Canon 1DC - Critical Focus?

[User]

After wading through a heap of Sony material these last weeks, and then diving back into some Canon material, it really appears obvious to me that Canon have the magic color sauce. As such, and in looking towards a new camera, I've been trying to decide between the C100mkii and the 1DC. But, as I have always understood it, there are no focusing aids in the 1DC. No need to mention just how important this is in 4k. So, can someone tell me how one can overcome this seemingly bizarre state of affairs? Loupe? External monitor?

[User]

Nice one Franz. Can you direct my eye towards other small set-ups?

Oh and I just saw a 1DC go up on eBay in your neck of the woods. Was it yours?

[User]

I found a few examples here: http://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/7709-canon-1d-c-used-price-slips-under-£5000-and-why-i-decided-to-take-the-gamble-and-get-one/?page=7

[User]

At 10:46 Phil checks focus using some kind of focus magnifier. So it does seem that there is some native help in the focus department.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Focus magnification aid is the best implementation of any other camera on the market. Clear, fluid, movable, fast. Just one issue if you mind it, it can only be used before hitting record. 

Using a magnifier loup for during recording and the magnification assist before recording is enough for me to get perfect focus with the 5D and 1DC (easier than 5D, sharper LCD). I used a 40$ chinese loup on the 1DC and worked perfectly. 

But Zacuto makes the best one and a bit expensive:

http://store.zacuto.com/z-finder-pro-3x-for-3-2-screens/

Make sure you choose the correct 3.2'' size otherwise it'll crop a part of the LCD.

Here's Andrews solution to get peaking/zebras etc. Looks great and compact, I wonder what screen/EVF that is

[User]

Very helpful Ebrahim. I've really come to appreciate your help on this forum 
Yes the loupe would come in handy in certain bright outdoor situations. Also, from what I understand, something like a SmallHD 502 with the Sidefinder unit could be attached directly to the camera's hot shoe. It look like Andrew has a very small unit in the photo, it's a Kinotechnik.

Of course they are never going to give is the 'perfect camera' but I think that if I could rig this camera in a way that supports proper image monitoring and sound capture, this could be the last camera I buy for a long time. The image from this unit is really stellar.

Does anyone know how good the audio pre-amps are on the 1DC?

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Identical to 5DIII audio quality and features if you're familiar with that. It's hard to describe audio quality in words so the best way is to compare it to something known. 

It's not the greatest, but certainly not horrible either, perfectly usable for Web and such.

For narrative pieces and high-end documentaries I would never rely on the 1DC audio recording, I'd use an external XLR recorder

[User]

Identical to 5DIII audio quality and features if you're familiar with that. It's hard to describe audio quality in words so the best way is to compare it to something known. 

It's not the greatest, but certainly not horrible either, perfectly usable for Web and such.

For narrative pieces and high-end documentaries I would never rely on the 1DC audio recording, I'd use an external XLR recorder

Thanks. I absolutely agree. Just wondered how they compared to 5DM2, C100, etc. I didn't expect much.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Since you know these, it's much better than the 5DII (superior preamps, manual control using silent touch, audio meters, headphone jack) and much worse than the C100 (Superior pre-amps/noise floor, phantom power, two XLR inputs and 3.5mm input + output and all controlled with dedicated knobs on the top handle) Think of it as in-between. It's definitely not blackmagic/5DII horrible quality. 

[sam]

 

 

 

 

Here is the Zacuto flip evf mounted upside down so you can just push the release on the top of the evf to quickly flip down the loupe.  This way you can easily use the evf as a monitor without having to detach and stash the loupe.  Another benefit to this setup:  your hand never has to leave its place on the camera.  All the buttons on the evf (exposure, focus, etc..) can be toggled with your thumb.  That said, I usually only use this setup for shooting anamorphic (anamorphic stretch presets) or when I want to be a little bit more inconspicuous when recording and need the benefit of the evf.    Normally I just stick the loupe on the cameras lcd and mount the evf via the hotshoe.   If you go with the 1dc I would look into some of the newer small monitors (smallhd) and just get the loupe from Zacuto. (antifog and diopter to correct for imperfect vision are worth it over cheaper loupes). 

Definitely check out the c100ii  though, depending on what your primary use for the camera will be.  For fast action combined with live events I would lean heavily towards the c100ii

One more tip for focusing: in custom settings, change the focus magnification button to the SET button.  (much easier for your thumb to find without looking)

[Shield3]

Some of those are great choices.  To me the beauty of the 1dc is the ability to also shoot 12 FPS with continuous AF (sports).

I didn't want a loupe or anything where I couldn't quickly put my eye up and shoot regular stills.  I also wanted the ability to have an EVF and the ability to zoom in while recording.

Get one of these:

http://www.kinotehnik.com/products/electronic-viewfinder/overview

It is lightweight, runs for 4-5 hours on 4 AA batteries, has 4 preset modes you can set to whatever you want - 1/2/3x zoom, 1:1 etc (like 8-10 zoom modes).  All work while recording.  SHOE mounted so in about 5 seconds flat I can shoot stills.  DOUBLES as a 3 inch LCD monitor when the loupe/eyepiece is folded down.  Has OVER and UNDER exposure modes, All blue mode, multiple colors and levels for peaking, software so you can edit modes while recording.  Crop marks, histogram.  I leave mirroring "off" on the 1dc and toggle the menu and I get a nice full viewfinder shot with only the record button at the top right if I want, or any combination of menus.

Not only that, but I bought the (outrageously overpriced) USB control module with the 4 way joystick.  I mounted this on the right side of the EVF on the 15mm rail so I can toggle zoom/peaking etc without moving my left hand from the camera body.  The slickest thing for me is I have 4 separate zoom modes while rolling that can be toggled on and off without going into the menus.

Well made and rock solid.  They're $950 new or about $550 used on ebay.  Comes with 2 battery trays.  Less than a pound.  You can get a SHOE extender and put your mic and the EVF both mounted to the shoe at once.

I can take a picture of my setup, but basically it looks like this:

 

http://www.hkarlsen.no/2013/09/the-canon-1dc-and-kinotehnik-evf/

If for some reason I ever sell the 1dc (why would I) I would keep this LCDVFE. 

 

Also has an HDMI pass through if you want to use recorders.  False color, zebras, blue, peaking, etc.  It does it all.

 

 

[User]

Sam, Shield3, Top marks! Really appreciate you both jumping in here with your decent work around solutions.

My situation is that I'm spending years at a time running through through the streets of big dirty Asian megacities chasing characters. The city that I'm currently working in has more that 1 million people per square km and that means that I'm often jammed into ridiculous situations where I like to have the camera as small and unobtrusive as possible. If not, it attracts too much attention. I would probably just go with a bare bones 1DC but a year ago my eyes shifted and well... things are not so sharp right up in front anymore, especially in the smoke and fume, and I have to push the camera out a little further to get the screen sharper. Despite the added bulk, I'll take a closer look into the loupe and LCD option you've both suggested, thank you again for those.

Without a doubt the image on the 1DC is superior to the C100 MKii, but the tools and functionality that the C100 offers blows away the 1DC. It's a serious choice I have in front on me, good problems to have but it doesn't make it any easier. Alas.

[lafilm]

If you find a magic lamp, make one of your 3 wishes the (missing) Canon Firmware update for the magical 1D C.

Meantime, the Zacuto loupe is a must. 

[User]

Yeah, I've often wondered how many 1DC units are sitting in boxes in warehouses that will never see the light of day because a fairly simple firmware update was never made available.

My feeling is that Canon made an ungodly amount of money in the dslr revolution that they can sit back for a decade and roll things out in very conservative manner. And to hear that they did not even fathom what building a stills camera that could shoot video would lead to is somewhat laughable. Somewhat.

[lafilm]

Yeah, I've often wondered how many 1DC units are sitting in boxes in warehouses that will never see the light of day because a fairly simple firmware update was never made available.

My feeling is that Canon made an ungodly amount of money in the dslr revolution that they can sit back for a decade and roll things out in very conservative manner. And to hear that they did not even fathom what building a stills camera that could shoot video would lead to is somewhat laughable. Somewhat.

Haha..I think you're right!

[tugela]

Yeah, I've often wondered how many 1DC units are sitting in boxes in warehouses that will never see the light of day because a fairly simple firmware update was never made available.

My feeling is that Canon made an ungodly amount of money in the dslr revolution that they can sit back for a decade and roll things out in very conservative manner. And to hear that they did not even fathom what building a stills camera that could shoot video would lead to is somewhat laughable. Somewhat.

I imagine that they make far more money from things like printers and photocopiers, than from cameras.