Downloading C300 Footage

Canon provides a piece of software called the Canon XF utility, which is used to playback and download clips off their original media. It also has the ability to view clip metadata, mark timecode, and even apply a LUT to Canon Log footage for viewing. The XF Utility is hard to find on the internet, so here is the latest version (also including Log & Transfer and AMA plugins). The C300 records to Compact Flash cards, so a simple CF card reader is all that is needed to attach C300 media to your computer. Launching the XF Utility gives you the window below:

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As you can see, my attached CF card showed up as the ‘Canon’ drive in the upper left corner. The drive underneath ’201202092901′ is some previously backed up footage. The name is based on the time of the backup. Looking at the image above, you can see that some clips have the letters ‘CP’ in a box next to them. This means that a custom picture profile was used when recording the video. Clicking on View -> Custom Picture in the menu reveals exactly what was set in the camera.

The word ‘LOG’ appears next to some of the clips, letting you know the footage was shot in Canon Log Gamma mode. At the bottom of the utility, there is a button labeled ‘LUT.’ This is meant to turn on a Look Up Table that makes the Canon Log footage look more normal. On my system this did not seem to have an effect, but the intent is to make it easier to preview the end result of color grading Canon Log footage.

The footage on the CF card can be backed up with the XF Utility by clicking on the ‘Backup’ button on the upper left corner. Before doing so, make sure you set the location to store your footage in the Preferences menu.

Backing up the footage will store the clips in a unique folder based on the date and time of the transfer. Here is the folder structure that results:

Now my footage is backed up and ready for ingesting into an NLE. Make sure you always back up your original Canon footage before ingesting into any editor. This original footage contains information that will be lost when converted into a QuickTime MOV for Final Cut Pro, but it works natively with AVID and Premiere.

Final Cut Pro 7

To bring your Canon C300 footage into Final Cut Pro 7, use the Log & Transfer function. This requires the latest Canon XF Plugin for Final Cut Pro, which is included in the above download or can be found here. Once this plugin is installed, you can launch Final Cut Pro to begin the import process. In Final Cut Pro, launch Log & Transfer:

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To locate the C300 footage saved by the XF Utility, click on the folder icon in the top left corner of the Log & Transfer window. Locate the folder you downloaded:

Make sure to select the top folder to open. If you select anything below the top folder, FCP will not recognize the footage. Now your footage should load, and you can start trimming and adding notes to each clip as needed. Anything done in this window won’t effect the original footage but will be stored in your FCP project file. Before bringing in any clips, we want to adjust the way clips are imported by Log & Transfer. Final Cut 7 works best with clips in the MOV format, but Canon clips are stored in the MXF format. Because of this, Log & Transfer will either convert the footage to ProRes or just re-wrap clips into MOV format. Re-wrapping means that the video is not recompressed, but rather just put into the MOV holder that Final Cut likes best. To change this setting, click on the small flower-shaped icon in the top middle of the Log & Transfer window, which will open the Import Preferences panel.

Scroll down to the Canon XF Plugin section to can choose how the footage will be imported. It defaults to ProRes, which will make the imported files larger and also increase the import time considerably. You can instead choose to bring in the files in ‘Native’ mode, which will allow you to edit in the camera’s original format. FCP is designed to work best in ProRes, but the native format edits just fine. Because ProRes is generated from the original C300 footage, there is no quality improvement in the video when converting to ProRes. Depending on your workflow, choose what fits best. Click OK when you are done, and continue to import your footage by clicking ‘Add Selection to Queue.’ Now your footage is in FCP 7, and you can start editing.

Avid Media Composer 6

To bring your Canon C300 footage into Media Composer 6, we are going to use the AMA function. This requires the latest Canon XF Plugin for Avid Media Composer, which is included in the installer above or can be downloaded here (click on Drivers & Software, and then chose your OS). Make sure to get the 64-bit version if you are running OS X Lion, as this is not included in my installer above. Once these plugins are installed, you can launch Media Composer to begin the importing process. When you are in Media Composer, click on ‘AMA’ under settings.

Open ‘AMA’, and click on Volume Mounting. Enable AMA Volume Management.

Click ‘OK.’ Now you can link to the footage. To do so go to File -> Link to AMA Volume. This will open a finder window for you to locate the footage.

As you can see from the image above, I have a Canon folder with two different stored cards in it. If you choose to click on one of the stored folders, say ’2012020220510,’ AMA will make a bin with the same name and populate it with the C300 footage inside that folder. If I choose to bring in the Canon folder itself, AMA will ask how I want to bring in all the different footage inside.

You can bring the footage from each stored card into individual bins or together. I chose to bring the footage in based on the SubFolder name, so I will get a bin for each card stored. Now my populated bins look like this:

You can see that the bins have the same name as the folders I imported. Each clip has a tiny link icon next to it, which indicates that it is an AMA clip. In MC 5.5, AMA clips appeared yellow. In MC 6, the link icon appears instead. We can now start editing the material, or we can choose to transcode it to Avid format through Clip -> Consolidate / Transcode.

Adobe Premiere 5.5

To bring your Canon C300 footage into Premiere 5.5, you don’t need any special software. Premiere supports a huge range of formats without any plugins. To start, launch Premiere and make a new project.

Select ‘New Project,’ and then choose your settings to get going.

Select from the Canon XF MPEG2 drop down menu, and choose the format in which you shot. I shot in 1080 24p. Click ‘OK,’ and Premiere will open up. To import clips, simply click File -> Import. This will open a finder window:

Pick the folder you want, and click ‘Import.’ Premiere will look through the folder for anything it can bring in, but because it only reads the actual Canon MXF files you will get some errors. It is letting you know that it can’t read some of the other metadata files in the folders, but it won’t prevent any clips from coming in. You could also go into the folder structure and find the individual MXF files, but this would take longer to do. Now your clips are in Premiere and ready to edit.

Apple Final Cut X

Final Cut Pro X is getting better every day, and version 10.0.3 brings a lot of updates, including multi-cam editing and support for external IO devices like AJA’s Io XT. It can be a bit tricky, though, to bring your Canon C300 footage into Final Cut X. FCP X does not natively support the Canon MXF files, and Canon has not yet written a plugin. So to bring in footage, we have to first convert the Canon files into QuickTime (MOV) format. We first tried converting the footage with Sony’s XDCAM Transfer application, which converts Sony MXF into QuickTime, but we found that this caused audio skips and other issues. Searching the internet I found a program called XfcpX, which was written to convert Canon MXF into working MOVs. Download XfcpX, donate to the nice guys over at Pika, and open up the app.

With the app open, click on the ‘Locate’ button and find the folder that contains your different Canon footage. XfcpX expects that you used the XF Utility to download your clips. If you manually copied the data off the cards then it may not work. I chose my Canon folder, which contains two folders of footage.

Choose your destination folder and click on the ’1..2..3.. Go’ button. XfcpX will start working and should convert each clip fairly quickly. Canon splits long video clips into 2GB pieces, which you won’t notice in the other NLEs, but XfcpX just converts the individual chunks into QuickTime files. Nothing is lost along the way, but you’ll have to recombine all these pieces on your timeline to edit. (Hopefully, a Final Cut Pro X plugin for Canon clips will come along soon.) Now open up FCP X and import the files you just converted.

Then find the footage that you just converted. Mine is in a folder called ‘Process’.

Choose the converted files and bring them right into FCP X. Now you are ready to edit.

For an even more in-depth look at the C300 and its workflow, check out our C300 Workshops coming soon up in NY and LA.

When you think of a 35mm sensor camera, what characteristics come to mind? Probably the first is shallow depth of field. It is part of what many consider the “look” of that imager size and a principle defining difference between it and other formats. But while some consider this the chief attribute of the format, others may find it to be a detriment in certain situations. For those shooting documentary, run-and-gun productions, a deeper depth of field may be preferable to maintain focus. Fortunately, there is another major facet to the latest crop of 35mm sensor cameras – a very low noise floor. This means that in a camera such as the Canon C300, a wide range of ISO settings can be applied with little objectionable artifacting to the image. Using the concept of the “variable depth of field camera,” you can adjust the available parameters of the camera to yield the depth of field desired for any given image. Watch the video to see this concept demonstrated.

Canon’s much anticipated EOS C300 and C300 PL mark the beginning of a new series of cinema cameras from the company. While the small form factor, large sensor revolution can be credited to Canon HDSLRs, up until recently Canon has been mostly silent while we’ve seen cameras from Panasonic and Sony that really capture the momentum of the industry. While Canon told us that they would be designing a new cinema camera, we were pleasantly surprised at the results when they previewed the camera for us. Because of the rather unique form factor, we put together a lens and accessories guide you can check out here.

Soon after the announcement of the EOS Cinema C300, Canon brought the camera by and let us check it out. I put together this video with my first impressions of the camera. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by both the quality and functionality of the C300. The quality of the image, skin tone rendition and overall resolution make a good impression. Also the form factor, which seemed strange at first, allows the camera to fit nicely in your hand and is fun to operate. Check out my video above to learn more.

So…is film dead now?

Pundits have been predicting the end to film as a production medium for decades, but now it seems that the writing is on the wall. Digital Cinema camera technology has advanced to the point that nearly all production for television has moved to electronic acquisition. Currently the majority of high-end features are still produced on 35mm film, but it appears only a matter of time before this completely transitions as well. Most lower- to medium-budget productions are already being shot digitally, and numerous notable high-end productions are as well. In particular, shooting digitally for 3D productions is significantly more advantageous compared to film. This has also spurred the rollout of digital projection, as this is again far easier to accomplish for 3D presentation. The final nail may be the financial advantage to studios distributing movies digitally rather than with film prints. Fox has already notified theater chains that it plans to eliminate film prints sometime next year. Without the steady income stream of film prints, plus TV and commercial production, the economic model supporting film stock producers and processing labs will eventually no longer function. We may look back on 2011 as the last year film had a significant, dominant position in the industry, before becoming relegated to “niche” productions.

What are people shooting with?

It’s no secret that it is a 35mm-sized sensor world right now. Many have desired the large sensor look for years, starting perhaps with the Pro35 optical adapter, which debuted only a relatively short time after the venerable Sony F900 made HD a serious option. Many cameras and many adapters followed, with the ARRI D21, Panavision Genesis, Sony F35 and Phantom HD taking the highest-end market, thanks to their more direct approach of native Super-35 sized sensors.

The RED One, followed by the Canon HDSLRs, made affordable large sensor production a reality, and much of the production community quickly switched over. This transition happened even though many of these productions were in fact poorly served in making this change to a larger sensor. Sometimes a smaller sensor camera is preferable for certain work, and often a certain form factor and workflow is more appropriate for particular shooting styles. But the sudden shift certainly alerted manufacturers as to how strong the desire in the community was to shoot on larger sensor cameras.

So 2011 was the year that refined Super-35 sensor cameras took over the industry. Released in 2010, but largely available in 2011, the ARRI ALEXA took over much of the episodic television production market in the US, as well as abroad. The ALEXA cameras also made significant inroads into the medium- and even high-budget feature world, with notable productions such as Drive, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Hugo, which was also a dual-camera 3D production. RED’s EPIC and then Scarlet cameras began to ship in sizable quantities in 2011, some directly to studio feature productions. The ALEXA Studio model features both an optical viewfinder with spinning mirror shutter and a large 4×3 shaped sensor to properly accommodate anamorphic lenses.

On the more affordable end of the production market, Panasonic’s AF100 arrived just at the start of 2011, followed by the Sony PMW-F3 in February and then the Sony FS-100 in May. These Compact Cine cameras answered many of the needs filled by the HDSLR market, but did so as proper video production cameras, with controls and form factors better suited to professional production. In a telling sign of the changing expectations of the marketplace, Sony offered the F3 with 4:4:4 Uncompressed HD output in S-LOG, a refined level of video signal previously only available on cameras four times as expensive. These cameras quickly became wildly popular with our clients, as many happily relegated their recent HDSLR purchases to B-roll and home movie status. Productions no longer asked about “film v. F900” but instead “ALEXA v. F3.”

Announced in 2011 and shipping this month, two more cameras will spur all levels of production. Canon’s C300 brings the company into the professional video production community with their first Compact Cine camera. Mixing the community’s desire for a more professional camera system with the conveniences and form factor that Canon has learned from decades of manufacturing still cameras, the C300 is a unique camera platform that promises to have a significant impact on the industry.

Meanwhile, Sony has raised the bar at the highest level of production with the F65 Digital Cinema camera, which features an unprecedented 20 million photosite sensor that the camera can use to capture a “true 4K RAW image.”

Another interesting aspect of these S-35 sensor cameras is that they break previous sensitivity and dynamic range barriers. Just a few years ago 320 ISO and eight stops of exposure range was the norm. Now it is “the new black” to have 800 ISO native sensitivity with a noise floor low enough to push a few more stops and an exposure range from 11 to an amazing 14 stops. I don’t know when I’ll need to dial up a camera to 20,000 ISO and still expect to see even further into the shadows while retaining bright details, but it’s nice to know it can be done.

What about the glass?

Lens choice used to be dictated by format, and generally there were only a few options. This has changed dramatically as new players have entered the field and cameras opened up to different options. In PL, it used to be Zeiss or Cooke primes and Angenieux zooms. Now Illumina, Leica, RED, Schneider, Sony and UniqOptics have introduced primes, while both Cooke and Zeiss have new, additional sets of primes. Angenieux practically owned the market on 35PL zooms for years, with only a few lenses from Cooke available. Angenieux introduced another zoom (45-120) this year, and there are now, or will soon be, 15 different PL zooms from ARRI/Fuji (Alura series), Canon, Duclos Lenses, Focus Optics, Fuji (Premier series) and RED.

That is just in PL mount, but one great outgrowth of the two-year HDSLR wave was that clients became comfortable with the options of relatively inexpensive stills lenses from manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Leica, Tamron, Tokina and Zeiss. Compact Cine cameras from Panasonic and Sony have very shallow mounts, allowing room for various adapters so that an assortment of optics old and new could be mounted. At AbelCine we developed our HDx Optical Adapters so that 2/3” B4 mount lenses could be used on these cameras, which allowed our clients used to the extreme zoom ranges available in 2/3 to shoot with these new cameras.

This new generation of interchangeable mount/interchangeable lens cameras has created a new interest in optics and the various capabilities and choices available. There’s so much more to it than a focal length and an f-stop, and with a sudden array of choices presented to them, cinematographers have to become versed in the options. While some might be considered “lens aficionados,” others would accuse them of being “lens snobs” – either way, having more available choices can only be a good thing.

On recording

The lenses and lens mounts became separated from the camera sensors, and so too did the recording format become separated from the camera. Where we were once relatively trapped in uni-body camera designs with all aspects of the camera kit in an “all or nothing” design, 2011 saw the parts pulled apart. Nowhere did this become more evident than with the explosion of camera-mounted small video recorders. While the XDCAM-recording nanoFlash was already available for a year, 2011 saw the first delivery of ProRes (and sometimes DNxHD) recorders like the AJA KiPro Mini, followed by the Atomos Ninja and Samurai, and the Sound Devices PIX220 & 240.

The quality of these codecs is extremely high, higher than anything that had been available on all but the most expensive cameras. In 2011 they became available for just about any proper camera for only a few thousand dollars – this was a major step. Recording in a high quality codec which also not-just-so-happened to be the native format for the most popular editing software meant a major advance in image quality and speed of turnaround, while remaining in a straightforward video production workflow. One of the keys to the success of the ALEXA camera is its ability to record internally directly to ProRes (DNxHD coming soon). If you wanted an even higher quality recording, then there were the new options of Convergent Design’s Gemini 4:4:4 uncompressed full sampling recorder and the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Shuttle, which can record an uncompressed 4:2:2 signal.

The ability of the ALEXA cameras to record to ProRes makes for an interesting study in the difference between perception and practice within the industry. The ALEXA and ALEXA Plus have a native resolution of 2880×1620 and can output an Uncompressed RAW image file, but almost everyone shoots with the signal converted to video and super-sampled to 1920×1080. Then that resolution is compressed into ProRes, either in 4:4:4 12-bit or 4:2:2 10-bit. Why knock it down so much? Because it’s easier. The most common functional resolution of production today is 1920×1080; it is what we generally finish to and present in. By converting to ProRes, one can load the material directly into a laptop and edit in real-time with no transcoding or additional processing needed. With all production time is money, and the more streamlined the post-production path the easier, and therefore less expensive, the proposition. The proof is that ALEXA has taken over the vast majority of television series production, almost all in ProRes 4:4:4.

The Monolith known as “Post Infrastructure.”

Post facilities have long been complexes of machine rooms with multi-million dollar suites featuring fancy hand-installed and lovingly-maintained Rolls-Royce-level finishing systems. Through glass doors one could see positive-pressure machine rooms stuffed with racks of shiny signal processors, converters, routers, decks, deck controllers, signal generators, scopes, regulators, etc. Many of these “heavy metal” facilities were based on the workflow of a tape-based system, namely Sony HDCAM SR. This format is the recording medium for the Panavision Genesis, Sony F35 and Sony SRW-9000, and is also the format of choice for a master deliverable for much high-level video production. The double-whammy of the ease of the ALEXA workflow and the tragic tsunami that destroyed Sony’s ability to manufacture HDCAM SR tape for months shifted a great deal of television production away from the HDCAM SR format in 2011.

Now Sony has SRMemory, solid state memory cards that can hold up to a terabyte of information and can read/write at incredible data rates. This allows for the real-time use of high frame rates, high resolution, high bit depth and bit rates, Uncompressed or lightly-compressed files, dual streams of 3D, and much more. It is a forward-thinking format with huge capacity to easily transport enormous amounts of data. The new F65 will be able to record in either HDCAM SR codecs or 8K Uncompressed RAW files directly to SRMemory cards, and the format may well become the new currency for post facilities the way HDCAM SR tapes and DPX files are now. Other systems may be the story for 2011, but SRMemory may just be the takeaway for 2012 and beyond.

Another trend in Post is how so much of it is being taken out of the hands of the post facilities and moved onto or near to set. But the players keep changing. 2011 was the year of ProRes capture, but it was also the year that saw Apple introduce Final Cut Pro X, an update of the software that made it more like an expanded iMovie program than a next-generation professional editing system. Where does that leave many ProRes and FCP users? Moving to other systems, and just in time Avid introduced Media Composer 6 (Did you miss it? It was the same day that Canon unveiled the C300 and RED announced the new Scarlet camera). MC6’s huge leaps forward, including the new DNxHD 4:4:4, made many re-embrace a company that had been steadily losing traction in the industry due to an aging infrastructure, based on what some perceived to be a closed and antiquated system.

IRIDAS was purchased and absorbed into Adobe. Blackmagic Design purchased DaVinci, maker of one of the most advanced set of color finishing systems available. And then BMD stunned everyone by taking DaVinci’s premiere product, the Resolve color correction system, and offering low level tiered systems for only $1000, later followed by an entry level version for free. That’s a zero-cost access to a powerful finishing tool that used to only reside in $1000/hour post suites. Heavy metal indeed.

Technology is a moving target. Today’s expensive top-of-the-line tool is tomorrow’s middle-cost meat’n'potatoes tool and the next day’s consumer-level tool. It used to be that you could learn a new camera or film stock and then be covered for several years as the glacial pace of the production industry puttered along. Now an iPhone 4S can shoot and post an entire movie in 1920×1080. Change is faster than ever before, and if we do not keep moving forward we are falling behind.

The body of the camera is something in-between a video camera and an SLR. It is light, compact and designed to be handheld, with a detachable hand grip that can control the camera. The unique design is very easy to hand hold, and I was impressed by how light the cameras was. The camera’s 4″ LCD screen and audio interfaces are also detachable. The LCD screen attachment can be positioned in many different locations and rotated for better viewing. It also features full menu control, audio control and two XLR inputs. The LCD unit connects to the camera with two cables, giving it a lot of placement flexibility. The rear of the camera also has a small LCD panel, which features camera status info such as frame rate, shutter and ISO. Dials on the back of the camera and hand grip can quickly switch through these settings.

The camera has two CF cards slots and records in the same format as the XF305 and 105 cameras. This is a 50 Mbps 422 8-bit MPEG2 compression. Video can be recorded to either card, or both at the same time for redundant recording. Video resolutions and frame rates include 1920×1080 at 23.98p, 29.97p and 59.94i fps. Additionally, a true 24p mode is available for those doing film outputs. In 1280×720 mode, frame rates from 1-60p are also available for slow motion. All of these signals can be sent out over HD-SDI or HDMI, which gives you an uncompressed 8-bit signal. The camera also has genlock, timcode, and LANC connections for multi-cam operation and remote control. A WiFi port is also available, and with an additional accessory you can control the camera with a tablet.

Internally, the camera has a host of impressive functions including full painting controls for scene files. Many different gamma modes are available including one that matches Canon’s HDSLR cameras, as well as a Canon Log mode for the most dynamic range (learn more about Canon Log here). Setting can be saved to an SD card, and moved between cameras. A waveform and vector scope are also built in for adjusting exposure and color.

Canon also has announced several new lenses that are geared for cinema use. These lenses have the same wide aperture as found in Canon’s L series still lenses, and will also come in their EF lens mount. They feature the smooth gearing that cinematographer demand for pulling focus and iris. Here are the three lenses announced, note the low T stop:

• Canon Prime Lens 24mm T1.5
• Canon Prime Lens 50mm T1.3
• Canon Prime Lens 85mm T1.3

Canon’s zoom lenses announced at NAB will also be made available in EF mount. The zooms go from 14.5-60mm T2.6 and 30-300mm T2.95-T3.7 and should be available in the first quarter of next year.

The C300 is the first camera in Canon’s new Cinema EOS line, and I am excited to see what follows. The C300 EF and PL should be available in January with a list price around $20,000. More details will be posted on this blog in the future, and also check out Canon’s new Cinema EOS site.

For a while now, it’s felt as though the market for new 35mm PL lenses was relatively slow, as we’ve been using the same lenses for years. With the numerous 35mm PL mount cameras now available for the cinematographer to choose from, we’re happy to see that the lens manufactures have responded with new, exciting lens options. We are fortunate enough to have the new Canon FK14.5-60mm T2.6 wide angle cine-zoom lenses on display at our booth this year, and the response has been great thus far. Canon has also announced a companion lens, the FK30-300mm T2.9-3.7.

Watch my video above as I walk you through some of the features of these two new lenses.

The Canon XF105 has many of the same features found in its bigger brother the XF305, but in a smaller and lighter form factor. It records in a high quality MPEG2 50 Mbps 4:2:2 video format, in all the standard HD resolutions, and it has a 1/3″ 1920×1080 CMOS sensor. One unique feature of this camera is its ability to be locked to another camera for 3D use. When two cameras are combined with a 3D rig, such as the Hurricane 3D rig (coming soon to Abel), it makes for a very small and lightweight 3D option.

Additionally, the XF105 has the ability to shoot in Infrared. This is a feature often requested for different applications, and with the 50 Mbps recording, this camera is perfect for television shooting that requires night vision. Watch my video above to learn more.

Canon’s new XF305 compact camcorder features a unibody design, incorporating an 18X zoom lens. The focus function button on the lens barrel can activate full manual focus or auto focus. There is also a digital zoom function that can be triggered by the two magnification buttons built into the camera body. Additionally, the auto focus function on this camera is one of the best I have seen – it is center-weighted, meaning that the camera looks to the center of the frame to determine focus.

The XF305 also boasts some pretty impressive stats: its highest recording resolution is 1920×1080 at 50Mbps, and footage is captured in MPEG-2 codec in LongGOP format with 4:2:2 color sampling. HD-SDI, SD-SDI and composite outputs are available as well. Watch my video to learn more about this versatile new camera.

Today Canon announced two new camcorders, the XF105 and XF100. These two small cameras are part of the new Canon lineup of memory recording cameras, which also includes the XF305 and XF300. The new cameras share many of the same features as their bigger brothers, including the same 1/3″ CMOS chipset, and recording to the Canon XF Codec (MPEG-2 4:2:2 50Mbps) on Compact Flash cards.

Surprisingly, the XF105 comes complete with HD-SDI output, Genlock, and timecode inputs/outputs, which makes it one of the most capable small cameras out there. The compact form factor, 3.5″ LCD, and 10x lens are the big factors that differentiate these cameras from their larger brothers. However, those are the only real differences – exciting news for anyone in need of a small camera. Additionally, Canon has integrated their infrared low-light feature, enabling the capture of HD video in complete darkness. Finally, they have also added a feature that allows two of these cameras to be linked up for 3D capture. Details of this feature have not yet been released, but it probably will be some form of synchronized lens control and recording. Both the Canon XF105 and XF100 are scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2011, but pricing has not been announced yet.

Read Canon’s official press release here.