13Feb Wasabi Canon BP-970G 8500 mAh c100/c300 battery
As I continue to uses the Canon c100 (which still has yet to impress me), I wanted to get a few more batteries for longer shoots. The Canon BP-955
The $150 Canon BP-955 batteries are rated for 5200mAh compared to the 8500mAh batteries from Wasabi and the difference in capacity is noticeable. I get around 5 hours of shooting time out of the Wasabi batteries, 2 more hours of run time than the $150 Canon offering. There’s also no decoding issue, these batteries work just fine in the Canon c100 with full battery indication as well as the Canon charger. I’ve been using these Wasabi batteries with the c100 for the last few months, charge and run time seem pretty stable. If these are anything like the rest of my Wasabi batteries they’ll probably out last the c100’s usefulness.
Still enjoying the Watson Duo battery charger and so far, no problems. It seems to charge these large capacity c100 batteries about an hour faster than the Canon charger that came with the camera. As long as you have enough charging capacity, two of these Wasabi batteries and the battery that came with the camera should be enough to get you through a full day of shooting without any trouble.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:07 pm
What about the C100 hasn’t impressed you?
February 13th, 2014 at 11:27 pm
Image quality, features, low light noise, af system, lanc implementation, and the list goes on. Basically the c100 seems to be a horribly over priced XF305 with a dslr sensor and a lot of compromises. Love the audio features, the rest of it is middle of the line at best. Most of the reviews I’ve seen were people tell you how great the c100 is, seem to only shoot in bright daylight in the best of conditions, other than audio I wouldn’t call it an upgrade from any dslr, maybe an overpriced lateral move. If the c100 were priced at $2k it would be a pretty decent buy, at it’s current $5500, I would say it’s a big waste of money for the vast majority, though there are people who could benefit from it.
February 14th, 2014 at 6:13 am
And your camera of choice would be?
I’m trying to settle on a camera.
Thanks for the battery tip. It may become useful.
February 14th, 2014 at 10:25 am
What specifically about the image quality don’t you like?
Because of all the things I’ve heard people question on the C100, image quality has never been one of them.
February 14th, 2014 at 11:36 am
The main issue I have with image quality is that it’s a very very minor improvement over the 5dMKIII. You pay almost $6000 for the camera and get maybe a 10% to 15% improvement in resolution. It’s basically the difference between recording 5dMKIII with a ninja and without. The image quality for that extra $3000 is so subtle that you have to enlarge to 200x in order to see it, I don’t think that’s enough value to make it worth an upgrade. Long format recording is really the only reason I haven’t broken up with the c100.
February 14th, 2014 at 7:59 am
Wow, I am shocked you don’t like it. The only things I hate about mine is the viewfinder and the lack of slo mo. The ND filters are amazing. The new firmware with Dual pixel auto focus is amazing and the color and sharpness are far superior to the 5d / or any other DSLR. I wonder if you got a bad version or something because it is a low light killer. Also, try putting some noise reduction to about 3 in the picture profile. That should help. I also set my sharpness to -10.
February 14th, 2014 at 9:00 am
I might have to rent one and do a side by side with mine. Your reaction is the same thing I get from about 2/3rd of the c100 owners I talk to. The rest seem to agree and call it a lateral at best.
February 14th, 2014 at 8:46 am
For short films it seems lateral, but for documentary type stuff it seems awesome. Dual SD for footage security, good form factor(no rig needed), real audio for lav interviews without a zoom or syncing, great low light and a bit better color than your DSLR. Overall it seems pretty awesome in everything but high frame rates and price. Cameras like the BMPCC is tempting for better color on a low budget, but they seem like a step backwards in terms of usability.
February 14th, 2014 at 9:11 am
Long format is the only reason I haven’t gotten rid of the c100. Occasionally I have to shoot depositions or 2+ hour interviews and for that I agree the dual sd card slot, audio, and extended recording times (6 hours on a 64GB card) are a major benefit and really the only benefits i’ve seen so far to the c100. Otherwise, i’d say save your money and spend it on lenses.
February 15th, 2014 at 2:04 am
The resolution and color looks noticeably much better to me than any dslr I’ve worked with. Maybe low light won’t match a full frame 5D mk III but it’s much better than XF300 or most other small chip camera. Really, with it’s 1.5x crop, it’s more like 7D in low light sensitivity. Daylight resolution is considerably better. That’s something that you don’t mention. Internal NDs (though one extra stop on the top would help even more), no recording limit, built in zebras and peaking, better sound and easier controls on the fly make it worth buying. The viewfinder isn’t actually bad if you add an additional eye cushion. Easy mod.
February 15th, 2014 at 9:07 am
I would agree the xf300 was pretty bad in low light. As for the crop factor, it’s a mixed bag, great on the telephoto, a little lacking on the wide side. As for the internal ND filter, it’s handy, but I already carry ND filters with me that have a few more stops than the internal ND filter so that’s maybe a $100 value max? Recording limits aren’t an issue with the 5d mark III, (though the dual slot recording is very nice to have) and zebra and peaking are on my field monitors (also ML if needed). Audio is better on the c100, (you don’t need the adapter box) controls without the handle attached can be a pain, finally getting used to the overall layout. I’m neutral on the viewfinder, it doesn’t bother me as much as it does others I’ve talked to, good enough for framing.
Unless you really need the long format dual card features, I don’t see the c100 as much of a value add for most people. When the panasonic GH4k is released I suspect people will basically be giving away c100s, at which point ($2000 – $3000), it’ll be a decent value.
February 15th, 2014 at 11:12 am
“When the panasonic GH4k is released I suspect people will basically be giving away c100s”
lol I doubt it, The reason most C100 users won’t switch to the GH4 is the same reason they didn’t switch to the BMCC or the 4k BMCC, use ability. The C100 is one of the easiest cameras to use. Hell people have sold their Scarlets to come to the C100, People have ditched their epics for C500’s and there is a reason the C300 is one of the hottest rental camera’s, and that’s usability. There was a post on DVXUser asking if they should sell their C100 to get a R1 and most if not everyone said no. That the slight increase in image quality was not worth losing the C100s ease of use.
Don’t forget the C100 has a 4k sensor too, it just scales that to 1080p in-camera. So when you scale the GH4s 4k to 1080p in post because you have no way to distribute 4k, I’m betting the images will look pretty similar.
And if you’re really complaining about the low light performance of the C100, you’ll really be crying when you see the GH4’s low light performance due to its smaller M4/3’s sensor. And when your recording at 1.5GB’s per minute, kiss your long format recording goodbye.
/rantoff
February 15th, 2014 at 5:41 pm
I agree with Tim. Maybe you can fudge a dslr to rival or surpass a C100 in image quality under certain conditions, but you still have to contend with external faders, external monitors and recorders, and other rig/cage components that make it unwieldy. That works fine in conditions where you have time to set up. That sounds like the kind of work that you do. In documentary and event shooting where you might have to follow somebody inside and outside, NDs on a switch are a godsend. Also, not having to rig out the camera or having a minimal rig like the Zacuto C-Shooter that can relocate the grip and controls to a handle really helps. With a C100, you can go bare bones and still get nice footage. Take off the top handle and most people will think you’re shooting a still camera.
February 15th, 2014 at 6:41 pm
True. Many of the shoots I work on I have at least 30 min before I start filming to get things setup and ready to go. I have a QR plate on the 5d mark III and a rig ready to go (pre setup for the job) before I show up, slide things together, grab a couple of test shots to make sure all is well, and i’m ready to start filming. I still use a field monitor with the c100 and I still have dual system sound on set so I miss out on the rigging benefit. I don’t film any events and I’ve worked on 2 documentaries so you’re right, many of the useful features of the c100 are lost on me.
February 15th, 2014 at 6:02 pm
Those are all good points Tim and I agree the c100 is much easier to use than a red one (takes awhile to get used to the menu system on the R1). I also agree that 4k isn’t ready for prime time yet and probably won’t be for another 5 to 6 more years. Where the c100 falls down for me is the price to value ratio. At the current price of $5500 to $5700 I was expecting a major difference over my 5dmkIIIs, instead it feels like a few incremental improvements at almost twice the price.
I was lucky enough to get my c100 for $4k from someone who was unhappy with it. After reading all the reviews and using the c300 on a few jobs, I was expecting to be blown away by the c100, instead I find it to be “ok”. But for the price, it doesn’t seem like much of an improvement. I’ll likely keep it for long format recording (it’s perfect for depositions) but I haven’t been blown away like I was expecting. Court work has pretty much paid for the c100 and it sees some work in interviews, however I still prefer my 5dmkIII for narrative work.
As for the GH4k, Low light is expected to be in the range of a 5dmkII which isn’t amazing but not bad for a M4/3 camera. Long format shouldn’t to be bad with a Ninja catching the clean 4:2:2 hdmi output.
Also Tim I enjoy these conversations, thanks for your input. Discussions like this keep me thinking about my camera gear and your opinions are always welcome here. Thanks for your info and suggestions on the c100, maybe after another few months of use, I’ll fall in love. Right now at least it’s earning money.
May 13th, 2014 at 8:53 am
Hey i just noticed you have a nice cheeseplate on top of the c100.Havent seen you mentioning about this.Any info on the cheeseplate?
May 14th, 2014 at 6:09 pm
That’s a Wooden Camera Top Plate
. It’s a very nice little adapter but a bit over priced at around $160 + another $40 for the handle adapter mount.