To expand its product offerings and reach additional filmmakers and production professionals, Koerner Camera Systems recently added eight Canon EOS C300 digital cinema cameras, one Canon CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L SP wide-angle cinema zoom lens, two Canon CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP telephoto cinema zoom lenses and two Canon CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L compact telephoto cinema zoom lenses to its rental inventory. Three of the Canon EOS C300 digital cinema cameras take PL-mount lenses, while the remaining four utilize EF-mount lenses, including Koerner’s Canon CN-E24mm T1.5 L F, CN-E50mm T1.3 L F and CN-E85mm T1.3 L F cinema prime lenses and its large inventory of Canon EF-series photographic lenses. This diverse equipment catalog, including Canon digital SLR cameras, such as the EOS-1D C hybrid 4K DSLR cinema camera and the 5D Mark III camera, is well-suited to the broad range of customers Koerner Camera Systems serves from its facilities in Portland and Seattle.
“The Canon EOS C300 digital cinema camera is an awesome camera,” Koerner owner, Michael Koerner said. “The EOS C300 digital cinema camera is compact and extremely lightweight. Its low-light capabilities are very impressive, its ergonomics are nice, and users like its intuitive menu system. The camera also produces an exceptional image. At the end of the day it’s all about picture quality, which is why our rental clients keep coming back for it.”
The price and performance of the Cinema EOS System allow Koerner to offer rental packages at an attractive price. And the compatibility and familiarity with Canon DSLR cameras help encourage new clientele to “step-up” their next shoot to an EOS C300 digital cinema camera. Compatibility with PL or EF lenses allows step-up filmmakers to use the same EF lenses to which they are accustomed, while also taking advantage of some of Canon’s new EF Cinema lenses.
“Even though we have eight Canon EOS C300 digital cinema cameras in our inventory, their popularity requires us to occasionally sub-rent more of them,” Koerner continued.
“A lot of the jobs the EOS C300 digital cinema camera is rented for would normally have gone to more expensive cameras. There are also digital SLR users who have jumped up to the EOS C300 digital cinema camera. But unlike a digital SLR, the EOS C300 digital cinema camera is designed to do long takes, which has made it popular for episodic series shoots.”
Koerner noted that in addition to commercials, indie films, corporate videos and a popular local sketch-comedy episodic television series, the Canon EOS C300 digital cinema camera’s compact size also makes it a favorite of documentary producers.
“The low profile of the EOS C300 digital cinema camera makes it look like a still camera,” he said. “This is advantageous for documentary shooters because people tend to clam-up and get nervous around big cameras. The EOS C300 digital camera lets you be less obtrusive and shoot things that might require a permit if you were using a bigger camera, which needs a larger crew.”
Diverse Lens Choices
When clients rent the Canon EOS C300 digital cinema camera rental, their ability to choose between the PL- and EF-mount versions of the camera is of particular importance. The EOS C300 digital cinema camera is equipped with an EF lens mount for use with Canon’s line of more than 60 interchangeable EF and EF-S lenses. These lenses are designed for Canon EOS digital SLR cameras, as well as Canon’s line of EF Cinema lenses. The EOS C300 PL digital cinema camera is designed for use with the wide array of industry-standard PL-mount lenses, including several new high-performance Canon cinema lenses.
“Lens versatility is very important,” Koerner noted. “We can provide Canon PL-mount or Canon EF-mount lenses, depending on what clients ask for. Many cinematographers already own Canon EF-mount lenses for their digital SLR cameras. A lot of times we’ll just rent out the EOS C300 digital cinema camera body to those users, and then they will use their own Canon EF-mount lenses, which run the gamut from extremely wide to very long. These Canon lenses are also lightweight, which makes them easy for documentary shooters to travel with and to pass through customs without attracting attention.”
Canon also makes five EF-mount cinema prime lenses and four cinema zoom lenses available in both EF and PL versions. These Canon cinema zoom lenses include two zoom models with higher than 4K resolution and two compact lightweight hand-held zoom models with 4K resolution. Koerner Camera purchased three of the Canon zoom lenses: one CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L SP wide-angle cinema zoom lens and two CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP telephoto cinema zoom lenses. Koerner also purchased two CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L compact telephoto cinema zoom lenses and three Canon EF-mount cinema prime lenses. Koerner’s three Canon prime lenses – the CN-E24mm T1.5 L F, CN-E50mm T1.3 L F and CN-E85mm T1.3 L F – provide high optical performance levels and a choice of versatile focal lengths for a wide range of creative shooting choices for large-format single-sensor cameras employing Super 35mm or full frame 35mm imagers.
“Our clients really like these lenses,” Koerner said. “The Canon 30-300mm cinema zoom lens has great resolution, a nice size and it’s long. It’s also refreshing that Canon is up-front about the specifications of the 30-300mm cinema zoom lens.”
Koerner added that the Canon EOS-1D C hybrid 4K DSLR cinema camera is also available to rent through his company, as well as the Canon 5D Mark III, 5D Mark II and 7D digital SLR cameras with such Canon EF lenses as the 16-35mm ultra-wide zoom, 24-70mm and 24-105mm standard zooms and the 70-200mm telephoto zoom. “These cameras are being used by budget-conscious, commercial and corporate shooters who may be seeking a lower profile and the look of the larger imager in the 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras,” he said.
