Philip Bloom reviews Canon 1DC

[Axilrod]

https://vimeo.com/58263312

"Because there is no actual competition for this camera, there is no other camera of this size, of this weight, of this sensitivity that can shoot 4K for this price, therefore it's worth the money."  He says it's "overpriced" only when compared to the 1DX.  He goes on to call it "an astonishing camera" and says "he's in love with it."

[LetTheRightLensIn]

It does look good no doubt the best DSLR for video ever but it is a bit ridiculous that if they are going to double the price just for a firmware upgrade to not have put in such utter basics as zebra, peaking, zoom in while filming and heck ML even gives waveforms, etc. How $6000 for firmware and then they leave that out, such basic stuff that even a couple hackers have managed on their own?

Anyway as he says it plays with your mind, it's both worth the price, for those who can afford it which certainly leaves some out, and yet a bit of a rip at the same time. I still wonder if it might not have been better to price it like a DSLR and get their years ahead of everyone and not leave stuff out and take the world by complete storm than the conservative route and wait to price it and move it down when everyone else can already do it as well (or worse if it turns out, better).

Anyway, nice review.

[HurtinMinorKey]

He's not really a cinema guy. More of a broadcast-documentary style(which is a much bigger subset of the population, btw).  So I think he underrates the deficiencies of the 8bit codec and it's inherent lack of gradability for people who want a consistent look across a variety of scenes shot in different environments.   

But as always with PB, the review is very well done.

[PhilipBloom]

I agree. It's not a cinema camera. I never said it was. The labelling of the C line is misleading. Only the C500 could be considered a cinema camera. The C300 in the UK is by far the number one broascast camera, the title that in SD days was the DigiBeta.

Most of my work is broadcast, but my last 3 features all went to theatres.

This camera won't be used by me in 4k mode for anything other than stock and personal stuff. The S35 will match my C300 nicely with log as a B cam so very useful...but i am very aware of the limitations of 8-bit having used it countless time and had the joy of 10, 12, and 16 bit too. I think the 8-bit does seem to be stretched to the limits in 4k. Fine in the rest of the modes.

I actually did end up buying it as it was a no-brainer trading in my 1DX and negotiating the hell out of it with the dealer! Just the normal HD for me makes way more sense than the 1DX HD.

[Policar]

I agree. It's not a cinema camera. I never said it was. The labelling of the C line is misleading. Only the C500 could be considered a cinema camera. The C300 in the UK is by far the number one broascast camera, the title that in SD days was the DigiBeta.

Most of my work is broadcast, but my last 3 features all went to theatres.

This camera won't be used by me in 4k mode for anything other than stock and personal stuff. The S35 will match my C300 nicely with log as a B cam so very useful...but i am very aware of the limitations of 8-bit having used it countless time and had the joy of 10, 12, and 16 bit too. I think the 8-bit does seem to be stretched to the limits in 4k. Fine in the rest of the modes.

I actually did end up buying it as it was a no-brainer trading in my 1DX and negotiating the hell out of it with the dealer! Just the normal HD for me makes way more sense than the 1DX HD.

Great to have you here. Welcome! And thanks for the in-depth review.

Just out of curiosity, how do you find C300 footage captured to prores compared with the 1DC's MJPEG 4k? Not in terms of resolution but in terms of tonality. I know hating on 8 bit is all the rage, but I've received 8 bit film scans that have been pretty flexible and I've found most dSLRs to have poorer tonality than their specs would imply.

The Alexa packs about 14 stops into 10 bits. The C300 packs 11 stops into 10 bits... Seems tonality should be pretty similar. How does your C300 footage (as captured externally to prores) compare with the 1DC, 5D Mark III, and Alexa in your experience?

I'm considering buying a C100 and Ninja 2 as an A cam for my B cam Mark III, but I might yet be talked out of it!

[PhilipBloom]

really hard to say...the c300 is 8 bit 12 stops i thought...obviously nothing touches the Alexa...C100 had very little experience with but am told by friend who has one and C100 that the log is even better, but yes you need a better codec. Shame though as the camera is so small. Thats why the C300 is my favourite.. i don't need anything else!

Hard to make all those camera match you mention!

best

p

[Axilrod]

I agree. It's not a cinema camera. I never said it was. The labelling of the C line is misleading. Only the C500 could be considered a cinema camera. The C300 in the UK is by far the number one broascast camera, the title that in SD days was the DigiBeta.

Most of my work is broadcast, but my last 3 features all went to theatres.

This camera won't be used by me in 4k mode for anything other than stock and personal stuff. The S35 will match my C300 nicely with log as a B cam so very useful...but i am very aware of the limitations of 8-bit having used it countless time and had the joy of 10, 12, and 16 bit too. I think the 8-bit does seem to be stretched to the limits in 4k. Fine in the rest of the modes.

I actually did end up buying it as it was a no-brainer trading in my 1DX and negotiating the hell out of it with the dealer! Just the normal HD for me makes way more sense than the 1DX HD.

Welcome to CR Philip, never thought posting a link to your review would bring you to the forum!  Thanks for taking the time to do such an insightful review, a lot of people on this forum bashed the heck out of the 1DC and said that Canon would "sell maybe 10 of these," so it's nice seeing positive feedback coming from a trusted source.  I've said it once, I'll say it again, specs aren't everything.

[Policar]

Thanks! C300 might be twelve stops. My bad. Seems like it's got shadow detail approaching the Alexa but two stops less in the highlights. The Alexa really is unparalleled.

The log on the 1DC is better than the C300 or the log on the C100 is? Shouldn't the C100 and C300 be the same?

Glad to see you still like the C300. It would be my top choice if I could afford one, but I prefer a very small camera and don't have the money to spend. Yes I imagine it will be hard to match these cameras in post!

[HurtinMinorKey]

The C300 in the UK is by far the number one broascast camera, the title that in SD days was the DigiBeta.

Do you think he means "number one" as in the most used today? If so, that would be very interesting.

[EYEONE]

I don't even shoot video (much) with my DSLR but I love Philip's thoughts on cameras.

Great review!

[Drizzt321]

It does look good no doubt the best DSLR for video ever but it is a bit ridiculous that if they are going to double the price just for a firmware upgrade to not have put in such utter basics as zebra, peaking, zoom in while filming and heck ML even gives waveforms, etc. How $6000 for firmware and then they leave that out, such basic stuff that even a couple hackers have managed on their own?

Anyway as he says it plays with your mind, it's both worth the price, for those who can afford it which certainly leaves some out, and yet a bit of a rip at the same time. I still wonder if it might not have been better to price it like a DSLR and get their years ahead of everyone and not leave stuff out and take the world by complete storm than the conservative route and wait to price it and move it down when everyone else can already do it as well (or worse if it turns out, better).

Anyway, nice review.

If I recall, it's a bit more than simply the firmware. It has upgrade heatsinks and somewhat overclocked DIGIC processors. I'll grant you, maybe it's not worth $6K, but I'm not really a film-maker and so I half-way ignore all of these cinema stuff other than to get a bit of info from a few reviews, and what's being talked about on this forum. And I live in LA, so with a few of my friends I have no option but to be dragged into those discussions...lol.

[dilbert]

"This country sucks sometimes" - Philip Bloom, 2013.

hehehe

[GleamingShadow]

I remember reading something about the price difference having something to do with extra/higher Tax(es) when manufacturing (Don't quote me exactly on this) cameras that can film/capture content longer than 29:59 minutes. Anything after that is considered 'broadcast' (I think, again don't quote me) and incurs the higher tax(es), which is why 1DX/5DIII etc can only record for 29:59.
I'll have a look for the article and post it later.

[expatinasia]

I have seen some of this guy's previous reviews and liked them, but seriously, a 35 minute video about one camera?! I did not make it past the elongated intro. Sorry.

[Drizzt321]

I remember reading something about the price difference having something to do with extra/higher Tax(es) when manufacturing (Don't quote me exactly on this) cameras that can film/capture content longer than 29:59 minutes. Anything after that is considered 'broadcast' (I think, again don't quote me) and incurs the higher tax(es), which is why 1DX/5DIII etc can only record for 29:59.
I'll have a look for the article and post it later.

Oh yea, there's EU taxes and stuff on over 29:59 minutes. Forgot about those. Not sure that that's part of the price, or something that the customer ends up paying.