Canon Announces C300 Cinema EOS Digital Movie Camera and Prototype DSLR

Canon went all out for the Hollywood announcement of their new 35mm Cinema camera, the C300. There are two models, one of which will use the standard Canon EF mount and one which will use the PL mount common in other cinema cameras.

The camera itself doesn’t look unlike some medium-format digital cameras out there. It’s centered around a new full-frame CMOS sensor that’s capable of grabbing 4K footage at an extremely high bit rate. Canon is really touting the low-light capabilities of this camera, which isn’t surprising in light of the low-light upgrades found in their new 1D X pro DSLR.

In addition to the new body, they have also a pile of sweet new lenses to go with it: The CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L S, CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L S, CN-E24mm T1.5 L F, CN-E50mm T1.3 L F, and CN-E85mm T1.3 L F. They’re incredibly fast and are sure to be insanely expensive, like most cinema-specific lenses.

They’ve also announced that they’re developing a more traditional DSLR as a follow up to the 5D Mark II that will grab 4K video as well.

While we don’t usually mess much with movie cameras, we would certainly love to play with this thing. If nothing else, we’ll give the lenses a spin, as they’ll work on current EOS bodies. The C300 will start shipping in January 2012 for $20,000, which sounds like a lot. But, in the land of Hollywood-grade movie cameras, it’s actually kind of a deal.

Get full info at the official site