Cinemechanics 101: Canon EOS C100 Tutorial #2

5 min readApr 10, 2015

Welcome back to Cinemechanics 101: C100 Tutorail Part 2! Today we will pick up from last week. In Part 1, we discussed assembly and handling. Let’s dive into some of the buttons and features that the Canon EOS C100 has to offer. The buttons on the outside of the C100 are simple to find and straightfoward to use.

Media-

Video: https://youtu.be/1tRQtEGciEE?t=26s

Playback functions on the EOS C100 can be access by switching the power dial from “Camera” to “Media.” Simply flip the EVF over to reveal all of the playback functions such as play, pause, fast-forward. The menu can then be accessed using the toggle on the handgrip.

Focus Peaking

The C100 offers peaking features by using Button #9. Focus peaking provides an on-screen coloration that represents the focus points of the image. Like the screenshot above, the yellow color is the point of focus. This feature is a way to easily find focus with having to use magnification and works very well when shooting run ‘n’ gun in manual mode.

Light Settings (Zebra, ND Filters, White Balance)

Video: https://youtu.be/1tRQtEGciEE?t=1m28s

The C100 cinema camera has many professional light settings not found on most DSLRs. The Zebra button (Button #10) can be activated when setting up a shot and one needs to determine the exposure levels of the image. The “zebra” stripes represent overexposure.

ND Filters

The ND Filter acts like sunglasses for the C100. The camera has a ND Filter dial found on the bottom left-hand side of the camera. By dialing upwards (+) it will add a filter making the image darker. This can be used if your Zebra indicates overexposure. ND Filters can also be used if you want to avoid stopping down thus losing a shallow depth of field.

White Balance

The C100 has a standard White Balancing system. The White balance buttons can be found on the left side of the camera near buttons #9 and #10. Remember to always use white balance! The best and simplest method is to have your talent hold a piece of printer paper and use the paper as a white reference.

Now that we’ve gone over the basic button functions, it’s time to press Record!

Record Button

If the top handle and multi-purpose control grip are both attached, the C100 then has 3 different record buttons. The record button on the C100 camera body can be found at the bottom corner near the lens if all accessories are detached. The mutli-purpose grip has the most convenient placement out of the three- it’s right near where one’s index finger would rest in the hand-grip.

Lenses and CMOS Sensor

Video: https://youtu.be/1tRQtEGciEE?t=3m

The Canon C100 uses Canon’s EF mount for its lens mounting. Most C100 kits come with a Canon 24–105mm f4 L series lens. The lens can be detached in the similar fashion of a Canon DSLR. There is a release button to which the lens then rotates off the EF mount.

**Lens/Sensor Etiquette- Never expose the camera’s sensor or the back of the lens to the open air for very long. This allows dust particles to settle inside leaving a muddled image. When exposed, leave the sensor and lens horizontal. **

Full Frame vs. Super 35mm Sensor

A camera’s sensor size can affect framing up shots and which lenses to use. A full frame sensor is equatable to a 35mm film camera; the Canon C100 has what’s called a Super-35mm sensor. When choosing a lens, the focal length is what we usually base our decision on.

Let’s take a 50mm prime lens as an example. The number 50mm is what a camera would “view” if the camera was a full frame sensor. In other words, on a full frame camera such as a Canon 5D MkIII or Sony A7s, the 50mm length is truly 50mm. When using the C100 is uses a Super-35mm sensor which is slightly smaller than full frame. This is where a bit of math and conversion come into play (SEE THE CHART BELOW). A 50mm lens on a Super-35mm is equivalent to a 75mm lens on a full frame camera.

Focal Length Conversion Chart

Focal Length Chart

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