The Canon C300 is finally out in the wild… even if it’s only to hold for a couple of minutes. I got a chance to do just that at the Government Video Expo. My first impression was that the C300 is a much more substantial piece of hardware than I expected. It has a fair amount of heft with a very solid feel. There are quite a few fiddlly things all over the camera, but I didn’t get the sense that I’d be accidentally changing settings all the time. Plus there’s a convenient settings lock switch.
The adjustable handle is very comfy. There’s an iris wheel right under you index finger. I think I could get use to that. One disappointment though, was how the iris adjustment of the 85mm Canon lens clicked through the stops. Boo.
The rear viewfinder was very bright and sharp although the color was a little weird. Maybe the production version will be a bit better. The LCD looked great. It seemed like I could reliably use it for focus, but we’ll have to see what it looks like on a larger screen.
I wish it was being shown in an environment that offered a better opportunity to really evaluate it. Hooking it up to at least a 17″ monitor would have been nice, oh well. At any rate, the manual is now available if you want to get a better sense of the camera before you get a chance to put it though its paces. Check it out here.
