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I bought a Canon 1D C....


Dave Maze
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I'm so thankful to this forum. Its a place where I can get honest amazing feedback and a place that is open to thinking outside the box.

I am DP for a pretty high profile web doc in Mexico and we are going to some exotic locations next week. I asked your opinion on what to get and I went with my gut. I got a used 1D C and I am so stoked to finally own a camera again instead of renting stuff. My B Cam operator will be rocking the C100 and we will have an a7S II that is there specifically for slow motion and thats it. A-Cam 1D C. We have a sound guy who will be recording and booming everything separate so the crappy internal audio isn't a problem with the A Cam. Just more syncing in post for the editor ;)

Im bringing my CONTAX Zeiss primes and will be prioritizing those over the typical Canon zooms. I get so bored with docs I see on Netflix and on VICE and I realized its cause everyone uses the same boring Canon Zooms. There is nothing sexy about the 24-105. Of course its practical and if we are in a run n gun situation, I will pop it on. But lens character is just as important as the Camera! I am so excited to pair my vintage CONTAX Zeiss lenses with the 1D C sensor. I have a feeling its going to be gold. 

I shot a doc in Nicaragua two months ago with the GH4 and it was nice and I was surprised by the IQ of it...but the 1D C has some sort of mojo about it that I can't explain. I shot with one in Haiti about 3 years ago when it was way out of my price range and loved it. Im stoked to be able to use it and to own one.

As soon as I get home I will be directing a medium sized budget music video that has VFX and very fun lighting. I will use the 1D C for that too. So in the next month, I will have two very different experiences with it. Im pumped. 

Sure it will take up a ton of storage on this trip...but I can buy 2 5TB drives on amazon for like $300.

Like Andrew said on this forum a while back when he got his 1D C:

"Yes I may still regret it but you only live once.

I believe at it's current used price it's a bargain, bonafide Hollywood cam."

Honestly...seeing that these two hollywood films were shot on it...sold me on the camera. Im looking forward to getting it and doing some tests soon! I have it overnighted so I should receive it Friday. Cheers! 

 

 

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Congrats on your 1DC. It's an awesome camera that is often overlooked. As for those two films, I believe only Knock Knock was shot on the 1DC. It doesn't matter though. The 1DC has produced spectacular imagery in many high-end productions for film and TV. Best of all, no one suspects that you have a 4K cinema camera in your little tourist camera bag!

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1 hour ago, Kino said:

Congrats on your 1DC. It's an awesome camera that is often overlooked. As for those two films, I believe only Knock Knock was shot on the 1DC. It doesn't matter though. The 1DC has produced spectacular imagery in many high-end productions for film and TV. Best of all, no one suspects that you have a 4K cinema camera in your little tourist camera bag!

According to my findings....Slow West was indeed shot on the Canon 1DC http://www.indiewire.com/2015/02/how-they-shot-that-here-are-the-cameras-used-by-the-2015-sundance-filmmakers-248254/

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Nice work Dave and thanks for the feedback.
I love the 1DC but... my concern is in trying to the image focused while the camera is running (during r&g shooting) without the use of an eternal monitor. As I understand it, one needs to stop recording in order to use the focus assist (punch in) to help one focus... punch out and then hit record again. Am I correct on this?
Any thoughts on how you will handle this on a documentary?

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1 minute ago, User said:

Nice work Dave and thanks for the feedback.
I love the 1DC but... my concern is in trying to the image focused while the camera is running (during r&g shooting) without the use of an eternal monitor. As I understand it, one needs to stop recording in order to use the focus assist (punch in) to help one focus... punch out and then hit record again. Am I correct on this?
Any thoughts on how you will handle this on a documentary?

I'll be using a zacuto evf the entire time along with a smallhd monitor 

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Ok cool... got it. Thanks.
Feel free to drop a note on your experience using the 1DC. Many are curious and as the price continues to drop I'm sure many more will be moving towards it.
Good luck on your upcoming projects... and enjoy the good life!

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6 hours ago, User said:

Ok cool... got it. Thanks.
Feel free to drop a note on your experience using the 1DC. Many are curious and as the price continues to drop I'm sure many more will be moving towards it.
Good luck on your upcoming projects... and enjoy the good life!

Thanks man! Ill keep you guys up to date on my experience with it!

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1DC is sweet and does have mojo. As far focusing, I find it tough coming from a 6D with Magic Lantern (used peaking) The small hd 501 on top is perfect for it though, and makes up for a bunch of the downsides like zebras, peaking, false color, LUTs for log. I like the full frame mode too, it takes to post sharpening really well.

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17 hours ago, User said:

Nice work Dave and thanks for the feedback.
I love the 1DC but... my concern is in trying to the image focused while the camera is running (during r&g shooting) without the use of an eternal monitor. As I understand it, one needs to stop recording in order to use the focus assist (punch in) to help one focus... punch out and then hit record again. Am I correct on this?
Any thoughts on how you will handle this on a documentary?

Well in this case he does have the c100 (if it's version II or I with the upgrade) he can map a button to AF enable and problem solved.  IMO I'd make the c100 in his case the "A" cam due to much easier to work with video-centric functions.

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4 hours ago, Matthew19 said:

1DC is sweet and does have mojo. As far focusing, I find it tough coming from a 6D with Magic Lantern (used peaking) The small hd 501 on top is perfect for it though, and makes up for a bunch of the downsides like zebras, peaking, false color, LUTs for log. I like the full frame mode too, it takes to post sharpening really well.

I'm planning on getting the 501 with the new small HD hotshoe adapter. Such a nice tiny little setup

38 minutes ago, Shield3 said:

Well in this case he does have the c100 (if it's version II or I with the upgrade) he can map a button to AF enable and problem solved.  IMO I'd make the c100 in his case the "A" cam due to much easier to work with video-centric functions.

We have a sound recordist so audio isn't a problem. I want the better image to be A. And I'm ready for the struggle of it. 

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23 minutes ago, DaveAltizer said:

I'm planning on getting the 501 with the new small HD hotshoe adapter. Such a nice tiny little setup

We have a sound recordist so audio isn't a problem. I want the better image to be A. And I'm ready for the struggle of it. 

The glare is the only downside to the 501. For me, the hood doesn't really help. I did buy an iPhone 6 Plus matte screen protector that can be cut to fit. It makes the 501 much more usable outdoors. 

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45 minutes ago, DaveAltizer said:

 I want the better image to be A. And I'm ready for the struggle of it. 

Have you shot both in C-log and color corrected / graded?  The C100 is top notch IQ wise.  Having a tad more DOF and quick push button AF, built in ND, zebras, waveforms and the ability to punch in while recording are very important.  In fact, I'll bet if you shoot the same scene and downscale it to 1080 you'd never be able to tell which camera took what.

Focus and better exposure tools IMO always trump everything else.  I have 4k sets here - unless you plan on cropping/panning quite a bit I personally don't see the point of having the hassle of huge 500 megabit files, large memory cards, no EVF, no ND, poorer ergonomics, poorer battery life (if you get the larger Canon battery for the c100).  The 1080p60 from the c100 KILLS the 1dc's soft 1080p60 mode.

I hope whatever you're shooting doesn't move much, as holding focus at 1.3x crop is pretty tough.  For DOC work I'd throw on a STM lens (10-18) or even the 18-35 Sigma stopped down a bit.

But hey, to each their own.  c100 has MOJO for days in C-log mode (and Wide DR is pretty damn nice too).  Just my opinion of course.

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According to what I'm reading, "Slow west" was shot digitally with the Alexa:

"Curiously, one asset New Zealand didn't have was a laboratory for developing celluloid. "We were told we'd have to send our negatives to Thailand," the DP remembered. There went the production's hopes of shooting on film. Yet using the ALEXA Classic camera with Panavision Primo vintage and Ultra Speed Z lenses had its advantages; and that's to say nothing of the giant mushroom sequence with Jay, shot with a Frazier lens. "With digital you can see all the detail," said Ryan, which might be a part of why it looks a little 3-D. Nothing is falling into the background; it's all in your face."
http://www.thalo.com/articles/view/1037/cinematographer_robbie_ryan_on_shooting_slow_west

 

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2 hours ago, Shield3 said:

According to what I'm reading, "Slow west" was shot digitally with the Alexa:

"Curiously, one asset New Zealand didn't have was a laboratory for developing celluloid. "We were told we'd have to send our negatives to Thailand," the DP remembered. There went the production's hopes of shooting on film. Yet using the ALEXA Classic camera with Panavision Primo vintage and Ultra Speed Z lenses had its advantages; and that's to say nothing of the giant mushroom sequence with Jay, shot with a Frazier lens. "With digital you can see all the detail," said Ryan, which might be a part of why it looks a little 3-D. Nothing is falling into the background; it's all in your face."
http://www.thalo.com/articles/view/1037/cinematographer_robbie_ryan_on_shooting_slow_west

 

Weird. I saw articles online about it being 1dc. My apologies 

2 hours ago, Shield3 said:

Have you shot both in C-log and color corrected / graded?  The C100 is top notch IQ wise.  Having a tad more DOF and quick push button AF, built in ND, zebras, waveforms and the ability to punch in while recording are very important.  In fact, I'll bet if you shoot the same scene and downscale it to 1080 you'd never be able to tell which camera took what.

Focus and better exposure tools IMO always trump everything else.  I have 4k sets here - unless you plan on cropping/panning quite a bit I personally don't see the point of having the hassle of huge 500 megabit files, large memory cards, no EVF, no ND, poorer ergonomics, poorer battery life (if you get the larger Canon battery for the c100).  The 1080p60 from the c100 KILLS the 1dc's soft 1080p60 mode.

I hope whatever you're shooting doesn't move much, as holding focus at 1.3x crop is pretty tough.  For DOC work I'd throw on a STM lens (10-18) or even the 18-35 Sigma stopped down a bit.

But hey, to each their own.  c100 has MOJO for days in C-log mode (and Wide DR is pretty damn nice too).  Just my opinion of course.

I've been shooting on C100s and C300s for years. I'm completely aware of how practical they are and amazing they are. But they are boring as hell. 

As an artist I get excited about doing things that are different and non conventional. I am choosing to shoot on a camera that I believe outperforms the IQ of the c100 dramatically. There is plenty of budget and crew to assist me in my descion. Not to mention having a "dslr" that shoots cinema quality video in the middle of Mexico City is going to be amazing camouflage  especially if I strip it down. 

The "documentary" is more like a reality show. So we will be constructing everything and will have control over most situations. As a DP I have had to decide to make choices that further my career and challenge me as a filmmaker. Otherwise... I'd go crazy. That's just me and my personality. 

50 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

@DaveAltizer, I just noticed your profile pic is of a Kiwi! :D 

Are you a NZer too? Let me know when you're next in Auckland and we'll have a beer/coffee! 

I wish. I just thought a kiwi bird looked cool when I chose a logo for myself. Probably should have thought about that. I'm an LA boy living in Nashville TN. 

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2 hours ago, DaveAltizer said:

I wish. I just thought a kiwi bird looked cool when I chose a logo for myself. Probably should have thought about that. I'm an LA boy living in Nashville TN. 

Ohhh.....  well we do at least have in common the view that the kiwi bird looks cool! :D 

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