C100 future

[Dave Ande]

Hey guys, first of all let me say I'm a big Canon fan,but what are you thoughts of the C100's future. When I look for videos shot on the C100 from Canon's website, there are only two as opposed to numerous videos shot on the C300 and 500. The firmware upgrade(s) for the C100 doesn't seem as significant as the C300 and C500. I was about to pull the trigger last week on a C100 but decided to wait and think about it before doing so. The main reason I'm asking is that I use to work with Canon Color Laser Copiers years ago and I see some of the same marketing strategy with this Camera as they had with their Color Copiers.

[Peter Chaney]

Sorry for the odd question but where is this update for the C100 because I never heard about it being released and just looked on the Canon website and nothing is up.

[Dave Ande]

Peter, from what I was reading and a video I saw, Canon is releasing new firmware in late 2013 that will give the C100 support for magnify that will allow user to check focus at different parts of an image, one the LCD screen. Sorry if I confused you by making it sound as if they had already released it.

[Matt Davis]

Originally Posted by Dave Ande

The firmware upgrade(s) for the C100 doesn't seem as significant as the C300 and C500.

Deffo looking forward to hunting around in Magnify mode. Continual AF on the C100 isn't significant? I'm sure that there's a few more easter eggs in there. :-)

Sure, the C300 updates add what the C100 has (Push-auto iris), and some stuff most shooters outside TV news won't need (1440x1080 35 Mbit). It may even get Wide Dynamic Range as a Picture Profile. So, as a C100 owner, I'm not feeling hard done by with all the action happening in the C300 camp.

Firstly, the C100 is probably - in Canon's eyes - a bit of an unexciting product. It wants to sell more C300 and C500, and it would push their mystique and mojo so that the Canon C brand gets a halo effect. The C100 can tag along for the ride, but there's not much that the Marketing department can get its teeth into.

Secondly, Canon from the Video viewpoint is a very conservative company. On one hand, they can be seen as late to the party, on the other they can carve a whole new segment. XL1, XM1 (sic), XL2, XLH1, 5D Mk2, XF300, now the C family. It's a bit 'Cambrian' and 'nothing for ages then all at once'. I was happy to buy into the C100 fairly early and let it pay for its self over a year.

We've already had the debate about what the C150 will be like and what it will do, there's plenty to fix in the existing C100, but there's plenty to earn money with - and this is a camera aimed at Event Videographers.

I don't expect the C100 to suddenly get dropped. It's a great little Pot Boiler for Canon's Pro Video team, and an excellent Gateway Drug to C300 ownership.