To date, our productions have been shot on Canon DSLRs with a mixture of still lenses (Canon L Series and Sigma). The level of our productions hasn’t necessitated hiring any equipment, and I prefer to have equipment at my disposal when I want.
Having said that, there is a minimum quality requirement from the camera the we are looking for. The Canon DSLRs give a surprisingly good image when shot in ultra-flat Technicolor Cinestyle and colour-corrected, but can have a bit of digital noise in some situations and are light on for filmmaker features.
Camera Upgrade?
We have been looking at two options for a possible camera upgrade, now that newer units are coming into the market and they can now be attained quite inexpensively. The cameras on offer are the Canon C100 and the Black Magic Cinema Camera. Both have their fans, and their detractors.
Canon C100
Canon’s C100 is now in MkII mode, making the MkI option nice and cheap on the second hand market. Obviously not as good as the new one, the original still has a whole heap on the plus side.
• User-friendly
• Built-in ND filters
• Uses SD cards
• Canon colour space
Black Magic Cinema Camera
The BMCC is the obvious competitor to the C100. Black Magic’s original camera has also come down in price, now that a host of new models are available.
• Beautiful images (when lit correctly)
• Dynamic range
• Black Magic’s building community
My Decision?
I’m a bit of a Canon fan, so I think I’ll be on the lookout for a used C100 in the near future.
