The Canon C200 – It’s A Raw, Raw, Raw World.

Canon C200

Today was a watershed moment for filmmakers, courtesy of Canon’s announcement that its new, relatively affordable, relatively compact C200 camera will be able to capture 12 bit DCI 4K raw video internally. According to Canon, this will be ‘compressed raw’. Whether ‘compressed’ means lossless, visually lossless, or lossy, is currently anyone’s guess. Whatever the case though, it significantly ups the stakes.

Like many others, we have, for a long time, been arguing for internal raw recording. On the one hand we appreciate that this involves technical challenges including heat, transfer speeds, and storage. On the other hand, we note that Blackmagic managed it some time ago, as did Magic Lantern…so it was only a matter of time before a major camera manufacturer saw the light…and now that one has, we expect a sea change in the industry.

Of course, we’re not suggesting that the Canon 6D Mark II or iPhone 8 will offer 16-bit DCI 8K raw internal recording (frankly we’d be amazed if the iPhone 8 even offers raw stills…) but we do think that the announcement of the Canon C200 signals the start of an affordable raw future, which is great news for low budget filmmakers.

Whilst there are some excellent external raw recorders available, attaching them to a camera adds weight and bulk and introduces an extra link in the chain that can potentially fail. Internal raw recording avoids these and other pitfalls.

We are not saying that raw is a universal panacea. It does not necessarily suit every filmmaker or every situation. Even compressed raw requires significantly more and faster storage than CODEC based recordings and this can add significant expense to a production. However, all things being equal, raw offers better quality, greater flexibility in pre, principal, and post production, and potentially more cinematic results.

As more manufacturers come on board with internal raw recording (we’re looking at you Sony) you can expect to find raw internal recording in more and cheaper cameras, which, as they will not need to be coupled with external raw recorders, will mean an even lower total cost of ownership. So whilst you shouldn’t expect to see raw internal recording in a Canon 6D Mark II or iPhone 8, it is not entirely without the realms of possibility that at some point raw internal video recording will appear in stills cameras and smart phones… In fact, we’d say go so far as to say that it may be inevitable. So celebrate, the Canon C200 is the start of the next filmmaking revolution.

© 2017, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Canon XF305 & XF300 – Hands On Preview

Canon XF305

Canon recently gave me hands on access to their newly announced and yet to be released XF305 & XF300. Although I haven’t had a chance to shoot with them yet, I have seen ungraded footage from a couple of shoots on which they’ve been used and am extremely impressed with both the cameras themselves and the results they are capable of delivering. Continue reading “Canon XF305 & XF300 – Hands On Preview”

© 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Creative Live HD DSLR Workshop

Vincent Laforet is a highly successful and award winning photographer who, back in 2008, managed to get hold of a prototype Canon 5D MKII for a weekend. The result was a visually stunning short film entitled ‘Reverie‘, that spread across the net like wildfire, capturing viewers imaginations and giving birth to the HD DSLR ‘movement’. Last weekend Laforet lead a workshop that, in its own way, was just as unique an experiment as that first short. Why? Because all three days were broadcast live on the net. Continue reading “Creative Live HD DSLR Workshop”

© 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

The Technofile Awards 2010

The Technofile 2010 Awards

At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s the start of a new decade and this, in conjunction with the Technofile celebrating its 5th birthday (albeit slightly belatedly) seems like the perfect opportunity to give out some awards. Unlike everyone else’s awards though, the Technies are not for the best of 2009, or even for the best of the noughties. They are for, what, in the opinion of The Technofile, is the best software and hardware currently available to creative professionals. Whether it was released yesterday or 5 years ago is immaterial, the only stipulation is that you can go out and buy it…or sit at home and download it (legally, of course) now. So, without further ado: Continue reading “The Technofile Awards 2010”

© 2010 – 2017, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Sony PMW-EX3 – Preview

Sony EX3

Just over a year ago, Sony announced the camera formerly known as the XDCAM EX (which is now known as the EX1). Sony’s first solid state HD camera, with a ‘proper’ lens, at an affordable price, it was nothing short of revolutionary and I predicted that it would do for filmmaking, what DV did for TV. Naturally I was right. However, great though the PMW-EX1 was, it did have some limitations. But now the good news is that most of these limitations have been addressed by the PMW-EX3, which is not a replacement, but a higher spec, higher priced model, that will be sold alongside the existing PMW-EX1. Continue reading “Sony PMW-EX3 – Preview”

© 2008 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.