ETHICS STATEMENT: I have never been paid by any camera manufacturer to review a camera. I have worked for many of the major camera manufacturers for various projects at some time, but I have no contractual agreement with any of them. This is essential as my independence is part of the foundation of my blog. For more on my ethics please read my full statement here.
EDIT: Canon have announced that we will have the much needed 25p firmware update in April. 25p is needed for most of the world so it’s a great and much needed addition. This makes the camera way more practical and usable for many. Including me!! Read more here. April is also when the 5Dmk3 gets it’s clean output firmware added. Good news.
EDIT 2: I have now shot my first piece so here it is!
4 inches of ice from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.
MAKE SURE YOU WATCH TO THE VERY END PAST THE CREDITS! 🙂
4 inches of ice is a micro doc I shot to get used to the Canon 1DC. Until this point all I had done were a few test shots. I needed to actually shoot something properly.
This was shot whilst visiting that smashing fellow Eric Kessler in Indiana. It was cold. Way colder than England, but I knew I was heading to Miami for a workshop in a few days so it didn’t bother me! Eric asked if I wanted to go ice fishing. Naturally I said good god man no! BUT, I did quite fancy filming it for a bit. So we went out for an hour. Talked to a father and daughter who didn’t want to be interviewed but let us take some shots then we met the guys who feature here who were really excited to be in it.
4 inches of ice refers to the minimum amount of thickness of the ice that you can go ice fishing on. So wikipedia tells me!
Shooting was a breeze. It’s a DSLR, it may have been shot in 4k but it operates the same way! Miller DS20 tripod. Lenses were Canon 16-35. 24-105, 70-20 F4, 100mm Macro (used for the interview for some utterly bizarre reason!) Audio was a Rode NTG2 into a Roland R26 and B-roll audio was the Rode Video Mic Pro.
I had a lot of issues in post though. This was shot in 4K, downscaled in to full HD for editing (I do plan to remaster as a 4k version soon.) In the edit I noticed a lot of problems, banding, magenta tinges on parts of the frame. Basically we worked it out and it was down to a number of things. The compression of the 4K, combined with the Canon log mode shooting below the native ISO of 400 which is a bad combination.
Andy Shipsides of Abel Cine says this “you are moving the middle gray to a higher level, making the image appear darker but causing limit dynamic range in the highlights.. bad news.”
James and I found that the image only did this in 4k in log under ISO 400. Go higher (not too high) and it’s fine. Shoot normal picture profiles and again it’s fine. Shoot C-log in Super 35mm or full frame HD. No problems. It’s just that combination.
In post I added a lot of film grain to even out those areas. That is why this short piece took about 10 times longer to edit than normal. It’s all good experience and it simply means next time I will shoot bearing that in mind.
Other than that the image issues in post I loved the image and the stuff I have shot since does not have these problems. We are ALWAYS learning.
Can I make a 4K version online? It would be too big unfortunately, but I will be showing this and other stuff from the camera in 4K at the BVE show in London at the end of February for Canon.
You can see my review of the camera, the good and the bad on my blog post here: http://gopb.co/1dc
Audio recorded by Eric Kessler
Music again courtesy of The Music Bed. Full credits in the video. Gopb.co/musicbed
ORIGINAL REVIEW
When the Canon 1DC was announced back in late 2011 (not officially called that back then) I was interested of course, but as time went on and we learnt more about it, I became less interested. 4K is cool but not essential for most of work right now.
Every single 4k project I have shot has been done purely for show rather than the practicality…this will change of course with more demand for 4k content, but with no affordable ways to view 4k or to distribute it, we are still some time off….much like when I first started using HD. I just am not sure how big 4k will be with the general public. I judge these things with my friends and family. My sister, for example, can’t see the point in blu ray. She is happy with DVD, even though she has an HD TV. Trying to sell 4k to her will be a waste of breath! 🙂
The first footage I saw from the camera was from Shane Hurlbut/ Po Chan’s “The Ticket” at NAB 2012. It’s gorgeous and if you haven’t see it, I thoroughly recommend checking it out, but it won’t be in 4k unless you can see it in a 4k theatre like I did. That’s the problem I mentioned previously…
The price of the camera and the 24p limitation at 4K put me off the camera, despite this beautiful footage. So what is it that made me really want to check it out properly? Is it actually worth the dosh? What is the image like, and of course, is it any good? All of these questions and many more are answered in my video review. It’s super in-depth and has lots of example footage.
I will be sharing lots of native footage both 4K and HD via wetransfer.com links of native footage. You can find these links below the video, and I will be adding to them the more I manage to upload…it takes a while. Upload speed here is very slow!
Please don’t judge any image quality form either the stream here or even the downloaded review video from Vimeo (I do recommend that you download it though!) If there are any questions not answered in the review, feel free to ask in the comments below! Also as these reviews are all done for free and take DAYS to do, any donations made to the Vimeo Tip Jar are gratefully received!! You can only do that via the actual Vimeo page for the review, which is here.
EDIT 31st Jan: One thing I have learnt from shooting with the camera the past week is NEVER shoot below ISO 400 in log mode or you get banding issues from hell which vanish at 400 and above. 400 is the native sensitiy of the camera, lower than I would have thought but apprantly that is in the manual! Never read manuals me…This actually really only applies to log mode where the image is pushed hard. Out of log mode you don’t see this. Below is the banding issues in log mode which really came out after a bit of grading.
My number one shooting sidekick and crazy pixel peeper James Miller gives his hairy palmed thoughts below. JAMES!! SIT BACK FROM THE COMPUTER SCREEN!!! 🙂
I have also just shot a micro doc on the camera about Ice Fishing here in Indiana. I will post that ASAP. Well, as soon as it is edited. I am also currently editing the delayed “Beach Bum Shootout” which looks at the GH3, EOS M, 6D, C100…this will be done as soon as I can. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day!
Workflow will be added to this post next…although James does go through his workflow below.
Review of the Canon 1DC from Philip Bloom Reviews & Tutorials on Vimeo.
NATIVE DOWNLOAD LINKS HERE
Click on the images below to download the large native 4K video files. First link is all four main shots of Brighton pier. It was a murky day on end of lens so take that into consideration..use as comparison between modes not on overall resolution…I will add another one shot on clear day here in Indiana this week. Only one link for the comparison as it will download all four clips for you.
First up though is a lovely shot of Eric Kessler’s Salt Water fish tank it 4k, s35 HD, full frame HD, 60p HD, 60p 720 and SD. All with LOG off and Neutral Pro Lost profile. Click Image to download
If you want to buy the camera, I would be enormously grateful if you do it through my affiliate with B&H Photo by clicking the image below! It doesn’t cost you a penny more, and it helps support this increasingly expensive to maintain website and helps get more review videos done! So huge thanks!
I will have the camera with me at the forthcoming workshops below in Miami, Brussels, Toronto and Vancouver, as well as other toys like the Metabones Speed Booster and the Blackmagic Camera. My next one is on Saturday the 2nd of February in Miami. Currently my only workshop in the USA this year!
Update to below:
I’ll put some samples on here later but for now I think it is important to mention that if you shoot below ISO 400 then your images will be clipped in the highlights (giving them a grey colour) and shadows will fill and loose detail. Anything below ISO 400 appears to look like negative gain. Shooting at ISO 400 will also reduce banding in the image, something that effected many shots. Also as a result highlight roll off looks smoother too.
—
HERE ARE JAMES’ VERY PIXEL PEEPER THOUGHTS!
Canon Log verses Neutral picture profile with the 1DC at 4k. This is not a debate on the benefits of using LOG profiles, just the resolution retained when doing so. For reference, the sharpness is set to the lowest setting on Neutral and Canon Log. No ND filters used in the tests. Shot on a Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 90mm /F5.
Conclusion: I love the camera and want one 😉
One Giant Leap – Canon 1DC from James Miller on Vimeo.
I took the Canon 1DC out for a spin in London yesterday with my cousin and photographer Luke Miller as it was the first day of sun I’ve seen in a while.
These are just general GV shots. Shot using the Canon 1DC in 4K, Canon Log.
Lenses used. Canon 24-105 IS f/4 & Canon 70-200 IS II f/2.8.
Our workflow was to transcode the rushes into ProRes HQ using MPEG Streamclip, bring them in Adobe Premiere CS6, edit and grade and render out at 1920 x 1080 using scale to keep edges. Wide bars added in Premiere for aesthetics only and ability to reframe at full frame size.
More tests and information on Philip Blooms site: http://staging.philipbloom.net/blog
These Days of Sun | If Not Now When | Olly Knights
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/these-days-of-sun/id571958363?i=571958557
Temp track until Olly sues me (it was very late and was only track I loved) But do check out his new personal album, its very good.
———-
Here are some of the native camera files from the film above to play with.
There are 4 files in this zip archive, more to follow.
As a note to why some shared files display at the wrong resolution its because the QuickTime wrapper gets messed up on upload. Future files will be zipped as these are now.
To correct the issue across PC & Mac’s. Open in MPEG Streamclip and click on ‘Save As’ this will not transcode the file, it just make the file handle correctly in editing software. The same can be done in QuickTime 7, but make sure you view the file at ‘Actual size’ then ‘save as’.
More to come tomorrow.
4K MASTER SHOT NEUTRAL
119 comments
Hi Philip as always your reviews take us there as we are the ones operating the camera, I’m really considering the purchase of this camera (the most I’ll spend since the days of Digibeta) I’m concern about the workflow of this images of 4K, have no idea how to treat it (I have been avoiding the Red cameras) do we convert them first grade them later or the other way around, which program would you use? my end medium is HD broadcast.
How they compare to the Epic 4K raw?
thanks in advance and keep up the fantastic job
Boris
hi boris…will add that to post now…James does cover it a bit…
after shooting in 4K I assume one would not want to shoot in1080, but if we decide to do can we record to a Ninja or Blackmagic hyper deck to bypass H264?
it’s an i-frame codec of 90mb/s…i think thats more than enough for me, but yes plug into whatever you want and record in your codec of choice. 422 8 bit uncompressed out.
I wanna thank you for your massive contribution into dslr/video ‘movement’. This review is another example how somebody’s opinion might be helpful.
I wanna ask about the lighting in your interviews, it’s always beautiful. Can I know how you do it? 😉
quite simple! we used a litepanel 1×1 as main line…a bit of light from imac and practicals!!
Great review Philip though I think the 1DX is more for me. I hope you don’t mind a really dumb question but if you are shooting 24 frames per second does each frame use up one of the 400,000 clicks the shutter is rated for?
oh no!it’s nothing to do with the shutter. Its video…live view opens up the mirror and the shutter and doesnt close until you switch off…which could mean anything! For example 20 hours of footage is 28, 800 frames! That would kill your camera very fast! 🙂
I literally look forward to these reviews more than the latest episodes of my favorite tv series. I grab some chips and a drink, sit back and enjoy it as if it were a movie. Keep up the amazing work!
-Justin
very kind thanks Justin!
Hey Philip,
Once again another amazing camera review! I love watching your work, you are truly very talented. I have been looking into purchasing one of canon’s C line camera’s, either the c100 or 300, but the 1DC looks amazing as well. In grading with the canon C-log have you noticed more noise in your image? I am wondering how C-log looks up next to a cinestyle image coming out of a 5d mark 2. I have fought for years with using cinestyle due to all the noise I get, even at low ISO.
Nathaniel
hi Nathaniel
it’s better than cinestlye easily. You dont get any of that noise at all! I think the C300 codec is so damn robust it’s easier to grade.
I didnt use cinestlye for that reason
p
Hi Philip and James!
Thanks for your great review! Incredibly helpful.
Question for James: From a pixel-peeping perspective, can you see any differences between 1DC S35’s IQ and C300’s? I guess you’d have to record 1DC S35 to an external recorder like a PIX 220 to compare it to C300 at 4:2:2?
Thanks again!
Cheers,
Andre
My condolences to your man bits. But I feel it was a worthwhile sacrifice.
Thanks as ever for such information. May your Vimeo Tip jar overfloweth. Heading there now as should all your readers.
be nice Scott!!
Thanks for the review. I bought the 1DC. Review is accurate. I have been second guessing myself with neutral vs log too. The images from the camera are amazing. This comes out of my mouth daily – “The Canon 1DC does produce very nice 4k files when setup correctly.” -20C where I’m at by the way. Enjoy the warmth. Cheers.
is that -20C or -20F??
-20 C. Today a blistering -43 C with the wind chill. By Friday +2C. Crazy weather where I’m from. Interesting learning curve with the 1DC. Images are very filmic when properly tweaked and shot. The camera is a lot better than I realized. At first I was second guessing my decision. But after extensive playing around, it is a big wow.
Thanks for very useful review…I have two questions…Is it better to have two cameras (for example, C100 & Mark III with 24-105IS lens) or one naked 1DC body? Is the quality of the crop35 mode on 1DC same quality as the C100/300?
Make note of all the negatives and positives and figure out what works best for you. Lack of proper audio would stop people using this camera over say a C100
Philip,
As always this was a fantastic review and I really appreciate how much effort you put into your reviews! I was wondering what your opinion was on using the 1D-C for narrative film making in comparison to the image from a Scarlet? With the Dragon sensor not coming out for the Scarlet, it seems like the image from that camera is pretty much how it will always be moving forward. Now that you’ve shot with both, how would you compare the two 4K images in terms of cinematic quality? Thanks again for the wonderful review.
Seth
I would say go with Scarlet if you have lots of light/ good DP….it’s a fantastic camera and I think it’s really shitty that RED have now said no upgrade when they said it would…I know a lot of people who bought one with that plan on upgrading.
The Scarlet is raw, 16 bit…it’s far superior in that respect. its also more expensive (with all that you need), heavier, no good in anything other than good light. It’s for properly lit movies, commercials etc…
Cheers for commenting Seth.
Amen to that. I love the Scarlet and the image is beautiful but I’d only use it in controlled environment. The C500 is only a few thousand more than the Scarlet once you dress it up.
Great review and many thanks for the footage. I downloaded the footage and gave it a spin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHjYoX4EtDw)
I’m really looking forward to the workflow post. MPEG Streamclip will make this process easy on a MAC because of ProRes but on Windows I encountered several issues. In the end I had to convert to 1080p H.264 via MPEG Streamclip 🙁
Hopefully in the workflow post some windows solutions are given.
Again thanks for the detailed review and the footage. Can’t thank you enough.
looks good! hard workflow!
I downloaded the footage as well and through it into Premiere Pro CS6. I noticed the same thing, even when I set playback resolution to 1/4 it still bogged down. I was thinking of renting this camera for a feature I will hopefully be shooting this summer. Any advice on what can be done. If you don’t mind me asking what are the specs on your machine Mr. Bloom, and how difficult was it for you to edit? Thanks for all your great and informative videos. A truly great help to the digital video community!
Great review Philip, but why don’t you review a camera some of us can actually afford? The production GH3 would be a good place to start. Just saying.
Hi Evan
You mean like the £2000 Blackmagic camera review from September?
If you read this post I talk about what I am working on next…just before the video.
P
Hahaha, wow. Some people are truly grateful!
Nicely done as always. Great information. Appreciate you freezing the jewels to make this.
That C300 sure makes you look pretty. 🙂
no…i make the c300 get pretty images 😉
Hi Philip, Great Review. You create some really fantastic images/ frames to view. Love the shot of the man on the beach in the rain.
I was just wondering if you ever use filters to remove noise in your footage (if there is any) before posting to the web ?
i do occasionally but very rarely!
You Rock Philip! Good review and an interesting tool.
thanks Mitchel!
Thank you for doing the review yet again, we quite enjoy them! I don’t know if I missed it, but from what I saw there was no moire. Can you confirm that?
none at all!
did receive my 1D C one week ago and i’m very satisfied with the detailed image quality – i think i will never use my 5d mark3’s again after what i saw. philip: the manual says it’s strongly recommended to de-activate “vignette” when using canon log, as it might cause extra noise. i saw in your recordings that the canon log sign was flashing, which means vignette correction was still active. probably the demo footage could have been even better with 100% optimized settings. aside from that: great review again!
oh thanks for the tip! didn’t even notice that!
well, who reads manuals anyway 🙂 but that’s one of the downsides of this great camera: too many not too logical exceptions with things that won’t work under certain cirumstances; and in some cases the only way to find out about them is reading the whole manual
Lucky for us some people actually do read manuals.
what is a manual??!?
Great review Philip, I think a lot of people in the world appreciate the time you give for doing this.
It’s interesting, I really can’t see anyone buying this camera!? The Price…. The additional bolt-ons I would have to buy XLRS, EVF etc the memory, almost make it over priced for what you get. But on the other hand I want one just for the 4K Image.
I Just think that there are no 4K Smart phones, no 4K Tablets, Little if zero 4K Monitors. Where are 90% of people going to view your work? … on the internet.
I’m also starting to wonder if DSLR has had it’s day, FS700, C300 C500, F3 F5 F55 just seems the natrual choice for anyone in film.
There would have to be an enormous push of 4K in the other consumer display and digital markets for me to invest in one. I think 4k is massively exciting but the cost of trying to do it isn’t. For now it’s my gorgeous FS100 producing fantastic HD results for my clients.
cheers Jim
Actually a lot of people are buying this camera! I would not recommend this over a C300 for example though, but as it’s for different uses nobody should be really talking about them in the same breath. This is a 4k internal camera. You say there isn’t a way of seeing it. Well, not. not much yet. That is changing so fast. Yes, I dont have clients who need it but I am already shooting everything I can for stock right now.
The FS100 is a great camera, just a different tool!
Hi Philip,
I am in thinking of buying a Canon c100 as an upgrade from my DSLR System: 5DmarkII and 60D. I shoot a lot of NGO stuff, sometimes in remote places; about to start a travel series; Some docs, and that camera seems to be be a good solution to the things I had trouble with in my DSLR system (Run and Gun-Focusing; Double sound). It looks like, together with an Atomis Ninja2, it gives comparable picture to c300 and a LOT cheaper. I already have some Canon glass, too.
Am I missing something, though? I’m always afraid that something will come out next week–(or at NAB)…What do you think of that choice? Anything else I should be looking at in similar price range for the type of work I do? Thanks!
David Blumenfeld
http://www.jerusalemproductions.com
if you are shooting for an NGO why do you want a ninja 2? The AVCHD in the C100 is excellent…do you really need the complication of an external recorder?
Thanks Philip.
For the NGO’s, no need for Ninja. But I also have a series I may start shooting soon. It’s for Web now, but they want to distribute it to PBS-I’m wondering if I’ll need it for that? I know BBC has strict rules about that…Have you tested the c100yet? I handled one the other day and its pretty sweet. Heading to Africa and India, so just need to convince the wife now to let me shell out the $$$..
Hey. I just got back from India/Africa and loved working with the C-100. It was a nice upgrade. I now have a web-series to shoot, which it will be great for, too…They “MAY” want to get it on PBS in the USA–Wondering if I need the Ninja2 to up the Mbps, etc. or if they will mind it being 24…thoughts?
Any word from Canon on whether or not the 1DC any firmware upgrades will enable this camera to shoot 30p (29.97) at 4K? Or what about different resolutions such as 2.5K?
One of my clients asks for all their footage to be shot at this higher frame rate for broadcast reasons. Honestly I am still on the fence with this camera, and not being able to use this camera at 4k for my commercial work is a deal breaker—and I would LOVE to have a 4K DSLR camera in my kit…
nothing yet!
Thanks for the review Phillip, great as always.
I have to say, I don’t think this camera is for us. We have a C300 as our standard cam for corporate/commercial work, and so far it has been outstanding. The codec is light but powerful (164mins on a 64Gb card anyone?) and has all the features you expect in a ‘video’ camera (peaking, zebra, waveforms, live magnification, XLRs, monitor outs etc). Not having any of those would limit the 1DC to ‘4K only’ work for us, of which we receive very few requests. Those that do ask for 4K are usually shooting short fiction/music videos, and on those occasions they’ll want the RED for its post flexibility.
My ears pricked up when you said ’50p at 1080p’ recording, but when I saw the footage – there’s definitely something going on there – the image is noticeably softer than the regular frame-rate equivalents. I also love the idea of portability but… the C300 (and misc. bits) fit easily into a Petrol roll/backpack. I recently took it on board an airplane slung around my neck like a bulky SLR and was shooting out the window like a bonafide hipster, so I don’t think we’d be gaining a whole lot in that department.
Keep up the good work!
Chris
Oh, and get a weather jacket for your C300! I recommend the Camrade WS C300. A little noodle-y to put on (more the C300’s fault due to its odd form factor than the jacket’s), and the window for the LCD is a bit hopeless when it’s chucking it down (I switch to the EVF), but I used it recently in a torrential downpour and the camera was bone-dry.
i don’t do rain 😉
Great review – I love the way you get your personality across in the review so it’s not just a factual list of good and bad points, but a watchable video to enjoy as well.
The EF L lenses seem to hold up pretty well with 4K resolution. Is it just the L series that is usable on 4K or did you try other lenses?
hi James, appreciate comment!
Yes the L Glass is great! I used my Zeiss 35mm F1.4 in Dubai on it and was great (just not a F1.4!!)
Cheers for the info,
It’s worth knowing so that I can invest in the L series now and they’ll still be usable in future when 4K is more widespread (assuming the lenses don’t fall apart or I clumsily drop them).
Thanks,
James
Hi James, The Canon (L) glass was originally designed to resolve ‘fine grain’ film, followed by digital stills cameras that exceed the resolution of 4k video. Rest assured, if you look after them, they will serve you well.
So if the 1DC is pretty much 1DX with a different software and a red C badge in-front, do you think someone will develop a hack for 1DX to create a half priced 1DC, which would literally kill the model?
i think if they did the camera would melt. it has an additional cooling mechanism that copes with the huge amount of data coming off that sensor. so no. it wont happen.
Canon promised to bring the full force of their legal department on anyone that tries to modify a 1-series body, so I’d be willing to wager it will never happen. Magic Lantern is avoiding it like the plague.
sorry but i think that is absolute nonsense. If I took a 1DX, 1DC or any camera and decide to fiddle with it that is my choice…if I then pass on any firmware that is different! That is why Magic Lantern would not do it…
I guess that was poorly worded, when I said “anyone” I meant Magic Lantern, since they’re the only people I know of that do 3rd party firmware. I don’t agree with Canon’s threats either.
I’m doing something wrong or is a Premiere CS6 Problem? I tried to download the 4K files but the resolution show as 1154×609 and 1020×538. not real 4K
its a quicktime bug. how are you bringing it in?
Hi Philip, Thanks for you reply,I just import the files to Premiere or After Effects, I’m on a mac same problem on windows. but I just did a test with FCPX and they are OK now I can see is 4K on Final Cut, very strange
Yeah I’m suffering it too. I thought I was just losing it. How are you importing the footage into Premiere CS6 Philip?
i am converting to ProRess 422…the mjpeg makes my computer freak out!!
Thnx for the fantastic review! I am very close to buying this, but one question remains:
I know the audio is limited on the cam, but how is the quality of the preamps and the recording?
Is the sound usable with a nice mic without a preamp? Or will I still need a preamp?
I plan to travel quite a bit with the cam. Workflow is no problem, I used test footage on my MBP and
cutting is nice and smooth, I would just love to use it e.g. just with an ntg3 straight into the cam.
Is the noise level bearable?
And now of to the tip jar.
THNX!
Franz
they are the same as 1DX, not great…just about usable with a strong inout source, just don’t push the levels in camera.
thanks Franz!
Thank you Sir!
Nice looking review Phillip, thanks.
Do you think firmware upgrades will be made for peaking etc, 10 bit [is that even posible, read somewhere].
The stills from motion look impressive. Do you see yourself using them much? Concerns about 1/50 shutter?
I’m leaning towards this camera for useable stills from motion, size, power consumption, knowable form factor. One would think it would hold its value somewhat.
Cheers,
Nigel
you never know! 10 bit though i doubt very much!
Thank you for another fantastic review Philip. I know it takes a great amount of work and effort but it’s very much appreciated! Thank you for helping me make up my mind about this camera. I’m now certain to get it, cheers!
Hi Philip.. i just sign for you workshop on sat in Miami… i can’t wait…
Thank you so much for this review, Philip. Love your hair cut and the b&w still images in this review, btw.
I have a question related to moiré and aliasing, which you find to be totally absent. How did Canon pull this off? After all, the 1Dc is a still image camera too, so… what did Canon change in the sensor to get rid of the moiré issue?
hi ivan
its the same with the 5dmk3, 1dx too…just no ways of downsampling i guess!!
I just viewed the 6D review at dpreview and they have posted footage demonstrating great amounts of moiré and aliasing coming from the Eos 6D. I guess the 6D is aimed at still image photography, because also a head phone out is lacking.
..AND Canon goes, and makes a Cam just for Phillip Bloom!
Because, let’s see, for whom else might this camera be?
-If you’re a Photog, you need backup, so for the same price as a 1DC you are better served with a 5D3+1DX, so you get pro photo cams, plus A+B cams for video (as secondary task)
-If you are just into Pro Video with the 1DC, once you add some decent audio subsystem, ND filters, EVF and a rig to support it all, you’ve already surpassed the cost of a Sony F5 (ad you’d still lack overcrank, waveforms, peaking…)
-If you’re an Indie Video guy, for the same cost as a 1DC you get a C100+Ninja+BMD, so you end up with two cams rather than 1, one for run and gun and the other for narrative; proper audio, waveforms, etc.
-If you’re an Indie that do a mix of stills and video, you’re better served with a 5D3+C100 for the price of a 1DC; again two cams, proper audio..
Therefore, again, what’s this cam for?
Easy. Essentially, as a Hollywood crash cam. Because It’s rugged, small, and does stunning 4K at 24p. Recording times are short and image files are large, but that’s not a problem for such application.
..AND, if you’re Phillip Bloom and travel all over the damn Planet, and already have a C300, and require a B cam for it, that also works as a photocam, that uses the same Canon lenses, and it ALL together must fit into a small backpack, here you go: 1DC. Oh wait, and it also does really good 4K for short runs. Jackpot! Congrats Phil!
On the weather side, don’t complain that much willya, you’re British aren’t ya? :-), and you were only testing a cam. Here in Mallorca it’s also raining, but we’re in the middle of a HUUUUUUUUUUGE TV commercial shoot (for the Superbowl nontheless) and weather is driving Prod Managers MAD.
Very Nice review, as usual.
who is this Phillip Bloom? Is he related to me? Maybe we would get on?? 🙂
I’ve recently sold my Red One and now in the process of unloading my entire Epic package. I’ve concluded that for the higher end systems and commercial and broadcast work I do with Epic or Alexa, let production go to the rental house. So I’m seriously considering getting the 1DC for doc, personal projects and when I’ve the need for a big chip.
Concerns I have is while the 4k option is great (and I’d use it alot), there may be times when I want to shoot Full Frame 2k. If it’s for broadcast (BBC, History, A & E) does the Full Frame 2k codec pass muster in terms of HD requirements or will I have to record to an Atomos or some external box to deliver 4:2:2 ? Have you had the chance to see how it records to a box? I find all things HDMI to be a dicey proposition so I was wondering how the HDMI connection holder is? Small HD’s is brilliant but I believe it only works for 5D’s.
Also, have you had a chance to use it with an external monitor (small hd, tv logic, etc) or an EVF? Any notes?
Thanks for such a comprehensive review. I know how testing can be a pain so I truly admire what you’ve done. Knighthood?
hi timothy
thanks v much!
i havent recorded externally yet…it does work. James was going to try it out.
The monitor works fine with the clean out…set it to mirror and you get clean output on screen in log if set to it whilst LCD is View assist. LCD gets shooting info monitor is clean OR if using just EVF set to mirroring off and get all the display info on the EVF. Tried zacuto and small hd
Here’s my dilemma: I’m torn between the C300 and 1DC. Professionally, I get called to shoot quite a few C300 jobs, when production wants a more run n gun MO over Alexa or doc. Never used C300 on high end gigs. What I’m ideally looking for is a camera for making my own films that I’ll also use a kit rental on paid gigs.
Now I understand the pros/cons of each. But I have some questions. What is the workflow with 1DC, say, if I have to deliver 1080p to a client. Do you stay and edit 4k until your locked, then grade and output? Or does it make sense to transcode to Pro Rez or DNX first then cut. I have either FCP or Premier Pro.
How doe the image detail, color space, motion artifacts and DR compare to the C300? Now I get that the c300 is an infinitely more sensible camera in many respects but something about the rock star notion of the only full frame 4k in a still camera body that has me enticed. I know these are two different beasts and you maybe loathe to compare but they will cross over. Both will be used for narrative and doc, albeit to different effect. But certain technical aspects of the 1DC still seem vague.
Phillip, sorry to hear you almost froze your neck off 🙂
James, so it seems that 4k scaled down to 2k is night and day superior to shooting 2k… guess I need to start saving my pennies. Thanks again for posting.
So I’ve just purchased a 5D Mark II and while these images look spectacular, I’m not yet in the market for a $12,000 piece of kit…yet.
One thing that did catch my eye during this video was the gear that James was using to film you. I’ve seen many a film rig setup, but I’ve not yet settled on what I’d like to use and I’m wondering if you could shed some light on what gear he used, from the rail system, to what looked like some sort of grip, and external monitor, to film your speaking parts?
I’ve been following you since I first laid eyes the ‘Sofia’s People’ piece and I’m a huge fan of what you’ve brought to the DSLR community.
Thanks in advance if you’re able to help me out w/ this.
The c300 had no addict all bits used. All handheld. One lens 24-105mm.
Really? In the vid there’s a point where you’re mentioning how the c300 isn’t weatherproofed and you record the guy recording you for a moment, and he’s got the c300 and what looks like a bit of additional equipment on there. A small external screen at the very least. Or maybe I’m seeing things, lol.
that’s part of the C300…check out my c300 review it shows you better
Oh wow, that’s quite nice. I suppose my first move should’ve been to just google it, lol. Thanks for the help.
maybe? 🙂
Great camera indeed. The first striking thing is the 4K. Now we have a box easily wearable around our necks that can shoot 4K, groundbreaking. Down-scaling to lower resolutions without having to sharpen in post really caught my attention. Of course lack of XLRs, zebra and peaking like Philip added are humbling but it’s still an AWESOME camera given it’s latitude in dynamic-range and formats, and to digress, I wish Windows could encode ProRes at any level. Of course being grateful to Philip for the review is the least I can do. Thanks once again Philip and I really must see to the tip jar.
I need one. Now I just need $14 for the body and 4-128g cards. 🙁
Hi Philip,
Once again, a really nice review, thank you for that. Can I suggest something ? Like many others i’m much interrested on the “Neutral – Log – Cinestyle” debate about sharpness, noise and grade, a blog post about how to shoot the proper image and sharp it would be much appreciated (and very useful for many of us…)
Sorry if it had already been done,
Martin
Hi Phillip,
I’m planing on shooting on 1DC in 4K, but after I record all my footage I have no idea what to do with it in terms of editing. Does it need to be down converted to work with in Final Cut 7? Can I do this with Mpeg Stream clip and not suffer too much on quality loss? Can I view my dailies on my mac in 4k?
Can you please explain a little bit about this or post a link that will explain.
Thank you
yep mpeg streamclip to proeres is best. fcp 7 is very old now and may not handle this well…
Senor BLOOM! THERE IS A TYPO IN YOUR ETHICS STATEMENT. LAST SENTENCE! It says difficut not difficult! AHHHHH!!!!
Please don’t tell me that!
“association” looks good though now.
Hi Philip. like everyone else here – big thank you for this review, and all the preceding ones.
In the opening sequence you’ve labeled it “4K … scaled down to full HD”. I’m still learning here, but the images look super sharp, which means that even in the scaling down(CS6?) some or all of the 4K resolution is preserved. Is that right? If so, could you explain how that works? me little mind can’t get around it.
cheers,
Simon
it just looks better Simon. Acquiring in a superior format normally yields better results. Like when I shot HD for SD delivery. Just looks better!
Another great job! As I sit here working on a show I shoot and edit, I was thinking one of the benefits of shooting 4K is that you can do a digital punch in without losing resolution. For example, doing a cooking segment with a chef where you’re covering preparation for a dish, you could shoot it wide for the whole thing and not disrupt the process. When in post, you could then pull your close up shots from that same clip. This would make the shoot go much faster, which is important (especially to my producer!).
Do you think this would be an application that the 1DC would pull off well? I also dig the fact that you can pull stills from the video and then do a pan and scan as I do now with my photos that are taken at the shoot. Given that the final product is for HD delivery, it would seem to offer a great deal of flexibility in how you approach shooting a given segment.
Any thoughts on this?
I think you can crop 2x just ok…just…its not as good as say red cropping but damn good!
Hi there !
just to help, and share a not very scientific 1Dc test between 3200 and 12800 iso on available low light 4K c-log scaled down to Full-HD, no fancy lens or fancy postproduction just a CS6 and a macbook pro :
http://vimeo.com/58056838
what I will add to your review is that the camera is the easiest on field 4K camera that i had to use yet !
we had the chance to test it aside the following camera :
ARRI ALEXA
AATON penelope delta
F65
C500
the F65 is the king of the hill when it comes to detail rendition and dynamic range,
the C500 is the leader regarding low iso sensitivity.
but…. all of those needed all the bells and whistle of mate box, support rail, dedicated recorder, sets of batteries, ++++
at the end of the day the only sentence I said to sum up : the 1 Dc is the only camera that you basically turn on and shoot.
if you have the cards, it is an absolute no brainer… and it will gives you 80% of what the others gives you ….
lets face it just comparing a 10K€ DSLR to a 100K€ cinematic camera says it all…
So when it comes down to image and image only, who wins? C300 or the 1DX?
Is it possible to Canon 1Dc became a 10bit or 12bit camera, with future firmware?! Is there a potential hardware?! (maybe with external recoder)
Hi Philip,
Many thanks for the great reviews. I own a 1Ds Mark iii for still photography and now looking to upgrade my DSLR to have the video feature. After seeing your Blackmagic camera review I made up my mind to get one, but then came across your 1DC review, although it is way more expensive and is 4K, I am thinking that I should go for this rather than Blackmagic. For a user that wants to film mainly music videos would you recommend the 1DC or the Blackmagic? Is there really that much difference in quality when shot in HD? Thanks again
honestly neither! check out my camera conundrum post!
Hi Philip. Yet another great review, thanks! I would so love to get me one of these but it’s a bit out of my price range, can’t wait for the Beach Bum Shoot-out!
Well, I just gave this another thought.
A C300 plus a 1DC together cost around €25k. That’s indeed a hefty sum, but then again, how much did/do a broadcast ENG body cost?
With the C300+1DC combo however you end up having TWO (A+B) broadcast HD cameras (shooting at S35), a 4K camera and a pro FF DSLR! Not only are they weather-proof, but also share the same lens mount, so you can fit them into a single backpack, along with a 16-35, 24-70/105, 70-200 and some 35, 50 and Macro prime. Maybe you can still squeeze in a flash, and a sennheiser wireless lav and a 416. Oh, and all those LowePro backpacks also have room for a Retina Display MBP, don’t they.
So, in a single (large) backpack/trolley you can travel the world and fit ALL the tools to shoot (and EDIT) anything from a corporate short, to a BBC doco, to a Vanity Fair cover. Not bad huh.
Of course you’ll have to rent Kinos and Jokers (and Profotos) should you require them, but given these cam sensibilities, you can get away quite often with just available light and some California Sunbounce reflectors+difussers, which will go on the second bag, along with the tripod/s and Kessler slider.
I know the 1DC is more like an experiment, but Canon might be onto something after all. Specially, when paired with another cam, and it makes a killer set with along with the C300. If only they did good 50p, right Philip?
Edit: I realized the 1DC is 4:2:0 at S35, so you’d need a Ninja for broadcast (for that A+B). Or… why not a Pix 220, so you’d also get pro-grade preamps and pro audio recording to top it all.
Is there still room in that backpack? 😉
Hi Philip, I just wanted to say I really enjoyed ‘4 inches of ice’ the interview was great, images were great, really made me smile. Top job. I often look at your work and think about what I can improve on, what can I do to reach that level of quality. So thanks for the inspiration.
I feel there is a market for this camera and its really just for the Hollywood guys right now. A lot of B cameras in movies happened to be Canon 7Ds like in the The Avengers and of course the block buster hit Red Tails.
Any updates on how to edit the footage from the 1D C without converting video files?
I have a relatively new Retina MacBook Pro and it can’t play the Motion JPEG without lagging or dropping frames.
But it does not fully use the CPU/GPU either, so it should be powerful enough? Perhaps we need an update from Adobe or Apple?
I guess the people who made the software decoders never thought 4K material would in up in this format. It seems to me it’s the software that is the bottleneck – the hardware is not utilized properly under Motion-JPEG playback?