Media Lab Equipment Guides: Canon C100

The Canon C100 camera comes disassembled in its kit. You will need to assemble the lens and connect any external audio.

Make sure storage media is in place to record. This camera can record to SD card or external hard drive or monitor. Note, if recording to the SD card, you will need to turn off timecode and monitoring messages.

If you are using the monitor hard drive to record footage, the SD Card slots for the camera are open. This allows for a clear screen to be recorded. If the camera screen displays the settings of how much time is allowed to be recorded on an SD Card or the quality settings show, you may face difficulties in post-production removing those. You may need to hide these notifications before filming.

This camera is heavy. If you have selected to use the heavy duty tripod, set that up first. Mount the mounting plate to the bottom of the Canon camera using the tripod screws. Attach it to the tripod stand. Make sure this is firmly connected. The tripod will click into place, then you can turn a screw to ensure it is locked in.

Store all parts like the lens cap in the camera case so they do not get lost.

Mount the battery. Look for the arrows on the battery. Put the battery to the camera slot, then push in the direction of the arrows to lock the battery into place. To release the battery, press the battery release button.

When the camera is on, battery life remaining will show in the upper left of the screen.

To turn the camera on, locate the selector and turn it to camera.

Reset all previous settings by selecting Menu on the display (second button), navigating to the wrench icon/other functions (using first button), then select Reset>All Settings.

If recording to the Canon, you will want to reset the SD card. To do so, select Menu on the display, go to the wrench icon. Select Initialize Media, then the SD card slot.

In the wrench menu, you can also choose what type of movie format to shoot. Navigate to movie format. MP4 is easily read by most editing programs, so we recommend selecting that.

Change your ISO or Shutter speed by using the buttons on the side to pull up the menu.

You’ll see all the current selections displayed on the screen for F-stop/Aperture, ISO, and Shutter.

F-stop can be adjusted using the wheel by the record button on the handle. The higher the number, the darker the image. The lower the number, the brighter.

Audio levels display on the bottom right of the screen. You want to be in green or yellow levels when recording, not red.

Audio can be added using the XLR ports on the top of the handle. The camera does have on-screen audio (see the mic in front), but this is helpful if you want to add a boom (for room scenes) or dynamic mic (for interviews).

The white balance button is located on the left side of the camera labeled WB. You should white balance at the beginning of your filming every time you change lighting. To do so, put the included white foam card up in front of the lens, press WB. This sets the camera’s “white” color so you can know post-filming if there needs to be any color correction to have multiple shots look the same color.

Reserve the Film Production Studio. Request that staff set up the gray Chroma screen and camera light ring equipment.

Once in the Film Production Studio, turn on the Canon camera along with the Atomos monitor on top of the camera. You will record directly onto the Atomos, not the Canon SD card.

Turn on the light panel switch on the floor. You can select between a green and blue backdrop. When you look at the monitor preview screen, the camera should now see a blue or green background. This is important for when you are editing videos later.