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Canon C300 TC issues.


pvanstry

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Guys, i have a good question here. DId a shoot ( 3 days and then 2 days ) on a Canon C300. The order was sound on the camera ( dialogue ) and Isos for Dialogue and some Sound effects and Ambiance on the recorder. Used a Lectrosonics SRA5P and a Denecke SB-3 on the camera. Now Post requested 29.97 Drop frame. I set the denecke to switch 9 ( 29.97 df ) and my 788T to the same, and also set the camera to 29.97 and DF. Hooked up the SB3 and the Canon confirm receiving TC by displaying an E next to the running code. Everything looked synched. Jamsync and check at lunch and end of day everyday, all was good.

Got a call from Post. It looks like when i roll sound for a long period and the camera creates multiples clips for the same sound clip, the first two camera clips are in sync with my sound clip but then after, the camera clips are 1-2 sec ahead of my sound clip. Then after, when i create a new sound clip, everything is back in sync.

I heard mention of possible Compact flash card issues with the Canon?

What gives here?

Thanks

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No. I never had timecode issues with the C300. The C300s I dealt with stayed in sync without a lockit box. But then again, post required DF on your shoot. Maybe the camera proves unstable in DF situations.

Can the C300 remain stable on its own without the help of a lockit box? If so, next time jam the camera everytime its power is switched on and off.

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Hi Pascal,

I've never worked with the C300. Was your problem strictly regarding timecode syncing an external audio recorder to the camera?

You mention that some dialogue was going to camera.

Aside from timecode specific issues that you describe, I'm wondering if the C300 is exhibiting the same in-camera 2-3 frames audio to picture sync mis-match as the Canon 7D and other Canon models? I'm wondering if your audio appears to be out of sync when in fact the in-camera audio isn't even in sync with the camera's picture?

See my earlier post :

I saw someone mentioning on another forum that he believes it's a computer/QuickTime glitch rather than in the camera. Yet to be determined.

Please do post if Canon offers any tips.

Sorry if I've misunderstood your issue :-)

Thanks and cheers,

Dave

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Actually it turned out that all was fine with the camera. It was the software used to resync the audio to the video. It's called Sync N Link. When the editor actually manually resync using FInal cut Timecode function. Inside Final cut, everything synched but it has to be done one file at a time and it is time consuming. Post will contact Sync N Link and figure it out.

So all TC is fine with the C300. The internal generator, after all the testing i have been doing in the last couple of days, is actually pretty darn stable.

Thank you

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  • 1 year later...

Sorry, Vin. It seems these cameras are worse than RED when it comes to holding time code. There are little TC boxes these days. Perhaps one of these will be a good solution. Or the Zaxcom IFB with TC. Run audio and TC with one little box.

Other than that, it's getting TC slates and syncing that way.

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I am aware of loss of sync with shutdowns, or change in speed etc. However, if this camera WON'T keep TC for a few hours after an external jam, quite obviously it needs an external tc box tethered to it. 

 

So if by what Jose Frias writes, the C300 won't keep ext tc jams, then it's ok - a box is what it will get. 

 

To me, it's no matter about what -I- want, since i have no issues tethering a tc box to the camera, but i am pre-empting the cameraman's needs... heh... 

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SMPTE Timecode and PAL/SECAM Timecode has been with us for over 1/2 century.  By now, most of the 2 year veterans of JW Sound  have a good understanding of time code....... I googled this site and got about 5000 posts relating to TC, Time Code, Timecode, Timecode Problems.  Jeff is going broke with TC bandwidth.  

 

 Who the F..... put the camera synchronization problem on the sound department?  If sound was included in camera prep then I could see some responsibility... at least to alert post that the current camera order does not satisfy a solid TC lock.  The plethora of mystery cameras and all their AhHas rooted in crummy TimeBases has resulted in severe intestinal and mental troubles that will not be resolved easily.  

 

We, as responsible technicians, just love to solve problems.  Some of us have neurotic egos that believe we can solve any problem.  We even buy equipment that has no return on investment to solve those problems.  Some problems are not repairable. 

 

1.May I suggest that sound mixers prioritize their job and record good double system sound.   

 

2.Disclaim any responsibility for camera synchronization with the exception of a solid timecode display on slate & two pieces of wood hitting each other.  Beating the mystery camera timebase is sheer madness.

 

3.Redirect any post timecode issues to the camera rental house.  They, ideally, should know the time base issues of their cameras. I'm laughing at myself for even thinking that could happen.

 

4.Redirect any producer issues about automated sync back to the camera rental house

 

5.Please ease up on yourselves. There is joy in this career.

 

Disclaimer:  I am a part time sound mixer and a full time IA600 DIT.  Camera sync is one of the things I am really, really good at.  But not to be taken lightly.  I have my bruises and scars.

 

cheers

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SMPTE time code may have been with us for more than a half century, but I find that few people truly understand it -- including many JWS veterans.

During the last decade of that half century, digital cameras have violently stirred those murky waters.

Understanding what a camera is doing internally, and how that affects time code settings, is an exercise frought with twists, turns, and volumes of misleading posts by a instant internet "experts."

In practice, it requires an understanding of time base, time code, and frame rate, and how these three elements affect each other, as well as the knowledge that some cameras may add additional ingredients to this digital stew with separate settings for things like sensor rate.

While the time code universe may have existed for a good while now, it is increasingly a universe in which what you don't know may hurt you.

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  • 6 years later...

Hello all,

I shot with the Canon C300 II for the first time, for some reason timecode was embedded into my recorded footage on the bottom right after backing them from the card.

I haven't gotten the chance to import them to Premier and check if there's option to make it disappear but I'm wondering if my timecode settings were misplaced, I had it on Free run since I wasn't focused on recording sound just landscapes.

Please help.

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