Having spent more than two months researching, reading about, watching reviews, and testing various digital cameras, this is a compilation of the data I gathered which I felt was relevant to my work as a film maker.

It does not include hi-end cameras such as the RED or Arri. It is a comparison of DSLRs, mirrorless, and full-featured digital film cameras, all within the price range of $1000-5500 USD (with the Canon C300 added to the bottom to show that the C100 + Ninja II is equivalent in performance to the C300 with the added bonus of the Apple ProRes compression codec).

Canon 60D: $700

Sensor Size: 22.3 x 14.9mm (APS-C)
Effective Pixels: 5200 x 3462 pixels (18.0 megapixels)
Crop factor: 1.6
ND Filter: no
Autofocus: yes (not continuous)
ISO: 100 – 12800
Codec: MPEG-4 (AVC?) / H.264
Colour space: 4:2:0 (4:2:2 raw w/Magic Lantern)
Maximum Bit rate: __ Mbps

Canon 70D: $1100

Sensor Size: 22.5mm x 15.0mm (APS-C)
Effective Pixels: 5472 x 3648 (20.2 Megapixels)
Crop factor: 1.6 (or slightly less?)
ND Filter: no
Autofocus: yes + continuous
ISO: 100 – 12800
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC / H.264
Colour space: 4:2:0 (4:2:2 raw w/Magic Lantern)
Maximum Bit rate: 91.3 Mbps (ALL-I) or 31 Mbps (IPB)

Panasonic GH3K: $1300

Sensor Size: 17.3 x 13.0mm (4/3)
Effective Pixels: 4608 x 3456 (16 Megapixels)
Crop factor: 1.6
ND Filter: no
Autofocus: yes
ISO: 200 – 12,800
Codec: AVCHD Ver2.0, MPEG4-AVC H.264
Colour space: 4:2:0 compressed / 4:2:2 uncompressed
Maximum Bit rate: 72 Mbps (ALL-I) or 50 Mbps (IPB)

Black Magic Pocket Camera: $1000

Sensor Size: 12.48 x 7.02mm (Super 16)
Effective Pixels: (?)
Crop factor: 2.88 (?)
ND Filter: no
Autofocus: yes
ISO (dynamic range): 13 stops
Codec: Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) and CinemaDNG RAW @ 1920 x 1080
Colour space: 4:2:2
Maximum Bit rate: (?) Mbps

Black Magic Cinema Camera: $2000

Sensor Size: 15.81 x 8.88mm
Effective Pixels: 2400 x 1350 (3.2 Megapixels)
Crop factor: 1.7 (?)
ND Filter: no
Autofocus: yes
ISO (dynamic range): 13 stops
Codec: ProRes & DNxHD @ 1920 x 1080; 2.5K RAW @ 2432 x 1366
Colour space: 4:2:2
Maximum Bit rate: (?) Mbps

Canon 5D-Mark III: $3000

Sensor Size: 36 x 24mm (full frame)
Effective Pixels: 5784 x 3861 (22.3 Megapixels)
Crop factor: 1.0
ND Filter: no
Autofocus: yes
ISO: 100 – 12,800
Codec: H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
Colour space: 4:2:0 + 4:2:2 over HDMI
Maximum Bit rate: 91 Mbps (ALL-I) or 31 Mbps (IPB); full HDMI

Canon C100*: $5,500

Sensor Size: 24.6 x 13.8 (Super 35)
Effective Pixels : 3840 x 2160 pixels (8.29 Megapixels)
Crop factor: 1.5
ND Filter: Mechanical with option of clear, 2, 4, and 6 stops
Autofocus: yes
ISO: 320 to 20,000 in 1/3 stop increments
Codec: H.254 / MPEG-4 AVCHD in MTS format; full raw over HDMI to external recorder
Colour space: 4:2:0; 4:2:2 over HDMI **
Maximum Bit rate: 24Mbps internal; up to 220Mbps via external recorder

Canon C300: $14,000

Sensor Size: 24.6 x 13.8 (Super 35)
Effective Pixels: 3840 x 2160 pixels (8.29 Megapixels)
Crop factor: 1.5
ND Filter: Mechanical with option of clear, 1/64. 1/16, and 1/4
Autofocus: no
ISO: 320 to 20,000 in 1/3 stop increments
Codec: 8 Bit MPEG-2 Long GOP; full raw over HDMI
Colour space: 4:2:2; 4:2:2 over HDMI **
Maximum Bit rate: 50Mbps (CBR) or 35Mbps (VBR); up to 220Mbps via external recorder

* Canon C100 review
‘Super 35mm’ sensor has just eight million effective pixels, and these are grouped into RGGB (Red, green, green, blue) groupings called superpixels. Using this method, the C100 gets rid of the Bayer filter found on most cameras (which provides colour information for the sensor), and instead produces a far more accurate colour image. The smaller pixel count also means hugely reduced noise, yet you still have the two million pixel output required for HD footage. Canon reckons the quality is equivalent to that of a typical 3-chip broadcast TV camera.

If you need something higher-quality, though, there is the option to plug a third-party recorder into the HDMI output, which will deliver a clean, uncompressed 4:2:2 video stream, which is broadcast quality and will satisfy the BBC’s HD standards.

** How to setup the Atomos Ninja II with the Canon C100
The Atomos Ninja 2 is a perfect fit for the C100. In fact Canon worked with Atomos to get it to work as well as it does. I wish the monitor was a little better but for the price it works very well. One of the best features is the C100 will trigger the recorder on the Ninja 2 which is a real plus. It also deals with 24P 3:2 pulldown.