MXF files from the Canon C300 and Final Cut Pro 7

[Steve Eisen]

Why go the MXF route when you can easily hook up the AJA Ki Pro or Ki Pro Mini and record directly to Pro Res?

For the price of the C300, I would opt for the Sony F3. The F3 is shipping now.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Phil Balsdon]

You just need the plug in from Canon. It’s the same one they use for the XF300 / XF100 series of cameras.
You can download this plug in from Canon now.

From there the Log and Transfer process will be much the same as with the 5D.

Why use an external recorder when it’s the same compression as on the CF card in the camera (4.2.2), it’s just makes what is a simple and elegant package more cumbersome. No other camera in this class can record this quality on board except the RED Scarlet, but working with the 4.4.4 os the Scarlet with FCP in post is far more cumbersome.

The results coming out of this camera are excellent, especially it’s low light performance.

Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/

[Steve Eisen]

I would like to see the difference between an 8 bit output via HD-SDI to a Ki Pro and direct Log and Transfer to Pro Res via FCP.

There has to be some compression hit when going to CF card.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Phil Balsdon]

Hi Steve,

I think you’d have to way up the effect on the ergonomics / usability impact on the camera package against a very small impact on the compression.
It’s really a personal choice usability versus codec trade off thing.

The bayer system on the new 4k chip gives it a leg up over other similar cameras which greatly improves the 4.2.2.

I’m taking the stance that if I really need better compression for more sophisticated post production I’ll rent an Arri Alexa for that particular job, but for 95% of my work the EOS C300 will be perfect because of its simplicity, and that it’s the only camera that’ll deliver the onboard 4.2.2 quality at this price. (And hopefully it’ll be as reliable as all the other Canon kit I’ve got).

Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/

[Rafael Amador]

[Phil Balsdon] “Why use an external recorder when it’s the same compression as on the CF card in the camera (4.2.2), it’s just makes what is a simple and elegant package more cumbersome. No other camera in this class can record this quality on board except the RED Scarlet, but working with the 4.4.4 os the Scarlet with FCP in post is far more cumbersome.”
You are very wrong Phil.
Those MXF are exactly the same stuff (MPG2-50Mbps/422) that records the Canon XF-100 (US$ 3.300).

These MXF on a 20K camera only make sense as a back-up.
Get your self an external recorder (the Nano-flash would be good enough due to what the Canon C300 puts out the SDI barely 8n Unc).
That camera is a misconception.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Ben Holmes]

[Rafael Amador] “Those MXF are exactly the same stuff (MPG2-50Mbps/422) that records the Canon XF-100 (US$ 3.300)”

I take your point Rafael, but I’d add a couple in return:

1) For those moving up from the 5D this is a good quality 422 record option.
2) In the spirit of ‘crap in crap out’ the recordings look better than the XF100 because the souce is better – the debayered sensor output is a lot better than the XF100 and the log curves option helps even more.
3) The 8-bit from the video ports makes the advantages of an external recorder (even a nano) basically pointless – you would only bother to add so much hassle to what is meant to be a lightweight rig for 10-bit IMHO.

I think we can all agree Canon made a mistake with the 8-bit recording and output, and the camera is priced double what it should be, but the codec issues are overblown – bear in mind I’ve actually seen footage from it. We live in a world of H264 7D/T3i footage now, and compared to that, this is 35mm. It holds up perfectly well with most 10-bit footage, if well shot – I had the chance to compare it to Alexa footage, so I think I can say that with some certainty it ain’t bad.

Now – get the price down to $7,000….

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/community/communitydetails/?UserStoryId=8757

[Rafael Amador]

I fully agree with you Ben.
The codec is very good, but Canon should have offer at least higher data rate (the NANO records the same codec but you can scale it from 18Mbps LGOP to 280Mbps Intraframe).
The F3 records in an even lower quality codec (SONY EX), but at least has 10b Un or even 444 Log out if you need it. You can reap all the power of the camera.
With the Canon you can’t profit take advantage of all his potential.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Ben Holmes]

No question – the 10 bit output makes the F3 better from an acquisition perspective. Another major failing in the 300 is the lack of 1080 over cranking….

However – I look forward to the kind of video that can be produced by a Canon EF mount C300 – the combination of low light performance, minimal skew and log-type video is very attractive. If you’ve not seen this informative (and amusing) test of it, have a look:

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Canon EOS C300 = Awesome from Jonathan Yi on Vimeo.

I have more faith in a 2.0 version of this camera (cheaper, better video out) than anything else looming.

Of course, it says a lot that these days people see an Alexa as expensive when it’s half the cost an HDCAM kit used to be. All these 35mm cameras offer something we would have killed for 5 years ago….

Edit Out Ltd
—————————-
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer

https://www.blackmagic-design.com/community/communitydetails/?UserStoryId=8757

[Rafael Amador]

Thanks for the clip Ben.
Amazing, but that quality and features is even more difficult to understand why they haven’t implemented better output/recording options. You will need to go SLog to get the best of her..
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Jeff Meyer]

Adam, as suggested above the Canon XF plugin should get you up and going. We have XF cameras at work, and while 50mbps isn’t uncompressed it’s a pretty good picture. I’ve been quite surprised by how much you can pull back in the highlights. If the C300 works like the XF cameras you’ll get best results overexposing a bit.

I wouldn’t get too worked up over the compressed 8-bit picture. You’re in a 4:2:2 color space, and you’re saving about 6x the space over uncompressed. That also means images of the cards can be made in 1/6th of the time, and your long-term storage costs are 1/12th of what they would have been if you’re making two copies of the images from the card. With the time and economic advantages of 50mbps XDCAM and the elegance of the C300 package without a nanoflash recorder I wouldn’t be too bothered by the trade-off. If you’re going to broadcast it’ll get compressed out by a cable or satellite provider, and if you’re going to web it’s likely to get compressed out as well. If you’re going to the big screen or Blu-Ray there will be some minor differences, which would become more exaggerated if you apply a steep color grade to the footage. If you have a chroma-key project coming up (I’m guessing this isn’t a normal event for you as you work with SLRs now) rent a nanoflash and run some tests with it while you have it. In terms of cost-benefit I doubt it’s worthwhile.

Word of advice, on the Log and Transfer window be sure to go to the preferences. Change Canon XF to a ProRes varient, probably plain ProRes422. The “Native” setting will use the XDCAM codec you shot in. While Final Cut can work with this codec natively, it tends to get buggy. Switch to ProRes for stability.