How does a C100 Mark II or C300 OG hold up against modern 10 bit codecs

[FHDcrew]

A used canon c100 II or c300 could be a dream camera for me. They are so cheap, built in ND filters, downsampled 1080p. How does the CLOG image hold up?  If I went fro my Nikon Z6 10 bit NLOG to say the C300’s 8 bit 50mbps image, would I lose much you think?  Or if I got the c100 mark II and paired it with my Atomos ninja star to record 8 bit 4:2:2 prores in clog1?

[Ty Harper]

Agree, it would be interesting to see although I've looked at the OG C300 (which was the camera I cut my teeth on), the C100 MKII, and C300 MKII and I can't see myself ever going back to that form factor, but also, I'm mostly a hobbyist now, lol!

[TomTheDP]

Resolution and dynamic range are lacking compared to the Nikon Z6 as well as low light performance. 

They give a nice image if the lighting is decent. Canon colors rock. 

[FHDcrew]

13 minutes ago, TomTheDP said:

Resolution and dynamic range are lacking compared to the Nikon Z6 as well as low light performance. 

They give a nice image if the lighting is decent. Canon colors rock. 

True though I shoot oversampled 1080p anyways with the Z6 to the Atomos ninja star. So if anything resolution should be comparable. And is dynamic range at least decent in CLOG1?  Like decently better than Nikon FLAT?  I know NLOG is worlds Bette than Nikon FLAT, and I feel CLOG1 might have a solid highlight rolloff too?

[kye]

1 hour ago, FHDcrew said:

A used canon c100 II or c300 could be a dream camera for me. They are so cheap, built in ND filters, downsampled 1080p. How does the CLOG image hold up?  If I went fro my Nikon Z6 10 bit NLOG to say the C300’s 8 bit 50mbps image, would I lose much you think?  Or if I got the c100 mark II and paired it with my Atomos ninja star to record 8 bit 4:2:2 prores in clog1?

Not many direct comparisons likely to be out there, so I'd say just watch a bunch of C100ii and C300 videos and see what you think.  If you watch videos / footage that is more targeted to interviews and documentaries then you're more likely to see what the cameras are capable of if used properly and not screwed up in post - watching music videos / camera bro footage / etc is more likely to have bad technique and crappy grading.

If you watch enough test footage you can get a feel for what a camera is capable of.  

Those cameras are both pretty large though - are you looking to change to a professionally sized cinema camera type setup?

[Django]

I love the C100. Still a very capable camera. I only sold it because I can't deliver FHD anymore, even 4K downsampled. The 8-bit is also a challenge and now that I'm more into grading I don't think I could go back to 8-bit. But the SOOC IQ still holds up even though it has Canons older CS which may look more dated than the more neutral CS of recent generations. For me personally, C300 mk2 would be the only older model I'd be able to do pro work with but if you're a hobbyist and looking for one of the best FHD cams, the C100mk2 or C300 would probably be near the top of that list. 

By the way, C100 isn't large at all, C300 has that awkward tall form factor though.

[PannySVHS]

C100 MKII is tiny if you use it barebones. Fun camera to use, great image, codec for grading is much weaker than the 8bit 4k 100mbit flavour from Panasonic in the Lumix GX85 or G7, dynamic range is better though. A GX85 with CLog would be perfect or a C100II with a 50Mbit codec.:)

[FHDcrew]

17 minutes ago, PannySVHS said:

C100 MKII is tiny if you use it barebones. Fun camera to use, great image, codec for grading is much weaker than the 8bit 4k 100mbit flavour from Panasonic in the Lumix GX85 or G7, dynamic range is better though. A GX85 with CLog would be perfect or a C100II with a 50Mbit codec.:)

What about a C100II with an Atomos ninja star for 220mbps prores?  Still 8 bit though but you do gain 422

[PannySVHS]

Give it a try.:) In theory the bitrate would be the greatest asset imo. I don't know if the signal out of the C100s Hdmi is of superiour quality though. There is a test on vimeo. The C100ii does not offer SD btw if I remember right.

[FHDcrew]

15 minutes ago, PannySVHS said:

Give it a try.:) In theory the bitrate would be the greatest asset imo. I don't know if the signal out of the C100s Hdmi is of superiour quality though. There is a test on vimeo. The C100ii does not offer SD btw if I remember right.

True. Still though, if we assume I get this super high bitrate then I wonder if 8 bit will be a big issue given the lovely canon colors and CLOG’s magical 8 bit handling. 

[QuickHitRecord]

I made a living shooting with two C100s and an Atomos Ninja Blade for my first five years as a freelancer. It's a nice image but I never used CLog because the limited codec, even coming from the Atomos, didn't hold up to grading very well and I often ended up with noisy footage. Also, I found that it was pretty difficult to monitor and expose properly; the newer Canon Cinema cameras let you apply a very accurate LUT on the LCD that is actually great to work with. I always shot in WideDR. Lastly, it's a bit of a noisy image compared to the newer cameras (or even my EOS-R from 2018), even at the base ISO of 850.

All that being said, when exposed properly I thought that the images were really nice and good enough for professional use. They had a more neutral, less saturated look than what I am getting from my C70. Form factor was great and built-in NDs are so freeing. They will change the way you shoot. And the DPAF, even though it's only available in the center of the frame (I set a button so that I could toggle it on and off with ease), was surprisingly solid. I'd say it was even more reliable than what I have on the C70.

One more thing to consider. These cameras have internal batteries that can only be changed at a Canon service center, which isn't cheap. I started hearing about other shooters having these batteries finally die on them, so they would have to re-enter all of their settings every time they turned on the camera. This hastened the departure of these two fine cameras from my collection!

[IronFilm]

If you want a camcorder/cinema camera with ND filters on the cheap which merely does 1080 but with 10bit, how about a Sony FS5? 

[kye]

20 hours ago, PannySVHS said:

C100 MKII is tiny if you use it barebones. 

Umm...  I'm sorry, what now?

Only if you compare it to larger cameras.  It's still huge if you're used to modern mirrorless bodies.

[IronFilm]

First time I used the Canon C100 I was surprised how small it was and how easily it fit in the hand. (not at all top heavy like the C300, but a pity the C100 was so crippled in comparison. Is a stretch to call it a "cinema" camera)

[Django]

5 hours ago, kye said:

Umm...  I'm sorry, what now?

Only if you compare it to larger cameras.  It's still huge if you're used to modern mirrorless bodies.

..  it is really a small camera when stripped. maybe not Komodo small but considering its got NDs, EVF, Display, Fan..

weights about the same as a Z9, R3, S1H etc..

[newfoundmass]

The c100 is one of my favorite cameras I've ever uses when it came to size and form factor, I just could never justify the price even on the used market. It was just so comfortable in the hands, at least for me. 

It'd be hard to "go back" to a c100 given all the new features that have come out since, but I think it absolutely would still hold up IQ wise for a lot of work. You probably wouldn't even need to use software like Topaz to upscale it to 4K.

Less DSLR style bodies and more C100 style bodies plz. 

[kye]

14 hours ago, Django said:

weights about the same as a Z9, R3, S1H etc..

You have proven my point - they're huge cameras!!

The C100 is tiny....  for a cinema camera...  but it's not tiny...  as a camera.

If someone says "what cameras would you say are tiny?" your answer is much more likely to include GoPro or GX85 or maybe a 360 camera, but you'd be crazy to say "the C100!".

The context of the conversation is Nikon Z6 - and the C100 isn't remotely tiny in that context.

[FHDcrew]

4 hours ago, kye said:

You have proven my point - they're huge cameras!!

The C100 is tiny....  for a cinema camera...  but it's not tiny...  as a camera.

If someone says "what cameras would you say are tiny?" your answer is much more likely to include GoPro or GX85 or maybe a 360 camera, but you'd be crazy to say "the C100!".

The context of the conversation is Nikon Z6 - and the C100 isn't remotely tiny in that context.

For me the context is moreso the Nikon Z6 with an Atomos Ninja Star bolted to the hotshoe

[IronFilm]

5 hours ago, kye said:

If someone says "what cameras would you say are tiny?" your answer is much more likely to include GoPro or GX85 or maybe a 360 camera, but you'd be crazy to say "the C100!".

oh I dunno, I'd say it! Think I've only worked with one camera that's smaller in recent months. And that was on a no budget student film. (the Panasonic GH5)

[Django]

6 hours ago, kye said:

You have proven my point - they're huge cameras!!

The C100 is tiny....  for a cinema camera...  but it's not tiny...  as a camera.

If someone says "what cameras would you say are tiny?" your answer is much more likely to include GoPro or GX85 or maybe a 360 camera, but you'd be crazy to say "the C100!".

The context of the conversation is Nikon Z6 - and the C100 isn't remotely tiny in that context.

I haven't proven any point other than it is all relative to what camera you are comparing with.

You choose to call it "huge" compared to your GH5 or a Gopro. 

I am indeed saying it is small compared to most cinema cameras but also action sport mirrorless or a rigged up Z6/R6/A7 with external monitor.

I'll stay it again,  the C100 is small considering it has: built-in NDs, an EVF, large display, fan system, all-day battery, XLRs.

It's like the Pocket 6K Pro. The term "pocket" is really relative but makes sense if you compare it to an ARRI.