Ed: But it was still that sort of DSLR form factor and still had that …?
which is MXF at 4.2.2, 50 megabytes per second – and it’s been a stunner
Mieke: I have a lot of people contacting me, providing feedback on the 5D and the limitations of the camera for video. At the end of the day, the 5D Mark II is a stills camera and that’s what it’s designed to do. The majority of people are using that camera for that purpose.
Ed: So, then the shallow depth of field, the large format sensor was further developed, and for that you went out to the market?
Ed:
And it’s very good for that purpose?
Mieke: Ed:
Yes, it’s very, very good for that purpose.
But then …?
Mieke:
Then we saw the opportunity.
Ed: Because alongside this, I have to say, you have been producing video cameras … I mean the XL1 was ground breaking, it was a leader, everybody wanted an XL1 – that was in the DV days. Along came HDV and you produced a whole range of those; then along came … Mieke:
The XF range …
Ed: Yes and the top of that at the moment, is the 305?
Mieke: We called out to all the guys who were using the 5D Mark II’s or using the big super cine cameras and we spent a number of years researching this product – we asked the film makers, the DOP’s, the Cinematographers what they wanted. We dealt with Ron Howard and George Lucas as well as the Academy. They have been behind us since Day Dot, and along came the C300 Ed:
And now gone one step further with the C500?
Mieke:
Now we’re at 4K with the C500.
Ed: So if Canon was asked “where do you think it’s going, 4K or 3D” you’d say? Mieke:
4K.
Ed: Okay, so let’s just run through some of the features of the C300 and then perhaps talk about what’s been added to it or changed in it, to make it into a C500 because really, the form factor is very similar. You can use the same lenses, in fact it has the same sensor, so a lot of things are interchangeable, but it’s a different camera. So the C300 … what’s exciting people about the C300? Mieke: The EOS C300 is Canon's first foray into digital cinema. It’s equipped with an 8.29 megapixel CMOS sensor that is capable of Super 35 format, and your choice of 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 50, and 59.94 fps recording. You’ve got a super range of ISOs ranging from 320 all the way up to 20,000 and its native ISO is 800. Ed: So you can shoot in a cinema mode or you can shoot in high definition as standard, or an industry accepted high definition standard? Mieke: Yes, that’s correct. The BBC actually gave the go ahead to use the C300 in its external and internal HD channels, which means this camera has meet the requirements of the European Broadcasting Union. What makes the C300 different from other Cine Cameras is its low light capability. I’ve seen footage shot with a 15 Watt bulb and no other light source, and they were using 6400 ISO with a 50mm lens opened up at 1.4 and there was absolutely no noise.
Mieke: Which is brilliant. You know we’ve done really well out of that camera, not only in New Zealand … Ed: Especially with the BBC I understand, who use it as their benchmark? Mieke: Yes. It just really revolutionised things and I think it gave us the confidence in the product category. Ed:
And you’ve got the glass?
Mieke: I was just about to say “we’ve got the glass”. So, we combined glass, the Universal CODEC
This is all down to the technology that we use with our cameras and the pixilations that we use on our sensors. We use a very large gapless technology with our pixels, which produces extremely high detailed images, but with low noise. That’s why you can shoot at such high ISO levels. Ed: And because of the lens situation, I imagine you could buy yourself a quite affordable package of camera and a small zoom lens for yourself and then, when necessary, you could hire those prime lenses or those really expensive ones to do that super, super job? Mieke: I’ve done a bit of testing on myself and I’ve just been using a range of and I’m very impressed with our standard lens which retails for about $700-800; it’s perfect. It’s very affordable.
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the C300 our lenses 50mm 1.4 absolutely