Canon Cinema EOS C00 Digital Video Camera Helps TV News Station Promos Stand Out with Cinematic Style

As a former photojournalist, Director of Photography Erik Naso knew that large-format, single-sensor cameras provide the shallow depth of field he needed to create cinematic-style TV news promos. Because Naso wanted each spot to have a cinematic quality that differed from the station's regularly aired ENG-style videos, Naso turned to a brand and toolset he was vastly familiar with from his time as a photojournalist, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions. To create these promos with true cinematic quality, Naso chose a Canon Cinema EOS C100 digital video camera, which features an Emmy Award winning technology: Canon's Super 35mm CMOS Image Sensor. As a longtime user of digital SLR cameras including Canon's EOS 5D Mark II Naso appreciated the ergonomic convenience of the EOS C100 camera, and its ability to use all of the Canon EF-Series photographic lenses he already owns.

Eric Naso with his Canon EOS C100

With ENG cameras, you don't have control of depth of field, Naso stated. If you want to control it, you have to have a longer lens, zoom in from far away, or zoom in to compress the background to create a shallow depth of field. With the Canon EOS C100 camera, you can be five feet away, open up your iris, and adjust your neutral density (ND) filters to gain more shallow depth of field or more control over that look, which makes production so much easier.

Operational Convenience

Ergonomic and highly mobile, the EOS C100 camera body without accessories weighs just 2.2 lbs. and includes a removable, side-mounted rotating pistol grip, which Naso found convenient for various shooting styles. Naso's promo shoot entailed two ten-hour days of filming the station's anchors and reporters documentary-style as they walked through city streets, so weight and form factor were a major consideration for him when choosing a camera. He cited multiple features of the Canon EOS C100 digital video camera as having been crucial to his needs as a director of photography and to the success of the project. In particular, he found the camera's control buttons and pistol grip to be conveniently located.

The f-stop dial, magnification controller, and a mini joystick navigator are right on the pistol grip, which puts them including the record button right at my fingertips, he noted. Naso also has special praise for the pistol grip itself, an item he feels other manufacturers don't always get right. You're really not going to use it, because it's not functional, he said of the other cameras. Canon, however, really thought this out on the EOS C100 camera. The grip is removable, so if you want to create some sort of shoulder rig or change it ergonomically, you can take the grip off and add an extender to it. The options are there for a third party to get involved and make accessories to allow for different configurations, and that is just awesome.

In addition to its removable pistol grip, the EOS C100 features a detachable handle that connects to the top of the camera, as well as dual XLR connectors, a built-in stereo microphone, a bracket for an external microphone, audio-input level adjustments, and a tally light. Adding to the camera's ergonomic flexibility is the fact that the Canon EOS C100 camera's function buttons are reprogrammable, allowing the operator to reassign them for a specific purpose and shoot in the style he/she prefers. Having those buttons where you already have your hand when shooting, and being able to get the access easily to those buttons, is a major advantage, Naso observed.

HD Image Control

Integrating an industry-standard workflow-compatible AVCHD codec, the EOS C100 camera records 1920 x 1080 HD video using MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression at data rates of up to 24-Mbps to two low-cost SD cards. A single 32GB SD card can hold nearly three hours of high-quality HD at 24 Mbps, while the dual SD card slots found on the camera can provide for backup and relay recording. The EOS C100 camera can also output uncompressed digital HD to an external recording device via its locking HDMI connector. The camera records linear PCM or Dolby digital two-channel audio.

Naso's favorite features for adjusting the 1920 x 1080 HD image of the Canon EOS C100 camera are its autofocus button, its magnification capabilities, and its built-in waveform monitor. I really like where Canon put the autofocus button, he said. Instead of being on the side of the body, it's down on the bottom front corner, the closest button to the lens. So you can just touch that and right away you get your autofocus nice and close. The C100 also features customizable button functionality allowing users to assign buttons specific functions to meet their personal preference. Naso adds that his favorite feature is the EOS C100 camera's magnification capabilities.

Being able to use the magnification feature, to zoom-in when you are recording is a gift, Naso continued. It really helps you obtain the proper focus, because when you visually go into it and focus on somebody's eyes, and you see them sharply, there is no doubt about whether they're in focus. It's reassuring. Peaking can give you this sharpness around a detailed area, but it can be deceptive. Your viewfinder or your detail setting could be right, but they could also be too high or too forgiving of your camera, and then you're not really seeing what you're supposed to be seeing. With the magnification on the EOS C100 camera, you can at the touch of a button zoom in, and even if it's not zoomed in on your subject's face if you can just tell by his or her shirt that they are in focus then you're good.

Lens Freedom

As with Canon digital SLR cameras, the EOS C100 is an EF-mount camera compatible with Canon's array of more than

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