Guest post by Jonah Kessel:

I went to Burma with a simple task: to investigate challenges to Myanmar’s nascent model of democracy using the mining industry as a device to talk about bigger issues. Wait, that wasn’t simple at all. In fact, that was very complicated. However, my second goal of the trip was simple: to field test the Canon C100 in a large variety of environments in a real world context. This would be the opposite of a desk test.

When I first tried the Canon C300 my DSLR was instantly jealous. However, at the $16,000 benchmark, I realized it wouldn’t be a game changer for most. It wasn’t till I got my hands on the Canon C100 that I knew the DSLR had become outdated.

I’ll break this conversation down into (1) price, (2) functionality, (3) image and (4) complaints.

Myanmar Emerges: Poisoned Hope from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

1. PRICE (based on B&H pricing):

At NAB 2013 I heard a tremendous amount of people saying things like: “I wouldn’t buy a camera right now. There’s too many choices and things are changing too fast.” The person would inevitably follow that statement with something like, “The only camera I really need to own right now is my 5D. For everything else, I’ll rent…” While there is an element of intelligence to this statement, in other ways, it doesn’t make that much sense.

In many ways, the C100 is cheaper than the 5D Mark III … at least if you want your 5D to perform like the C100.

My basic 5D setup costs:

• 5D Mark Mark III – $3500
• Letus MCS Action Cam- $1800
• juicedLink RM333 Riggy Micro Low-Noise Preamp – $400
• Zacuto EVF – $750
• Schneider Variable ND system – $600

I’m leaving out things that you would or might need for both cameras i.e. lenses, mics, a follow focus, stabilization devices or cool stickers. The bottom line is, to make a 5D function similarly to at C100, you might spend $7,050. However, the C100 only costs $5,500. While the initial price tag of the camera body is a bit higher, to make your 5D or other DSLR perform as a video camera properly, it will actually cost more than the C100.

But better than this is the fact that the C100 was specifically designed to shoot like a video camera, without any adapting.

Myanmar Emerges: Dreams to Dust from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

2. FUNCTIONALITY

Traveling in Burma can be a bit difficult. Foreigners are restricted in the places they can go and military check points are abundant once you leave touristy areas. Essentially, a rosy picture of democracy has been painted for tourists willing to come here and pay exorbitant prices for hotels. This isn’t to say things aren’t improved. They are, but democracy, as we know it, is still an idea here.

I was shooting in places I wasn’t supposed to be — and at times, during protests with military and police ready to shoe me off. At other times, our subjects were afraid to talk to us or we had very limited time to shoot before they decided they shouldn’t be talking to us. The last thing I want in this type of quasi-undercover investigative video journalism environment is to have a setup which requires lots of add ons or different pieces.

Simply put, there’s just less things that can go wrong using the C100 than with a DSLR setup. Having a single unit feels much more solid than a camera with lots of different devices attached to it. In the event I have to run or move quickly, this is a very desirable. In trying to keep a low profile, a C100 is simply less intimidating than a loaded 5D (to both police and subjects).

Beyond the fact the camera is quasi-ready to shoot out of the box, I believe the biggest asset of this camera is its size. It literarily, fits in the palm of your hand.

Working solo without a production assistant and trying to blend in as much as possible in a country where I physically look very different than everyone, I tried to slim down to a believable tourist sized setup. My f-stop Kenti pack held a C100, 5D Mark III, 70-200mm f/2.8, 24mm f/1.4 and a 16-35mm f/2.8, along with an audio setup.

But it’s not only that it’s small — but small and extremely functional.

During my test of the C100 I used no devices for stabilization (beyond a tripod). I think there is a sweet spot with this camera in relationship to weight and size when it comes to hand holding. Over time I’ve grown to really like handheld footage but, as we all know, there is good shake and bad shake (although some will tell you, all camera shake is bad). For me, the size and weight of the C100 allows you to hand hold and achieve good shake, without a shoulder rig. While I find the C300 a bit heavy to really hand hold for more than a couple seconds, the 15% smaller C100 feels very natural.

Beyond its size, any user will quickly see the benefits of moving off of a DSLR.

The built-in ND filters of the C100 made my workflow much quicker and easier. My DSLR system requires me to change out my ND filter with every lens change. Its very time consuming and for news and documentary you often end up sacrificing your control of depth of field or image quality. The C100′s built-in ND system solves this problem for people who shoot real world environments. This feature alone, in my mind, is worth the move from DSLRs.

In the audio world, there’s the obvious benefit of two XLR inputs. However, a less publicized comment is the top handle’s built in microphone. I found it far superior to any DSLR internal microphone. For the four videos here, all of the natural sound was recorded with the top handle/internal microphone (interviews all have audio from Sony UWP wireless lavs direct to camera).

Moving from a DSLR LCD to the C100′s LCD, you have much more advanced vector monitoring abilities. Given the placement of the screen, that’s pretty important. Unlike on the the C300 or C500, the monitor here is not so flexible in terms of placement. Its more like the 60D’s LCD but with added capabilities.

The customization within the LCD is very awesome. If you happen to be color blind, like me, its easy to create custom peaking and zebras. Or custom peaking during magnification mode. This means users have the option of changing the color and the width of these focusing assistants.

By far the most useful thing to me on the LCD is the waveform monitor. There were plenty of times when I got stuck shooting at midday and it became very hard to see the LCD. Nearly the entire movie above (Dreams to Dust) was shot in places where I could barely see the LCD. Here the waveform monitor made it fairly simple to keep exposure levels correct.

Working independently in sensitive scenarios and shooting with less than ideal light, the functionality of this camera made me feel more mobile than I ever have on this type of assignment. This defines the camera for me: Its ultra portable, functional, and the image output is a big step up from a DSLR, for a lower price.

Myanmar Emerges: Resource Righteousness from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

3. IMAGE

The main video of this series (at the top of this post) starts with a minute of cell phone footage I dug up while reporting in Burma. However, at 5:45 there’s also a little bit of DSLR footage I licensed from a freelancer. There is a stark difference in image quality as soon as those shots come in.

There’s something about the image from Canon’s C series cameras that simply looks “less digital.” Perhaps its the fact that they let you perform better, easily maintaining a 180 degree shutter rule in difficult environments. Or perhaps its the wider dynamic range the sensor lets you achieve — but the image does looks different.

This was my first assignment where I could really push the ISO range of a C series body as well. Its actually hard to compare it to the DSLR world because you can shoot at incomparably higher ISOs. You’ll get noise, but the noise looks different.

Beyond its ability to hold image quality with poor light, the areas where I find the picture to be much better than a DSLR come in noise and sharpness. Images come out of the C100 strikingly sharper than that of a 5D Mark III or D800.

These videos were filmed using Canon’s wide dynamic range color profile. You can see on some images, particularly in the introduction to Dreams to Dust or in the video below, We Never Agree, I’ve applied relatively major grades to parts of the videos — without much noise, banding or other artificial marks in pixel damage.

Myanmar Emerges: We Never Agree from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

4. ITEMS OF CONTENTION

No good review would be complete without addressing the problems and issues. This camera certainly has points which could be stronger.

The EVF is small. You might call it very small. And while I can say, I did get used to it, it would certainly make sense to have a better one. I know a lot of C100 users who are just replacing their’s off the bat. That doesn’t say much about this piece of the camera.

Another item of contention is the output format. The C100 outputs AVCHD, which is a bit clunky and, quite simply, not that great. While you can get an external recorder and output ProRes 4:2:2, I’ve been using ClipWrap and just dealing with an extra step. But I question how much of a problem this actually is for people who shoot for web.

NAB 2013: NAB 2013: Schneider Releases iPro Series 2 Lenses for iPhone from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

At NAB 2013, my team shot with a Canon C300 and Canon C100. All of the tight shots were made with one camera, and all of the wide shots with the other. Can you tell which one is which? My team put out about 20 videos, but I’ll just place one above here as an example. See if you can tell the difference given this compression and viewing medium. Then, see if you can see a $10,000 difference…

For some shooters the bit rate is a problem. The C100 shoots at 24 Mb/s while its big brother the C300 can shoot at broadcast safe 50 Mb/s. For people like myself that shoot entirely for web, this doesn’t matter so much and there has been some high profile examples of these cameras being used for broadcast.

5. CONCLUSION
I won’t be the first to say it but, at this price point, the C100 certainly makes me question the future of DSLRs for people whose primary use is video.

It does have things that aren’t perfect about it but, for me, the benefits far outweigh the negatives by an enormous margin. While the C300 is without doubt a better camera, I’m not convinced its the best camera for people like me. For people who shoot for the web, for people who deal with real world shooting environments or for people who are trying to keep their profile low and gear size down — this camera is not only priced right, but it functions right.

The name of this site didn’t change for nothing…

- Myanmar Emerges is a year-long investigation by Global Post into Myanmar’s claims to democracy. Part one of the series can be seen here. Look for parts two and three coming this summer and fall.

– Jonah M. Kessel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning visual journalist and cinematographer based in Beijing, China. He covers China for the video desk of the York Times’ and makes videos and photos for newspapers, magazines, multinationals, nonprofit and governmental organizations around the globe. He always wants to know whats on the other side of the mountain, regardless of what side he’s on. See his site here, blog here or keep up with him on Twitter here.

NAB 2013: Canon discusses big firmware updates for C100, C300, C500 and 5D Mark III from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Reported by Jonah Kessel

Canon has announced relatively major firmware updates to the EOS C500, EOS C300, EOS C100 and 5D Mark III, as well as new enhancements to its Cinema RAW Development software.

Firmware for the 5D Mark III was announced last October and is expected to be available for download by the end of this month. The long awaited update will give 5D users a clean, uncompressed HDMI output which will make high-definition video data (YCbCr 4:2:2, 8 bit) to an external recorder possible for the first time.

All cinema series users will gain a much needed update to the magnify function. Due in October, the firmware will allow users to check focus in different parts of the image while the LCD is punched in.

EOS C300 users gain features previously available to C100 users, including push auto iris and one shot AF. C300 also gains additional support of 1440 x 1080 recording at 35 Mbps.

Lastly, Canon has announced new features to the Cinema RAW software that ships with the EOS C500.

The firmware updates for the EOS C500, EOS C300, EOS C100 and CRD software will be available later in 2013.

Video by Jonah Kessel and Rick Macomber.

By technical editor Matt Allard

Hawk-Woods has just recently announced some very interesting new power and charging solutions for users of Sony FS, F and Canon Cinema EOS users. Based in the UK, Hawk-Woods produce a range of professional broadcast equipment and supply a lot of accessories to the BBC, among others.

If you’re like me, you will have felt the frustration of only being able to charge two batteries at a time. With charging times being so long, unless you want to get up in the middle of the night to put more on charge or carry around multiple chargers, then your options have been limited.

That’s where Hawk-Woods come in. The first product is the BP-4×4.  As the name suggests it charges four Sony BP-U batteries simultaneously. Charging time is three hours to completely charge all four batteries from zero to 100% charge.  The unit is compatible with BP-U30 and BP-U60 batteries that work on cameras such as the Sony EX1/3 and Sony PMW-F3.

Available for the Sony F3′s big brothers, the F5 and F55, is the VL-CA6 V-Lock camera adaptor plate. This sits between the camera and the battery and features some clever external power outputs in the form of two D-Tap outputs and three Fischer RS outputs. It also features an accessory bracket built into the mount, a power indicator and a on/off switch. Alternatively, the VL-CA7 provides three D-tap connectors. These adaptors are alternative powering solutions for those not wanting to use Sony’s V-lock plate that features various other external power outputs.

Hawk-Woods also offers solutions for Canon C100. C300, C500 and XF camcorder batteries, too. The DV-MC8A is a eight-channel charger for Canon BP-type batteries (including the BP-975, BP-970, BP-955, BP-930, BP-925 and the BP-915). It can charge eight batteries simultaneously in five hours. Other Canon charging options include the DV-MC4A, which as the name suggests, charges four BP batteries and the DV-MC2a, which charges two at once.

Also available is the VL-CF7 V-lock plate that fits the TV Logic LVM-074 field monitor. It comes equipped with two D-tap outlets to power additional devices. The DV-A12 is another plate for the same monitor that enables the use of Sony NPF batteries.

For more information check out Hawk-Woods website www.hawkwoods.com

By site editor Dan Chung:

One criticism I’ve had of many shoulder rig designs is that they are over-engineered for use in news and documentary work. Many are too heavy, poorly balanced or have too many protruding bits to be practical.

My bare Canon C300 is great handheld without a rig for short periods, but when I am doing all day shoots what I look for is a rig that replicates a conventional ENG camera design. I have previously tried the Zacuto recoil rig and while it is very comfortable, it is just too bulky for a lot of the work I do – I think it is better suited to narrative work. I want something that is comfortable for long periods and I can jump in and out of vehicles with.

Enter the C-Shooter.

A relatively simple design, it combines the new ENG Grip Relocator (a version of the original Zacuto C300 Grip relocator that attaches direct to a rig’s twin rods) with a Studio baseplate, shoulder pad and a counterweight.

The grip relocator is key to making the whole thing work. The Canon original handgrip is moved off the side of the camera and down onto the rig, with a short cable allowing it to control the camera as if it were still attached. I have used the original for a while and truly love it; the new version looks even better for my needs.

Will this rig replace my current Frankenstein Zacuto/Movcam/Redrock/Genus C300 rig? I am certainly going to be testing it out at NAB 2013.

The C-shooter is available now from the Zacuto webstore starting at $999 US.

This from Zacuto’s website:
The C-Shooter is a quick, easy shoulder mounted rig for C100/300/500 users. The kits centers around our Studio Baseplate for Canon C100/300/500 cameras (standard 3/8 16 and ¼ 20 tripod mount underneath) with 12″ rods. The rods can slide back and forth to accommodate different lenses and accessories by turning the red levers at the side of the plate. Our comfy shoulder pad also slides on the rods for comfort and ease of use. A 3.5lb weight sits behind the shoulder pad for counterbalance. This handy little kit creates as close to a typical ENG size set up as you can get for your C100/300/500 camera. It’s the best of both worlds!

Attached to the front of our rods is our ENG Grip Relocator for the Canon C100/300/500*. The Canon removable camera grip attaches directly to our Grip Relocator and our exclusive cable connects to the port on your camera. Once its plugged in, users have trigger or on/off control, lens aperture control, and a programmable function button that can be set to a number of things including waveform, 1 to 1 zoom, zebras, my menu, and many more. The cable is 24″ long.

Want to add a follow focus? Check out this kit. An EVF could be attached with our Standard Mount directly into the side of the baseplate.

* The Grip Relocator can also be used with the C500. However, the C500 camera does not come with the Canon Grip. You must purchase that separately from Canon.

This website is affiliate of Zacuto