GEAR BUYING USED
Canon’s EOS C200 was the first modestly priced cinema camera to record Raw internally, for ultimate editing control. It may be a five-year-old camera now, but Canon’s Raw Light format is a proven winner and the price of required CFast cards has dropped significantly. Plenty of C200s are out there – and typically they go for half the current new price, which is £5020/$4999. And they are still in the current Canon range so servicing is no problem. Its Achilles’ heel is the lack of 10-bit 4:2:2 codec. So you are stuck with either large Raw files or 8-bit 4:2:2, which are decent but not much more. The Super 35 sensor found in the higher-end C700 and C300 Mark II models is here, but in a smaller and lighter body. So it has a similar ISO and dynamic range, plus dual XLR inputs, built-in ND filters and the tall Canon body style that’s now no longer in vogue. CINEMA CAMERA: CANON C200
RAW POWER Canon’s Cinema EOS C200 shoots incredible-quality footage to its memory cards – and is a stunning buy
HYBRID: BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 6K
POCKET ROCKET The Blackmagic is a real mini cinema camera and plays well with manual focus lenses
viewfinder, in-body image stabilisation or workable autofocus tracking. And the file sizes are huge, along with a short battery life. For sports shooters, the heavily cropped 120fps is not ideal. For a filmmaker who wants to take full control, has time to check focus and work on Raw files from the dual native ISO Super 35 CMOS sensor, it’s a stunner. “With BRAW and a shallow depth-of-field, it was worth the price and still affordable”
When the Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K was launched, it blew the 4K model away. A much bigger Super 35 sensor impressed, though it was around twice the price for much of the same tech. But with Blackmagic Raw and a shallower depth-of-field from the sensor, plus its improvement in noise, it was worth the price and still affordable.
Two generations on – with the 6K Pro and 6K G2 launched – the camera hasn’t changed much in terms of image quality or performance. This makes the original 6K an absolute bargain, picked up used for around £1300/$1400. But it’s not a camera for everyone. For ENG or run-and-gun documentary users, it’s not the best choice because there’s no
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