The C300 is not Moiré free as can be seen from this blown up section of a frame grab. Once again it’s fine brickwork thats causing the problem. Now before everyone runs off in a panic, lets put this into perspective. The F3′ aliases, the Alexa aliases as do most single chip cameras. This is certainly no worse than an F3 and is right at the resolution limits of the camera, so your not going to see it very often. It takes a very fine, high contrast pattern, in sharp focus before you’ll see this kind of thing.
I spent some time today looking at how gradable the C300 C-Log footage is. I chose to compare this against my F3 as I know many of you would like to know how they compare. Rather than try to show the differences with some jpeg frame grabs I have provided a link to some high quality TIFF from grabs at the bottom of this post. Please download these and take a look for yourself because the difference is very small indeed. Now I did only look at one scenario which was the usual view from the back of my house and today we had some very bright sky with scattered cloud. Quite a challenge for any camera to deal with. I tested the cameras with their internal recordings as well as outputting to a Samurai, recording ProResHQ 422.
C300 Graded
Rather than go all out to try to break the codecs, I really wanted to see how they would perform with an average grade, so the grading is not extreme. Due to the very different base color differences, the images from both cameras are quite different. I didn’t try, to bring them closer together in the grade as I felt doing this may skew the results in the favour of one camera or the other due to whichever had the most pushing to get it close to the other.
So, what are my conclusions? Well both the cameras grade well, even the 35Mb/s 4:2:0 of the F3 holds up OK.
The C300 50Mb/s 422 comes out a little cleaner than the F3 35Mb/s 420 after grading.
The F3 recording to the Samurai at 10 bit ProRes HQ is cleaner than the C300 50Mb/s 422 after grading.
The C300 recording to the Samurai at 8 bit ProRes HQ falls between the F3 ProRes and the C300 native 50Mb/s. It’s closer to the C300 50Mb/s than the ProRes F3.
So, no surprises at all. This was what I was expecting and confirms my view that for run and gun the C300 is going to be a great choice, but for applications where an external recorder is not an issue the F3 has the edge.
There are no big surprises in the results. [downloads_box title=”C300 and F3 Tiff frame grabs (24MB)”] Canon C300 and Sony F3 frame grabs.
[/downloads_box]
When I get the time I’ll repeat the test with a low key scene. The results may be different!
Due to an unprecedented number of cancellations and postponements I have a lot of open slots in my diary between now and mid April. So, if you need training (one to one or groups), consultancy services or simply a good old fashioned DoP or Camera operator (2D or 3D) do get in touch. I’m very affordable!
I’ve been testing and evaluating my new C300 today. Of course being the owner of a PMW-F3 I was more than a little curious to see how the two compared, so the obvious thing to do was some side by side shots. making use of one of my Hurricane Rig 3D rigs, I mounted the C300 and F3 side by side so I could grab the footage at almost exactly the same time, so the scene would be the same. In addition I used a Transvideo 3D monitor with both cameras fed into it so that I could use the 3D waveform monitor, which shows both inputs overlaid at the same time. I used this to match the exposure as accurately as possible. At the bottom of the post you’ll find a link to the raw clips, straight from the cameras.
Both cameras were fitted with matched Tokina 28-70mm AT-X Pro zooms. Doing 3D really helps for this kind of test as I have matched pairs of lenses etc. So exposure and focal lengths match. Notice how the C300 gives a slightly wider FoV compared to the F3. This means the C300’s sensor is bigger than the F3’s which makes it a fair bit bigger than the APS-C sensors used in the Canon 7D, 550D DSLR’s etc, so you are going to have to watch out for vignetting with cheaper EF-S fit lenses.
If you click on the images you will be able to see a full size, full resolution version, however these are jpegs so there may be additional compression artefacts.
C300 C-Log, 850ISOF3 S-Log 800ISO
C-Log and S-Log have similar, but different gamma curves, they are clearly not the same, the F3 has a bit more compression above 50% than the C300. Not sure what this will mean in reality yet, it may be that the F3 has a tiny bit of extra headroom. I deliberately overexposed both cameras by the same amount for one shot and the F3 just appears to hang on to the highlights just the tiniest bit better. This is NOT a very scientific test as I am not exploring the full dynamic range of either camera and you can’t really ignore shadow and low key performance when evaluating dynamic range, but initial indications are that the F3 does have marginally better DR.
C300 C-Log overexposed (mid grey at 50%)F3 S-Log Overexposed (Mid Grey at 50%)
Next I looked at the stock, out of the box images from both cameras. So no picture profiles or any other settings. This is how both cameras look straight from the factory:
C300 Standard settings, 400ISOF3 Standard settings 400ISO
The colorimetry is interesting. I prefer the Canon look, it just looks nicer than the Sony look. BUT, I think the reality is that the Sony look is more accurate and true to life. So which is better? I don’t think one is better than the other, it really depends on your own personal preference. Both cameras have highly tweak-able matrices so you can create your own look (which is something I will be doing). In this simple test the C300 appears to hold on to highlights a little better than the F3. I guess that Canon have optimised the knee a little better. Both images are sharp and crisp, showing good resolution. I think the C300 is a little over sharpened, but that will be easy to reduce through a custom profile.
Now with all the talk of noise and sensitivity I did do a quick comparison at 3200 ISO, which is the highest you can go with a stock F3 (S-Log F3 can go to 6400).
C300 Standard settings, 3200ISOF3 Standard Settings, 3200 ISO
Now, you really need to look at these frames full size to appreciate the added noise or better still download the clips. Compare the 3200ISO images with the 400 ISO images and look at the concrete road. You can clearly see the extra noise from both cameras. My visual assessment is that the noise levels are similar, but that the C300 noise has a much finer structure than the F3. The finer noise looks more filmic to me, so I think I prefer the C300, but it’s not a deal breaker either way. I did take a peak at the noise at 20,000 ISO last night and there is a heck of a lot of it. It would have to be something pretty special to make me want to use more than 3200 ISO.
So, I’m liking the C300 a lot. It’s compact, well built and nice to hold. I find it hard to really distinguish the in camera recordings from the C300 and from the F3, but the C300 has that magic 50Mb/s codec that the BBC and others insist on. So for Grab and go the C300 makes a huge amount of sense. Indications are that the F3 may still have an edge in terms of ultimate latitude and I would expect the 10 bit output from the F3 to allowed harder and more intensive grading of the footage. But, that then means an external recorder with wires, batteries and other stuff. All that “stuff” is fine in a studio or drama shoot, but not so hot chasing tornadoes or similar. So far , this is exactly what I was expecting. The C300 will be a great grab and go camera, a very capable drama and documentary camera, but the F3 will still be my choice when I am doing high end drama or studio work. I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford both, I really like both, but for different reasons.
More tests will follow, in particular grading C-Log and S-log, 8 bit and 10 bit as well as low light performance. In addition I will be testing the C300 with a NanoFlash at higher bit rates to see how much of difference that can make. After that it will be time to create some picture profiles, in particular profiles to get the F3 and C300 closer together as I’m sure I will have projects that will use both.
Below is a link to download the original clips from the cameras. There are 4 clips from each, the total download size is about 400MB, so…….
Below is the link to download the original clips. IF YOU FIND THIS USEFUL IN ANY WAY please make a small donation to help cover my bandwidth and hosting costs. You are free to re-distribute the clips provided a link or acknowledgement of where they came from is included.
There are no big surprises in the results. [downloads_box title=”C300 and F3 Clips”] Canon C300 and Sony F3 Raw Clips.
[/downloads_box]
I’ve had the C300 up side by side with the F3 today. So far, remarkably similar performance, although the colorimetry is very different. One interesting observation is that the C300 sensor appears to be about 10% larger than the F3’s sensor. Certainly with the same lens I get a wider FoV from the C300. C-Log and S-Log look quite different. Another observation is that the F3 appears to be slightly more sensitive at any given ISO, maybe by over half a stop.
Geoff Boyle guiding a student with a Transvideo 3DView Evolution.
I’ve just returned from a very enjoyable week shooting 3D with Geoff Boyle in the Swedish mountains. We were in Hemavan, running a 3D workshop using a wide range of cameras including Sony F3’s on a Hurricane Rig, a TD300 and an NEX3D1E. The shooting parts of the course took place up in the mountains where at times we had to deal with temperatures below -20c, howling winds and blizzard conditions. Our primary monitors were Transvideo 3D views, a 6″ Classic and a 10″ Evolution. These were the perfect monitors for this type of shoot where we needed portability, ruggedness and the superb 3D toolsets incorporated into these monitors.
When conditions are like this, portability and ruggedness are paramount!
One the first day of the shoot, all of the equipment had to be hand carried through snow that was waist deep, the second day our only transport was snow scooters. Bigger, bulkier monitors were out of the question. While the monitoring options on the built in LCD of the Sony TD300 are quite good, it’s just much too small to correctly see the disparity between the left and right views accurately. This is where the Transvideo’s excel. The Transvideo difference modes and zoom function, combined with the adjustable disparity grid makes accurate assessment of the stereoscopic image straight forward and easy. This was especially useful on this shoot as it was very easy to show the students exactly how different camera settings and interaxial’s affect the 3D image.
6" Transvideo 3D-View on the back of a Hurricane Rig in side-by-side mode.
I’ve been lucky enough to have used a wide range of 3D monitors over the last few months from many manufacturers. They have ranged from un-useable to quite good, but none have come close to the Transvideo’s. Current monitors with small polarised screens (less than 20″) are completely useless as on set monitors because the resolution drop caused by using alternate lines for the left and right images makes accurate alignment very hard, in fact you can be 3 pixels out and it’s all but impossible to see. Monitors that only have SD, low resolution or composite inputs are also of little use, as again you can’t see your alignment. So, while there may be cheaper 3D location monitors on the market, my recommendation will always be for a Transvideo monitor. They are in my mind simply the best tools for the job.
Those of you that may have been following my development of this adapter should know that Mike now has a good stock of them. There on his web site for order. Great news is that as well as the F3 it works really well with the Canon C300 and APS-C DSLR’s. If you buy the F3 kit you can remove the rear part and then the adapter will work on the C300 or 7D etc making it really versatile.
Just got the news that the Canon C300 I ordered back in December won’t be landing for a little while longer yet. Boo-hoo, I really want to start getting the picture profiles dialled in.
Just got back from helping Geoff Boyle run a 3D workshop in Hemavan, Sweden. It was a great week and I think everyone, me include learnt a great deal. We shot quite a few scenes of snow scooters, skiers and snowboarders in all kinds of weather from blizzard to beautiful sunshine. We also shot a local band at a ski party.
The TD300 performed very well, especially when conditions were extreme. We had one morning up on the mountain where it was -18c with a howling blizzard. The main TD300 issue was with the concentric control rings for the lens and rotary iris dial. All impossible to use with gloves and constantly getting bumped and knocked. The TD300 however was a bit of a disaster when we came to shoot the music gig as the sound pressure from the bass was making the vertical alignment vibrate up and down. Not pleasant to watch! The Hurricane Rig performed very well at the gig without any vibration issues. However when up on the mountain, keeping snow out of the mirror box in the blizzard was a bit of a pain. We also got completely buried by a blast of snow from a close pass by one of the snow scooters. The shot looks great as a wall of snow flies towards you.
I think everyones favourite camera though was the little NEX 3D1E. You could get this camera into all kinds of places. You could ski with it, do on stage handheld with it and the pictures are pretty good for such a small camera. Being so small it’s a hard to operate the tiny controls and we ended up resorting to using the auto set function to set up conversion and focus most of the time, but it generally did a good job.
Pictures and clips will follow when I have some more time. I have more workshops coming up soon for 3D, S-Log and grading. Watch this space.
Cinematographer and film maker Alister Chapman's Personal Website
