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Last year, the American Society of Cinematographers and the Producer’s Guild of America orchestrated a follow up to 2009′s Camera Assessment Series with the Image Control Assessment Series. Unlike a shootout where the relative strengths and weaknesses of the selected cameras were pitted against one another, ICAS was an attempt to unify the different camera systems under a single workflow: the Academy Color Encoding System, or ACES.
In an interview with News Shooter, Canon USA’s Technical Advisor Chuck Westfall shares some details about upcoming refinements to the Cinema EOS line of cameras. There will be three separate updates for each model due in October 2013. There is no mention of an update for the 1D C.
C100: The operator can now punch in on 9 different sections of the frame when using the focus assist function.
C300: Adds push auto iris and one-shot AF functions
C500: Modification to the Cinema RAW software that allows RAW footage to be output in the new Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) color space. (A big deal; more on this later.)
The 5D Mk III update announced back in October 2012 will finally be released at the end of April 2013, offering “high-definition uncompressed video data (YCbCr 4:2:2, 8 bit) output from the EOS 5D Mark III to an external recorder via the camera’s HDMI terminal. This, in turn, facilitates the editing of video data with minimal image degradation for greater on-site workflow efficiency during motion picture and video productions. Additionally, video being captured can be displayed on an external monitor, enabling real-time, on-site monitoring of high-definition video during shooting.”
[Images via Canon USA.]
Due to high customer demand, ARC has added 6 new Canon C300 camera bodies to our existing inventory. These have been some of our most popular cameras, and are often paired with our Zeiss CP.2 EF mount primes.
Also added are two dozen GoPro Hero 3 Black Editions. These cameras are “30% smaller, 25% lighter and 2x more powerful than previous GoPro models. Wearable and gear mountable, waterproof to 197′ (60m), capable of capturing ultra-wide 1440p 48fps, 1080p 60 fps and 720p 120 fps video and 12MP photos at a rate of 30 photos per second.” The Black Edition also records 4K at 15 fps.
ARC’s GoPro Black Edition kit includes:
Additional mounting options include: Suction cup, head strap, and handlebar clamp. The full kit inventory is available at the ARC rental listing. Full camera specs are available at the GoPro Website.
Shooting anything interesting with the C300 or GoPro? Send us a link to your work! We’ll share our favorites in an upcoming post.
It’s easy to forget how recently film lorded over the Hollywood; how absolute, how unquestionable it’s dominance as the medium of choice.
Sure, digital was convenient, and certainly there was that mysterious theoretical crossover point at which image quality could uncannily pass the Turing test of a trained DP’s eye, for film. But there was a lingering denial in many hearts that such a day would come, and for so long, this held true. Nothing could match the latitude of a film negative, not to mention replicate that “look.” Video was confined to a “choice” for risk-taking filmmakers, eager to push the aesthetic envelope of audience comfort (think David Lynch or Lars von Trier) or by trigger happy directors prematurely convinced of its substitutability and advantages (Michael Mann comes to mind).
Yet Moore’s Law marches stoically forward, and with it, hearts follow minds into the future reality, which has finally become the current one. The all-caps opposites – staid, storied ARRI and its foil, the plucky upstart, RED – took an early lead in getting real films, indistinguishable from the namesake, into theaters. Notably, the gorgeous Skyfall was shot on the Alexa and the approaching Hobbit trilogy was EPIC shot. Sony, never one to be left out of seemingly any market, answered with the formidable F65, used on the forthcoming M. Night Shyamalan feature. A new oligarchy around the centerpiece of cinematic technology – the camera – was forming, as suddenly as the market came up for grabs. Canon, seeing (more…)
This coming Tuesday, join Adorama and Canon for an in depth Presentation by Larry Thorpe, Senior Fellow of the Professional Engineering & Solutions Division of Canon USA, Inc., on the Cinema EOS cameras, including the newly announced C500, C100, 1DC, as well as the C300.
The presentation will be followed by hands on time on the full Cinema Family products, CINE lenses (Primes and Zooms) and the Pro Camcorder lineup (XF/XA products).
Food and drinks drinks will be served. Doors open at 6, the presentation starts at 6.30, and you’ll have the opportunity to go hands-on with the gear at 8.
The event will be held at Union Square Ballroom, 27 Union Square W. Please click the image to RSVP. See you there!
Adorama Rental Co’s Miguel Goodbar meets with Canon’s Chuck Westfall to discuss the new 4K flagship cinema camera, the EOS C500, EOS 1D-C 4K cinema DSLR, new compact cinema zoom lenses and concept 4K display.
We find out who these cameras are aimed at, where the 1080p C300 fits in the range, and why Canon has its sights on 4K.
This badass wants to selflessly help you, for some reason
There is no shortage of self-appointed authorities online, and the world of DPs/Cinematographers is no exception. Besides the ceaseless flood of opinion generated by forum junkies, there are literally thousands of sites and blogs (like the one you’re reading), devoted to doling out advice, reviews, techniques, and generally holding forth in a near-constant stream. At the extreme, and in a particularly contemporary phenomena, there are entire careers built around internet celebrity, where minor players gain major name recognition as “masters,” and find high-profile work from their online visibility, rather than the normal reverse sequence of these events.
Talking the talk now leads to walking the walk, and there are more than a few examples of internet notoriety among the online community leading to real-world, high-profile work. Case in point, Philip Bloom, a gearhead who built an extremely popular blog at the start of the DSLR video boom, was subsequently invited to Skywalker Ranch, to show off the revolutionary large-sensor small cameras to the tech heads there. This eventually led to second unit work on LucasFilm’s upcoming film, Red Tails. Or blogger Vincent LaForet, who recently was gifted a massive budget (and massive exposure to cinema dignitaries like Scorsese, Robert Rodriguez and JJ Abrams) by Canon to produce a short film exhibiting the new C300 Digital Cinema Camera.
I’m not disparaging the trend. I think it’s a beautiful thing that the knowledge base for a technical understanding of cinematography no longer requires $200,000 in student debt, or the classic Exodus to LA or New York, and 30 years working up from 3rd Focus-Puller’s Assistant on Crest commercials to eventually, maybe, someday, DPing for some huge Hollywood undertaking like The Dark Knight Rises. Suburban, self-taught teenage filmmakers like Freddie Wong and Seth Worley are leapfrogging this system, no-doubt aided by the steady stream of free, amateur and semi-professional tutorials readily available on YouTube, blogs and forums, and this should be cheered.
Still, there is an aura of the blind leading the blind. You often don’t know what the guy or girl on the RED or DVXUser forum has shot, and once you do, often you wish you hadn’t checked. They really sounded like they knew what they were talking about!
Which is why I’m shocked that the very best resource on the web has gone relatively unnoticed. Roger Deakins, ASC, a prolific DP whose résumé reads like primer for the late 20th and early 21st century cinema canon, and who has been nominated for the cinematography Oscar nine times, operates his own forum, where he humbly helps literally anyone who asks troubleshoot their filmmaking scenarios. It’s a rare example of a true master, an artistic genius at the height of his career and literally the best in the business, offering his insight to anyone who asks. It’s roughly akin to Micheal Jordan volunteering as head coach of a middle school basketball team in Wyoming five nights a week (six including game nights) or Bill Gates doing a weekly stint helping underprivileged youth in Detroit learn coding basics.
In an profession usually shrouded by secrecy, with famously paranoid photographers and cinematographers the norm rather than the exception, it’s an incredible thing for Deakins to take the time to help noobs everywhere, when he could be hanging out with God-knows-who, drinking brandy and making charming observations with his English accent. Whatever deep, selfless love of humanity motivates this gesture, just… thank you Roger.
With all the self-professed gurus out there, who are certainly technically proficient, generous with their time, and great communicators, it’s easy to find resources to help you on your cinematic journey. Just be aware that you have direct access to the very best authority, right now!
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Nathan Lee Bush is a fashion and fine art photographer and filmmaker in New York City. His work is on his site, vimeo and blog.
Canon EOS C300
Few, if any, announcements this year were as eagerly anticipated in the film world as Canon’s November 3rd unveiling of a “historic” project at Paramount Hollywood. Canon pulled out all the stops, with film luminaries like Robert Rodriguez, JJ Abrams, and Ron Howard in attendance, and Martin Scorsese himself speaking about how small but capable cameras are transforming the craft. The event is currently underway, with Canon announcing a Super 35mm pro digital cinema camera to try to wrestle some of the market share from the reigning contenders, RED, ARRI, and Sony.
Canon showed a stream of short films from various filmmakers to display the range of the camera, from dark sci-fi films to natural light naturalistic films shot in the desert.
Now to the camera itself. The event was short on specs, but here’s what we know: the form factor is very compact, and decidedly Canon in look and feel. The C300 is available in either EOS or PL mount versions. Pricing quotes varied from site to site, so I won’t comment until it’s confirmed. Rumors of a 2K or higher camera were wrong, with 1080p the maximum resolution, and, disappointingly, only 720p at 50/60 fps. Dual CF card slots and 10 bit HD-SDI will be onboard, as well as 4″ detachable LCD monitor. While the spec sheet is not that hugely impressive, Canon seems to be banking on leveraging the powerful on-board processing power to shine in color reproduction, especially on skin tones, which it claims are top-notch. Canon also emphasized the high ISO capabilities of the camera.
Did the event live up to the “historic” billing? The early internet pulse has mixed reactions. The camera didn’t seem to knock anyone’s socks off, but in the end, the image quality will decide its fate, for better or worse.
We’ll report as more information on the camera is revealed.