A Talk with Canon About the Tech Inside the Canon C300 Mark II – NAB 2015

by Johnnie BehiriApril 21^st, 2015

“We have stepped into this business and we’re never gonna stop” – Larry Thorpe (Canon USA)

The Canon C300 mark II was announced just two weeks ago and it is a camera that comes with some high end tech specs aimed at true cinema production. But what is inside the Canon C300 mark II that makes it so unique?

When it comes to talking about innovation at Canon, Emmy Engineering Award winner Larry Thorpe is the man to talk to.

In this interview he takes us through a comprehensive journey about the tech inside the Canon C300 mark II and shares a small hint about the yet to be announced Canon C500 Mark II.

• Powerful new Canon codec (XF-AVC)
• 10 bit 4:2:2 in 4K mode, up to 12 bit 4:4:4 in 2K mode
• 225 Mbps
• Up to 30 fps in 4K mode and 60 fps in 2K/HD mode
• Totally new image sensor with higher dynamic range and lower noise floor
• Dual pixel autofocus (with a newly developed “focus guide” and a cursor that can be moved around 80% of the image)
• Enhanced build in ND filter capability (2-4-6-8-10 stops)
• Two 2.0 CFast recording slots
• Improved OLED viewfinder (wider gamma colour and higher brightness)
• Sturdy handle
• External RAW recording
• 4 colour gammas (HD 709, Cinema DCI P3, UHD Rec 2020 and Cinema gamma for serious movie shooting as Larry describe it).
• Proxy recording on an SD card

As with all new cameras, numbers and technical details should be translated into beautiful images. It will be interesting to see how well the Canon C300 mark II will hold up in real world shooting environments.