can't wait to shoot more with it!
Lenses used:
Canon 24-105L
Canon 50mm 1.2L
Canon 10-22mm
Canon 70-200mm 2.8L
Cut using FCP 7, with very light color grading
Picture Profile was set to CINEMA