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canon c300


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Did a day with it this week, nothing unusual, menu structure very similar to XF305, return not great but you do get stereo out of the mini jack. I ran a back-up (as usual when working with a dinky cam). One weird thing - couldn't get audio on playback, unless camera was set to 'Media'. Oh and also, there is a mini-jack in for a top mic (back left on the camera body), I think that if something is plugged into that, the XLR inputs are disabled.

Good luck mounting your RX if you are wireless! Looks like another cam we'll have to buy some kind of mounting bracket for...

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I would like to share my current experience with the Canon C300. I'm working on a cooking show feeding sound to the C300 XLR line inputs from my SD 552. 3 months ago we recorded another almost identical show on the same set with almost entirely the same gear except the camera was a Canon 5D. I recorded all sound on my 552 and had no troubles. I expected the same condition with the added benefit of having sound direct to camera which avoided sync issues. However when I came to my first day on set I found that there was a huge amount of RF interference coming from somewhere across the entire spectrum of my block 28 UCR411a receivers (see picture). I then tried block 24 receivers and same issue which hugely surprised me that the interference was across the entire spectrum from block 24 to 28. I walked around the building scanning on my 411 working in smaller circles trying to locate the source of the interference and I found that it was coming from the camera. Turning off the camera removed almost all the ambient rf interference. We tried it with the camera running off batteries and off a DC power supply and both caused the interference. My workaround to avoid blips and dropouts was to hide the receivers on set right next to the talent and run mic cables to my mixer to ensure a clear signal. This is ok on set but what if we were on location where I couldn't get the receivers close to the talent?

So I have not got very good things to say about the C300. Anyone else had similar experiences or other issues?

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C300 I'm with today has drifty (fast) timecode. No RF spray , anyway.

Drifting ahead? Uh-oh... this could be a 30.00ndf vs. 29.97ndf problem. Or god forbid a drop vs. non-drop problem.

Manual here:

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/cinema_eos_cameras/eos_c300?selectedName=BrochuresAndManuals

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Since the camera is new, the DP/AC were playing with the camera settings constantly while we worked, this may explain why the TC fell off so often.

The manual claims timecode will be "disrupted" whenever the following happens-

-turning the camera off/on (!)

-changing the operating mode to MEDIA mode

-changing the video configuration

-changing the frame rate.

Manual says Camera senses NDF/DF automatically from external jam. DF is disabled in 24P mode and 23.98 tc mode.

I checked all DF/NDF possiblilites.

I started out with my Fusion jamming the camera. AC said it should be in 23.98. Cam was ahead when I checked it about 30 min later.

I jammed at 29.97DF. - drift noted about 30 min later.

I jammed at 29.97NDF. drift noted about 30 min later.

Then I jammed the Fusion from the camera. Fusion read C300's timecode as 23.98- drift noted about 30 min later

My slate always agreed with the Fusion thruout the day.

We also did some 60 fps stuff, and I anticipated loosing code in this case.

Other fun stuff-

Those big thick cables that come from the XLR/Monitor assembly to the camera? They make a great hook to snag anything that comes physically close to the camera.

Also, the connectors at the end of those cables have about 20 hair-thin pins in each.

I predict connector failure and pin-bending stories in the future.

Its easy to tourque the connectors and "scrub" the pins where they enter the camera.

Looks like I'll have to hang a TC generator off the camera from now on. Maybe I can gaff-tape it to those big, thick cables. There's no real estate for velcro on this camera!

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Also, the connectors at the end of those cables have about 20 hair-thin pins in each.

I predict connector failure and pin-bending stories in the future.

Its easy to tourque the connectors and "scrub" the pins where they enter the camera.

This week I watched a steadicam operator run into a tree at full speed, c300 first. No damage to the monitor connectors.

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We have done some more camera tests and further narrowed down the source of the RF spray from the camera. We unplugged every cable from the camera and turned it on. No RF spray. We then plugged in each cable individually; DC power, sound hose, monitor split. As soon as the BNC monitor cable touched the HD/SD SDI connector, my UCR411a started picking up the RF spray. I tried it with a different BNC cable and the interference was still there. So it appears the BNC port is the source of the problem. It would

be great if someone else who is using a C300 could test so I can work out if it is just our camera that is faulty or a problem with all C300's. Really easy test, just turn the camera on, plug in a BNC to the HD/SD SDI port then scan with your receiver. If there's RF spray like I'm getting you will notice straight away. Other people's experience would be most helpful. Many thanks in advance.

Ed

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